U.S. home sales fall to lowest since 2010

According to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. housing market is facing yet another downturn as home sales hit their lowest level since the Great Recession housing bust.

The report, which measures sales of previously owned homes, showed an annualized rate of 3.79 million in October, surprisingly worse than what analysts had predicted. The consensus view was that sales would hit 3.9 million during the month, showing how dire the situation has become.

Housing is a huge part of the economy — it's about 17% of GDP if you include a broad bucket of activities like home purchases, remodeling, renting and construction.

This decline in home sales is a cause for concern, as housing is a vital part of the economy, accounting for about 17% of GDP when including various activities such as home purchases, remodeling, renting, and construction. And with interest rates rapidly rising, reaching about 8%, the cost of homeownership has drastically changed for the vast majority of Americans.

The low inventory of homes for sale also adds to the predicament, indicating that there is little incentive for sellers to lower prices. This has become a vicious cycle, with low demand and high prices resulting in poor sales, leading to a further decrease in inventory.

However, there is some slight relief in the form of falling mortgage rates.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has dipped below 7.5%, giving some hope to potential buyers. But experts warn that this is merely a temporary respite and that mortgage rates are expected to remain elevated, hampering any chances of a housing market recovery in the next few years.

In a note published on Tuesday, analysts at Capital Economics wrote, "While we think mortgage rates have now peaked after rising close to 8.0% in October, we expect them to remain elevated. This will mute any recovery in demand and sales volumes over the next couple of years."

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The U.S. housing market has been struggling to adjust to soaring interest rates, and as a result, it has taken a major hit. With sales at their lowest since the Great Recession, the effects of rising interest rates, Bidenomics are far-reaching and demand a closer look.

The economy and the American people are counting on the housing market to rebound, and it is high time for policymakers to take decisive action to address this pressing issue.