“The reason sales are shrinking is because there’s nothing to sell,” said Maynard “Doc” Stephens, a real estate agent with Keller Williams. “People are afraid to sell because, where would they go?” Would-be sellers would also be buyers, and as buyers they would have to contend with other bidders, many of whom put forward cash offers well above the listing price of a property.
The Federal Reserve is on an aggressive campaign to curb soaring inflation by raising interest rates — driving higher rates on everything from credit cards to mortgages. The first increase came last month, Until last month, the Fed held the interest rate at nearly zero, where it had hovered for two years. That historically low rate had made borrowing dirt cheap, and was intended to encourage spending and investments to help lift the economy out of pandemic-induced recession.
The new demand slammed a housing market already marked by anemic supply. Production of new single-family homes plummeted in the 2000s and remains atthat of the preceding four decades. Construction continues to be constricted by pandemic-era material shortages and supply chain delays.
Does “hot” mean unattainable by the working class?