Housing is mostly built to accommodate new residents; just a little new construction replaces demolished or abandoned housing. My first gauge of the housing market is construction relative to population growth. Dr. Bill Conerly based on data from U.S. Federal Housing Finance AgencyThe cause of recent weakness is most likely mortgage interest rate increases. Mortgage rates obviously affect the affordability of a house, but the changes in mortgage rates also affected expectations of future affordability. Dr. Bill Conerly based on data from Federal ReserveThe income part of the homebuying equation has been steadily improving.

Source: Forbes April 20, 2019 11:15 UTC