Thursday, May 24, 2007

It’s time to register for the NEEP Spring Economic Outlook Conference being held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston!

From Sublime to Subprime: 

The Outlook for Housing - and Households - in New England

Keynote Speaker:  Richard Brown, Chief Economist, FDIC

U.S. Forecast Presented by Mark Zandi, Chief Economist,

Moody's Economy.com

New England’s economic future will be shaped by many factors, but housing is the most immediate area for concern.  A few years ago, steadily rising housing prices were making everyone who owned a home feel a little big richer – and pushing affordability and availability to the forefront of the region’s housing concerns.

Today, conditions are different.  While affordability remains an area of long-term concern, it has been joined by worries over the current health of residential real estate markets.  Recent buyers who stretched to buy homes with marginal credit now are especially vulnerable, and many face losing their homes in a subprime mortgage meltdown that threatens to impact the broader housing market and economy.

NEEP’s May 24th conference will focus on these new sources of economic anxiety. Topics to be discussed will include:

• The overall condition of residential real estate markets by state
• The most “at risk” borrowers and related mortgage practices
• Steps to be taken to limit the fallout from increasing foreclosures
• The expected behavior of residential real estate prices over the forecast horizon

The morning session will begin with an analysis of the current outlook for the US economy and the housing sector by Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody’s Economy.com.  NEEP’s forecasters will discuss the economic outlooks for the New England region and for each of the six states.  This will include detailed forecasts of key economic indicators, including employment by industry as well as housing markets.

The conference keynote address will be delivered by Richard Brown, Chief Economist of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

A panel discussion will follow, moderated by journalist Phil Primack  and featuring Eric Belsky, Executive Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University; Robert Tannenwald, Director of the New England Public Policy Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; and Michael Hogan, President of A.D. Makepeace Company,  a major  residential developer in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Join NEEP for this comprehensive discussion of these important issues and expert analyses of both present and future economic conditions. 

When:
Thursday May 24, 2007               8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Where:
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston    600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA

Cost:
$140 for NEEP members,
$175 for nonmembers*

*Nonmembers registering by May 1, 2007 may register at the member rate of $140.00.

For more information:
Call Carol Hazerjian at
508-660-1968 or e-mail at chazerjian@verizon.net.

8:00 - 8:30

8:30 - 8:40

Michael Goodman, Director of Economic and Public Policy Research, University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute

8:40 - 9:45

Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody's Economy.com

9:45 - 10:00

10:00 - 12:00

Regional Overview

Ross Gittell, James R. Carter  Professor, University of New Hampshire, and NEEP Vice President

Maine

Charles Colgan, Professor, University of Southern Maine

Rhode Island

Edward Mazze, Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration, University of Rhode Island

Massachusetts

Alan Clayton-Matthews, Associate Professor in Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, and NEEP Director

Connecticut

Edward Deak, Professor, Fairfield University

Vermont

Jeff Carr, Vice President and Senior Economist, Economic Policy Resources, Inc.

New Hampshire

Dennis Delay, Director of Special Projects, Workforce Opportunity Council

Audience participation with forecast managers and Mark Zandi

Ross Gittell, Moderator

12:00 - 12:45

12:45 - 2:30

AFTERNOON PRESENTATIONS

Audience participation with presenters