Over five million people have left the workforce since the end of 2019. There were 3 million excess retirements during that tine so that accounts for a
significant chunk. My theory is that all the rest decided to become real estate agents. The National Association of Realtors has a record 1.5 million members. That is about a few hundred thousand from 2019 and here in Minnesota, we have a couple of thousand new members since the end of 2019.
I don’t have any numbers for how many Realtors retired. Back in 2009, during the crash, there were enough retirements to lower the average age of Realtors by about three years.
There is also the “great resignation” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 4.3 million Americans, or 2.9% of the entire workforce, quit their jobs in August.
There are help wanted signs all over town. Wages have gone up a little and it is my understanding that some employers are re-thinking scheduling and working conditions. The unemployment rate in Minnesota is around 3.8%.
There has also been a surge in new businesses. Americans have filed a record 1.4 million applications to start new businesses, according to an analysis of Census data by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG). Most are in manufacturing and retail. I hope that as they grow they find enough workers.
Time will tell how the housing market will be affected by these changes. For right now things are pretty much the same. There are not enough homes on the market and little affordable housing. I don’t think those new retirees will be moving anytime soon.
Moving into the fall and winter the number of houses on the market has gone up slightly. Prices will continue to go up but at a slower pace. The pandemic surge in home buying seems to be winding down.
