Home Depot forecasts a weak 2024

New York (CNN) — Home Depot, a bellwether of the housing market and US economy, said sales dropped over the winter and it’s a expecting a slow 2024.

Posted 12:27 p.m. Feb 20 — Updated 12:27 p.m. Feb 20

Nathaniel Meyersohn

, CNN

CNN — New York (CNN) — Home Depot, a bellwether of the housing market and US economy, said sales dropped over the winter and it’s a expecting a slow 2024.

Sales at stores open for at least one year fell 3.5% last quarter, and Home Depot projects that sales will continue to decline 1% in 2024.

“2023 was a year of moderation,” Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said in a news release Tuesday.

Demand for home improvement has fallen due to high mortgage rates and a slowdown in new home construction. In October, mortgage rates hit a 23-year high of 7.79%.

“One of the main issues [for Home Depot] continues to be a very sluggish housing market,” Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail, said in a note to clients Tuesday. “This continues to suck a lot of demand out of the market as home movers are, traditionally, big spenders on improvement.”

Many consumers have also shifted their spending from physical goods to experiences, such as travel and concerts. This shift has hurt Home Depot.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

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