Key Points: Consumer confidence has weakened as economic uncertainty has increased, driven by rising geopolitical tensions, energy prices, and financial market volatility. Housing fundamentals have improved compared with a year ago, with both house-buying power and inventory improving over last year, but recent mortgage rate increases have reduced ...
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Key Points: The average monthly cost of owning a single-family home, including mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and utilities, increased 4.6% in 2024 to $1,789—a slower increase than in the prior two years. Day‑to‑day ownership costs—taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and utilities—increased just 2.6 percent, the slowest growth since 2020. Insurance ...
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Key Points: Improved affordability gives homebuyers a spring lift, with house-buying power in February up 10 percent relative to list prices from a year ago. Even with those gains, affordability remains below pre-pandemic levels, and the pace of recovery has diverged across markets. Markets with smaller remaining affordability gaps are better ...
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Key Points: Affordability improved nearly 11 percent year over year in January, reaching its highest level since August 2022. Income growth has outpaced house price growth for 19 straight months, boosting house-buying power even as mortgage rates remain elevated. Markets with declining home prices had the largest affordability gains, while areas ...
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Key Points: For-sale inventory is up 9 percent year over year, and house-buying power has increased roughly 12 percent, easing some pressure on affordability. While overall inventory has improved, new listings are still down 4 percent from a year ago—limiting how much sales can rebound. Despite recent mortgage rate volatility and disappointing ...
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Key Points: A record number of single women owned homes in 2025, despite a dip in the homeownership rate. Long-term gains in educational attainment and real household income continue to boost women’s participation in the housing market. Affordability has improved to its best level since 2022, potentially supporting further homeownership growth ...
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