Whether or not people voted for Donald Trump may help determine their confidence in the housing market, according to a new survey by listing site Trulia.
Prior to the election, Republicans surveyed by Trulia were mostly pessimistic about the market. But following Trump’s victory they swung around, and the vast majority say now is a good time to buy or sell a home.
Democrats, meanwhile, went in the opposite direction. Prior to the election, the difference between the number of optimists and pessimists was 13 percentage points, according to Trulia. But after the election, pessimists suddenly outnumber optimists by 10 points among Democrats.
Most Republicans and Democrats do appear to agree on one thing: Trump’s victory — and the prospect of rising interest rates — may make it tougher to get a mortgage.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether these sentiments will have an actual impact on the market (will home prices in Republican-leaning areas suddenly take off?), but Zillow’s chief economist Svenja Gudell said they generally matter. “Expectations move the market,” she told Bloomberg. “It happens all the time.” [Bloomberg] — Konrad Putzier