The top has topped out in the market for existing homes, Bank of America economists said Monday. To boot, realtor.com was out with a report that the market is swinging to buyers. Business Insider reports:
The largest segment of the housing market has peaked and will no longer contribute to the US economy's growth, according to US economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
"We are calling it," the team led by Michelle Meyer said in a research note on Friday. "Existing home sales have peaked."
Sales of existing US homes make up 90% of all transactions and recovered faster than the market for new homes after the housing crisis a decade ago. But sales have failed to top the level of 5.72 million homes reached in November. To Meyer, that was most likely the high-water mark.
"The peak in existing home sales can largely be explained by the decline in affordability," Meyer said.
