WASHINGTON, DC—The US economy's prospects seem to be turning around now as almost as quickly as they seemed to plunge earlier this year. A series of reports came out during the first quarter that suggested weakening fundamentals, culminating with a second estimate of Q1 GDP that dipped into negative territory.

Two separate reports released this week, though, now suggest that the economy's fundamentals are stronger than expected. Indeed, some economists are telling reporters that GDP for Q1 could upwardly adjusted to 0.2% -- which was the Bureau of Economic Analysis' first estimate of GDP -- when the third estimate is released on June 24.

One report that raised hopes was the Commerce Department's quarterly services survey, which showed that consumption rose faster than the government had estimated in its second pass at Q1 GDP.

The report breaks down spending in various sectors, including real estate and rental and leasing revenue. In these areas, the Commerce Department reports that revenue estimates for Q1, not adjusted for seasonal variation, or price changes, was $129.9 billion, a decrease of 6.3% from the fourth quarter of 2014 and up 5.7% year over year.

The second report comes from the Federal Reserve Bank – its quarterly estimate of Americans' net worth. At $84.9 trillion, it reached a record high for the first quarter, rising about $1.6 trillion for the period between January and March.

Residential real estate, a major component of people's net worth, rose by $503 billion.

Instant Insights /

Real Estate, Leasing Revenue Jumps 5.7%. Is a GDP Revision Next?

Related Stories

Recommended For You