Mortgage rates are falling. Home price growth is slowing. But the market is not recovering. It is unraveling.
“The median U.S. asking price rose just 2.3% year over year… one of the smallest increases in two years.” https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-mortgage-rates-fall-price-growth-slow/
“Zillow anticipates a nationwide housing correction of 1.0% over the next 12 months… these 20 cities will feel more burn than most.” https://www.gobankingrates.com/investing/real-estate/cities-home-prices-expected-crash-next-12-months/
“Falling interest rates will combine with rising inventory, stagnant wages, and a flood of HELOCs to create a slow-motion collapse.” https://www.reddit.com/r/REBubble/comments/1mk9cl0/why_falling_interest_rates_will_combine_with/
“Here come the HELOCs… mortgages are being weaponized again. People are pulling equity to survive, not invest.” https://www.reddit.com/r/REBubble/comments/1mjn50p/here_come_the_helocs_mortgages/
Rates dropped. Buyers did not show. Inventory surged. Prices stalled. Sellers delisted.
The Fed’s soft landing is a myth. Affordability has not returned. It is just masked by falling rates and rising desperation.
HELOCs are back. Not for renovations. For groceries. For debt consolidation. For survival.
The crash is not loud. It is quiet. It is regional. It has already started.
There is no clear answer why falling rates aren’t bringing buyers back. Experts are silent on the risks piling up from the HELOC surge. Regulators are not tracking who is pulling equity or how serious the problem might be. The big picture gets all the attention while the warning signs at the edges go ignored.