Has the new American housing crisis already landed?
There are 58% more people trying to sell a home in America right now than people trying to buy one, the biggest gap on record. By that measure, it should be the best market buyers have ever had. So home prices should be falling.
They’re not. Prices have risen for 38 months straight. Mr. Owe breaks down why the housing market stopped working the way it’s supposed to, and who’s quietly paying the price for it.
IN THIS VIDEO
– Why more sellers than buyers hasn’t pushed prices down
– The “rate lock” effect: why millions of homeowners won’t sell, even if they want to
– Why rising interest rates actually pushed prices UP instead of down
– Why Austin’s prices are falling while Hartford’s are soaring, same country, same rates
– Why homebuilders are cutting prices, and hitting a wall anyway
– How past government attempts to help buyers backfired and raised prices instead
– The quiet role of property tax caps in keeping homes off the market
– Why “the bank of mom and dad” now decides who gets to buy a home
QUICK ANSWERS
Why aren’t home prices falling if there are more sellers than buyers?
Most existing homeowners are locked into mortgage rates far below today’s rates, so they have no financial reason to sell. That keeps homes off the market and props prices up, even with weak buyer demand.
Does cutting interest rates or giving buyers more purchasing power lower home prices?
Not when supply doesn’t increase. Historically, giving buyers more buying power has mostly pushed prices higher, since sellers simply charge more.
Who is actually buying homes right now?
A growing share of first-time buyers are relying on cash gifts or inheritance from family. Research estimates family help accounts for roughly a quarter of young homeownership today.
Is this the same as the 2008 housing crash?
No. This is a supply and access crisis, not a crash driven by subprime lending. Prices are high and rising, not collapsing, which is part of what makes it unusual.
QUESTION FOR YOU
Is the housing market broken where you live too? And which country are you watching from? Tell me in the comments.
SOURCES
– Redfin, housing market data
– US Census Bureau, homeownership and mortgage data
– Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, property tax research
– Federal Reserve working paper, “Illiquid Homeownership and the Bank of Mom and Dad”
Note: this video focuses on the US housing market. Figures referenced are current as of this video’s release and may change.
This video is for education, not financial or real estate advice.
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Mr. Owe explains money, debt, and the global economy with simple stickman animation. New videos every day/or two: https://www.youtube.com/@MrOweExplains
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#HousingMarket #RealEstate #AmericanDream
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30 Comments
@MrOweExplains · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Thank you so much to everyone watching! The housing crisis and economic trends can get incredibly complex, so I wanted to break them down as simply as possible.
If you found this valuable, please consider SUBSCRIBING to help this channel grow and support the channel’s road to monetization! Your support means everything! ✨
I’m making more videos to help break down complex economic topics simply.
@bulgingbattery2050 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Corporate greed and institutional investors.
@jahanrezaei-l9q · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
❤❤❤
@DrDEATH0013 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Great video… but you got to edit out all those breath sounds before you start talking very distracting
@fishcorba3624 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Ignore AI works!
@fishcorba3624 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
You will own nothing and be happy. – WEF Summit 2023 Klaus Schwab
@danieb4273 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Its investors selling homes
@BostonSheryl · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
For those of us in the Northeast, where supply is not increasing by much (and if it’s increasing, it’s unaffordable), move to where the supply is. I left Boston for North Carolina and houses are way more affordable, especially new builds. Stay put in the cold north, and pay way more to do it.
@IanWalker-d4j · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
So , nearly. %60 of existing home owners / mortgage payers are snookered while trying to sell up ?? Even after prices fall through the floor, many folk won't be able to take the risk to buy as companies continue to close . This is knowledge we are all aware of ?? What's the next scam ? Can traders etc just help eachother out ??
@ModestHomesMovement · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
This is very well put together! I feel that there is a tremendous market for smaller homes but through many layers of seemingly small rules and permitting fees they aren't economical to build at scale anymore. There is a shortage of the small homes we haven't really built for like 80 years. I love that you used Hartford I'm near there and CT does have about the worst shortage in the state. It's so obvious to me that we need to increase supply, but the zoning rules and regulations on business are a huge impediment to the small operators that build homes. So much needs to be looked at so I'm trying to start a conversation about it here. Its a "haves" vs "have nots" issue here being a small state everyone feels like they are a stakeholder who's desire to resist change supersedes the dignity of homeownership of others.
