Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently addressed the state of the US housing market, noting a concerning trend of weakness in the sector. This year has seen a lackluster performance in homebuying and selling, with only 3.96 million existing homes sold through October 2024, as reported by the National Association of Realtors. This places the year on course for the slowest pace of existing home sales since 1995.
The primary factors contributing to this subdued market activity are the persistently high home prices and stubbornly elevated mortgage rates. In October, the median home sales price stood at $407,200, marking the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. These escalating prices have deterred many potential homebuyers from entering the market.
