These 6 Charts Tell You Everything You Need to Know About the Real Estate Market

There’s likely no sector as important to the U.S. economy as housing.

In the first quarter of 2016, residential investment accounted for roughly half of the 1.1% increase in real GDP. Historically, this is on the high side, but when you count spending on housing services as well as spending on various kinds of housing construction, the home construction industry can account for as much as one fifth of overall output in the U.S. economy.

That’s why housing has traditionally powered the American economy out of recessions, and that’s why housing’s role as the trigger of the Great Recession was so damning to the subsequent recovery. While housing prices have improved—with home values in some markets higher than before the crisis—there’s evidence that the housing bust has inflicted long-term damage on the home building industry and therefore the American economy. Here are 6 charts from Torsten Slok, Deutsche Bank’s Chief International Economist, that show the state of the housing market and how it’s powering, and holding back, the rest of the economy.

Read full story: These 6 Charts Tell You Everything You Need to Know About the Real Estate Market