Housing Market Slowdown Is Bad News for the Economy
Every week seems to bring more bad news about the US housing market. It’s clear that the housing market is headed towards a standstill and may very well swing downwards in the near future. With year-over-year sales continuing to remain weak and home sales even in previously hot markets stagnating, home sellers are about to enter a very rough period.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that homebuyers are in any better shape either. American households are more indebted now than they ever have been, and home prices remain elevated. Combine all of that with rising interest rates and it’s becoming more expensive than ever to buy a house and live the American dream.
As the housing market goes, so goes the rest of the economy in most cases. The housing market is largely an indicator of the overall state of the economy and right now things don’t look too good. New home sales in October plunged by nearly 9%, while overall pending home sales fell 2.6% month-on-month and nearly 7% year-on-year, the 10th straight month of declines.
This looks like 2006 and 2007 all over again, with a weakening housing market presaging a collapse in the stock market, the financial system, and the overall economy. If alarm bells aren’t ringing in your head when you see news like this, you need to start paying attention.
Now is the time to protect your assets while there still is time. Once the crash occurs everyone is going to be headed for the exits at the same time and you may lose out.
If you haven’t already looked into investing in a gold IRA to protect your retirement savings, you need to do it before it’s too late. With a weakening housing market and an increasingly volatile stock market, the message is being sent loud and clear: there is trouble on the horizon. Are you prepared?