By Nick Timiraos | The Wall Street Journal
The housing market is showing signs of slowing down from its frenzied pace earlier this year. Just don’t blame the government shutdown—at least not yet.
When the National Association of Realtors, for example, reports on existing home sales for September later this month, any softness in the housing data probably shouldn’t be attributed to the housing shutdown, which likely wasn’t on the minds of most Americans until it began on Oct. 1. (September data on new home construction, due Oct. 17, and on new home sales, due Oct. 24, won’t be released if the government is closed).
The pace of housing price and sales gains from earlier this year were already slowing before the government shutdown, largely due to four factors:
