Home Depot's slowing sales suggest Americans feel lousy about housing

After three straight years of sales growth, Home Depot went into reverse in the first quarter, and sales and profit are expected to tumble again in the second quarter when the company announces its earnings Tuesday

It might be because Americans have rarely felt worse about housing. Only 18% said it was a “good time to buy” according to July’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index from Fannie Mae, matching an all-time low. Unsurprisingly, people continue to attribute the challenging housing conditions to high home prices and unfavorable mortgage rates, said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist. In July, median home prices dropped year over year, but remained just shy of record highs.

While some factors become somewhat more favorable for home improvement spending in the second half of 2023, the analysts expect the full year to end up flat, and for this trajectory to continue into 2024 with some periodic bumps along the way. Another hit on home renovations industry is fewer existing home sales, which are down about 20% from a year ago.

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