By Katie Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

The opening session of Inman Real Estate Connect 2010 in New York was markedly more optimistic than just a year ago where practitioners gathered at the Marriott Marquis for the three-day conference. While still cautious, Brad Inman, the founder of Inman News, said he was encouraged by the fact that the stock market has been so bullish since March of last year in his kickoff speech.

However, he also warns that some hesitation is in order, and recommended watching the following closely:

• The financial situation of the FHA
• The Federal Reserve’s program to buy mortgage-backed securities (which is supposed to expire after March)
• The effect of the home buyer tax credit in getting consumers off the fence.

Inman is also concerned about the amount of money the Fed has already printed and will need to print to keep the U.S. economy moving forward, and if it will result in severe inflation. He points out that inflation traditionally has been good for the real estate market. With so many things at play, it’s hard to forecast the market for 2010, he says.

Brian Summerfield

Brian Summerfield is online editor for REALTOR® Magazine. He can be reached at bsummerfield@realtors.org.