Obamacare may be causing dip in home prices, values
Feb 7, 2014, 5:00 AM | Updated: 5:00 am
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Obamacare could be causing the value of your home to drop.
It’s not a joke.
“When you go from November 2012 to November 2013, right when Obamacare hit, Valley home sales are down 27 percent,” said Valley real estate expert Dean Wegner.
He admits it could be a coincidence.
“Interest rates did rise, but the two big headlines were probably a rise in interest rates and Obamacare hitting at the same time,” Wegner said. “But it was like the brakes hit. The market slowed down substantially. A 27 percent decrease.”
Wegner said the buyer pool could be shrinking because companies are only hiring part-time workers to avoid paying for health insurance. Because they are working less than 30 hours a week, people are continuing to rent instead of trying to buy a house.
Incidentally, people who take a second job to earn enough money to buy a house are getting rejected. Mortgage companies want to see that the people they are lending to have been on the job for at least two years. Most who have taken a second job are being rejected because they haven’t been employed at the second one long enough.
Despite all of this, Wegner said now is still a good time to sell your house. The price hikes of the past few years may have now left you with enough equity to sell your house and have enough money to use as a down payment on your next one.
