Wallets On Shutdown

The Government Shutdown’s Impact On The Housing Market Is Ongoing

With the government shutdown fading in our rearview mirrors, certain sectors are still dealing with the psychological effects such a long shutdown can have. This is especially long lasting on markets that center around high-value purchases, like housing.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), spoke to Bankrate, saying,  “For ordinary Americans, the shutdown adds to economic uncertainty about their future.” After polling over 2,000 of its members, NAR found that 22% said the shutdown impacted current or future clients. Federal employees were, of course, hesitant to make such a large financial commitment while not receiving a paycheck, but delays in FHA, VA, and USDA impacted workers in many sectors. The largest factor, though, wasn’t as tangible as losing a loan: of people whose homebuying plans were stalled by the shutdown, 25% cited “general economic uncertainty” – and that’s excluding federal employees.

The full report can be found on the National Association of REALTORS®’ website.