Given that housing isn’t cheap, the job market and housing market go hand-in-hand. Next year, if jobs are plentiful and well-paying, then housing will flourish. If the employment rate dips, then a bust may be on the horizon.
Jonathan Lansner of the OC Register identified 10 housing factors to keep an eye on for 2017. He says to focus on yearly (instead of monthly) sales data, keep track of changes to the Fed rate, and to know the difference between default and foreclosure.
He also argues to not put much stock into housing affordability indexes.
These yardsticks tend to use a mythical household with the region’s median income seeking the median-priced home. Sound like your household? Plus, remember when “affordability” was recently (and relatively) high? It was when the recessionary pain was hammering local home values. Who wanted to buy then? And what banker would lend?
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