nobody to buy at your asking price so you take the house off the market rather than match the market expectations, thereby increasing scarcity for potential buyers at a lower price who are instead forced to rent due to market dynamics
There's a floor. If you sell a home for less than your mortgage amount you have to have enough cash to make up the difference.
Also, selling for significantly under the appraised price decreases likelihood of qualified buyers because it may be a red flag.
Renting until spring is a logical option when there's no buyers, since that's when the supply of buyers is much larger. I don't want to be a landlord but I also don't want to pay money to part with my house. One home in my neighborhood finally sold for 60% of what they bought it for after 6 months on the market. I think only rich people or people who've been in their homes 20 years can afford that.
I keep wondering if the powers that be knew that low down payment percentages and low interest rates would have a major side effect: increased purchase prices (back then) and lack of initial equity that would make it really hard to sell. I think a lot of people who bought or refinanced back then are just stuck.
It doesn't feel as dire as the subprime mortgage crisis, but maybe that's because renting out your property for at least breakeven is a lot less damaging than defaulting on a mortgage.
This is a weird take. I get the desire to house people but someone choosing to rent rather than sell a home they own is not the crux of the issue. When there are corporations keeping swaths of housing empty to raise rent rates the real issue is market manipulation not small participants.
