Housing Market Will Champion 2020 Economy

For the first time in years, the housing market will get its day in the sun, according to Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist. With forecasted increases in single-family housing starts and home sales, the housing market will take on a larger role in the GDP. While the housing industry has still not fully recovered from the housing crash, 2020 looks like a year of opportunity for builders.

The U.S. housing market will be an “engine of growth” for the economy in 2020, dispelling the risk of recession, according to Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan.

“Housing appears poised to take a leading role in real GDP growth over the forecast horizon for the first time in years,” Duncan said. “We now expect single-family housing starts and sales of new homes to increase substantially.”

The homebuilding industry, decimated during the housing crash, still hasn’t returned to a level of production that would meet the demand of a growing population. In a normal economy, home construction adds as much as half a percentage point to GDP growth. In 2018, it was a drag on GDP, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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