As concerns over falling oil prices start to plague housing, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest chart of the week examined the 2015 trend in employment in several states reliant on oil production to help put in perspective the potential impact to the housing market.
The chart is indexed to January 2015 for comparison purposes.
Click to enlarge
(Source: MBA)
According to the MBA, oil prices continued to roil markets this week as concerns about faltering global demand, especially from China, and unabated supply pushed oil prices down below $30 a barrel to a 12-year low.
However, the MBA added that this is in stark contrast to the middle of 2014 when prices were over $100 a barrel.
This week was tough for the stock market. Investors scrambled as they continued to head into what is the worst start ever to a calendar year for the stock market. On Wednesday, global stocks officially entered a bear market.
Looking at the chart, both Colorado and Texas still saw positive employment growth of about 1% by November 2015. And while it did drop, Oklahoma and Louisiana employment only fell by less than 0.5%.
North Dakota posted the greatest decline, with total employment declining more than 3%.
The MBA noted that from a housing and real estate finance standpoint, it will be watching these areas for any signs of slowing home sales, declining home prices, and/or rising delinquencies in either the single-family or commercial/multifamily markets.
