Experts See No 2026 US Housing Crash as Prices Rise 0.8%

2 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 18

58% of Gen Z say they want a housing crash, but housing experts expect 2026 to bring a correction marked by stability and modest price gains rather than a collapse.
Home prices rose 0.8% year over year in May, up from 0.4% in April, while economists say buyers and sellers remain in a standoff that points to slow growth, not a sharp downturn.
Supply also remains too tight for a crash: existing-home inventory stood at 4.5 months in May, still below the roughly six months seen as a balanced market and far from the 13-month glut before 2008.
Mortgage rates have climbed back into the mid-6% range and affordability worsened in May, but stronger lending standards and nearly $300,000 in average homeowner equity leave the market structurally different from the last housing bust.
Labor data adds to that view, with job openings steady at 7.6 million and ADP reporting 98,000 private-sector jobs added in June, limiting the risk that widespread job losses trigger forced selling.