The Power of the U.S. Housing Market

In 2017, the U.S. had the strongest housing market in 10 years. Redfin's chief economist Nela Richardson explains how housing helped the economy in 2017, and how White House policies will affect housing in 2018.

At the State of the Union Address, President Donald Trump discussed his proposed immigration policy including an end to the visa lottery, and the implementation of a merit-based system. Redfin's Nela Richardson says "overall we view the proposed policy as more restrictive than current practice, and potentially detrimental to the health of the housing market," adding that immigration fuels home demand, as immigrants make up over a third of household growth, "In a 2017 study of 353 cities we showed a high immigrant population is highly correlated with housing wealth."

Housing‘s path has been rocky over the past decade. However, in recent years real estate has been a stable contributor to the U.S. economy. New construction accounts for about 3 percent of our economy. Housing services from existing homes add another 12 percent. Housing finished the year on strong footing in 2017. Residential investment grew by 11 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, a sign of a healthy housing market that adds to economic growth.

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