Housing Market DED! Is This the End of the American Dream? (Maybe Just a Pause)

Sales Are Down BAD... Like REALLY Bad

Alright alright settle down chat. Asmongold here ready to dive into the dumpster fire that is the housing market. So according to these 'experts' at the National Association of Realtors (who are probably all bald just sayin') existing home sales took a nosedive in March falling nearly 6% from February. That's the slowest March since 2009! 2009 boys and girls! You know back when everyone was blaming WoW for their problems. This is just unacceptable! What are we gonna do live in tents? Wait don't answer that knowing the prices these days a tent might actually be a viable option. 2.4% lower than March 2024 what is this nonsense it's going down chat.

The West is... Weirdly Okay ish?

Now get this: sales are down across ALL regions except for the West which had a year over year GAIN. Yeah you heard me right. The West the land of overpriced avocado toast and tech bros is somehow doing... okay? Apparently it's all thanks to the Rocky Mountain states where jobs are booming. So basically if you want to buy a house you gotta move to where the mountains are rocky and the economy isn't. And then pray you don't get priced out by some dude making six figures coding for a company that sells NFTs of digital rocks unbelievable.

Blame the High Interest Rates! (And Maybe the Government)

Of course the usual suspect is to blame: mortgage rates. These closings probably reflect contracts signed when rates were above 7%. SEVEN PERCENT! You might as well just throw your money into a bonfire at least you'd get some warmth out of it. Lawrence Yun some 'chief economist' says it's all about 'affordability challenges.' No freaking duh Lawrence! It's like saying water is wet. 'Residential housing mobility is at historical lows,' he says. Okay Lawrence calm down with the fancy words. All I heard was 'people are stuck,' and that's a big problem. Less housing mobility = less economic mobility. It's basic economics guys. Stop being poor seriously.

More Houses Still Expensive: The American Dream is Fading

Here's a twist: there are MORE houses for sale. Inventory is up nearly 20% from last year. But before you start celebrating remember this is still a lean supply. Experts say six months of supply equals a balanced market and we're sitting at four. Meaning if there were 6 months of house supply it would be balanced between the buyer and seller. Basically there's still a shortage and prices are only creeping up. The median price is $403,700. Which is an all time high for March. It's only a 2.7% increase from last year but come on it's still too damn high! I mean I thought the American Dream was to own a house! Now people can't even afford it!

The Rich Get Richer the Poor Get... Well You Know

Yun also points out that household wealth in real estate is hitting new highs. It's a whopping $52 trillion! Every percentage point gain in home prices adds over $500 billion to household balance sheets. So basically if you already own a house you're getting richer. If you don't well... tough luck kid. And don't even get me started on first time buyers. They're only 32% of the market historically low! All cash sales are down but investors are still lurking snatching up properties left and right. It's a rigged game I tell you! A RIGGED GAME!

Hunker Down It's Gonna Get Worse (Probably)

And here's the kicker: contracts are getting canceled. With the stock market being as stable as a toddler on a sugar rush things could get even uglier in April. Some economist Robert Frick says March numbers are bad but they're 'likely to get worse.' Fantastic! Just what we needed to hear. Add rising prices for home furnishings due to tariffs and general consumer anxiety and you've got a recipe for people 'hunkering down.' In other words people are scared and they're holding onto their money like a goblin hoarding gold. So what do we do? Well I'm gonna go back to playing video games because at least virtual real estate is cheap.