5 And credit availability for mortgages has improved as well, although mortgages are still very hard to obtain for would-be homeowners without pristine credit records. So I would score this headwind as still a concern, but one that is likely to continue to fade.
A second headwind, also quite important here in Rhode Island, has come from changes in fiscal policy to reduce budget deficits. At the federal level, the fiscal stimulus of 2008 and 2009 supported economic output, but the effects of that stimulus faded; by 2011, federal fiscal policy actions became a drag on output growth when the recovery was still weak.