<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="center">Many Americans expect that President Donald Trump, who was a wildly successful businessman prior to winning the election, will be able to pull the U.S. economy out of its sluggish state.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although it&rsquo;s pretty early to tell, the investing guru Warren Buffett is optimistic. He has seen the economy and housing markets steadily get better.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;Homebuilding will be the best sector this year, in my view,&#8221; said Buffett.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Housing prices are up. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price for an existing home, which is now $236,400, is up by 4%.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In terms of financing for a home, the average 30-year mortgage rate is currently 4.02%, which is still relatively low and affordable.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After Trump took office, 522,000 new jobs have been added and wages have increased by 2.5% in the past 12 months.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then the government reported that in April the unemployment rate was the lowest it has been since May 2007. It dropped to 4.4%. The underemployment rate which includes people working part-time that want a full-time position fell to 8.8% in April, which is the lowest this percentage has been since November 2007.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stocks are up too. The Dow is up 6% this year and the Nasdaq is up 13%. The stock market is expected to continue to climb if Trump does eventually lower corporate taxes and reduce regulations on banks.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Americans are also paying off their debt. The delinquency rate on credit cards dropped to 2.3% at the end of 2016, which is significantly less than the 6.8% in 2009. However, following the holidays, consumer spending has been stagnant the last few months.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, the average gas price has dropped 5 cents over the past two weeks, which arguably could be a good thing in terms of consumer spending.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although we are already seeing improvements in the economy, trade is still an area of concern.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trump has continuously emphasized that several trade deals with other countries need to be renegotiated.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;This is perhaps the thorniest issue for Trump. He&#8217;s been hypersensitive about deals with all of America&#8217;s major partners. His pledge to &#8220;Buy American and Hire American&#8221; could put the US at odds with China, Japan, Europe, Mexico and even Canada,&rdquo; writes <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CNN Money.</em> &ldquo;But Trump has good reason to be worried. The US trade deficit has narrowed only slightly in the past few months &#8212; and the gap has widened with China and Mexico. And the overall trade deficit is still significant &#8212; $43.7 trillion.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Author&rsquo;s note: </strong>It&rsquo;s only been about 3.5 months since Trump was elected, but it&rsquo;s safe to say that the future of the economy looks much more optimistic than when Obama was in office.</p>
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