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According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, "This year has been especially tough for REALTORS®, members of the National Association of REALTORS®, because home sales transactions have been running about 20% lower than a year ago. What’s worse is that this is on top of an 18% decline in 2022, so real estate professionals have seen two consecutive years of near 20% declines." What’s causing this dramatic slump in sales? Two major culprits that NAR members are well aware of: rising mortgage rates and low inventory. "However, there is an interesting development occurring in the background," notes Yun. "Sales of newly constructed homes are up 5% as compared to a year ago. Despite facing the same high-interest rates, homebuilders have been able to generate inventory and elevate supply, resulting in new construction representing a larger share of home sales in 2023 than the typical 10%. "For current homeowners, one bright spot has been the resilience of home prices," adds Yun. "So even though agents and brokers are hurting, their clients are happy knowing that their home value has likely increased and that prices have been stable even during a sales slump."
