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Zillow: Only Hillary Will Positively Impact Housing

May 18, 2016
A Zillow survey of more than 100 economists has concluded that the housing market will be negatively affected if either Donald Trump or Sen. Bernie Sanders is elected president, but a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a good thing for housing

A Zillow survey of more than 100 economists has concluded that the housing market will be negatively affected if either Donald Trump or Sen. Bernie Sanders is elected president, but a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a good thing for housing.

The latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey was conducted while the Republican presidential race still consisted of Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. When asked which candidate would have the strongest impact on housing, the economists were most impressed with what Zillow dubbed as “Kasich's centrist views” and were least comfortable with what Zillow defined as “Sanders' democratic socialism and Trump's unpredictability.”

Clinton received mostly positive ratings from the economists, while Cruz was not favorably viewed.

"As the presidential election nears, candidates' individual plans for the economy are increasingly under scrutiny," said Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell. "Many of the candidates' proposals sounds appealing to voters, but a closer look through the panelists' economic lens reveals the potential impact of those proposed policies on our economy. The results from this survey show us that, from these economists' standpoint, the more centrist candidates from either party would be best for the economy and housing market. Respondents saw the more polarizing political leanings of Donald Trump and Sen. Sanders as having a negative effect."

Separate from politics, the surveyed economists forecast home price appreciation would experience a four percent year-over-year increase by the end of the year, higher than predictions of 3.7 percent indicated in the previous Zillow survey.

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