Winter is generally a slow season for the real-estate sector, but will it stay frozen or thaw out — and more importantly, will home prices keep rising, or fall?Home prices and mortgage rates show few signs of falling at the end of October, as low inventory spurs competition among home buyers. Home buying demand is also drying up as many aspiring homeowners have decided purchasing a home is simply unaffordable.
The 30-year mortgage was averaging at 7.9% as of October 26, 2023. A home buyer buying a median-priced home of roughly $400,000 today has to earn 50% more than they would have if they wanted to buy a median-priced home at the start of the pandemic, Redfin said recently. MarketWatch asked six economists for their take on whether home prices could fall — and if so, when? Here’s what they said.Moody’s Analytics: Home prices will fall by 10% ‘peak-to-trough’ “House prices nationwide are down 2-3% from their last summer peak, according to the Moody’s Analytics repeat sales house price index,” Mark Zandi, the company’s chief economist, told MarketWatch. The 30-year mortgage may be currently nearing 8%, but it will likely average at 6.5% by the end of this year, Zandi said, and by 2024, it will fall to 5.5%. His forecast assumes that the U.S. economy will weaken and inflation will decelerate, but there will be no recession. “Assuming no recession and the mortgage rate path I just des …
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