Through the first half of October, Trulia found that the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has not significantly influenced asking prices for homes listed on its site through Oct. 15.
By comparing changes in asking prices in metros with local incomes heavily dependent on the federal government to those with less dependence, Trulia found that “(m)etro-level asking home-price changes in the first half of October were uncorrelated with the local economic impact of the shutdown.”
While the shutdown might not concern Trulia’s chief economist, Jed Kolko, three things related to the government that do concern him remain:
- A scaleback in the government’s bond-buying activity that is expected to raise mortgage rates.
- Budget discussions, which could put the mortgage interest deduction on the chopping block.
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform that could change the wide accessibility of the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.
Source: Trulia
