Final answer:
A reduction in income due to the expiration of survivor benefits is the factor most likely to impact the client's housing affordability directly and immediately. Other factors like a need for a second car, mortgage selection, and home repair costs can also influence housing costs but are secondary to the overall income available.
Step-by-step explanation:
The factor most likely to impact the client's housing affordability in the future is A- A reduction in income when the survivor benefit runs out when children turn 18. This is because a change in income directly affects the ability to meet housing costs. Unlike the other options, such a reduction is certain and fixed in nature rather than contingent on potential future decisions or variable conditions like inflation or interest rates.
Option C, concerning mortgage term selection, may affect monthly payments, but does not involve a definitive future change in housing affordability. Options B and D add costs, but are secondary concerns relative to the overall income available to pay for housing.
Factors such as changes in the economy, bank regulation, or inflation may indirectly impact housing costs, but the direct and guaranteed loss of income from a survivor benefit would have a more immediate and measurable impact on a client's ability to afford their current housing situation.
Considering the broader economic context, the increase of retirees will change the dependency ratio, which may impact the broader economy and potentially affect housing affordability indirectly through changes in the availability of public funds, pensions, and other economic variables. However, these effects are more diffuse and less directly connected to an individual's housing affordability than a direct loss of income.