Several major financial institutions have recently released reports predicting national housing prices are to drop between 5%-15%. 

Over the past several weeks, some of Wall Street’s largest financial institutions have all released reports predicting a national decline in housing prices. Such declines are not entirely unprecedented, but they are incredibly rare. Notably, only two times, both during the Great Depression and the Great Recession, did housing prices decline nationally by double-digit.

What the banks are predicting:

• Morgan Stanely – Home Prices are to fall by 7%
• Goldman Sachs – Home prices to fall 5% to 10%
• Moody’s Analytics – Home prices to fall 5% to 10%
• Fitch Ratings – Home prices could fall 10% to 15%

Any of these scenarios would have major consequences for both the broader housing market and the national economy. But a decline in home values isn’t bad for everyone. People who have previously been priced out of the market may now be able to afford a home. Rents may also decline as the demand for units subsides. This is not to say that a decline in the housing market would be positive either, but simply the issue is not black and white.

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MACo Housing Symposium