FILE PHOTO: A for sale sign is shown for a residential home in Encinitas, California, U.S. July 25, 2025. Mike Blake | ReutersA version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.The all-important spring housing market is well underway, but expectations are falling short due to the war in Iran and its impact on both the U.S. economy and consumer sentiment. Mortgage rates, which were previously forecast to be far lower this spring than last, are now much higher, and concerns over employment and inflation are throwing cold water on pent-up homebuyer demand.[embedded content]Buyers in the first quarter of this year were more concerned about the economy and mortgage rates than they were about home prices, according to real estate agents who participated in the quarterly CNBC Housing Market Survey. “They’re fearful of the war, they’re fearful of gas prices, [for] their job security,” said Faith Harmer, an agent in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.The CNBC Housing Market Survey is a national inquiry of real estate agents selected randomly across the United States. Responses for the first-quarter survey were collected between March 24 and March 30. This quarter, 70 agents shared their insights.[embedded content]When asked about their buyers’ primary concern, about one-third of agents said the economy, while another third said mortgage rates. The latter marked a big jump from just 26% in the fourth quarter. Only 9% of agents in the first-quarter survey said prices were their buyers’ biggest concern, down from 18% in the previous period.This should come as no surprise, as the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hit a low of 5.99% the day before the Iran war started and then began to climb. It’s now hovering around 6.5%. Still, while most agents said prices were either flat or falling, nearly twice as many agents, 29%, reported home prices rising during the first quarter than did in the previous quarter. Price dynamics can vary widely depending on the market and region of the country.But affordability is not improving as much as most experts had forecast. When asked how affordability was hitting buyers, 19% of agents said it was causing them to get out of the market. That was up from just 11% at the end of last year. [embedded content]More than half of agents reported at least one contract cancellation.”Buyers that were on the fence and deciding to buy are now on the fence and going the other direction, saying, ‘I’m not going to buy,'” said Eric Bramlett, an agent in Austin, Texas. As buyer demand drops, homes are sitting on the market longer. In the first quarter, 31% of agents reported that their listings were on the market for more than six weeks, compared with 26% in the fourth quarter.[embedded content]”We just had one recently where they wante …
