Homebuyer demand improved at the start of April. But tariff turmoil, rising rates and economic jitters are likely to hamper sales, Redfin said in a recent report.
"The housing market is under pressure as prospective homebuyers and sellers navigate a rapidly shifting economic landscape, with President Trump’s tariff policy, a volatile stock market and increased chances of a recession exacerbating widespread financial uncertainty," the report said.
"Tariffs are coming up for the first time. I hosted an open house…and some of the younger buyers were concerned about how they’re going to impact the housing market,” said Desiree Bourgeois, a Redfin Premier agent in Detroit. “They’re hearing the words ‘tariffs’ and ‘recession,’ and it’s making them nervous that if they buy now, the value of their home will decline, and they don’t know whether mortgage rates will go up or down. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there, with buyers trying to understand how their purchase would fit into their personal finances and the broader economic puzzle.
“The only thing that’s certain about mortgage rates and the housing market right now is extreme uncertainty,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao.
More: Austin-area housing market cooldown continues amid growing economic headwinds
“With the White House going back and forth on tariffs, sending markets and rates reeling, Americans are feeling uneasy about their money," Zhao said. "Nobody knows what will happen next. It’s likely that financial anxiety, rapidly changing economic news and the rising chance of a recession freeze the housing market. But it’s also possible that economic turmoil pushes down mortgage rates and/or people decide to bite the bullet now instead of waiting for conditions to perhaps worsen, encouraging homebuyers and sellers to jump into the market.”
In the Austin metro
Similarly, the impact of tariffs, overall economic uncertainty, stock market volatility and shaken consumer confidence are affecting the housing market in the five-county Austin region, housing industry experts and real estate agents in Central Texas say.
More: Austin-area housing market cooldown continues amid growing economic headwinds
Eric Bramlett, a real estate broker in Austin, recently weighed in with this comment:
"The tariffs have affected the bond market, which directly impacts mortgages," said Bramlett, owner of Bramlett Residential. "They’ve caused turbulence in the stock market, which causes consumer confidence to go down. So, it’s a combo of fluctuating mortgage rates and bad consumer confidence affecting our local real estate market in the wrong direction."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Tariffs, rising rates adding uncertainty Austin area housing markets
