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.
