This is one blog post I hope you will feel inclined to comment on as it is something that affects each and every person in Arizona, regardless if you are planning on or have completed any recent real estate transactions.
The Phoenix Business Blog released an article discussing this very thing. According to a source in their article, the government shut down cost the U.S. economy about $20 Billion dollars and is estimated to reduce our 4th quarter growth by .5%. I know a half of a percent doesn’t sound like very much, but coming out of a recession and growing at about 2-2.5% per quarter- that half of a percent makes a big difference.
From my own experience I noticed that during the government shut-down the amount of showings my active listings received dropped to almost none. The day after the government opened back-up, the number of showings increased dramatically and maintained a high level for about a week.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s Vice President had this to say. “The housing recovery keeps chugging along despite a constant barrage of disruptions to the broader economy,” Nothaft said in his report this week. “We’re likely going to see the housing recovery slow down, but not shut down, as we close out the rest of this year due to tight inventories in many markets, rising mortgage rates, and slumping consumer confidence. Fortunately, the housing recovery should continue to absorb the economic shocks in stride and improve next year.”
Stay tuned for more articles this week that may or may not support his opinion for the Arizona Housing Market.
What is your opinion? Did the government shut-down affect the Phoenix Housing Market? Will it continue to affect it?