44 Percent of Americans Think the Housing Market May Crash Next Year, Report Says

(11/30/23) According to a survey released this week by online lending marketplace LendingTree, many Americans have a grim outlook about the real estate market.

The company surveyed over 2,000 U.S. customers and found that 44 percent think the housing market is at risk of crashing next year. And, with some prospective home buyers believing a crash is the only way they could afford to buy a home, it’s not entirely surprising that 35 percent of those surveyed actually want the market to crash.

The good news is that despite these findings, Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economist, said the likelihood of a housing-market crash is slim.

"It’s not impossible for home prices to fall and make a given housing market more affordable,” Channel said. “It’s also not necessarily impossible for the housing market to outright crash next year while the rest of the economy remains relatively okay, though it’s very unlikely. But if you’re hoping that the housing market will crash and make it easier for you to buy a house, you’ll probably be disappointed. Not only does data indicate the odds of a housing crash in the next few years are slim, but the past shows that when the market crashes, it tends to hurt more people than it helps.”

To reach the full LendingTree report, visit www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/market-crash-survey.