U.S. Home Sales Stall for 3 Years Despite Mortgage Rates Falling 2 Points
Updated
Updated · Investing.com · Jun 1
U.S. Home Sales Stall for 3 Years Despite Mortgage Rates Falling 2 Points
3 articles · Updated · Investing.com · Jun 1
Summary
Since January 2023, U.S. new and existing home sales have largely gone nowhere, with new-home sales slipping to 641,000 in February 2026 from 689,000 in October 2023.
Mortgage rates fell from 8.03% to 2.00% over that span, but lower borrowing costs failed to revive demand as buyers still faced sharply higher home prices.
622,000 new-home sales and 4.02 million existing-home sales remain far below cycle peaks of 816,000 in December 2021 and 6.34 million in January 2022.
Case-Shiller data show home prices have surged, while many existing owners are staying put rather than swap roughly 3% mortgages for loans closer to 7%.
The result is a housing market stuck on both the buyer and seller side, with affordability and mortgage lock-in keeping turnover depressed.