Joe “Big Guy” Biden seems to have finally done it.
His administration caused US housing sales to collapse to their lowest figure in more than an entire decade – as only 1% of homes have been bought this year.
The new home sales figures on Biden’s watch are marking a decline, compared to those from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, as Daily Mail reports.
It quotes a new report by real estate company RedFin, which reveals only 14 in 1,000 homes nationwide changed hands over the first half of 2023. The decline is remarkable, considering even the first half of 2019 saw 19 in 1,000 homes get sold.
According to RedFin’s analysis, the downward path of the home market is driven by families living in big suburban houses. Against the backdrop of growing mortgage rates, the new figures reflect what is described as a “widespread cooling” of the housing market.
As interest rates are about the 7% mark, the average homebuyer today has to pay almost $1,000 more in monthly mortgage payments, compared to two years ago, the report points out.
Thus, cheap deals caused households to get “locked” within their present-day property.
The Mail reiterates its analysis from last week, stressing the emergence of “accidental landlords,” i.e. homeowners who decided to rent out their homes, instead of selling them.
According to RedFin, homes in the United States still sell for prices that are 40% higher, compared with before the pandemic. This happens as a shortage of available housing is increasing the cost of properties.
The beauty of Bidenomics for the average American might be best captured by a quote from Taylor Marr, RedFin deputy chief economist. Marr told The Mail that a swift spike in mortgage rates resulted in an “uphill battle” for many seeking to purchase a home.
The high mortgage payments “locked up inventory” and hiked the prices of the homes that do hit the market, the report notes.
The development is hardly surprising, all Biden administration policies considered, but it remains to be seen how much worse it could get with 1.5 years to go of Sleepy Joe in the White House.