>> if the jobs are there, if your job is there and you're in a good market place, this is the right time to buy a house. i wouldn't sit around waiting. >> tom: from new york to washington d.c., houston to las vegas, we look at local housing it's "nightly business report" for friday, april 6. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt

>> susie: good evening, everyone. the u.s. stock market was closed today, but investor were still focused on important news in the job market. and, tom, it was disappointing. it looks like american businesses put the brakes on hiring in march. >> tom: investors, susie, had gotten used to some pretty decent monthly gains in jobs. over the past several months, march, though, fell short. the labor department said 120,000 jobs were added to u.s. payrolls last month. analysts were expecting just north of 200,000. while the unemployment rate did drop down to 8.2%-- the lowest since jan, 2009-- much of that drop can be credited to fewer out-of-work people actually looking for jobs. >> susie: now, there was some

market reaction to the news. the bond market was open for a few hours today. u.s. treasuries rallied and the yield on the ten-year fell sharply. susan pratt takes a closer look at that weak jobs report. >> reporter: yes, the economy added jobs in march but with millions of americans still out of work, the number was a big, fat disappointment. >> it was much softer than we've seen over the prior few months. how we're interpreting the report is it's a blip down in what is a still strong trend. >> reporter: so what happened to the job market last month? retailers were hurt the most, cutting 34,000 jobs. that was a surprise given the recent strength in retail sales. temp hiring also fell. a worrisome sign because firms often add temps before permanent workers. there was, however, good job growth in manufacturing. hotels and restaurants also stepped up hiring. still, the march jobs data revved up chatter about the federal reserve and whether the

central bank would inject more stimulus into the economy known as q.e.-3. >> what the fed is likely to do is accumulate the data up until the june meeting and make a decision then. our view is that the data won't be weak enough to cause the fed to do q.e.-3. >> reporter: for now, most experts view the letdown in the labor market is a one-off event. after all, the economy has still added close to 900,,000 jobs since december-- the best four months in two years. susan pratt, "nightly business report," new york. >> susie: joining us with more analysis, julia coronado. julia, good to have you back with us. >> thank you, susie. >> susie: so, do you agree that this is a one-time event that leads a march number and it's just a matter of time that returns to american businesses adding 200,000 jobs a month. >> i think to the degree we saw a very warm winter.

some hiring in construction and retail into the last three months. we may see softer numbers through june so i don't think it's a one-off event. the trend is better but it does highlight some of the ebbs and flows as we struggle along in this recovery. >> you know, the unemployment rate is very important to many people. should we be encouraged the unemployment rate is down to 8.2%? >> well, because it came from people giving up looking for work, it's not such a strong signal. what we're seeing in this report is a lot of part-time and secondary workers leaving the labor force so a lot more single-earner households instead of duel-earner households and that tends to suggest slower spending growth and slower economic growth overall. >> so does this data change your outlook for the economy? will you be revising your forecast for g.d.p.? >> we did expect some softer numbers in the spring because of

this seasonal effect. this is a little weaker than we expected. we'll have to see what the next couple months bring but we are... in our view we're in this 2.5% growth neighborhood. probably for most of this year. >> susie: everybody is very interested in how the federal reserve will respond to this data. how do you think they will respond? >> i think as the fed reaches their june meeting which is when their current program of stimulus expires they'll probably take out a little bit more insurance, not a blockbuster program but a smaller program just to make sure that the economy really is on its feet before they walk away. so we're expecting a small package of support at the... announced at the june meeting. >> susie: we'll see how the markets respond on monday. julia, thank you so much for coming on the program. have a great weekend. >> you do the same. >> susie: we've been speaking with julia coronado. >> tom: a weakened job market

raises new questions about the outlook for housing. the longer americans are out of work the harder it is for the housing market to recover. tonight we look at the state of residential real estate across the country. we crisscross the nation where the health of the market is vastly different. in several cities cash buyers and foreign buyers have moved in picking up homes and condominiums at steep discounts. all real estate is local and other hard-hit areas are reeling from the housing collapse. we begin our reporting in miami. seven years ago, it was on the leading edge of the nation's housing collapse. today demand is up and supplies have dwindled. the curtains may be parting for one of the hardest hit areas of the housing collapse. looking out over miami, you see a picture that worries real estate experts. not enough places for sale. >> in 2011 in miami dade county, we sold more homes and condos than we've ever sold in history. we had an enormous amount of sales. of course, we were selling them at some pretty bargain prices. so that certainly helped. with demand on the upswing, inventories have plummeted. a year ago almost 25,000

