Housing markets

The percentage of investors who view the market as better than it was a year ago fell to 36% from 45% in the winter, according to a spring survey.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield topped 4.4% on April 29 — its highest level since late March — as investor anxiety mounted.

Delinquencies also showed signs of overall improvement in March, despite an increase in foreclosure numbers, ICE Mortgage Technology said.

A proposed update to Basel III capital rules from federal banking regulators does not specifically include mortgage insurance as a factor in determining the risk weight for a mortgage loan held on a bank's balance sheet. Industry experts say it should.

The 30-year fixed is still over 20 basis points higher than its February bottom, but fell 7 basis points this past week on Iran peace hopes, Freddie Mac said.

Over half of all second-home inventory in the U.S. is concentrated in just eight states, with Florida leading the pack, according to analysis by NAHB.

About 43% of Americans upgraded their homes last year, and 33% plan to remodel in the next year, according to a recent survey from Redfin.

The national delinquency rate ticked up seven basis points to 3.72% last month, coupled with a 10-basis-point increase in prepayment speed, according to ICE.

The increase in borrower activity came as housing starts ended 2025 on a high note, while mortgage rates were a percentage point lower year-over-year.

Large and mega investors accounted for 5.8% of all single family-home purchases in December, up from 4.8% at the same time last year, according to Cotality.

Less than 45% of mortgage residential properties in the United States were equity-rich last quarter, a 1.5-percentage-point drop from the third quarter.

The survey, taken before Pres. Trump's $200 billion MBS buy demand, finds panelists worried over inflation, but also see employment as the larger downside risk.

Late last year, commercial bank holdings of mortgage paper reached the highest level since 2023 as these depositories are flush with deposits.

National home prices grew monthly and annually in October, but considerably less than last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The national mortgage delinquency rate jumped to 3.85% in November, up 15% month over month and 2.79% year over year, according to ICE Mortgage Technology.

The home purchase market, which competes for consumers with rentals, should remain subdued in 2026 because of high mortgage rates and low affordability.

After home equity surged in 2023, average gains slowed last year before falling into negative territory over the past 12 months, Cotality said.

Forty percent of Americans planning to buy or sell a home in 2026 worry about a potential market crash, according to a new report from Clever Offers.

Fed Gov. Stephan Miran has spent his short tenure at the central bank arguing that disinflation in housing and immigration reforms will tamp down inflation in the near term. But other economists say the timing, degree and context of those effects is very much in question.

Rate-and-term refinances dropped 14% month over month in October, but were still up 143% from last year.