Housing Market Outlook For 2024: Here's The Good News — And The Bad News

The housing market has been pushed out of reach for some Americans by sky-high mortgage rates.Getty Images US housing market affordability will improve in 2024, but challenges will remain, Realtor.com said. Home prices will drop, but the decline in mortgage rates will be limited. The lock-in effect from rates will persist, bringing little relief to the market's lack of supply. Some relief is coming for the housing market next year, but many of this year's challenges will persist, Realtor.com said in recent 2024 outlook.Overall, the real estate firm offered a mixed forecast, which will disappoint many Americans hoping for a thaw in conditions after high rates largely froze the sector in 2023."We're not going to see a major breakthrough in the logjam that has been the housing market over the last year or so, but 2024 will be a baby step in the right direction," Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in the report.