The housing market is stumbling through its longest slump in four years, as the divergence between a booming U.S. economy and weakening home sales that many had dismissed as temporary now looks poised to continue.
A combination of rising mortgage rates and high home prices, a dearth of inventory and a new tax law that reduces incentives for home ownership have weighed on the housing sector this year.
Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell 3.4% in September from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million, the National Association of Realtors said. Sales were down 4.1% from a year earlier, the SEVENTH STRAIGHT MONTH OF DECLINES – marking the longest slump since 2014, when the market was still recovering from the housing crash.
“Without a doubt there is a clear shift in the market,” said Lawrence Yun, the group’s chief economist.
Reported by Laura Kusisto and Sharon Nunn, October 19, 2018, Wall Street Journal.