Uncertainty is Major Theme of 2017

The National Credit Union Administration has released its outlook report for 2017, and the main theme is the uncertain nature of the policies and rates which are certain to be prevalent throughout the year.

Despite the many variables which will continue to affect the housing market and overall economy going forward into 2017, the housing market is looking considerably strong, especially when compared to 8 years ago.

As the report notes, “Home sales have also been rising. Through November, sales of new and existing homes averaged 6 million at an annual rate—up sharply from 4.6 million in 2011, when the economy was just starting to emerge from the housing bust. The current sales pace is still far below the inflated levels reached a decade ago, but it is close to the level averaged in the early 2000s, before the housing bubble formed.”

The report goes on to say that in most regions of the United States, housing prices have now fully recovered from the extreme lows that were caused by the housing market crash of 2008. It details how the District of Colombia, in addition to 15 other states, now have home prices which are actually 10 percent higher than those that were seen in 2007. Of course, there are certain states, like Nevada and Arizona, have still not fully recovered from the crisis.

The report details how analysts expect the economy to perform strongly in the near term, but it notes that “the consensus of most analysts is that they’re also less certain about their forecasts for 2017 and 2018 than usual.” This is mainly due to the new presidential administration and the new policies which are sure to be put into place. The subsequent long-term effect these policies will have, and in what form these effects will be manifested, is difficult, if not impossible, to predict.