Housing Crash Fears Overblown, Analysts Say Market Is Normalizing, Not Breaking

Housing analysts are pushing back against fears of an imminent market collapse. In comments reported by Newsweek, experts said the U.S. housing market is more likely to enter a normalization cycle than a systemic crash, even as affordability strains and demographic headwinds persist heading into the spring buying season. Normalization, Not Collapse “A 2026 housing crash? Not likely,” said Michael Ryan , finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com. “A crash is a complete system break forced selling, credit freezing, foreclosure waves, panic spiraling on itself. That’s not what the market is showing right now.” Ryan described current conditions as a reset, noting that mortgage rates are hovering around 6.3%. He said forecasts cited in the report, including projections from Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: Z ) and Redfin, point to roughly 1% national appreciation, a picture of stagnation, not collapse. Zillow's March forecast projects home values rising approximately 0.7% year over year by the end of 2026, with existing home sales reaching about 4.24 million transactions. Easing mortgage ... Full story available on Benzinga.com