Employment Growth Can Thank Housing Market

This is the market's largest gains in over five years. This growth can be attributed to the private sector and most notably, an increase in mortgage lending.

This rebound in property demand and acquisitions has refueled the once dormant construction sector. One of the few industries that can't be outsorced, the construction sector could single-handedly be the solution to the recession.

Due to increased regulations on banks, the leading force behind this increased lending has been due to the large insurance institutions. Insurers such as Metlife Financial do not face similar regulations and can offer better loan terms.

Mark Wilsmann, head of MetLife's commercial mortgage business, noted that  while commercial-loan spreads have tightened, they remain attractive versus corporate bonds, and we are continuing to step up our lending volume into 2011.

MetLife possesses the largest holdings among insurers with a mortgage portfolio that increased to the tune of $34.7 billion.