What the Hanford Layoffs DON’T Mean

I have some clients currently trying to buy a house.  The wife of the couple told me on Friday, “If they don’t accept our offer, too bad.  There are layoffs, and lots of houses will be coming on the market.  We’ll find something else.”

I have issues with a lot of what she said, but that is another topic for another post for another time.  Here’s the main problem –

I told my family on Saturday, “She’s wrong.  The people who were laid off knew they were here temporarily. And because they knew they’d be leaving in a couple years, they didn’t buy a house.  They rented.  Which is why it was nearly impossible to find a rental for the past couple of years.  NOW, they’ll be leaving, right when a ton of new apartment complexes have finished being built.  So, there will be all kinds of rental availability, but not houses.  Houses will not be flooding the market.”

And look what showed up on KEPR-TV today…

“It’s Getting Easier and Cheaper to Find an Apartment in the Tri-Cities”

The article goes on to say pretty much what I told my family yesterday.

I love it when a theory, based on market knowledge, is confirmed to be true by a news source!