Housing Market Might Be Affected by Government Shutdown

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Hundreds of middle Georgia families are starting to feel the effects of the government shutdown in their wallet.

Some of those families were even looking to buy a home.

The shutdown is causing problems for different mortgage processing, not just for low income and first time buyers, but for typical housing loans as well.

Furloughed IRS and social security employees occasionally have to verify paperwork for loans.

Buyers might have a tough time getting those documents during the shutdown.

“It is very nerve wracking because it’s a long process…it’s a scary process for a buyer on a good day,” One realtor said. “When everything is working…all of the cosmos in sync, it’s a scary thing. And for this to happen and they think that they might even be at the last week or so and frightened that they might not get the loan.”

Realtors say the housing market has been rising until this point. And even with things happening in Washington D.C., they’re optimistic potential buyers will stay interested because it’s still cheaper to have mortgage than it is to rent.