‘Housing Market Has Entered A Recession’: Home Sales Plummet In Ominous Sign For Economy
Sales of existing homes fell in September for the eighth month in a row, as historically high mortgage rates pummel demand for homes, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced Thursday.
The 1.5% decline from August contributed to a 23.8% slide compared to September 2021, as the median existing-home sales price rose 8.4% from last September, from $355,100 to $384,800, the NAR reported. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that high mortgage rates were contributing to reduced demand, particularly in “expensive regions of the country.”
“The housing market has entered a recession before the overall economy does,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at economic forecasting firm Oxford Economics, according to the Wall Street Journal Thursday. “We look for housing to be a drag on growth, really, for the next several quarters.”
A significant portion of current homeowners have secured mortgages under 4%, making them less likely to sell in the current market, the WSJ reported. Demand for new mortgages has fallen by 38% since last year, after a significant portion of mortgage-holders refinanced to take advantage of low rates in 2020 and 2021.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 6.94% last week, their highest level since 2002, in response to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes designed to combat inflation. A weaker housing market could help the Fed achieve its goal of combating inflation, as a weakened housing market drags down other related industries, such as lumber, plumbing, construction and other goods and services, the WSJ reported.
The Fed is considered likely to continue raising interest rates at its aggressive pace, and comments from top Fed officials have signalled the central bank’s unwillingness to lower rates until inflation has been clearly contained.
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Gee, something else Biden’s Master- Obama- managed to screw up! When will these evil marxist pigs go away?
The government can’t seem to stop their endless money printing for their idiotic programs. Like the laughably called “Inflation Reduction Act” which is nothing but a 730 billion “Green New Deal” slush fund that will only increase inflation. Or Biden’s illegal student loan “forgiveness” which is projected to cost another 400 billion. No matter what the Democrats are telling you we are already in a Recession and it’s not unlikely that a Depression may be coming. Why? Because the only government response to our massive inflation and uncontrolled government spending is to rapidly increase interest rates which they are now doing and in response the housing market is already starting to crash and the mortgage rates are just beginning to climb. If you don’t remember then go look up mortgage rates in the 1970’s that were as much as 17% under Carter. As we head that way, the now robust housing market will be crushed along with all industries, the jobs, and manufacturing that support it and the economy will crater and we will be looking at another collapse like 2008.