US Housing Market Thawing: Falling Prices, Inventory Surge, and the Affordability Crisis Ahead
About this episode
The episode discusses the current state of the US housing market, highlighting falling prices, increased inventory, and ongoing affordability challenges.
The US housing industry is in a fragile but slowly thawing phase, marked by falling asking prices, modest demand recovery, and persistent affordability pressures. New data from Realtor.com shows the national median asking price fell about 2.5 percent year over year in June to roughly 430,000 dollars, the steepest annual decline since records began in 2017 and the eighth straight month of price drops. Pending home sales rose about 3.7 percent over the same period, signaling that lower prices are finally drawing some buyers back, even as mortgage rates hover near 6.5 percent and the Federal Reserve keeps its policy rate unchanged. Compared with reporting earlier this year, the market has shifted from pure stagnation to a slow, price led adjustment. Inventory remains elevated in segments of new construction. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reports unsold new home inventory is more than 50 percent higher than two years ago and at its highest level since 2009, reinforcing a picture of a market where supply has outpaced demand at recent price and rate levels. At the same time, entry level homes remain scarce, and the number of first time buyers between mid 2024 and mid 2025…
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- US Housing Market Shifts to Balance: Slower Prices, Affordable Housing Focus in 2026
- US Housing Market Shifts to Balance as Mortgage Rates and Prices Squeeze Buyers
- US Housing Market Mid-2026: Cooling Prices, Growing Inventory, and the Affordability Crisis
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