Posted on 11/19/2025 10:13:40 PM PST by Angelino97
The US housing market is now the strongest buyer's market in records dating back more than a decade, but that doesn't mean they are biting.
New Redfin data shows home sellers outnumbered buyers by 36.8 percent in October, with 528,769 more sellers than buyers nationwide.
That imbalance is the highest since the years following the 2008 financial crisis, and it has flooded the market with listings and forced sellers to slash prices across much of the country.
In theory, buyers should now have the upper hand: more homes to choose from, more room to negotiate, and far less competition. But in practice, the market has ground to a halt.
Even those who can afford today's high prices and brutal mortgage rates are hesitating, convinced that if they wait just a little longer a better — and cheaper — home will hit the market.
Millions of others have been priced out entirely.
'There's a shortage of both first-time buyers and repeat buyers because mortgage rates and home prices have gone up so much,' said Redfin Premier agent Matt Purdy in Denver...
Now, amid high housing costs and economic uncertainty, the number of homebuyers in the US housing market dropped 1.7 percent month over month in October to an estimated 1.44 million.
That is the lowest level on record aside from April 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the housing market to a halt.
Sellers have also been retreating due to a lackluster demand for homes.
The number of sellers in the market fell 0.5 percent month over month to an estimated 1.97 million — the lowest level since February. That marks the fifth-straight monthly decline in the number of sellers.
Many sellers are being forced to slash prices while others are pulling their homes off the market altogether.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
My wife wants to sell (I don’t), but I can see both sides.
Young people have been raped by college tuition and have little chance of escaping those loan payments before they’re 40. They have little chance of getting married (with the wedding expectations today) or having children (with both parents working).
If the housing market naturally fell, and it could give the millenials a hand toward maturity, responsibility, and patriotism, that’s a pretty big upside.
>> Young people have been raped by college tuition and have little chance of escaping those loan payments before they’re 40.
If they borrowed that much $$$ merely because their high school “educators” encouraged them to, they really weren’t college material to begin with.
And move into a shipping container?! A van down by the river?! An old folks' home?!
[...] but I can see both sides
The reasons you listed were all only charitable considerations - boiling down essentially to "because young people are in a tight spot / deserve a break."
What are, in fact, the "both sides" for you and your spouse? What are the "pros and cons" for you, as a couple?
Why does your wife think that selling your - what? trailer-home? palatial residence? ticky-tack condo? - would benefit you, as a couple? Why do you think that a sale would actually be a mistake for you, as a couple?
Regards,
Better pay attention. I find out many on the right are not
No doubt. But let's not forget, these are 18 year-olds with just about no experience (and less education thanks to our corrupt education system) going on the advice of lecherous liberals, getting duped.
I'm not saying they should be forgiven for that debt, but I do realize it's a driving factor in their decision making as adults.
I don’t have much skin in the game at the moment because I have no immediate plans to sell anything nor any real inclination to buy, but, damn, deflation in the housing sector always causes a world of hurt to the broader economy. The whole house of cards of mortgage financing depends on rising prices. As we saw in 2008, when tide recedes, a lot of boats crash on the rocks. Of course, there can also be bargains for those who swoop in from the sidelines with cash but they’re typically not the majority.
Housing is done somewhat of a pull back in my area of southeast US. I wouldn’t say it’s a correction but things are definitely dropped 5 to 10% from where they were 18 months ago. So who the hell knows I guess. I will say, though when interest rates finally do fall into the 5% range for 30 year. I think prices will spike because a bunch of people are sitting on the sidelines waiting for interest rates to hit that level.
So in no longer run, the the people waiting for a lower interest rate may end up paying more per month because the house they wanted to buy add an interest rate in the 5% range, spiked in price
We have a row home in a very coveted part of town (not the case 35 years ago when we bought it). We could move to a very desirable neighborhood anywhere we wanted.
There’s nothing charitable about a free market, so I’m not sure where that came from.
Pros for my wife: Warmer climate
Pros for me: Wonderful neighbors, long time Congregation, long held friendships, established volunteer causes, familiarity with the neighborhood and its residents, among other things.
It’s a conundrum, but a good one to have.
For my kids... they don’t have the choices we did.
