One positive housing story that really isn’t getting any love is the inventory growth we have seen since the lows of 2022. Why is that positive? Well, more inventory means more choices, a better buyer’s market, and less price growth — all things the housing market needs to get healthy again. I believe this is one […]
Inventory growth making housing more affordable Read More »
Urban new-construction homes are both scarce and significantly more expensive than existing properties, even as builders lean heavily into suburban development and manage prices to meet weaker demand, according to a Q1 2026 report from Realtor.com and the National Association of Realtors. The median listing price for new-construction homes came in at $449,373 in Q1
Builders discount more but keep prices flat while resale values slip Read More »
Housing 2026 is off and going, and so far this year, with mortgage rates near 6% and mortgage spreads near normal levels, 2026 looks to be the first year of actual growth in existing home sales in years. Last week we had solid data in purchase apps and our weekly pending sales data — with
Housing demand is off to a solid start in 2026 Read More »
Existing home sales have had a nice rise since mid-June, but what will it take for this sales growth trend to continue in 2026? Over the last few years, when rates drop noticeably, sales pick up, but then mortgage rates have shot up over 7% and taken away housing’s momentum. In 2026, are there key
Existing home sales outlook improves as mortgage rates stabilize Read More »
U.S. home price growth remained muted in October as high mortgage rates and affordability constraints continued to weigh on the housing market, according to data released Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index rose 1.4% from a year earlier — up slightly from a 1.3% annual increase
Home price growth slows, affordability pressures persist Read More »
Purchase application data had its first positive year in many years in 2025, meaning we had more positive than negative week-to-week data, and most of the year was positive year over year in almost every weekly print. However, existing home sales will likely be only slightly higher in 2025 than in 2024. So how could
Why 2025’s strong purchase application data didn’t boost home sales Read More »
Existing home sales have been trending higher since June, when the monthly sales print bottomed at 3,930,000 for 2025. The question is: can this continue? Back in mid-June, the housing market started to shift, and then mortgage rates fell below the key 6.64% level and headed toward 6. This has given us 200,000 more sales
Existing home sales hit 9-month high with inventory at 1.43M units Read More »
Renovated homes continue to attract more online interest and sell faster than other older properties — but their long-standing fix-and-flip advantage has narrowed sharply as higher mortgage rates reshape buyer behavior, according to a new Realtor.com report. The analysis builds on earlier research showing fixer-uppers are priced 54.2% below the national median for single-family homes.
Renovated homes are still a draw, but the edge is fading Read More »
Home sales are finally showing real momentum as we close out 2025. The trends are consistent enough to inspire me to sketch a Goldilocks case that results in very significant home sales growth 2026. What if we get lucky and the conditions land just right? First the data. The Altos weekly pending sales counts are
The Goldilocks case for home sales in 2026 Read More »
Existing home sales posted another positive year-over-year print in October, marking the 4th straight month of year-over-year growth. Earlier in the year, I predicted that existing home sales would perform better than expected amid elevated mortgage rates. Since we were working with some of the lowest year-over-year comparisons in history from 2024, I anticipated growth
Existing home sales show 4 months of year-over-year growth Read More »