Through history and extremes, we wonder…does a state of normalcy exist?

We are now over three-quarters of the way through the year. One would have thought that this year would feel somewhat normal after two years of a pandemic, but this year has been anything but normal. Yes, the pandemic has eased as vaccinations have done their job. Yes, America is back to work as we have replaced the jobs lost during the pandemic-induced recession. Yet today does not feel back to normal.

The next question is – what is normal? Going back decades, there have been times of high interest rates (much higher than today), the sub-prime crisis, the Great Recession, the pandemic and more. Presidents have come and gone. Unemployment has been sky-high, and it has been very low. We have had several refinance booms and mortgage and real estate slumps. We have seen so many extremes that sometimes we must wonder if there is a state of normalcy. And through all of this, every year we ask the same question – what will the next phase look like?

As usual, we don’t have the answer. But we will say this – people will still need homes. And they will purchase homes. And 30 years from now, those homes will be more expensive than today. Beyond that, we still won’t be able to predict the future with any certainty. Oh yes – there will still be taxes, but we do not know how much mortgage interest you will be able to deduct. And through it all, we will still be searching for some modicum of normalcy, while we wonder what normal looks like.