REALTORS & HOMEBUILDERS

In markets across the US, homebuilders sitting on unsold inventory are subsidizing mortgage rates so heavily they sometimes match the record lows last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Components of the index all rose, including the highest reading for sales expectations in the next six months since the start of the year.

The import taxes — initially set at 25% for cabinets, vanities and upholstered wooden furniture — officially took effect on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. New York time.

A series of social media posts, from the US president over the weekend and then from the FHFA director and real estate scion Pulte on Wednesday, are helping put an S&P gauge of builders on track for a four-day losing streak.

President Trump wants the two government-sponsored loan buyers to help speed lower-cost home creation and their oversight agency's director is following up.

The minority homebuilder share of the industry more than doubled after 2007 but lags when compared to the total non-white U.S. population, according to NAHB.

As home prices reach new heights, mortgage expenses are unaffordable for the typical earner in a third of the nation's largest 580 counties, according to Attom.

In the mortgage business, Rate has the biggest upside in the Compass-Anywhere M&A as it has joint ventures with both Guaranteed Rate Affinity and Originpoint.

Housing starts fall to lowest since May in broad decline

New-home loan activity rose 1% in August year over year, but applications fell 6% from July.

The index plumbed one of its lowest levels in years this month, underscoring the deep freeze in housing despite a recent drop in mortgage rates.

Trump administration tariff policy led lumber futures prices to surge over the first half of 2025, but the front-loading of purchases led to a current glut.

An atypical summer for home price growth and mortgage rates approaching their lowest point in 12 months could entice sidelined buyers, Cotality said.

The increase represents a spot of good news for homebuilders in a year marked by uncertainty surrounding tariffs and still-challenging interest rate levels.

Homebuilder stocks are headed for their best monthly performance in over a year as the housing market increasingly shows signs of life. 

The median monthly home loan payment fell $45 in July from June, although some of those payments are more expensive compared to the same time last year.

Contract signings on new single-family homes ticked down to a 652,000 annualized rate, with the strongest demand in the West, according to a government report issued Monday.

Borrowers affected by the blazes are also reeling from homeowners insurance woes, contractor shortages and inflation making rebuilding difficult.

Even with direct costs of import taxes excluded, prices for residential construction goods and services increased by the most in two years, NAHB said.

A government-sponsored enterprise and companies that sell them are making modern houses more affordable in line with larger public and private market trends.