Trump Tariffs Could Seriously Dampen Spring Selling Season Amid Brewing Trade War With China

                                          BY  SNEJANA FARBEROV

The spring season is in full bloom, and the best time to sell has finally arrived; but homeowners who expected their property to sell in record time and for top dollar are now facing a new hurdle in the form of economic volatility driven by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Based on Realtor.com® research, the week of April 13-19 promises to offer home sellers optimal housing market conditions to draw more buyer attention and walk away with a higher-price sale than any other week in the year.

But the financial turmoil unleashed by Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs could have serious repercussions for the state of the housing market.

After Trump rolled out his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on dozens of trading partner nations at the start of April, the stock market went into a tailspin not seen since 2020, sparking mounting recession fears.

In an effort to rein in the economic turmoil, the president announced days later that he was pausing the increased levies on all countries except for China, which instead was hit with an even higher 145% tariff on imports, further escalating the trade war between the two nations.

A baseline 10% tariff will remain in effect against most trading partners during the 90-day negotiation period.

Realtor.com Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones says that putting most tariffs on hold has improved the stock and bond markets, but the spring housing market is not out of the woods yet.

“Widespread uncertainty surrounding upcoming policy changes could mean continued volatility,” says Jones.

Decisions to sell or buy a home are almost always driven by job stability, while stock market returns often contribute to down payments. If people are worried about becoming unemployed or losing their investments in a market crash, chances are, they will hold off on making any major purchases.

It is also important to remember that mortgage rates, which have an outsized impact on the housing market, are closely tied to the 10-year Treasury yield.

Treasury yields usually go down when the stock market plunges, because panicked investors tend to run toward the perceived safety of government bonds.

However, long-term yields bucked that historical trend and spiked during the recent stock-selloff. Mortgage rates typically follow the 10-year yield’s trajectory, meaning those rates could soon rise.

“Unpredictability of the stock, bond, and labor markets could introduce some risk to buyer and homeowner plans,” according to Jones.

Fresh listings and overall supply of homes rise
The share of new listings present on the market has gone up 12.8% compared to the same time last year, according to the latest Realtor.com Weekly Housing Trends report.

This marks the 14th consecutive week of annual growth for this category of listings.

It’s anticipated that in the coming weeks more homes will be hitting the market and ratcheting up competition among sellers.

“This uptick in inventory is also a positive sign for buyers who have been eagerly waiting for fresh options to enter the market,” notes Jones.

Meanwhile, the total number of homes for sale has soared more than 31% from the same period in 2024, continuing a 75-week streak of yearly gains. And according to Jones, that’s good news for prospective homebuyers.

“This year-over-year growth in inventory gives buyers more choices and encourages more competitive pricing among sellers,” she says.

But despite the steady growth, the home inventory is still below pre-pandemic levels, and the lingering supply gap is expected to continue driving prices up in areas suffering from a dearth of available properties.

Pace of housing market slowing down
During the best-time-to-sell week, listed homes sat on the market four days longer than during the same interval a year ago.

The pace of the domestic housing market has remained sluggish for nearly a year now, giving potential buyers more time to weigh their options.

The previous week saw the same time on market increase year over year, up from two days a week prior, reflecting a downtrend.

“Slowing time on market speaks to the slightly more buyer-favoring housing environment compared to recent years, offering more room for negotiation and comparison shopping,” says Jones.

Listing prices back in retreat
The median listing price was flat compared to a year ago, resuming the recent trend of flat or decreasing prices after last week’s 0.1% annual uptick.

“In particular, recent economic uncertainty and concerns around job security could keep buyers on the sidelines, potentially applying downward pressure on prices,” notes Jones.

Price per square foot—a metric that helps account for changes in the size of homes on the market—rose 1.1% year-over-year.

“This suggests that while overall prices haven’t moved much, the underlying value of homes, when adjusted for size, has edged slightly higher,” according to the Realtor.com economist.

Meanwhile, the share of for-sale properties offering a price cut inched up by 0.7 percentage points from last year, signaling that sellers are eager to zero in on the price point that would pique buyers’ interest.