Housing Market STALLS—Buyers Walk, Sellers Panic!

As housing sellers refuse to budge on sky-high prices, frustrated buyers are walking away, leaving America’s once-booming market in a deep freeze and exposing the lingering damage from years of reckless policy and inflation.

At a Glance

• Buyer demand has cooled drastically in 2025 as high prices and mortgage rates push families to their limits.
• Inventory is up and price cuts are more frequent, but homes linger much longer on the market as buyers refuse inflated costs.
• Sellers, often locked in by low-rate mortgages, are taking homes off the market rather than accept lower offers, deepening the standoff.
• The stagnant market reveals the lasting impact of past overspending, inflation, and government intervention on American homeownership.

Persistent High Prices and Buyer Fatigue Freeze the Market

In 2025, after half a decade of soaring prices and unrelenting competition, the U.S. housing market has shifted dramatically. Mortgage rates have hovered near 7%, making monthly payments unmanageable for many families. Even as inventory recovers and more homes are listed, buyers, weary from years of inflated prices and failed bidding wars, are reaching their breaking point. Instead of stretching their budgets further, potential buyers are choosing to wait or exit the market entirely, causing home sales volumes to plummet and signaling a stark end to the frenzy that defined the previous era.

This deep freeze stands in sharp contrast to the market of 2019–2021, when pandemic-driven demand and artificially low interest rates, fueled by massive government spending, ignited a historic surge in prices. As the Federal Reserve eventually raised rates to combat runaway inflation, affordability only worsened. By 2024 and 2025, even as supply rebounded with new construction and more listings, buyers remained sidelined by the dual threat of expensive homes and high borrowing costs. The result: homes now sit on the market for a median of 58 days—over a week longer than last year—while price cuts and seller incentives have become routine.

Watch: OVERPRICED HOMES – Sellers are MAD & Delisting (Housing Market Update)

Sellers and Builders Face a New Reality as Buyers Gain Leverage

For sellers, the landscape has changed profoundly. Many homeowners, locked into ultra-low mortgage rates secured during the previous administration, are reluctant to sell unless they receive top dollar. With buyers unwilling to pay these inflated prices, a growing number of homeowners are choosing to take their properties off the market entirely rather than accept lower offers. Builders, seeking to maintain sales volumes, are offering incentives that now average over 13% of the final sales price—compared to just 1.5% during the pandemic boom. This shift marks a rare moment when buyers, not sellers, hold the upper hand in many negotiations, forcing the industry to confront years of distorted market incentives and government interference.

Regional differences are pronounced. Areas in the South and West have seen sharper slowdowns, with some communities experiencing a significant rise in active listings and price reductions. Despite a post-pandemic high of 1.1 million active listings nationally, overall inventory still lags behind pre-pandemic levels, making it clear that the market’s malaise is driven less by supply and more by affordability constraints. Homeowners hoping to “move up” are often trapped by their existing low-rate loans, while first-time buyers and working families remain shut out, underlining the long-term consequences of misguided policies and unchecked inflation.

Long-Term Consequences of Past Policy and Market Distortions

The current standoff in the housing market is not a sudden crash, but a slow, grinding freeze that exposes the fragility left behind by years of big spending and heavy-handed intervention. Mortgage lenders and real estate professionals are facing declining revenues as transaction volumes dry up, while home improvement retailers may see a boost as frustrated owners renovate instead of relocating. Policymakers continue to debate the appropriate response, but the evidence is clear: the legacy of runaway inflation, endless stimulus, and market distortion has made homeownership unattainable for many Americans, eroding the sense of stability and opportunity that once defined the middle class.

Expert analysis from respected industry sources confirms that, without a meaningful reduction in interest rates or a reset in price expectations, the market will likely remain stagnant. The painful reality for families seeking the American dream is that government overspending and ill-conceived policies have lasting consequences. Until common-sense, conservative reforms restore fiscal discipline and market freedom, the path to homeownership will remain blocked for countless hardworking Americans.

Everyone keeps asking me:

“Are we heading into another 2009?”

Here’s my honest take: No.

2025 isn’t a crash. But it’s not “normal” either.
It’s something else-and if you understand what’s actually happening, there’s opportunity all over it.

Let me explain:

In 2009, we had a…

— Ken McElroy (@kenmcelroy) July 21, 2025

While some analysts debate the likelihood of a rapid recovery, most agree that the market’s deep freeze is poised to persist. The lessons are clear: policies that undermine affordability, inflate prices, and distort incentives ultimately hurt American families and core conservative values. Only by demanding accountability and returning to principles of limited government and personal responsibility can we restore stability, prosperity, and the dream of homeownership for the next generation.

Sources:

J.P. Morgan, “The Outlook for the U.S. Housing Market in 2025”

Fortune, “The American housing market is in a deep freeze”

Realtor.com, “July 2025 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report”

Realtor.com, “Housing Market Cools Nationally—but Regional Realities Tell a Different Story”