Consumer

With rates near three-year lows and new listings on the rise, market conditions are relatively decent for home shoppers ahead of the spring homebuying season.

Slight improvements in affordability helped put more people in homes at the end of 2025, with year-over-year gains among the under 35 and 55-64 age groups.

A Redfin report found that the share of buyers paying less than the list price was up last year, and the average discount for those below-ask homes was 7.9%.

Mortgage rates are holding steady, but purchase applications and pending sales are down as economic and political tensions heighten consumer uncertainty.

Following three 25-point cuts in the second half of 2025, the Federal Reserve chose to hold interest rates steady, though housing activity remains “weak.”

Home purchase cancellations hit an all-time high for the month of December, Redfin found, especially in markets where sellers outnumber buyers by a wide margin.

Though recent data offers mixed signals for the spring season, economists believe the year ahead will be “more constructive” for homebuyers.

Standard commission practices harm consumers and fail to reward good agents (or discourage bad ones), according to a new report from the Consumer Policy Center.

The president mentioned his executive action and addressed other housing concerns while speaking at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 21.

Trump’s vow to seize Greenland prompted threats of retaliatory tariffs from the EU, putting pressure on Treasury bonds and sending rates up (and stocks down).

According to a new Zillow report, 49 of the 50 largest U.S. markets will see housing costs ease in 2026 — and 20 will meet a key affordability threshold.

Rates fell after Trump directed GSEs to buy mortgage-backed securities. Will it be enough to energize a market that ended 2025 with no gain in sales over 2024?

Despite improving affordability and lower mortgage rates, economic anxiety is expected to mute a housing market rebound in 2026, a Bright MLS survey found.

The Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates in January, but it might in March. A bigger unknown? How a DOJ probe will affect monetary decisions going forward.

The proposals Trump has announced thus far don’t involve boosting housing supply, which economists and industry leaders say must occur to improve affordability.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he will continue “standing firm in the face of threats” after the DOJ served the central bank with a round of grand jury subpoenas.

Economists were skeptical of the president’s corporate buyer ban but praised his mortgage bond purchase proposal. Plus, a Fannie-Freddie IPO is still possible.

After three rate cuts in 2025, the Fed seemed ready to take a wait-and-see approach in 2026 — a strategy expected to hold amid a low-hire, low-fire job market.

The year is off to a good start with steady mortgage rates, more inventory and flat price growth. What remains to be seen is whether buyer demand will return.

Some real estate economists say the plan announced by the president on Jan. 7 won’t address the key issues at the heart of the housing affordability crisis.