Homebuilding and Residential Real Estate Will Recover Faster Than Other Sectors of the Economy

The May 2020 LegalShield Law Index, which is a suite of leading indicators of the economic and financial status of U.S. households and small businesses is reporting its Housing Activity Index (HAI) reached an all-time high in May. Suggesting that homebuilding may recover faster than other portions of the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The Real Estate Index (REI) is a separate report that tracks homes sales, and it also improved in May. Suggesting that existing home sales may improve over the next 3 to six months.  Scott Grissom, LegalShield’s Senior VP and Chief Product Officer said in prepared remarks, “Our two main real estate sub-indices snapped back from April’s lows, indicating that while the U.S. economy may take months or years to fully recover from the COVID-19 recession, a ‘V-shaped’ recovery in residential homebuilding is increasingly likely.” “The data suggests residential real estate is likely to rebound faster than other sectors of the economy. If true, then the coronavirus-induced shutdown of 2020 will ultimately be viewed as merely a speed bump in real estate’s strong and steady recovery from the lows of the Great Recession a decade ago. We expect homebuilders and brokers to be busy this summer.”