Forecast

• Forecast | January 21, 2022

  Quarterly Forecast: The Housing Market Expected to Remain Stable Despite Mortgage Rates and Cooling Price Growth

  As the U.S. economy ended 2021 on firm ground, economic growth is expected to be slower in 2022 amid uncertainty and challenges resulting from the ongoing health crisis. More

  
• Forecast | October 15, 2021

  Quarterly Forecast: Strong Housing Market Expected to Persist Notwithstanding Rising Mortgage Rates and Continued High Home Prices

  While the U.S economy has reached above its pre-pandemic peak with real GDP growth of over 6% annualized rate in the first two quarters of 2021, the economy still has space to grow. More

  
• Forecast | July 15, 2021

  Quarterly Forecast: Housing Market Expected to Remain Strong Despite Major Supply Shortage and Historically High House Prices Across the U.S. Slowing Sales

  The latest employment report from the U.S. Labor Department showed that while the U.S. economy added 850,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in June, it is still down 6.8 million jobs from February 2020. Job openings have surged to a record high of 9.2 million, and as the economy continues to reopen, we expect the economy to continue to mend. Consensus forecasts put full year U.S. Real GDP growth over 6% in 2021, which would help to close the large gap between the current level of economic activity and potential output. More

  
• Forecast | April 14, 2021

  Quarterly Forecast: As the Economy Recovers, the Housing Market Remains Healthy While Mortgage Rates Move Up

  Availability of the vaccine continues to improve, and COVID-19 restrictions are easing therefore sparking economic growth. With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which included payments of up to $1,400 for individuals, $2,800 for married couples plus $1,400 for each dependent, consumer confidence in March reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic. More

  
• Forecast | January 14, 2021

  Quarterly Forecast: Housing Market Continues to Perform Strongly Primarily Driven by Historically Low Mortgage Rates

  It’s been close to a year since the pandemic began, and economic growth continues to remain uncertain. The availability of a COVID-19 vaccine and its widespread distribution should steer the economy towards recovery, but the timelines remain unknown. The labor market has recovered from the lows it reached in April of last year but continues to be weak. As of mid-December of 2020, jobless claims were still around 20 million, remaining well above the pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate was 6.7% in December with more permanent job losses and less labor force participation signaling a slowdown in the current labor market recovery. More

  
• Forecast | October 14, 2020

  Quarterly Forecast: Housing Market Continues to Rebound as Mortgage Rates Hover at Record Lows

  Economic activity stalled in early July. Even with many businesses reopening, unemployment claims remained high through September. Total jobless claims were about 26 million in the second week of September. More

  

More

Opinions, estimates, forecasts, and other views contained in this document are those of Freddie Mac's economists and other researchers, do not necessarily represent the views of Freddie Mac or its management, and should not be construed as indicating Freddie Mac's business prospects or expected results. Although the authors attempt to provide reliable, useful information, they do not guarantee that the information or other content in this document is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. All content is subject to change without notice. All content is provided on an “as is” basis, with no warranties of any kind whatsoever. Information from this document may be used with proper attribution. Alteration of this document or its content is strictly prohibited. ©2021 by Freddie Mac.