Recession has been the buzzword in the real estate industry ever since mortgage interest rates started to climb toward 6 percent.
The latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicates that existing home sales across the United States have been shrinking for the past six months. Sales dropped 26 percent, from 6.5 million units in January to 4.8 million in July. This is the lowest pace of sales since 2015, excluding the months during the pandemic shutdown.
The report quotes NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s perspective that we’re seeing a housing recession “in terms of declining home sales and homebuilding.”
“However, it’s not a recession in home prices,” he adds, as inventory remains low and costs continue to rise, with almost 40 percent of homes still receiving the full list price….