It’s a reasonable question. And the answer depends on who you are and what kind of financing you have for your purchase. Here is a resource from the National Association of Realtors which you should find helpful (click following link): What a Government Shutdown Means for REALTORS®
While the information is intended for REALTORS, it can be read by anyone. Those most affected include VA, FHA, USDA lending since these are all government backed loan types. Also, anyone who has a purchase impacted by flood insurance. If your loan requires anything from the IRS, they’ll be delayed too.
I can say that I’m pretty happy that several of my recent closings got completed in September which included one with HUD financing for an ARCH Program unit in Bellevue, WA. That may have been impacted by the shutdown and already had had delays because of financing issues around the HOA and some upcoming building repairs. Right now, today on 10/06/2025, I’m closing on a sale in Renton, WA which includes a bankruptcy for the seller and there are IRS payments involved – so thankfully we got the info we needed prior to October 1st for the payoffs and my client didn’t have liens or else we may have come into a problem.
Same for another September closing in Oak Harbor, WA (military base!) that utilized VA financing – we skipped into closing just in time. The article link from NAR does state under the VA section: “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will continue to guarantee home loans during a government shutdown, and lenders may keep processing applications. However, some VA staff and support functions may be reduced, which may slow down approvals, appraisals, and certificate of eligibility requests.”
There are plenty of other areas which could impact real estate in the Washington region – including anything which requires EPA approval. Given that Washington State has many areas with sensitive flora/fauna – such as wetlands and environmentally critical areas (ECA), it may delay new construction projects. Here is what the article has to say, “Under EPA’s shutdown plan, most employees will be furloughed. This will affect various regulatory programs and compliance activities, such as wetlands determinations under the 404 program and enforcement of the lead-based paint disclosure and renovation, repair, and painting programs. “
If you have specific questions, always reach out to your lender for direction. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have anything else you’d like us to answer here at the Team Reba blog!
