Decades-high mortgage rates, sky-high prices, and a lack of inventory have had a crushing effect on the housing market, which has now become less affordable than it was during the housing bubble buildup nearly 16 years ago, according to real estate pros and economists. The double whammy of high rates and low inventory is so bad, this year is shaping up to be the worst year for home sales since 2008, the year the housing bubble burst, according to National Association of Realtors projections.
At its current pace, total existing-home sales in 2023 are projected to amount to 4.1 million, according to NAR. That would be the lowest number since the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008—a year that also saw the unemployment rate spike to nearly 8% and millions of Americans’ home equity evaporate. By comparison, there were more than 6 million home sales in 2021, NAR data shows.
