NY area economy up but real estate weak

The Federal Reserve Board’s second district, which encompasses New York state and portions of Connecticut, is showing some strengthening in its economy according to the Fed’s Beige Book report released today. But while hiring activity appears to be picking up so far this year, the report says, the housing market in the district has weakened somewhat. “Housing markets appear to have softened in early 2010, after hints of a pickup in late 2009,” the report says. The commercial market was even worse, according to the Fed report, with Manhattan commercial rents down this February an average of around 20 percent from a year earlier. TRD