We have seen the brakes heavily applied to the number of real estate transactions in the United States. The chart below, from the National Association of Realtors, shows just how much has changed in recent months.
Believe it or not, in just a few short months, we are closer to the 2008 transaction trough than the peak we have experienced since then. With interest rates moving back down, it seems likely that we won’t keep the downward trend for too much longer. That said, seeing seasonally adjusted monthly prints at less than 5 million for a time is quite possible.