A recent report from RealComp, a Farmington Hills-based multiple listing service indicates a 5.7% drop in home sales in September. Some experts believe the downturn is not temporary but the start of a downward trend that will continue into next year. "You'll probably even get a little bit better of a deal in the spring than you would right now as a buyer," said Tim Gilson, associate broker for Keller Williams Domain and the Gilson Home Group in Birmingham.
Nationwide, new home sales proved to be disappointing in September, following the trend for existing home sales. Higher mortgage rates hurt housing "Housing tends to be the first sector to respond to higher interest rates, which raises a red flag on the longevity of this cycle," said Diane Swonk, chief economist for Grant Thornton in a report.
"The silver lining is that, after reaching a peak, housing can plateau for more than a year and a half before the overall economy slips into a recession," she said. Rising incomes, for example, could give some hope that buyers would return to the market and give another leg to the housing market in 2019, she said.
Yet there are risks: Maybe, housing won't rebound as much as some expect. Maybe, mortgage rates climb much higher than expected. Maybe, stock prices on Wall Street continue to tumble and drive down consumer confidence.
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