US Homebuyers Start to Revolt Over Steep Prices

The US housing market—long crippled by an inventory drought—is finally starting to see listings rise. But in many places, buyers just aren’t showing up. Sellers are grappling with the fact that higher-for-longer interest rates are choking off demand during what’s typically the hot season. And as inventory grows stale, more owners are cutting their asking prices than at any time since November 2022. “With mortgage rates rising back over 7%, the willingness of homebuyers to take a stab this season is diminished,” says Ralph McLaughlin, a senior economist at Realtor.com. “You can have high prices or you can have high mortgage rates, but you can’t have both.” In January, the prospects of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve stirred up optimism for the housing market, which had just emerged from its worst year for sales of previously owned homes in three decades. But the economy continued to roar on, diminishing hopes for cuts. While new data regularly brings changing odds on the Fed’s timing, sellers may be looking at a tough summer ahead.

US President Joe Biden is to sign an executive order on Tuesday allowing him to halt some asylum claims at the US-Mexico border. The move will effectively prevent new petitions by migrants who walk across the border until levels drop by roughly two-thirds of where they stand today. US authorities recorded about 4,300 encounters per day in April with undocumented migrants between legal ports of entry. That means the administration can move quickly to bar a large swath of asylum claims. In doing so, it hopes to eliminate a key issue Republicans have sought to use against Biden as he runs for re-election.