As we kick off the New Year, affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing the mortgage industry and the broader housing market. It continues to shape conversations among lenders, policymakers, and consumers alike. Affordability is not a rate problem Ask most people what’s wrong with housing affordability, and the answer comes quickly: rates are […]
A blueprint for making housing more affordable Read More »
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an executive order that allows the federal government to override state and local regulations during recovery efforts from last year’s Los Angeles wildfires, arguing that California authorities have slowed rebuilding. The order directs federal agencies to bypass state and local permitting processes for federally funded disaster recovery projects, asserting
Trump executive order overrides Los Angeles wildfire rebuilding plan Read More »
Down Payment Resource (DPR) on Monday released its Q4 2025 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report, identifying 2,619 down payment assistance (DPA) programs available nationwide. The count is five fewer compared to the third quarter but represents a 6% increase from Q4 2024, when 2,466 programs were available. The year-over-year growth reflects continued expansion and refinement
Down payment assistance programs top 2,600 in Q4 2025 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 »
Fewer Americans are packing up and relocating, and when they do move, they are likely to stay within their current region, according to a new analysis published by Bank of America. The findings suggest that the era of a dramatic nationwide migration has faded, replaced by a quieter trend of households trading one nearby city
Americans are moving less frequently — and staying closer to home Read More »
The U.S. housing market is showing clear signs of a post-holiday recovery. Pending home sales climbed to 50,096 new contracts this week, a 25.7% increase from last week’s 39,841, as buyer activity rebounds from the typical holiday slowdown. The increase in buyer activity, combined with shifting market dynamics, signals a return to more typical activity
Post-holiday pending sales rebound exposes regional divides Read More »
Fair housing is often discussed in broad terms but is perhaps not always clearly defined. At its core, Fair Housing (capital F and H) refers to an interwoven framework of federal, state, and local policies rooted in the Fair Housing Act that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial
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 »
Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas) introduced legislation this week, dubbed the Don’t Tax the American Dream Act, that would eliminate federal capital gains taxes on the sale of primary residences. “Americans are overtaxed. The Don’t Tax the American Dream Act repeals costly capital gains taxes on home sales so that Americans keep more of their hard-earned
New bill seeks elimination of capital gains tax on home sales Read More »