Sales are down
But prices are up,
because home sales are slowing most for starter homes And we are seeing the start of another real-estate crash.
The latest bit of news, falling home sales:
Home sales declined again in August, falling to their slowest pace since January and intensifying the worst U.S. housing slump in more than a decade. Existing-home sales, which make up most of the housing market, decreased 0.7% in August from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.04 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. August sales fell 15.3% from a year earlier
Home sales have tumbled by about 36% from January 2022, and activity could slow further in the months ahead. August sales reflected contracts signed earlier in the summer when borrowing rates were lower than today. Mortgage rates shot back above 7% last month and still hover near two-decade highs, which could prompt buyers to give up for the rest of the year.
“Sales are struggling, home buyers are struggling,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
Once again, we are caught up in a speculative frenzy, and once again the banks are caught flat footed by this, and hold way too much bad paper.
There is a view, one held by much of the government and much of the public, that buying home should be a growth investment, rather than a way for people to secure a domicile, and store (but not increase) wealth.
Ever increasing real estate prices are not sustainable.
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