Spring is typically the best season for the housing market in the US. Not this year.
The housing market is struggling as panicked buyers back out of deals amid widespread financial uncertainty. One homebuyer in Florida, Joel Efosa, tells Daily Mail that he not optimistic about where the US housing market is headed, but he does have a plan – to wait for a market crash to buy.
‘I’m waiting on the market to cycle as it did in 2008. This is a perfect storm for an eventual market crash due to this affordability crisis. I will be one of the smart ones waiting on the sideline to buy at the right time, not at the top of the market,’ he says.
The recent stock market has been on a rollercoaster ride since Donald Trump‘s announcement of sweeping tariffs last Wednesday.
Markets tanked, wiping $6.6 trillion off the value of US stocks in just days, affecting Americans’ investments and retirement savings, leading to widespread panic.
Yesterday, Trump announced a 90-day delay for countries that had not imposed reciprocal tariffs. This sent Wall Street surging to its biggest single day gain since 2008, though many investors and everyday Americans remain shaken.
This uncertainty has caused potential homebuyers to get cold feet. Some have even pulled out of deals because they are so worried about the hit to retirement savings.
‘I hosted an open house over the weekend, and some of the younger buyers were concerned about how the tariffs going to impact the housing market,’ said Desiree Bourgeois, a Redfin realtor in Detroit.
The stock market has been on a rollercoaster ride over the last week due to tariffs
Buyers worried how tariffs going to impact the housing market says realtor Desiree Bourgeois
‘They’re hearing the words «tariffs» and «recession,» and it’s making them nervous that if they buy now, the value of their home will decline, and they don’t know whether mortgage rates will go up or down.
‘There’s a lot of uncertainty out there, with buyers trying to understand how their purchase would fit into their personal finances and the broader economic puzzle.’
Efosa, who purchases homes destroyed by fires in Florida, says he is so worried about tariffs that he pulled out of a contract this week.
‘I was in the process of purchasing a teardown property in Orlando because I buy fire damaged homes. This subject property needed to be torn down to build a new construction on the lot. During the contract period there was escalated speculation in regards to the tariffs,’ he explained.
‘So my builder asked us to add a 25 percent contingency budget to the construction budget.
‘The deal became totally not worth the risk. We terminated the contract and decided for the time being on all new construction projects we will sit on the sidelines to see where tariffs lead us.’
Efosa is not optimistic about where the US housing market is headed, but he does have a plan.
‘We do live in an interesting time where housing and basic cost of goods have skyrocketed but wages have not. Lots of current homeowners cannot afford their homes due to tax and insurance increases.
Joel Efosa, who purchases homes in Florida, pulled out of a contract this week
The median monthly mortgage payment is at an all-time high of $2,813 across the US
Robert Washington, a broker in St. Petersburg, FL, had someone pull out of a contract this week due to the volatility around tariffs.
‘We had a homebuilder client that elected to cancel their contract to purchase a vacant lot during their due diligence period,’ he told the DailyMail.com.
‘They mentioned that the tariffs have caused uncertainty regarding their building material costs and they would prefer to see how everything shakes out before committing to building a new home.’
Mortgage rates are also scaring off prospective buyers.
On April 9 rates soared to 6.95 percent, their highest in six weeks, according to Redfin.
The bounce is due to economic turmoil and the Fed making it clear it’s not cutting interest rates more than previously expected.
The median monthly mortgage payment is at an all-time high of $2,813, and payments are likely to rise even more in the coming weeks.
‘The only thing that’s certain about mortgage rates and the housing market right now is extreme uncertainty,’ said Redfin economist Chen Zhao.
Downtown Tucson, Arizona, listed for having a high risk of facing a housing market crash
‘With the White House going back and forth on tariffs, sending markets and rates reeling, Americans are feeling uneasy about their money.
‘Nobody knows what will happen next. It’s likely that financial anxiety, rapidly changing economic news and the rising chance of a recession freeze the housing market.’
Meanwhile, we reported last week how five metro areas are at huge risk of a housing market crash in 2025. It is no surprise three are in Florida but two are in a Sun Belt State.
A study based on January figures lists Winter Haven, Tampa, and West Palm Beach among the top five U.S. markets most likely to see home price declines in 2025.
Phoenix, AZ is at number two on the list and Tucson, AZ at four. All have over a 70 percent chance of experiencing a drop, according to the new study by CoreLogic.
Florida’s housing market downturn is being driven by a sharp decline in demand, coupled with an increasing number of residents looking to leave the state.
