The Unyielding Market: Home Prices Remain Resilient

Posted by Heidi Schrock on Friday, November 3, 2023 at 8:00 AM By Heidi Schrock / November 3, 2023 Comment

In the last quarter of the previous year, some housing experts predicted a housing market crash in 2023. The media amplified these forecasts with doom-and-gloom headlines, which cast doubt on the real estate market's strength. If this made you question your plans to move, here's the crucial information you should consider.

First and foremost, ignore the sensational headlines. The factual data demonstrates that home prices displayed remarkable resilience and performed significantly better than the media indicated (refer to the graph below):

This graph uses reports from three trusted sources to clearly illustrate prices have already rebounded after experiencing only slight declines nationally. That’s a far cry from the crash so many articles called for.

The declines that did happen (shown in red), weren’t drastic but were short-lived. As Nicole Friedman, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), says:

“Home prices aren’t falling anymore. . . The surprisingly quick recovery suggests that the residential real-estate downturn is turning out to be shorter and shallower than many housing economists expected . . .”

Even though some media coverage made a big deal about home prices pulling back, the slight correction that happened is already in the rearview mirror. Basically, this data shows you home prices aren’t falling anymore – they’re actually going back up.

What Lies Ahead for Home Prices?

The consensus among experts is that home price growth will persist in the coming years but is reverting to more typical levels for the market. This implies that we can expect home prices to appreciate, albeit at a more gradual rate than in the past few years – and this is actually a positive development.

Certain news sources may perceive the deceleration in home price growth and publish articles that might give the impression that prices are falling once more. The resurgence of these misleading headlines is already influencing the sentiments of prospective homebuyers. You can observe the impact on public sentiment in the Consumer Confidence Survey conducted by Fannie Mae (refer to the graph below):

While the percentage of Americans who think prices will fall has been slowly declining this year, the latest Consumer Confidence data indicates that’s ticked back up recently (shown in red). This change is surprising especially since the home price data shows prices are going up, not down. It tells you the impact the media still has on public opinion.

Don’t fall for the negative headlines and become part of this statistic. Remember, data from a number of sources shows home prices aren’t falling anymore.

Bottom Line

Even though the media may make things sound doom and gloom, the data shows home prices aren’t falling anymore. So, don’t let the headlines scare you or delay your plans. Let's connect so you have a trusted resource to cut through the noise and tell you what’s really happening in our area.