While peering through an imaginary crystal ball, real estate industry leaders are forecasting cloudy skies for the residential market of early 2023. At a recent webinar hosted by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors in the New York metropolitan area, a National Association of Realtors (NAR) economist, along with panel of expert brokers, weighed in on the state of the market for the next six months.
Nadia Evangelou, NAR senior economist and director of forecasting, said inflation is one of the main triggers of what’s happening in the housing market. “In August, for example, inflation rose much faster than expected, hitting 8.3 percent,” she noted. “Combined with the higher mortgage rates, the accelerating costs of gas, groceries, and other goods are now forcing some people out of the market.”