Housing market news, read for homeowners

refinance rates · September 19, 2026

Refinance Rates Jumped 35 Bps. Sellers Should Ignore It

Refinance rates leapt 35 basis points on September 19, 2026, while purchase rates eased. Only one of those numbers matters if you are selling.

Federal Reserve interest rate decision · September 18, 2026

Fed Rate Hike Shrinks Seller Competition, Prices Up 3%

Each hike in the Fed's 2026 path pushes more would-be sellers off the market, which is why home values still rose 3% through August 2026.

home sales · September 18, 2026

Home Sales at 7% Mortgage Rates: Sorted, Not Stopped

Rates at 7 percent in September 2026 did not kill home sales; they split the market into financed buyers who left and cash buyers who kept closing.

property taxes · September 17, 2026

Property Tax Rates Fall, Bills Rise: The 3% Math

Councils fight over the rate. The market sets the assessment, and with US home values up 3.0 percent in August 2026, that number keeps growing.

mortgage rates · September 17, 2026

Mortgage Rates at 7.06% and Home Prices Rose Anyway

The 30-year rate hit 7.06 percent on September 17, 2026, yet prices and sales kept climbing. Scarcity, not rates, is setting your leverage as a seller.

home prices · September 15, 2026

US Home Prices: Up 3% Nationally, Falling in Austin

The typical US home is up 3.0 percent as of July 2026, but Austin prices fell even as listings shrank. The national average now prices homes wrong.

mortgage rates · September 8, 2026

Mortgage Rates at 6.71% While Refis Collapse 47%

The 30-year fixed hit 6.71% in early September 2026, above a year ago, and rate-and-term refis fell 47%. The rate relief sellers are waiting on has not arrived.

home equity · September 8, 2026

Home Equity: Record $18T, But Equity-Rich Share Falls

Aggregate equity hit an all-time high, but the equity-rich share fell four straight quarters to a five-year low. That gap is the seller's story.

housing market crash · September 7, 2026

Housing Market Crash? Asking Prices Down 10 Straight Months

Home values rose 3.0 percent through July 2026 while asking prices fell ten straight months. Sellers lost pricing power, not equity.

home affordability · September 7, 2026

A Fed Cut Won't Lift Your Sale Price. Here's Why

A Fed cut is not a mortgage cut, and if it becomes one, it pulls lock-in owners off the sidelines to compete with your listing.

home sales · September 6, 2026

Home Sales Fall as First-Time Buyers Drop to 29%

July 2026 sales fell 1.7 percent while the median hit a 37th straight record. Part of that record is who stopped buying, not what homes are worth.

property taxes · September 6, 2026

Property Taxes: Your Falling Tax Rate Is a Seller Trap

The gap between your assessed value and your home's real market value is a subsidy you keep only while you hold. It resets the day you sell.

home prices · September 5, 2026

US Home Prices Split: Your ZIP Decides Up or Down

The national 3 percent gain averages Midwest metros still rising against Sun Belt metros already falling. Your months-of-supply figure decides which you're in.

Federal Reserve interest rate decision · September 5, 2026

Fed Rate Decision: Frozen Since December, Rates Up Anyway

Mortgage rates hit a 13-month high of 6.71% during a nine-month Fed freeze, proof the September 16 meeting is not the lever your listing depends on.

housing supply · September 4, 2026

Housing Supply Split: 9.3 Months New, 4.6 Existing

New homes sit at 9.3 months of supply while resales hold at 4.6. The mix in your ZIP, not the national number, decides if you have leverage or a ceiling.

mortgage rates · September 4, 2026

Mortgage Rates Hit 6.71% as Fed Hike Odds Overtake Cut Bets

The 30-year fixed hit a one-year high of 6.71% in early September 2026, and futures now lean toward a Fed hike, not the cut sellers have been waiting on.

home equity · September 3, 2026

Home Equity Hit $18 Trillion. Owners Tapped 0.4% of It

Owners pulled just 0.41% of tappable equity per quarter at the 2025 peak; the math says borrow the marginal dollar at 7.16%, not reset everything at 6.66%.

refinance rates · September 2, 2026

Refinance Rates Hit 2026 High on a War Premium, Not the Fed

The spike to a 2026 high rests on a geopolitical fear premium that can unwind fast, which makes it the wrong number to anchor a permanent selling decision on.

home sales · September 2, 2026

Home Sales Near a 30-Year Low While AI Cash Lifts One Metro

San Francisco is surging on AI wealth while national home sales scrape a three-decade low; the boom runs on cash your local buyer pool does not have.

