Housing market psychology is breaking down in a revealing way.
Buyers hit a record low in July. Not just low—record low. Meanwhile sellers aren't budging either. The gap between the two sides is widening.
This isn't just about rates or prices anymore. It's about conviction. Nobody wants to move first. Buyers won't chase. Sellers won't capitulate.
When both sides freeze, you get a market that exists on paper but barely functions in reality. Volume dies. Price discovery gets weird. The only transactions happening are the ones that *have* to happen—divorce, death, job relocation.
This is what a true standoff looks like. And standoffs don't resolve quickly. They resolve when one side gets desperate or when the external environment shifts enough to change the calculus.
Right now? Neither side is blinking.
Buyers hit a record low in July. Not just low—record low. Meanwhile sellers aren't budging either. The gap between the two sides is widening.
This isn't just about rates or prices anymore. It's about conviction. Nobody wants to move first. Buyers won't chase. Sellers won't capitulate.
When both sides freeze, you get a market that exists on paper but barely functions in reality. Volume dies. Price discovery gets weird. The only transactions happening are the ones that *have* to happen—divorce, death, job relocation.
This is what a true standoff looks like. And standoffs don't resolve quickly. They resolve when one side gets desperate or when the external environment shifts enough to change the calculus.
Right now? Neither side is blinking.