Episode 3: Is the U.S. Housing Market Broken?

The current state of the U.S. housing market can be traced back to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The ensuing retreat of builders and lenders resulted in housing starts trending below a pre-GFC average that had persisted for several decades — in an America with a much smaller population. Then the pandemic hit, which stimulated substantial demand as Americans worked and schooled from home and moved to different parts of the country. On the supply side, a shortage of building products and labor put the brakes on construction. Fast forward to 2024, and current benchmark mortgage rates mean that many homeowners locked in at lower rates are not keen to sell. All of this adds up to a housing market where affordability is near all-time lows. But is the U.S. housing market actually broken?

Join Citi’s Rob Rowe, Head of the Global Strategy and Macro Group and U.S. Regional Director of Research, and Anthony Pettinari, U.S. Homebuilding and Building Products Analyst, as they tackle this critical question, not only from an economic standpoint but also from the perspective of demographics, geography, and even the tail risks around insurance rates amid climate change.

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