{"id":80589,"date":"2026-05-08T08:19:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drduru.com\/onetwentytwo\/?p=80589"},"modified":"2026-05-08T08:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:19:28","slug":"what-happened-in-the-housing-market-clinging-to-a-cliff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drduru.com\/onetwentytwo\/2026\/05\/08\/what-happened-in-the-housing-market-clinging-to-a-cliff\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happened In the Housing Market – Clinging to A Cliff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Housing Market Intro and Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The housing market again seemed to tell a tale of divergent markets between new and existing homes<\/a>. While new home sales and starts fared well, a large setback in builder sentiment sets the stage for setbacks in April’s new home sales. Existing home sales completely erased the wistful optimism from February’s surge<\/a>. The market is still dealing with a convergence of headwinds<\/a>, like rising interest rates, affordability pressures, uneven demand, and broader macroeconomic uncertainty, so isolated points of good data are bound to evaporate as a signal of optimism. With spring selling in full swing and builders reporting earnings results that confirm tepid market conditions, the housing market will do well just to keep clinging to a cliff of hope until fresh optimism comes around again for spring 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a summary for April’s housing market update:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Housing stocks weakened as ITB failed at bear market resistance, reinforcing a \u201cclinging to a cliff\u201d theme.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Builder confidence dropped sharply in April as future sales expectations and buyer traffic deteriorated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Single-family housing starts surged in March, but permits remained near three-year lows.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • New home sales rose in March, though falling prices and large revision risks clouded the rebound.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Existing home sales slipped back toward 2025 lows as affordability pressures persisted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • California home sales weakened again, remaining below the 300,000 benchmark for a 42nd straight month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Elevated mortgage rates continued to strain affordability despite improving inventory levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Housing\u2019s share of GDP kept declining as investment shifted toward AI, energy, and manufacturing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n