An article on bloomberg.com in mid-2023 noted that “historically, housing has been a critical driver of the broader business cycle.”

a. What does the article mean by housing being “a critical driver of the broader business cycle”?

b. The article also stated that “sales of new and existing homes, and new construction, are turning higher” and concluded that these data were “raising hopes on Wall Street that the country could avoid a recession.” Briefly explain the connection between the housing data and Wall Street investors expecting the U.S. economy to avoid a recession.