Jobs Friday came and went without much reaction in bond yields because the labor market isn’t breaking, nor is it getting stronger. Mortgage rates dropped into the 5s for a short time on Friday as a result of Trump’s earlier announcement directing the GSEs to buy $200 billion in mortgage backed securities. The 10-year yield […]
December jobs data continues to support lower mortgage rates Read More »
It finally happened today: We got mortgage rates under 6% for a short time. Can we get some traction for that level? Well, one aspect of the mortgage-rate story really improved today; we had a monster day in mortgage spreads, improving overnight to push rates down over 20 basis points without much help from the
Mortgage rates drop below 6% following Trump’s MBS announcement Read More »
Homes remained less affordable than historic norms in nearly every U.S. county at the end of 2025, despite modest improvements late in the year, according to ATTOM’s latest U.S. Home Affordability Report, released Thursday. In 586 of the 594 counties analyzed (or 99%), median-priced single-family homes and condominiums were less affordable than historic averages in
ATTOM: Home affordability stays strained across the country Read More »
Housing professionals across the country raised their eyebrows earlier this week when President Donald Trump said he would look to stop large institutional investors from buying homes, citing increased affordability pressures on the typical American consumer. Cotality principal economist Thom Malone has long studied the impacts that real estate investors of all sizes have on
Will banning institutional investors make homes more affordable? Read More »
I have often debated whether the mortgage rate lockdown is real or just another housing myth. At first glance, the lockdown theory seems like common sense, so when mortgage rates jumped from 3% to 7% in 2022, it was logical to wonder why anyone would choose to sell their home. People with low rates seemed
New homeowner data challenges mortgage rate lockdown theory Read More »
“The Court accepts as true all of the well-pleaded facts in the Complaint and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiffs.” So said U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama on 12.4.2025. According to Reuters: “A group of companies that lease land for mobile homes has convinced a federal judge in Chicago to dismiss a proposed
Out-of-state investment in U.S. single-family homes remains elevated in 2025, even as the housing market continues to cool from pandemic-era extremes, according to new data from SFR Analytics. Nonresident investors accounted for 5.56% of single-family home purchases nationwide this year. That share is slightly below 2024 levels and well under the 2021 peak, but it
Out-of-state investors keep sizable stake in single-family homes 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 »
As the housing industry prepares for 2026, Realtor.com is taking some time to double down on its Let America Build campaign. Initially launched in March 2025, the national campaign advocates for solutions to expand housing supply. Realtor.com describes the campaign, which calls on lawmakers to make pro-building choices, as an effort to advocate for “solutions
Realtor.com urges action on US housing supply shortage Read More »
Even though down payments remain an obstacle to prospective homebuyers across the country, affordability conditions have improved significantly in the past three years. That’s the key takeaway from a Realtor.com report released Monday. The company found that across the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, the typical household in 2025 needs seven years to save for
How long does it take to save for a down payment in 2025? Read More »