EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Just 1% of all US homes changed hands so far this year.

Just 1% of all US homes changed hands in the first half of this year, the lowest share in at least a decade, according to data from Redfin.

Only about 14 out of every 1,000 existing homes moved from one owner to another in the first half of 2023, compared to 19 of every 1,000 during the same period in 2019. That means home buyers have 28% fewer homes to pick from than before the pandemic upended the US housing market.

The pre-pandemic turnover rate is fairly typical for the modern housing market, according to Redfin, but a more active market would have a rate closer to 40 or 50 of every 1,000.

The main reasons so few houses have sold so far this year is that there aren’t many on the market to buy and people can’t afford higher mortgage rates.

No one can afford to buy and no one can afford to sell.