It's the price, stupid.

[Michael Carbonare]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/23/housing-market-survey-buyers...
𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. A new CNBC survey says buyers expect lower mortgage rates next year. Reality check: even if rates fall a point or two, affordability barely moves. The real barrier is pricing. Or, as my inner James Carville would say: 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝. Home prices remain inflated far beyond income growth. A small rate drop doesn’t fix $700K starter homes. Buyers are still on strike because the math ain't mathing. Rates get the headlines. Prices decide the action. For investors, this is where opportunity lives: when buyers pull back, creative deals fill the gap.