Housing Market May Finally Be Cooling Down

After years of climbing prices and falling supplies, the housing market is finally showing some signs that it is stabilizing. As reported by Alana Semuels in Time, “Existing home sales were down for the third straight month in April, falling 2.4%, according to the [National Association of Realtors (NAR)].” Semuels also writes that “A survey from the National Association of Homebuilders showed constructors’ confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell to the lowest reading since June 2020.”

“Higher interest rates aren’t the only reason demand is tapering. [Bill] McBride predicted in 2015 that the 2020s would see a big boost in demand as a large cohort of Americans moved into the 30 to 39 age group, a prime home-buying age. But Census data is indicating that there are fewer people in that age group than previously estimated, possibly because of excess deaths attributable to both the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic.” Other pandemic-era changes may also continue to affect housing: “If companies start reversing policies allowing workers to work remotely, demand could slow in many housing markets.”

The source article analyzes other factors affecting the housing market, such as slowing birth rates and immigration.