As the presidential election lies just two months away, many Americans are left wondering how a new administration might impact the tight housing market. Middleburg Communities chief economist and former Fed economist Brad Case joins Wealth! to discuss how the election may impact homebuyers and why many are still choosing to sit on the sidelines.
"I don't really believe that people are waiting and seeing what's happening in the general election. I think if, to the extent that it does affect the housing market situation, it may be because the new administration — whichever it is — starts to break down some of the barriers to new supply in the housing market," Case explains.
Instead, he believes the uncertainty buyers are feeling is not about the election, but more about whether or not it's a good idea to buy a house. "Generally speaking, people are better off instead of buying a house, taking the money that they would have put down as a down payment and putting it into the stock market instead. And so there are a lot of people, I suspect, who are concerned about house prices and thinking, 'Well, maybe my investment is better in the stock market than in my house.'"
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This post was written by Melanie Riehl