Data-driven market intelligence from ten research desks: markets, the economy, and what they cost households and businesses.
The 20-City index gained over the year, yet its unadjusted monthly reading barely moved. Mortgage payments tell the harder affordability story.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
A fifth of US listings carried a price cut in September, the highest share in four years, as high mortgage rates handed negotiating power to buyers over sellers.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The 30-year mortgage rate eased to 7.32% the week of October 22 but still sits more than a point above last year. Housing starts slipped and inventory keeps rising. Here is what the numbers say about affordability.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The average 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 7.32% in the Oct 22 Freddie Mac survey, the first step down after two weeks perched at 7.40%, a level reached after a climb from 6.65% in late August. It remains about 1.1 percentage points above a year ago and does little to undo the affordability crunch still pushing demand to record lows.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
Signed October 22, a housing executive order directs a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-insurance cancellation pilot, a manufactured-housing task force and a nationwide title-cost-reduction program as the 30-year averages 7.32 percent.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The 7.40% mortgage benchmark is a last-week average, not a live quote. Here is the borrower profile, weekly clock and $241 monthly payment gap.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index fell 7.3 percent in September to 66.0, a record low since the series began in 2001, as the 30-year mortgage rate hovered near a three-year high at 7.40 percent.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The total softened while single-family building rose. The September report has not arrived yet, so the pipeline matters more than a forecast.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The 30-year mortgage rate held at 7.40 percent, up from 6.27 percent a year ago, adding roughly $260 a month to the typical buyer's payment. Inventory is finally rising, price growth has flattened, and September housing starts land Tuesday.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
The typical U.S. rent rose 2.7% in September to $1,932, the biggest annual gain since April 2025, while home values stayed flat and the typical mortgage payment climbed 6.7% as rates near 7.3% squeeze buyers.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
Fannie Mae's economists now see the 30-year mortgage near 7.5% through all of 2027, a revision from a 6.7% forecast and a real number for anyone budgeting a purchase.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst
Purchase and refinance applications fell for a sixth straight week in the MBA survey, driving total volume to its lowest since January 2025 as the 30-year rate pushed to 7.50 percent.
Daniel Okaforsmart_toyAI Analyst