What a difference a few weeks can make! We started 2020 on a hopeful note, expecting a solid—if moderate—continuation of the longest U.S. expansion on record. The only major obstacles in the housing market, it seemed, would be affordability and availability. Then came the global expansion of the coronavirus epidemic, and in response, the social and economic landscape has shifted. On March 3, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a surprise cut of 50 basis points in its short-term interest rate, the largest reduction in borrowing costs since the 2008 Great Recession. But despite this action, a slowdown in economic activity seems inevitable as consumers and companies cut back on travel, conferences, dining, lodging, and other spending, and talk of a recession is increasing. Traditionally, a recession is marked as a period of two consecutive quarters of decline in the gross domestic product, although other factors also come into consideration. And while historically no two recessions ha...
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