30-year mortgage rates are near 8% with excellent credit. Interest rates have climbed for the past three months straight. The Fed is considering another interest rate increase for November and December, possibly pushing rates up to 8.5% or even 9%. The reasoning is that higher interest rates will "slow down inflation".
Home sales are at a 13-year low. Factor in the higher cost of insurance and the fact that property taxes are going up to unaffordable levels and the very high cost of labor and materials for home construction... and you have a real estate market that's going to crater.
I personally know several homeowners that had their homes listed for sale, but have removed them from the market in the past 2 months. They will wait and hold on to what they have for now. One real estate agent mentioned to a couple that they should keep their house off the market until at least middle of next year and then decide based on market conditions.
I'm suggesting that the U.S. economy is a three legged stool... and one of those legs is housing and private & commercial real estate. If it fails, the economy goes into a deep recession at best.
That is why I'm going to buy a patch of dirt with nothing on it out in the middle of butt fuck nowhere I'm going to put a septic tank in the ground and I'm going to live off-grid. I mean you can get land out there for maybe $100,000 and it'll be close enough to a town that you'll be able to do your shopping and get your goods and services, and you can set it up so that you can work remotely if you want. That's a lot more approachable than some giant $600,000 two bedroom monstrosity with its ugly brutalist architecture and everything being made out of fucking corrugated tin and Styrofoam.