property taxes · September 1, 2026

Property Taxes Rose 3% as Home Values Fell in 2025

In 2025 property taxes and home values split for the first time in years, and the gap raises the cost of waiting to sell.

home prices · September 1, 2026

Home Prices Up 3%, but Real Values Hit a 5-Year Low

Nominal US home values rose 3.0% through July 2026, but inflation-adjusted values sit at a five-year low. Waiting for more upside is quietly a losing trade.

home affordability · August 31, 2026

Home Affordability Is Improving on Wages, Not Prices

The income needed to buy a home sits within $600 of a record. Paychecks are catching up, costs are not, and that changes nothing for sellers.

housing supply · August 31, 2026

Housing Supply: 3% Price Growth Says the Glut Is Local

National inventory averages a Sun Belt flood and a Northeast drought. The only supply figure that sets your price is the listing count in your own ZIP.

housing starts · August 30, 2026

Housing Starts Won't Price Your Home. Completions Will.

Starts measure builder confidence, not your competition. Single-family completions in your metro are the supply that shows up against your listing.

mortgage rates · August 30, 2026

Mortgage Rates Hit 6.66%, Higher Than a Year Ago

The 30-year fixed rose to 6.66% by late August 2026, above last year and well off February's 6.01% low. Sellers who waited got the opposite of what they bet on.

home sales · August 28, 2026

Existing Home Sales Stuck Near 4M as Inventory Climbs

Inventory is rising faster than buyers, which shifts pricing power to purchasers even as national values keep grinding higher.

property taxes · August 28, 2026

Property Taxes Rose 3.7% as Home Values Fell 1.7%

In 2025 property tax bills climbed while values slipped, pushing the effective rate to a five-year high and quietly discounting what buyers can bid.

home prices · August 27, 2026

Home Prices Up 1.1%: A Record That Buys Nothing

National home prices rose 1.1% in the year to July 2026, below inflation, and the gains that remain are flowing to luxury homes most sellers do not own.

home affordability · August 27, 2026

Affordability Math: Income Buys 30% Less House Than 2021

Prices keep rising and rates keep sitting near 6.75%, so the affordability gap closes on the margin, not in one move. Here is where you actually stand.

housing market crash · August 26, 2026

A Housing Crash Needs Forced Sellers. There Aren't Any.

Prices are up 3% year over year and locked-in owners aren't selling. What you face is a slow market, not a collapse.

refinance rates · August 26, 2026

Refi Rates Fell for 2 Weeks. Nobody Refinanced.

Refinance rates dropped for a second straight week through August 20 and applications still fell. That non-response tells sellers how frozen demand really is.

mortgage rates · August 25, 2026

Mortgage Rates Stuck at 6.75%: The Stall Is the Signal

The 30-year rate has gone nowhere for weeks. Buyers have already repriced to it, and a Fed cut is likely priced in, which removes the case for waiting.

housing supply · August 24, 2026

The Two Housing Shortages Point Opposite Ways

Resale inventory is scarce and new homes are piling up. Which one prices your sale depends on whether a builder is working within ten miles of you.

home sales · August 24, 2026

Home Sales Fell 1.7% in July as Prices Hit Records

July's data shows demand thinning faster than prices fall, and the pending-sales pipeline says your fall closing is already pointed down.

home prices · August 23, 2026

Home Prices Are Up 2%. In Florida They're Down 2%.

National prices are up 1 to 2 percent, but Florida is falling and the buyer pool that sets your sale price shrank this summer.

property taxes · August 23, 2026

Property Taxes Rose 3% in 2025 While Home Values Fell

ATTOM's full-year 2025 data shows tax bills up 3 percent while values fell 1.7 percent, pushing the effective rate to a five-year high of 0.9 percent.

days on market · August 22, 2026

Days on Market Is a Symptom: Watch Price Cuts Instead

Median days on market averages week-one sales with 90-day sitters. The price-cut share and time-to-contract reveal what the headline number hides.

when to sell a house · August 22, 2026

When to Sell a House: 100,000 Price Cuts vs a Record

The July 2026 median set a 37th straight annual record while price cuts topped 100,000 a week. The gap between those two numbers is the whole selling decision.

refinance rates · August 21, 2026

Refinance Rates: The 41.9% Refi Share Is a Mirage

The refinance share jumped to 41.9% the week of August 14 only because purchase applications fell harder. That is a soft-demand reading, not a comeback.

