The housing market led the U.S. into a recession eight years ago. Though the housing market is improving, the economy isn’t benefitting much from it, says Realtor.com.
Construction has swooned due to falling demand. More people want to live in cities and construction costs have risen, so single-family homes in the far suburbs are not hot sellers. Building single-family homes improves the economy more effectively than existing-home sales or apartment construction.
On the plus side, foreclosures have dropped to pre-crisis levels and previously owned homes are selling as well as they did in the early 2000s.