Housing’s Spring Selling Season Is Here. It’s Not Looking Pretty

The housing industry had good reasons for optimism heading into 2026. Transactions were picking up after three listless years as improved affordability and decent inventory levels brought buyers back into the market. The timing of the war in Iran and its impact on mortgage rates and sentiment have clouded the outlook once again.

The conflict began just as the spring selling season was kicking off, and it has continued into what is typically a peak buying period. With the academic year ending in about six or seven weeks across most of the country, this is typically the time when families are out scouting for new homes and school districts. Instead, signs of a buyers’ retreat are building, and with it, the prospect that a market rebound will once again be postponed.