Real estate agent: 2013’s happiest job

 CareerBliss, an employment website, released new data ranking the Happiest and Unhappiest Jobs in the U.S. The data from more than sixty-five thousand independent company reviews determined which jobs rank highest in happiness.

This year, Realtors rank at the top for job happiness, followed by quality assurance engineers, sales representatives and controllers who work in a company’s finance department. By contrast, teachers, nurses and attorneys rank as some of the unhappiest jobs in the U.S., with attorneys at the top of the unhappiness list.

“Real estate agents have definitely weathered quite a financial storm over the past few years,” says Heidi Golledge, CEO and co-founder of CareerBliss. “But right now, rates are between 2 to 3 percent and inventory is low, making it a real estate agent’s dream as new homes hit the market and (they get) multiple offers in the first week. Realtors say that the way they work, and the rewards they are seeing with a growing market, has helped boost overall happiness for those in this career.”

The presence of real estate and construction jobs in the CareerBliss happiest jobs list is a new trend this year.

Happiest jobs rank based on 1-5 point score
1. Real Estate Agent – 4.26
2. Senior Quality Assurance Engineer – 4.23
3. Senior Sales Representative – 4.19
4. Construction Superintendent – 4.10
5. Senior Application Developer – 4.08
6. Logistics Manager – 4.07
7. Construction Manager – 4.06
8. Executive Administrative Assistant – 4.04
9. Network Engineer – 4.02
10. Assistant Controller – 4.02

Unhappiest jobs based on 1-5 point score
1. Associate Attorney – 2.89
2. Customer Service Associate – 3.16
3. Clerk – 3.18
4. Registered Nurse – 3.22
5. Teacher – 3.22
6. Marketing Coordinator – 3.31
7. Legal Assistant – 3.38
8. Pharmacy Technician – 3.39
9. Technical Support Specialist – 3.41
10. Case Manager – 3.44

Home Prices Pick Up at Fastest Pace in 7 Years

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, April 04, 2013    

Home prices nationwide, which includes distressed sales, soared 10.2 percent year-over-year, according to CoreLogic’s February report. It’s the largest year-over-year increase in home prices since March 2006. It also marks the twelfth consecutive monthly increase in national home prices, according to CoreLogic’s report.

When excluding distressed sales, home prices rose 10.1 percent year-over-year in February, according to CoreLogic.

“Nationally, home prices improved at the best rate since mid-2006, marking a full year of annual increases and underscoring the ongoing strengthening of market fundamentals,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

CoreLogic predicts that home prices -- excluding distressed sales -- will likely rise 11.4 percent year-over-year from March 2012.

“The rebound in prices is heavily driven by western states,” says Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist. “Eight of the top ten highest appreciating large markets are in California, with Phoenix and Las Vegas rounding out the list.”
The five states with the highest price appreciation as of February 2013, according to CoreLogic, were:

• Nevada (+19.3%)
• Arizona (+18.6%)
• California (+15.3%)
• Hawaii (+14.6%)
• Idaho (+13.5%)

                                                                                                                                   Source: CoreLogic