properties were for sale. in february that had fallen to fewer than 14,000. one of those for sale is this marquee, water front condo with multi-million dollar views asking price is more than $7.5 million compared to the average miami condo at $270,000. luxury properties and high end prices get a lot of attention in miami. it's places like this-- apartment 202 here at the water club in miami beach-- that's closer to a median price of a condominium in miami these days. the asking price is $229,000. the buyer of unit 202 is edward wang from toronto. >> we've seen a lot of properties on miami beach that look real older like the art deco style. a lot of them have older finishes, older designs. we like this one because almost everything is brand new. that's what we like about it. >> reporter: not all miami neighborhoods have seen action pick-up, especially those still suffering from foreclosures and owners owing more than their homes are worth. >> there's definitely a bi- furcation at that level in terms of the property type and the

values. the higher end properties are doing very well. >> reporter: i'm diane eastabrook in chicago. unseasonably warm tempertures are making it tempting to get out and shop for a home. the good news for the spring the bad news: a flood of foreclosures could hit the market later this year, driving prices down even more. >> i think you'll see foreclosures and short sales part of the market for a number of years, yes. i believe they'll be in our market place for a number of years just because there are so many of them that haven't come to market. >> reporter: foreclosures have been especially troubling for chicago's condo market. in february prices were down a little more than 15% from the previous year. but real estate experts think sky rocketing rents could put a floor under the condo market by encouraging renters to buy. >> reporter: the sparkling strip has come roaring back and is teeming with tourists. gaming revenue on the vegas strip is up nearly 30% compared

to last year but beyond the glitter. nevada has the triple crown of bad economic indicators. first in the nation for number of foreclosures, underwater mortgages, and at 13%, the highest unemployment rate in the country, adding up to some very desperate homeowners. for this retired couple, skyrocketing medical bills meant they could no longer afford the home they'd expected to stay in for the rest of their lives. opting for a short sale and moving to an apartment relieved some of the financial pressure, but nancy tittmus says it's hard not to focus on what they lost. >> probably in the neighborhood of $50,000 or better. that hurts right here, because you know it's our retirement cream gone down the drainout. >> reporter: in march, 2006, the median price of a home in greater las vegas was $303,000. almost six years later that price was $112,000, down more than 60%. law student chaunsey chau-duong

paid $95,000 for this short sale. the previous owner paid nearly $60,000 more. >> you know, it's unfortunate that he had to do a short sale on it, but he was willing to take a loss and i was willing to buy, so i think it was a good opportunity. so at 23 years old you have a nice house. i do. >> reporter: but with low job growth, high housing inventories and tougher mortgage loan standards, for many owning a home in vegas is still a gamble. sheryl kahn, "nightly business report," las vegas. >> reporter: i'm suzanne pratt in new york city. spring came early to the big apple this year and so did the prime selling season for real estate. >> it is hot. the crazy thing about it is just that there's no inventory. >> reporter: manhattan's market is becoming bifurcated. sales of studio apartments picked up in the first quarter and luxury is very strong. take for instance this stunning townhouse, a lenane listing. it can be yours for a cool $12 million bucks.

it's got tranquil living space, a killer master bathroom, and quite the gourmet kitchen. so, who's buying these high- priced digs? experts say in large part: foreigners. but housing expert jonathan miller says the more terrestrial end of the market has yet to fully recover. >> the balance of the market i almost describe as dull, or mundane. >> reporter: manhattan prices are still well below where they were before the 2007 peak. but, the market here is rebuilding and it's one of the strongest in the country. suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," new york.

>> susie: i asked diane swonk chief economist at misero financial about the housing market. >> housing is going to improve in more than in 2011. that doesn't say much but we're improving slowly. we're talking about home construction activity, picking up an apartment, not too much in single-family homes. we are seeing high end buyers willing to build that second home again but, again, very small compared to what we saw. >> susie: is the worst over for the housing sector? >> i think the worst is over. we'll have more depreciation because there's a big backlog of foreclosures but once we get through that, that holds down appraisals but once we get through that i think we'll see some housing appreciation in 2013. it will probably be until well into 2014 before we see anything that's normal. >> susie: is this market for buyers or sellers? >> if you can buy, buy. nobody rings a bell at the bottom and this market is

overshot and it's a great many time to buy. especially if you're just going to live in your home for a period of time of five to seven years. you're going to be fine and you won't get a beller deal on interest rates and prices. the price might fall the another 1%, 2%. big deal, you can handle that. this is the time to buy, especially for first-time buyers. still hard to trade up. >> susie: what about prices? can they fall more? >> they can fall a little more because we have foreclosures coming in the market and they hold down appraisal which is means even if you agree on a higher price you don't get it. that's going to be the first half of the year and we are seeing bidding wars erupt so we're seeing the market bifurcate. so if you have a home in good shape, that's not a distressed property you might have some appreciation this year, much more next year. >> susie: diane, the american dream has always been to own your own home but it seems like a lot of people are backing away from that. is it more of a renter's park? >> no question about it it will be much more of a renter's market for some time to come. the demand for people to rent a home has gone up. everyone used to think if