home affordability · August 21, 2026

Home Affordability: 1 Rate Point Costs Buyers $152 a Month

Affordability is a payment problem, not a price problem: on the median US home, each rate point adds about $152 a month and shrinks the pool that can buy yours.

mortgage rates · August 20, 2026

Mortgage Rates Dip to 6.67% and Buyers Still Walk Away

The 30-year fixed slipped to 6.67% in mid-August 2026, yet purchase applications fell for a third straight week. The dip is engineered, small, and fragile.

housing supply · August 20, 2026

Housing Supply: Builders Hold 9.3 Months, Owners 4.6

New-home supply hit 9.3 months in June 2026, double the resale figure. If a builder is discounting nearby, that is your real comp, not last year's sale.

home sales · August 19, 2026

Existing-Home Sales Data Lags. Watch Cancellations.

Existing-home sales count contracts signed two months ago. What decides whether your deal survives is the share collapsing in the final three weeks.

home prices · August 19, 2026

Home Prices Rose 1.1% in May While Inflation Ran 4.2%

Case-Shiller's 1.1% annual gain for May 2026 trailed 4.2% inflation, the 12th straight month home equity lost purchasing power while nominal prices set records.

property taxes · August 18, 2026

Property Tax Bills Rose 3% as Home Values Fell 1.7%

US property tax bills climbed 3% in 2025 while values slipped 1.7%, pushing effective rates to a five-year high and thinning your buyer pool.

home affordability · August 16, 2026

Home Affordability Gains Come From Sellers, Not 6.67% Rates

Mortgage rates sit at 6.67%, roughly where they were a year ago. The affordability gain buyers see is coming from real price erosion and seller concessions.

mortgage rates · August 16, 2026

Mortgage Rates at a 2026 High Are Protecting Sellers

The 30-year fixed hit 6.69% in early August 2026 and inventory fell anyway. Lock-in keeps sellers off the market, so supply sets your leverage, not rates.

home sales · August 15, 2026

July's Record Home Price Counts the Wrong Buyers

Existing-home sales fell in July 2026 while the median hit a record. That gap is a mix shift, not proof your home gained value.

property taxes · August 13, 2026

Property Taxes Rose 3% in 2025 While Home Values Fell

The 2025 effective property tax rate hit 0.9 percent, a five-year high, because levies rose while values fell. In high-tax markets, that caps your sale price.

home prices · August 13, 2026

Home Prices Up 3%? The Average Hides a Two-Speed Market

US home values rose 3.0 percent through June 2026, but July's falling sales and Houston's record inventory show the gain lags the market buyers already left.

mortgage rates · August 11, 2026

Mortgage Rates Hit 6.78%: The Jump Costs Buyers $17 a Month

The August 11 move to 6.78% adds about $17 a month for a typical buyer. The July CPI print, not the daily quote, decides where rates sit this fall.

home affordability · August 10, 2026

Housing Affordability Improved. It Weakened Sellers

The income needed to buy a typical US home fell for the first time in years, and for sellers that means less leverage, not a demand rebound.

home equity · August 10, 2026

Record Home Equity, and Wall Street Is Now Bonding It

US tappable equity sits near $11 trillion, but a 3% first mortgage means most owners can only reach it through a new kind of door.

housing supply · August 9, 2026

US Housing Supply Is Two Markets: Resale and New Build

National housing supply tells a US seller almost nothing. The split between rising resale and builder-controlled new construction sets your leverage.

home sales · August 8, 2026

Home Sales Slump Hides a 3% Price Gain for Sellers

Sales volume measures how many owners will list, not what buyers pay: US home values rose 3.0% in the year to June 2026 while transactions stayed thin.

home prices · August 8, 2026

The National Home Price Hides a 6-Point US-Florida Gap

In the year to June 2026 the typical US home gained 3 percent while Florida lost 3 percent. The national headline describes neither your house nor your buyer.

property taxes · August 7, 2026

Florida Property Tax Cut Won't Save Your Home Value

A property tax cut is a slow, uncertain gift that mostly lands in the buyer's pocket, and in Florida it aims at the wrong carrying cost.

mortgage rates · August 7, 2026

Mortgage Rates Hit 6.69%: A $14 Move Hiding the Real Story

The 30-year fixed hit a 2026 high of 6.69% the week of August 6, but at $14 a month over last year, inventory, not rates, is repricing seller leverage.

days on market · August 6, 2026

Days on Market: Why the Number You Quote Is Wrong

NAR clocks sold homes from listing to contract; Redfin and Realtor.com count the stale tail. Benchmark the wrong median and you misprice your sale.