> On the other hand, if the market is down, there's no way in hell that I'm selling my house.
As long as you are occupying a residence, it would not effect nationwide or region-wide supply and demand, right? You selling would be offset by you buying.
Deaths, divorces, immigration, births, and of course, new construction is what would shift supply and demand curves, on average.
Yes, but in this environment, I'd probably try to buy something new without selling (but renting out instead).
Also, if lots of people are buying and selling, even if aggregate demand is the same, it's a more liquid market. If I'm a first-time homebuyer, I'd rather play in a market of musical chairs then try to buy in a theater where only the dead and divorced get up from their seats.
That's entirely true if all houses are the proverbial spherical identical house, but people chasing to remain "where they are" also slows down upgrades and downgrades.
If a family that would normally have sold their older two bedroom and moved to a four bedroom instead chooses to remain in the two bedroom longer, that two bedroom doesn't appear on the market, a four bedroom languishes.
And if nobody is building two bedroom houses, that can have ripple effects.
As long as you are occupying a residence, it would not effect nationwide or region-wide supply and demand, right? You selling would be offset by you buying.
Deaths, divorces, immigration, births, and of course, new construction is what would shift supply and demand curves, on average.