When you stop to think about it, we’ve already been through a lot this century. Going back to the financial meltdown in 2008, the market tanked and many good people lost their homes after taking on bad loans. We emerged from that very dark time, but then Covid hit 12 years later, which had devastating effects on humanity and led to a global economic recession. The housing market on the other hand shot up like a rocket. Most Realtors, myself included, had some of their most productive years during that perilous time because the market was juiced by unnaturally low interest rates.
One could argue 2026 is not so different than 2020. The US/Israel war with Iran has not only destabilized the entire Middle East, it’s upended the economics around the world. Economically it's having a Covid-like effect, except maybe without the housing boom, yet. We’ll see though, if inflation runs rampant as expected, housing prices could appreciate significantly. You might be asking yourself, “Where are people going to get the money to buy property?”
A lot of money has been put onto the sidelines from the stock market. Even as I write this on Friday morning, the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are all down again across the board. People are selling equities and that money has to go somewhere. Interest rates are up and rising, nearly at 6.5% as of today. That doesn’t help demand in the housing market, but keep in mind interest rates rose throughout the 1970’s and average housing prices still nearly tripled in the USA. At the beginning of the 1970’s the interest rates also started in the 7’s, so loans are actually cheaper today than they were back when the last energy crisis hit.
I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t tell you what the housing market is going to do in the next few years. Nobody can. What I can advise you is if you are looking for a home to live in, and you find the one you want and you can afford it, now might be as good a time as any to buy. Or you can wait and continue paying someone else’s mortgage, providing them with equity and the opportunity for future appreciation.