The U.S. housing market has finally turned a corner

last updated 8 January 2015

The U.S. housing market has turned a corner. After crashing in 2008 and remaining depressed before bottoming out in 2012, prices have been rising again for two years.

Gallup's most recent housing survey found that 74 percent of homeowners' homes were valued higher than when they bought them, up from just 53 percent in the depths of the bust:

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This is exciting news. House prices are an important bellwether of wider economic health, and their rise — even while the private economy continues to decrease its debt burden — signifies the beginning of a virtuous cycle. With house prices finally having bottomed out, homeowners will tend to begin to feel a higher degree of confidence about the economy. This is likely to boost consumer spending and business investment, raising output and further lowering unemployment.

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.

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