Experts weigh in on the biggest threats to housing this political season
March began with perhaps the most surprising Super Tuesday election of all time, with former Vice President Joe Biden riding momentum from his South Carolina win to build a commanding delegate lead over Senator Bernie Sanders. Biden’s momentum continued last night, where he won decisively in Michigan, Missouri, and Mississippi. All of these election results have occurred while the coronavirus outbreak continues to accelerate. The coronavirus has the potential to completely disrupt election predictions this political season.
Kris Kully, partner at Mayer Brown, said that one of the biggest things she is paying attention to is how policymakers are addressing the coronavirus outbreak, because the extent to which they can address the crisis may have a large impact on voter sentiment in the fall.
In the last week alone, mortgage rates have dropped to an all-time low, and are expected to continue to drop, as the industry deals with an extreme level of demand that’s starting to expose some of the weak points in lender operations.
In addition to this, Kully said, “The emphasis on ‘social distancing’ and self-quarantines to slow the spread of the virus could mean fewer open houses and a general dampening of homebuyer and seller enthusiasm.” However, she said, “Everyone is hoping that the efforts to flatten the curve of the virus will allow homeowners (and the economy at large) to weather the outbreak without further serious impacts.”
But long before the industry was battling the impact of the coronavirus, there were plenty of big-ticket issues that needed to be addressed at the intersection of politics and housing.
Source: Housimgwire
