Key Points: Affordability headwinds have strengthened. Higher mortgage rates have reduced house-buying power, while slowing new listings growth and elevated uncertainty continue to weigh on existing-home sales. Structural tailwinds remain intact. The mortgage rate lock-in effect continues to loosen gradually, and a resilient labor market is ...
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Key Points: Housing found its floor, not a springboard. The market remains subdued, but inventory, affordability, and purchase demand have all improved from a year ago. Demographics are proving more persistent than mortgage rates. Millennials remain in their prime home-buying years, Gen Z is entering the market, and nearly 5 million "missing" home ...
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Key Points: Housing affordability improved 7 percent annually in April as slower house price appreciation boosted consumer house-buying power. Months' supply of existing homes increased from 3.5 months in April 2024 to 4.4 months in April 2026, helping slow annual nominal house price growth from approximately 6 percent to nearly zero. Generally, ...
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Key Points: Existing-home sales are expected to increase modestly in May despite higher mortgage rates. Markets with more normal new-listing levels tend to have more normal sales activity. Affordability remains a constraint, but the new listings gap is the clearer driver. Existing-home sales are expected to increase modestly in May for the second ...
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Key Points: Housing affordability improved 7.8 percent annually in March, marking the sixth consecutive month of annual affordability gains. Mortgage rates increased from 6.05 percent in February to 6.18 percent in March and moved even higher in April and May, reducing some of the affordability momentum entering the spring housing market. ...
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Key Points: Existing-home sales are expected to increase modestly in April, but remain low compared with historical norms. Housing affordability recently improved 11 percent over the past year, with gains across all top 100 markets. Markets with greater affordability gains tend to show stronger sales growth, though outcomes vary based on local ...
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