@ronaldcampbell2954 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
I came up about 7000 short on the sell of my home. I’m still paying on that home improvement loan separate from the mortgage
@elchaconaso · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
trillion dollar budgets forces high interest rates in order to prevent hyper inflation,nothing will improve until D.C. gets under control.
@gonzaloleon-gelpi9776 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
It's very simple. Inflation. A lot more dollars hitting the market every day.
@Sprezzatura1 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
If diesel goes to $10 a gal.
That'd the falling knife!!!
@kdub3892 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Yeh sellers are delusional ans need to drop prices by 25% but most are equity poor and can not. Recent . H1bs and tech crashing out. Private equity flooding the market. A correction is happening and thank GOD!!
@Gemini-meet · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Well explained. Also institutional investors have started selling if that tells anything about the times to come.
Home prices have peaked. It makes sense for first time home buyers but anyone buying as investment is in for a long wait and heavy costs.
Rent to cost of ownership stopped mathing.
@GreenMntMoto · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Moved to Hartford CT you’ll love it!
@tinal8522 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
My neighbor just sold his inherited house in one week for $2.8 millions. Buyer paid $400,000 over asking price. The house needed modern renovations at least another $500,000.
@Riddle-Me-This-Puzzles · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Theres a problem with your logic. Its easy to be the "I will just pull back my listing and sell it later" …its easy to believe that lie until prices start falling. Wait until prices start falling and panic sets in. Prices are going to fall HARD because most people will panic and flood the market. It will be the reverse of right now and brutal; the bigger they are, the harder they fall
@Michael-b4k5v · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
So I guess I’m shadow banned for life? 😒
@Michael-b4k5v · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
But we’re not allowed to talk about 30 million illegal immigrants entering the country in the last few years in relationship to the housing market.🤔
@travisbutler5905 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Buyers, make your offer based on the what it was worth in 2020-2022 no matter what the price is. If they want $500K but it was worth $225K in 2020 offer $250K. Sellers are delusional. Ignore Zillow, ignore Redfin, ignore all real estate professionals. Unless, they meet your price, don't buy. They're colluding against buyers we should collude back. Make super lowball offers. If real estate agents won't cooperate fire them or sue them. They're legally required to make the offer.
@teckmenglee8060 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
More buyers than Sellers? not true, DEMAND is not only more buyers, as DEMAND also includes the ABILITY TO BUY.
SUPPLY also includes the ABILITY TO SELL (most so called Sellers may be in negative equity region, and HENCE, CANNOT SELL and Hence do not contribute to SUPPLY).
This is just basic economic theory…
@patriautic9308 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
So they build homes with plaster board and wallboard with styrofoam insulation and cheap wiring and cut cost every which way they can, so that is where the new homebuyer horror stories are coming from.
@retrorama3355 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Mortgage rate buydowns are usually very small. We're talking about .1% or .2%. You're not going to drop your interest rate by a full percentage.
@2TieredSystemProceduralHarm · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Section 8 rates got into the valuation math
@MarketsLowdown · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
The seller-buyer gap is huge, yet prices are still holding up. That says a lot about how unusual this housing market has become.
@ianrichardmorrissey6082 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Lookout for the Snake oil salesmen/women crawling out of the woodwork, remember if they don’t sell or lease anything they go BK.
If a realtor tells you we have hit bottom request they put that in writing and will cover any loses you incur after you buy, none of them have a crystal ball to determine the market conditions.
@Sean-sk3nq · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Boomers will disappear over the next 15 years and there is no one to buy those homes anyone near the current prices. Only 30% of Boomers could buy their own home. Anyone predicting a normal housing market is clueless about how this plays out in real dollars. So how does this play out: Mortgage rates drop back to 4%, prices drop by 35%, and wages go up by 35% over 10 years. So that makes the current prices cut in half for monthly payments. Then people can afford again.
@blacksaiyan64 · November 5, 2026 at 6:36 am
Price. The answer is the price. All these factors could be present and if the price of homes were half they be selling like crazy