Climbing oil costs cast doubt on housing

As unrest in the Middle East leads to rising oil prices, more economic experts say that a housing double-dip could be increasingly likely in 2011, according to the Wall Street Journal. Once optimistic that housing could move toward permanent stabilization this year, industry analysts say that rising energy costs will place an added burden on both businesses and consumers, keeping homebuyers out of the market. The oil price spike has already taken its toll this year, according to the Energy Information Administration, which estimates that, by the winter’s end, the average household in the Northeast will have spent $2,431 on heating oil, up 23.8 percent from the previous winter. [WSJ]