After four years of declining US home sales, many homeowners are staying put.
According to recent data from the National Association of Realtors, existing US home sales totaled 4.06 million last year, essentially flat compared with 2024. This extends the trend line as existing US home sales have declined on an annual basis since 2022.
For homeowners, this presents a mixed outlook. Even with house prices at record highs, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is time to sell. With more homes staying on the market longer, homeowners are weighing other options, from renting to renovating.
Financial advisors share their insights on how homeowners can make the most of this period of slumping home sales.
Coast to Coast
While the nature of residential real estate sales activity varies by region, financial advisors across the US have observed similar patterns nationwide.
“In southwest Florida, where I live, the 30-year low feels spot on,” says Jordan Gilberti, founder of Sage Wealth Group. “Transaction volume is thin, inventory is tight, and many clients are sitting rather than stretching.”
“The 30-year sales low resonates with what I’m seeing in my market in Austin and across Central Texas,” says Brady Lochte, founder and fiduciary financial advisor at Axon Capital Management. “Inventory remains tight, buyers are cautious, and many homeowners simply aren’t willing to give up historically low mortgage rates.”
Aaron Sloan, founding partner of Strategic Financial, says he feels home sales have started to slow somewhat in greater Kansas City as inventory is tight and homes linger on the market longer.
“I’m in the NYC area where median home prices are astronomically high,” says Cynthia Meyer, founder of Real Life Planning. “Tight inventory of entry-level homes is driving them higher… New York State Association of REALTORS reports closed sales have fallen 9.1 percent year-over-year.”
Hunker Down
Amid these conditions, many potential sellers choose to rent or renovate their homes rather than list them. According to Zillow’s 2025 Consumer Housing Trends Report, a steadily growing number of homeowners are at least considering renting out their home before ultimately selling, an ongoing trend Zillow has observed since 2021, when just under half (47%) reported considering it.
Moving costs have climbed, including higher home prices, higher interest rates, closing costs, and property taxes,” says Sloan. “For a lot of families, renovating or upgrading their existing home simply makes more financial sense than starting over somewhere else.”
Lochte says there are larger costs associated with moving.
“It’s not just price, but transactions, taxes, and the emotional and logistical friction,” he says. “When a household is financially stable, the incentive to incur new debt or adjust major aspects of their lifestyle diminishes.”
Access Liquidity
Property is a versatile asset class. Although physically immovable, it can be financially liquid, as equity is leveraged to extend credit to homeowners. Deployed correctly, consumers can purchase more properties.
A sizeable cohort of homeowners want to play real-world monopoly. According to the 2024 Bankrate Home Equity Insights survey, about 16% of homeowners said they would leverage home equity to make another investment, including buying property. This portion is higher among younger homeowners, with 30% of millennials approving of tapping home equity to make other investments.
When Brady Lochte’s clients want to leverage home equity for an investment property, he advises them on a few common paths, including a cash-out refinance if rates and timing make sense, a HELOC for shorter-term uses, or selling and downsizing to free up equity entirely.
“Each strategy has trade-offs,” he explains. “Interest rate risk, tax considerations, potential loss of primary residence capital gains exclusion – so it’s always evaluated in the context of their broader risk profile and investment goals.”
De-risked Strategies
Dr. Steven Crane, founder of Financial Legacy Builders, advocates a more measured approach. He only advises his client use home equity loans and HELOCs when the math works and the risk is fully understood.
“I am very cautious about leveraging a primary residence to chase returns, especially in a high-rate environment,” he adds. “Cash flow, liquidity, and stress tolerance matter more than upside projections.”
Indeed, history shows that if homeowners bite off more than they can chew, they’ll choke on their own debt. During the housing boom and bust of the 2000s, homeowners aggressively tapped home equity — adding an estimated $1.25 trillion in debt from 2002 to 2008 — and this leveraged borrowing accounted for about 39% of new mortgage defaults between 2006 and 2008 as the subprime crisis hit.
Such disasters remind us why advisors try to de-risk loan restructuring where possible. Gilberti shares some of his best methods for tapping equity for an investment property.
“We compare after-tax yield to mortgage cost, consider delayed financing, and cap real estate at a prudent slice of net worth to avoid concentration risk,” he says.
“Entity structure, umbrella coverage, and conservative loan-to-values matter more than squeezing the last 0.25% in rate.”
For many homeowners, staying put right now isn’t stagnation; it’s a strategy. With high prices, rising rates, and costly moves, carefully leveraging equity often makes more sense than selling. In this market, patience, thoughtful planning, and weighing cash flow against risk are key, reminding homeowners that sometimes the smartest gains come from staying home and leveling up.