Mortgage rates had decreased or held steady for nine straight weeks, but they’ve now increased for the second week in a row. In September, the Federal Reserve lowered its rate for the first time in 2025, and while people may have expected that cut to push rates farther down, the opposite has happened. Are mortgage […]

Congress has not passed any appropriations bills this year, so a government shutdown would affect all departments that rely on discretionary funding and whose operations are not deemed essential.  Historically, impacted employees are furloughed and then receive back pay when the government re-opens. However, the Office of Management and Budget instructed agencies this week to start creating […]

The decline in new construction comes as mortgage rates last week fell to their lowest level since October.  The pace of new construction continued to slow in August as falling mortgage rates offer a glimpse of hope for the moribund housing market. The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday said that […]

The Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut, while anticipated, doesn’t automatically translate into lower mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are complex and are influenced by several factors, including the 10-year Treasury yield, investors’ expectations about the economy, and inflation. This means that even with the Fed signaling further rate cuts, mortgage rates could still rise if inflation […]

The median U.S. asking rent rose 2.6% ($45) year over year to $1,790 in August—the largest increase since December 2022. It’s now just $70 below the record high hit in the summer of 2022. August marked the third-consecutive month of year-over-year increases following roughly two years of declining or flat rents. On a month-over-month basis, […]

After a period of sustained high interest rates, the real estate market has been defined by a “lock-in” effect, where homeowners with low-rate mortgages have been hesitant to sell, leading to limited inventory and high prices. However, with the Federal Reserve widely anticipated to lower its benchmark interest rate this fall, the housing landscape could […]

As ongoing trade tensions and tariff negotiations continue to dominate economic headlines, consumers are adopting a cautious stance when it comes to spending. Many individuals are holding back on major purchases, uncertain about how tariffs might impact prices on imported goods, from electronics to everyday essentials. This period of uncertainty has led to a wait-and-see […]

The real estate market is undergoing a significant transformation, a welcome change from the frenzied seller’s market of the past few years. We are now seeing a more balanced environment, and in some areas, a distinct trend towards a buyer’s market. This shift, driven by factors like increased inventory and a stabilization of home prices, […]

As previously reported, both the House and Senate passed bills to ban “trigger leads,” except in limited circumstances, although the versions of the bills that were previously passed are slightly different. The one difference is that the House-passed version calls for a Government Accountability Office study on the value of trigger leads by text message. By […]

With a growing gap between supply and affordability, a new report from Cotality reveals the U.S. housing market is seeing a significant shift in what defines a “starter home.” Once characterized by modest new builds on the outskirts of town, the starter home is now more likely to be an older, smaller property — and it’s commanding […]