Leo Pareja says rising rates have already prompted a housing collapse

As mortgage rates rise, with some forecasting 8% rates in 2027, newly appointed AGNT CEO Leo Pareja said many people are waiting for a housing collapse, but he believes that has already happened. “Winter is here,” Pareja told attendees of eXp Realty’s eXp Con on Thursday morning. “We need to stop waiting for the collapse because it already happened three years ago.” According to Pareja, the low rates witnessed both after the Great Recession and during the COVID-19 pandemic “stole tomorrow’s buyers,” resulting in the 4 million existing home sale cycle the housing industry is currently locked in. Due to these two crises and the responses to them by financial policymakers, Pareja believes both real estate professionals and consumers have “forgotten what normal looks like.” He noted that while mortgage rates may sit near 7.5% today, this is still close to their historic average. Yet a rate closer to 8% than it is to 7% is a hard pill for many consumers to swallow. And if rates do go above 8% in 2027, Pareja said he believes existing home sales may dip below 4 million for the first time since 1995. “But whether it is 3.9 million or 4.1 million existing home sales, life events drive all ...