It’s been nearly a decade since the economic downturn in late 2007 and early 2008 sent the unemployment rate soaring and negatively impacted the housing market for years afterward. Over the last few years, real estate, especially the residential side, has regained its momentum. In the first months following the downturn, the unemployment rate jumped as the financial problems facing the housing market spread to other areas of the economy.

In 2008, the unemployment rate began to climb from a low of 4.8 percent in February to 7.2 by the end of the year. The following year it would reach 10.2 percent before the recovery began in 2010. That’s contrasted with last year when the unemployment rate was at 5.0 percent or lower every month. Economists consider five percent unemployment to be full employment. Last month, the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, the second-lowest month in nine years.

Along with the rise in the unemployment rate, hourly wages have begun to increase as well. December’s wages were up 2.9 percent from a year earlier in a sign that employees are facing a shortage of workers and are using higher pay to lure qualified candidates. Increased pay also should continue to help boost consumer spending.

A fully employed workforce paired with higher wages helped boost the housing market, which had been slowly recovering from the housing bubble that popped in late 2007. Existing home sales in November 2016 rose to a 5.61 million annual rate. It’s the best pace since February 2007. Additionally, the median sales price increased nearly seven percent from the same time in 2015.

Builder confidence, measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), reached 70, a level the index has not reached since 2005. Any reading above 50 indicates that builders view the market as good.

Low unemployment, better wages, and a good housing market helped 2016 finish on a high note. How do you think the economy will fare in 2017? Will the housing market continue at its current pace? Let us know in the comments.