A while back, I was wandering through Greenbrae, California. You know, just me, my thoughts, and—bam—a Compass Realty sign slapped me right in the face. Okay, not literally, but more like a loud “hey, notice me!” vibe. Thanks, Justin Sullivan, for capturing that moment on camera for Getty Images. Anyway.
So, here’s the deal with the housing market—it’s like it’s finally taking a breather. Prices aren’t skyrocketing anymore. They’re more like… plateauing? Yeah, let’s go with that. In April, home prices went up by just 2.7% from last year. That’s like, yawning levels of excitement compared to March’s 3.4%. Two years without such sleepy gains, I tell ya!
Now, it’s not like this news is hot off the press. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, bless its heart, is a bit of a late bloomer—tracking prices up until April. Meanwhile, those Parcl Labs folks whisper that prices have hit a flatline. Oh, the drama!
S&P says this priced-out party is trending across 10 and 20-city composites—not to flex, but they’re way below their peak moments. Most of the action happened around springtime, all while the rest of the year just shrugged. Go figure.
Then Nicholas Godec jumps in. He’s with S&P Dow Jones Indices, waxing poetic about how the housing world’s suddenly been turned on its head. Pandemic hotspots? Now trailing behind. Midwest and Northeast? Suddenly they’re the cool kids. Markets maturing like fine wine or maybe just running on fundamentals, not hype. Who’d have thought?
New York’s having its moment, prices up by 7.9%, followed by Chicago and Detroit. A twist from those early pandemic days when Sun Belt cities were the bee’s knees. But hey, looks like Tampa and Dallas missed the memo—they’re slipping, even a bit negative. San Francisco’s just chilling at zero. Phoenix and Miami? A hair over 1%.
Oh, and let’s chat mortgages. They shot over 7% in April—pretty wild, right? Even with them chilling below that mark, the payments are still so high they could make you lose your lunch. First-time buyers? They’re ghosting the market, making up only 30% of May’s sales, when they usually hold 40%. Who’s got that kind of cash laying around anyway?
House supply’s like a late bloomer too—slowly rising but not quite there yet. Redfin says only 6% of sellers might lose money on their sales. Not bad, considering last year’s numbers weren’t much kinder.
Sure, prices are sliding, but it’s no free fall like a dozen years ago during the subprime crash. Godec puts it on housing being scarce. Current homeowners aren’t keen on ditching their comfy sub-4% rates, and new builds just aren’t popping up like daisies. This keeps a “floor” on prices, preventing them from dropping off a cliff. Hardly the catastrophic cliffhanger some might’ve been waiting for.
And there it is. The quirky and chaotic saga of today’s housing market, flaws, tangents, and all. Just the way I like it.
