Home prices are falling at the fastest rate in 15 years. 7 real estate analysts and economists break down how bad they think it's going to get.

Throughout much of the pandemic, an unusually high demand for housing had pushed US home prices soaring. But as a combination of surging inflation and higher mortgage interest rates put a strain on budgets, home-buying activity has been increasingly cooling off — and it's translated to fewer home sales and the largest wave of price cuts since the Great Recession.

Indeed, prospective buyers are seeing more discounts. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, home prices fell by 1% in September — the most recent month for home price data — marking the third consecutive month of declines. However, despite more sellers cutting asking prices, home prices have still increased by 10.6% year-over-year.

"As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be more expensive and housing becomes less affordable," S&P analysts wrote. "Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, home prices may well continue to weaken."

While experts have maintained that home prices are unlikely to plummet in a similar fashion to the housing boom of the mid-aughts, evidence is mounting that the current housing downturn is growing more severe by the day.

To get a sense of how far US home prices could fall, Insider compiled commentary and forecasts from experts in the worlds of investing and housing. Here's where they think prices will land in 2023: 

Goldman Sachs

Global investment firm Goldman Sachs downgraded its forecast for US home prices in a note from October and now projects them to fall between 5% to 10% from the peak prices seen earlier this year. The firm had previously predicted a less severe drop in housing prices but says that it had updated its projection due to increased interest rates. The Goldman note also adds that further declines will be attributed to higher housing costs as "unsustainable levels of housing affordability" will continue to weigh on housing demand.

"Housing is a risk to economic growth in all G-10 countries," Goldman's researchers wrote. "The model's forecasts are slightly more negative than in September because actual and forecasted interest rates have increased, their estimates for economic growth in North American have fallen and home prices have missed expectations."

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at National Association of Realtors

Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors anticipates widespread home price declines in 2023, but does not believe they will be severe. It's a sentiment he shares with colleague Nadia Evangelu, senior economist with the NAR.