Thanks to free and abundant credit to those at the front of the line, home prices have soared in the last few years as "smart" hedge fund managers have bought homes-to-rent in a yield-grab with both hands and feet. This - as we have noted numerous times - priced out the 'real' buyer; who this time, instead of being driven by a "fear of missing out", would rather not play (only to be left holding the bag). Another unintended consequence courtesy of The Fed's "main-street-helping" actions that has destroyed the American Dream for a declining middle class.
Fewer Americans think it's a good time to buy a home than at any time in the last 4 years... "recovery"!
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The trickle-down is not working... the middle-class is tapped out (and releveraging just to get by)... and the Fed's key transmission mechanism to the masses (housing) has now been broken... let's hope the market doesn't drop ever again (or the economy).
h/t @Stalingrad_Poor