Stop selling homes to foreigners!
Chinese own an entire development in my area, rent the homes out, and refuse to fix property problems the proper way.
Because most of your post was a lament on the sorry state of the housing market for young people. You stated that you could see "both sides," and then proceeded to enumerate all of the hardships young people currently face - as though that were "one side" of the argument in favor of your selling - to "alleviate" their problems a little. Was, indeed, rather puzzling for me. Glad to now find out from you that that was not "one side," but rather merely a digression.
When you stated your wife's single pro ("warmer climate") - I assume that you meant that that was her argument for moving.
When you stated your own pros, I assume that you meant that those were your arguments for staying.
So if I understand you correctly, the only argument either of you have for moving is to escape to a warmer climate.
What is surprising is that you say that the "wonderful neighbors," "congregation," "volunteer causes," etc. are valued only by you. You explicitly label them as "pros for you." So your wife sees no value in staying? Strange!
Is the option of relocating closer to your children and/or grandchildren not a consideration? You didn't mention any kin, so perhaps that is an irrelevant factor.
Regards,
You can do pretty cool things with containers. Those Chinese pods are pretty cool too, but I don’t think my neighbors would appreciate living next to a spaceship.
I think the blue state markets may be ones in trouble such of those now trying to escape NY. Florida has a problem with insurance rates, but getting rid of property taxes will draw more seniors.
Since you ask with candor, intelligence, and goodwill...
I’m a gregarious person, and probably over-value relationships. My wife treasures her privacy. It’s only presented minor problems over many decades.
Indeed, a warmer climate is her sole argument for moving, which will lead us to staying where we are (until I have shuffled off this mortal coil).
Our children still live with us as we’re a VERY close family, although they could move out if they wanted to, but no one wants that. And they’ve both expressed a desire to purchase a house in our neighborhood, but it’s financially impossible for them even without student loans.
Looks like the Fed did it again. This time, let home prices fall, instead of trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again, like Obama did. Lower prices won’t hurt most sellers, if they’ve owned for more than five years. It means less money to borrow, lower down payments, lenders have less money at risk and are more willing to lend.....but why are gas prices still so high?
Today, I was thinking about how the Fed believes its job is to prevent WAGES from rising, so wages never catch prices. ..which only helps socialist......but what I really was wondering is why -— if the Fed made such a big deal out of Trump tariffs in their public statements regarding interest rates and inflation, why does the Fed never mention California’s new $20/ hr minimum wage, or Arizona’s $15/hr min wage, especially if its core mission is using interest rates to slow labor demand so wages do not rise & affect prices. The fact that this Obama-Biden Fed never mentions blue state and city minimum wage laws, proves how political and biased the Fed is
Not really true. Preventing house deflation is what caused a world of hurt in 2008, then 2010-2013. I am guessing that a lot of sellers do not have to sell, the just want to take advantage of high prices, move south or out of California, are old people wanting to downsize, or kids selling their parents’ house after their parents die. If sellers have to drop prices, that will be good for the economy, not bad.
Right. My brother in law lives in a nice part of Phoenix and across the street from him are three homes....big ones in a cul de sac.....fairly new......being used for air b& b, rented out for parties and such. Some regulation might be necessary, people with lots of bucks hoarding scarce property, paying low property taxes, getting business write offs, getting cash flow as home prices keep rising, until they can sell for a mint.
Yes, really true. I wish it weren’t the case, but rising prices let the distressed seller get out from under the mortgage debt that he can’t service. Falling prices cause the underwater owner to walk away ... which results in foreclosures. Sure, this does create bargains for buyers, but the overall impact on the economy of foreclsoures and bankruptcies is not positive. Though I suppose that you don’t really care, but I can point you to a fair amount of research on this topic, e.g.,
“Stanford study finds home foreclosures can have devastating, long-term impacts”
https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2020/06/home-foreclosures-can-devastating-long-term-impacts
” . . .The fact that this Obama-Biden Fed never mentions blue state and city minimum wage laws, proves how political and biased the Fed is”
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Privately owned, too. Has nothing to do with US Government.
Mostly owned by foreign nationals.
Might have something to do with it.
Cool. I just happen to have a nice down payment for the right place.
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