Housing News Podcast: Auction.com’s Daren Blomquist on the opportunity in housing

The Housing News Podcast is a weekly wrap of the top news stories by HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins.

Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines, sponsored by our partners at Arch MI.

This week, Daren Blomquist, the vice president of market economics at Auction.com, has a data-focused conversation about America’s economy, the housing market’s lack of affordability, and the growing presence of opportunity zones.

Here’s more detail on the topics of discussion this week:

The U.S. record-setting economic expansion will continue at least through 2021, according to a survey by Urban Land Institute. GDP will grow 2.3% this year, 1.7% next year and 1.9% in 2021, according to the average forecast of 41 economists and analysts at 32 top real estate companies.

As housing affordability becomes a top concern for homeowners across the country, NerdWallet indicates many are refraining from moving in order to evade relocation costs. According to the company’s data, 26% of Americans would prefer to live in a different location type, ranging from city, suburb, small town or rural area, but many cite financial reasons as the primary obstacle to getting there.

In April, the Treasury Department released a second round of rules clarifying requirements for Opportunity Zones recently in a move designed to encourage more development in low-income areas. The new rules are intended to make it easier for developers looking to take advantage of the tax breaks promised by investing in Opportunity Zones and clear up some of the confusion that was holding investors back.

And here are links to the topics discussed:

1) Trade wars will dampen U.S. economic expansion but not end it, ULI says https://develop.housingwire.com/articles/trade-wars-will-dampen-u-s-economic-expansion-but-not-end-it-uli-says/

2) NerdWallet: Decline in housing affordability is keeping Americans out of their desired markets https://develop.housingwire.com/articles/50108-nerdwallet-decline-in-housing-affordability-is-keeping-americans-out-of-their-desired-markets/

3) White House announces long-awaited updates to Opportunity Zone rules https://develop.housingwire.com/articles/48869-white-house-announces-long-awaited-updates-to-opportunity-zone-rules/