IBS: Economic Panel Predicts Housing Will Continue to Gain Ground in 2018
ORLANDO, Fla. - The newly enacted tax law will create a more favorable tax climate for the business community, which should spur job and economic growth and keep single-family housing production on a gradual upward trajectory in 2018, according to economists speaking at the NAHB International Builders' Show® in Orlando, Fla., today. "We expect that tax reform will boost GDP growth to 2.6 percent in 2018, and this added economic activity will also bode well for housing, although there will be some transition effects in high-tax jurisdictions," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "Ongoing job creation, expected wage increases and tight existing home inventory will also boost the housing market in the year ahead." However, builders will continue to deal with ongoing supply-side headwinds this year that will dampen more robust growth. These factors include an increasing number of unfilled construction jobs, a shortage of buildable lots and a slow growth i...