pashlgt renters and single family home buyers, now there's single family renters. they want... either previously lived in a home or maybe they're forced out so they're renting now. or their first time buyers that are afraid to buy or they can't buy. and so they're renting a home because they want the backyard for the dog and kids, they want the amen knees the neighborhood to go with single family homeownership but they can't do that so we'll see a whole new kind of renter out there renting single-family home as well as apartments. >> susie: okay, diane, thank you so much for your time. great talking to you. >> thank you. >> tom: diane was just telling susie many people are torn between whether they should rent or buy a home. not long ago, renting used to be cheaper than buying but now in many cities rents are skyrocketing. sylvia hall spoke with two women about how they decided whether to rent or buy. >> reporter: i'm sylvia hall in washington. none of the buildings here are taller than the washington monument, but there's no cap on the price you pay to live in them. soaring rent costs are pushing

some tenants to re-think their housing choices. 24-year-old kira neal is one of them. she got tired of sky-high rents and bought this condo. >> it's been great to have an investment. and i could put it in the stock market or put it towards a masters degree, but right now, it's nice to have something that i'm living in and working on and decorating it's much more tangible for me. >> reporter: despite the down payment and property tax, she's saving up to $400 each month by owning. but it's a bet that's too risky for 31-year-old writer alexis grant. she's scared if she buys, she'll get stuck with a home she can't sell and a mortgage she can't drop. >> when i feel the need to leave and do something exciting, i don't-- i want to-- i don't want to be tied into a house. and something i have to take care of. >> reporter: and with the housing market still struggling, she's willing to pay up to keep renting. sylvia hall, "nightly business report," washington.

>> tom: the managering director for housing studies at harvard university is with us from cambridge, massachusetts. >> the housing market should be thought of at this point, even though it's national market, as two markets. there's the rental market which has been improving for over a year now and is pretty clearly on an upward trend and rents are rising, vacancy rates are falling so we're seeing a rental recovery and then the other part of the market you need to think about is the "for sale" market or homeowners and home buyers' market. and there we're starting to see life after a very long period where there was very little life except around periods of time when tax credits were offered to first-time buyers and then also eventually to tradeup buyers. we saw some life in the market just to see it fail again but now we're seeing the comeback without any kind of tax credits.

>> with that in mind perhaps the economic incentives aren't what they used to be. prices have come down. attitudes toward homeownership have continued to erode, though. according to fannie mae in 201060% of people thought homeownership as a high investment potential. that's down closer to 50% at the end of 2011. what is this portend for 2012, 2013 in terms of home buyers? >> well, i think people have looked at the last few years and it's for many had an effect on their confidence and housing as an investment but when you look at other aspects of the same survey, you find people's attitudes towards homeownership have held up a n a lot of important ways so for example if you simply ask someone would you prefer to own or rent, which do you think makes more sense is the way the question is worded, 84% of owners still think owning makes more sense and interestingly it's a similar number for renters and when you

look at jen y, people in their 20s and early 30s, 80% responded they felt it was still... made sense relative to renting. so i think there's a lot of interest out there but we've seen a tepid response to extremely low home prices and lower interest rates. >> tom: eric, doesn't that speak to that continual american dream and a big part of that is homeownership? we haven't gotten away from that despite the wealth destruction we've mean? this great recession, haven't we? >> i think that's exactly right. there's both financial and non-financial reasons why people look at homeownership. i think even though the surveys don't get that into these kinds of questions people understand that we're potentially closer to the bottom of the cycle and as prices start to come up homeownership may look attractive relative to renting again. we're starting to see rent inflation in markets, we're seeing rents increase. even economically there's reasons to expect people to want to come back to the market but no question the reason that

people want to be homeowners that show up very high on their list are things like the places that i associate where homeownership is more common, the control i have under my own living environment, i can't be subject to a lease that doesn't get renewed by my landlord for whatever reason they choose not to renew it. there's a lot of reasons why people are interested in homeownership. >> tom: that pull of homeownership continues to be a big part of america despite the financial mess that has put a lot of homeowners in because of the financial destruction. eric, we have to leave it there. from cambridge massachusetts and harvard university, it's eric belsky. >> susie: our next guest has a unique perspective on housing. he was a homebuilder for more

