Post-Pandemic Boom Markets to Cool Off “Sharply”

The housing market is a living, breathing organism, constantly moving, with each real estate market playing by its own rules. Thanks to the individuality of the American housing market, homebuyers had the flexibility to choose where they wanted to live as soon as the 2020 lockdowns took place. No longer did homebuyers have to purchase a house that was close enough to the office. Since many worked remotely, the entire country became their office, and a slew of newly nomadic workers decided to settle down in states both far from and near home.

These migration patterns changed the landscape of the housing market and made once-sleepy cities into booming metros with high-priced homes almost overnight. Now, the trend has reached a halt, as homebuyers remain frozen in place, stuck between high housing prices and even higher mortgage rates. But, with in-office work becoming more and more mandatory, could these domestic migrants start being called back to the big cities and tech hubs they came from?

We brought Taylor Marr, Deputy Chief Economist at Redfin, on to the show to give his take on where the housing market is headed. Taylor goes deep into the two halves of the 2022 housing market and why “booming” post-pandemic markets like Boise are seeing steep declines. We also talk about mortgage rate buydowns, the new buyer’s market, and where migration is starting to slow as homebuyers get caught in financial quicksand.

Read Full Story