Per Bloomberg

The US housing market has gone wild as more and more people find purchasing a home out of their capabilities. Millennials and Gen Zers, especially, shared how they want to buy a home but simply can't afford it, nearing the housing market's peak before it started to cool.

In a June 12, 2022 article, CNBC shares how 65% of millennials (26-41) and 59% of Gen Zers (18-25) equated success to owning a home. Among the surveyed 1,132 non-homeowners, it was reported that two-thirds blame affordability as why they haven't purchased a home.

After a 13% increase in Aug year-over-year, the increase dropped to 10.6% in Sept, starting a slow, downward trajectory of housing prices. In Sept, prices declined by 1.2% from a month earlier.

The S&P Dow Jones Indices managing director Craig Lazzara shares how the situation is still difficult for homebuyers despite the drop. Although the housing market prices pulled down, mortgages are a different story.

Lazzara: “As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be more expensive and housing becomes less affordable,”

Due to mortgage rates increasing by over 2x, potential buyers are now sidelined, resulting in the demand slowing down. This, in turn, creates a domino effect since the demand slows down, and sellers are now listing fewer properties.

Per the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index, the decrease happened for the third month in a row for 20 large US cities in terms of seasonally adjusted price measures.

To be clear, the cooling is not caused by a surplus of supply but rather the higher borrowing costs. Lazzara expects home prices to weaken due to the potentially continuing macroeconomic challenges.

ATTOM Data's VP of market intelligence Rick Sharga gives an estimated drop rate for the national housing market. However, this is not black and white, as he expects certain prices to continue to increase, per Forbes.

Zillow's economist Nicole Bachaud shares how homeowner equity reached record-high levels over the past decades as owners see the value of their properties.

Resources:

Bloomberg

CNBC

S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller index

Forbes

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