As shocking as it may seem with all the crazy things that have happened in 2026 — AI labor disruption headlines, epic snowstorms and especially the Iran conflict — housing demand, even last week, still showed year-over-year growth with mortgage purchase applications data and our weekly pending home sales. However, that growth has slowed and […]
Housing demand holds up despite mortgage rates at yearly highs Read More »
Despite higher oil and gas prices, higher mortgage rates and no indication that the conflict in Iran is ending, existing home sales still posted another positive week. However, with every week that goes by with mortgage rates above 6.25% and heading higher, it gets harder to maintain that growth, and housing data in the past
Housing demand still growing as mortgage rates reach inflection point Read More »
Lower mortgage rates and less volatility have been one of the key positive stories in 2026 for the housing market. Until last week, rates were under 6.25% all year and we didn’t see much volatility, which is a key variable for a healthy housing market. However, a lot of that changed last week as the
Housing demand still positive, but for how long with rising rates? Read More »
In the crazy world of economics, with all the drama last week, it was a pretty normal housing week. Housing data showed year-over-year growth, weekly pending home sales rose, inventory declined slightly and mortgage rates were very steady, considering the conflict with Iran. Let’s take a look at probably the calmest sector in the economy
Housing demand is up and inventory is down, even with Iran conflict Read More »
Spring is right around the corner and mortgage rates are already under 6%, but now we have a new variable: war with Iran. Now the question is whether the conflict in Iran will send rates lower or higher before the seasonal push in housing comes. Last week was already interesting as the 10-year yield closed
Will war with Iran send mortgage rates higher or lower? Read More »
Weekly pending home sales, which had shown year-over-year growth up until the late-January snowstorm, got back on track with year-over-year growth again last week. One thing to remember about our weekly pending sales data: it takes about 30-60 days to be reflected in the existing home sales data, so not only did the snowstorm delay
Weekly pending home sales back to year-over-year growth as we head into spring Read More »
With mortgage rates near 6% and the snow effect fading away, we got a rebound in the weekly housing demand last week. For me, this is more about the snow impact fading from the data line, as we also saw a pickup in new listings. Housing inventory picked up a smidge, and the year-over-year price
Housing demand snaps back as mortgage rates near 6% Read More »
I was amazed that the last Housing Market Tracker didn’t show much drama from the epic late-January snowstorm that impacted much of the U.S., but today’s tracker data got hit for sure. However, the housing market will be back in full force again soon. Last week, inventory declined, new listings data was negative year over
Housing inventory and new listings show impact of winter weather Read More »
With an epic snowstorm hitting large areas of the U.S. recently, I expected housing data to take a hit after the solid start we had already seen in 2026, but it remained mostly positive, which surprised me. The big key to that, of course, is that mortgage rates, even with all the crazy headlines recently,
Housing demand is still positive even with epic snowstorm Read More »
Lower mortgage rates are driving increased housing demand in 2026, as shown by another positive week in our Housing Market Tracker data. Both weekly pending home sales and purchase application data posted gains last week — both week over week and year over year. My work over the years indicates that housing demand strengthens when
Lower mortgage rates boosting demand early in 2026 Read More »