Fed: recession ended in August

With the economy on the mend, Federal Reserve policymakers last month felt comfortable slowing the pace of one of its economic revival programs and not changing any others, according to documents released Wednesday.

Minutes of the central bank's closed door deliberations, held Aug. 11-12, also showed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues striking a much more hopeful note about the economy's prospects compared with an assessment made in late June. Many Fed officials saw "smaller downside risks," the documents stated.

Fed officials expected the pace of the recovery to "pick up" in 2010, but there was a range of views — and considerable uncertainty — about the likely strength of the upturn because of concerns about how consumers will behave.

After being pounded by the recession, consumer spending finally appeared to be leveling out, the housing market was firming and manufacturing was stabilizing, the Fed said. Plus, the outlook for other countries' economies improved, auguring well for the sale of U.S. exports.

Have we reached the "bottom" of our real estate market? It's starting to look more and more like the answer is yes. Loyal followers know we've been critical of economic conditions for the past 6 months (which is why most of our postings have been about economic news) but the stabilization of the economy and the local market seems to be real and sustained, at this point. Of course conditions can change (if interest rates jump up; if unemployment takes it's toll on the technology industry; if foreclosures continue to rise without loan modification workouts), but we should be fine in San Francisco for the time being.

As such, we're now comfortable getting back to providing information about specific properties and buildings. So if you're interested in new San Francisco developments, like Blu, Soma Grand, the Infinity, One Rincon Hill, Millennium Tower, or the Arterra, or a classic San Francisco home in another neighborhood, our agents are here to help. Feel free to email us at highrisesf@gmail.com.

SOURCE: AP