than two decades before he switched into banking. frank sorrentino is co-founder and c.e.o. of north jersey community bank. he is now on the front line of approving mortgages and business loans for contractors and home buyers. when i met with him recently i asked how close are we to a housing recovery. >> we're not there yet. we're seeing signs of improvement. i think we're in an environment where the low interest rates, the low prices for homes, low material and subcontract costs are starting to attract investment again into the space. i think this is one of the best environments we could be in so you put those factors together i think we're going to start to see improvement in the housing market as we've seen recently. >> susie: frank, are you seeing buyers are more confident? is the fear out of the market? >> i think fear is starting to leave the marketplace. stock market's up, interest rates remain low, there seems to

be consistency there. i think people are feeling better. i note it when i go out. we notice in the our customers at north jersey community bank. the restaurants are fuller. people are more apt to spend. we're not falling off a cliff anymore. >> susie: you were a home builder for many, many years before you got into banking. what kinds of trends are you seeing in construction loans? what are you hearing from home builders? >> they're seeing a better environment. they're seeing land prices at a low point that they've never seen before. they're seeing again this pent-up demand. there was an article recently about people with 200,000 miles on their car. that's the new 100,000. people are waiting to do things until the last possible moment. we're seeing that in housing, too. people need to move and upgrade their homes. nibble the last three months we've entertained and may have approved more construction loans than we've done in the last two years. >> susie: how about getting a mortgage? is it easer. >> >> i wouldn't say it's easier.

i will tell you interest rates are lower so more people can qualify, that's good. i think there's now no longer the big disconnect between the price of a home and what someone can afford to pay. but all the products that were out there that got us in trouble no longer exist. so many more mortgages are winding up on bank balance sheet it is way it should be and banks are doing what they need to do to have properly qualified mortgages approved today. >> susie: we hear some of these stories, people are saying how difficult it is to get a mortgage or do a re-fi even if they have good credit scores. do you think banks need to lighten up on their restrictions? >> i don't think so. i think the banks have come back to something that more resembles reality. i think if you look back three or four years ago you will have seen a market where just about anybody with a forehead could get a mortgage and that's not healthy for the economy. >> susie: as you know, the cost of bow roing has gone up.

mortgage rates are going up. interest rates are rising. is this going to discourage individuals or small businesses from getting loans rohr they going to rush out to... >> i think it will encourage people to encourage people to get up and do something. i think if rates stay abnormally low for too long people become very complacent and just assume this is the normal and this is not normal having the u.s. treasury... the ten-year u.s. treasury below 2% is the lowest it's ever been in history. it can't stay there so i think people need to be realistic and not worry about the last sixteenth of a point or eighth of a point. >> susie: so this is better for buyers and sellers? >> i think it's good for both. i think we have a market where there are buyers and for the buyers we have a great market where interest rates are so low and prices have never been better so i think it's good for both. very good. >> susie: all right, thank you so much. >> you're very welcome. >> tom: looking ahead, we have a

busy week next week. >> tom: here's what's on our we'll get a check on consumer prices and earnings season kicks off. alcoa leads the way, as it reports first quarter results on tuesday. we'll talk exclusively with c.e.o. klaus kleinfeld. also reporting results next week, google and a couple of big banks-- j.p. morgan chase and wells fargo. and monday, we sit down with noted economist simon johnson for the latest on europe's debt crisis and its impact on the u.s. >> susie: have you ever had a great business or investment idea inspired by a trip to the store? author and educate orer lieu heckler has. he's been asking this question is this right? >> a few years ago i was speaking at a hardware conference in minnesota and we were invited for a tour of a wonderful hardware store in duluth. every aisle sparkled, every bin was stocked, all the signs were clear and big and easy to see. a man ahead of me in the garden tools area seemed to be looking for something he lost. excuse me, i asked, what are you looking for? maybe i can help. he smiled, i'm looking for one thing. i'm looking for one thing they do here that really strikes me as innovative and then i ask myself, "could we adopt it in

our business?" he told me that whenever he visited any business, especially one that had nothing to do with his line or work. he promised himself that he would go home with at least one thought-starter that might improve his company. it could be how signs are placed, how pedestrian traffic is routed, how certain products are shelved near others. i really like that idea. all of us running a business, working in a company or even managing our money are always looking for ideas for improvement. trouble is, we sometimes only look at direct competitors or read onlindustry publications. we all learn best through metaphors anyway. a new idea is much more likely to excite us if someone can show us it is like something we already know. give it a shot this next week. the question, "what's this like" might help you to be your best. i'm lou heckler. >> tom: that's "nightly business report" for friday, april 6. have a wonderful holiday weekend.

susie. >> susie: good night, tom. i'm susie gharib happy easter everyone. we hope to see all of you again next week. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org