Housing markets

The residential market is expected to face challenges from stubbornly high mortgage rates and limited supply in 2025, particularly after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on Wednesday indicating fewer rate cuts are coming.

Boomer wealth surged by $19 trillion in just under five years, with approximately half coming from home equity, according to new Freddie Mac research.

Contract closings increased 4.8% to an annualized rate of 4.15 million in November, the most since March, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

US new-home construction unexpectedly fell in November as a drop in multifamily projects mitigated a rebound in starts of single-family houses, solely in the storm-ravaged South.  

Gross profit returns fell in a range that could easily be erased on renovation, mortgage and tax charges, Attom said.

Consumers are signing more multi-month viewing contracts with agents and requesting homeowners insurance incentives from sellers, a Homelight survey finds.

A New York Times report suggests the majority of the NAR affiliate's grants to right-leaning organizations are out-of-line with its housing-related mission.

Fannie Mae's Consumer Housing Sentiment Index rose in November, continuing its steady climb and showing significant improvement compared to the same period last year.

The share of underwater mortgages also grew for the first time in almost two years during the third quarter, Corelogic found.

The influence of expected policy changes from President-elect Trump will have on real estate next year could be mitigated by economic factors, Realtor.com said.

Redfin data supports findings from this summer when a significant share of buyers said they would move on purchases only after the election.

The latest plans include details on promoting housing development in underserved areas and increasing secondary market access to rural institutions.

The trade group agreed to the settlement in March, which included paying $418 million to settle claims.

Pending sales indexes increased in all four U.S. regions, led by a 4.7% increase in the Northeast to the highest level since early last year.

U.S. lumber prices, which already have risen in recent months due to lower production in Canada, could see further gains after President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on trade from north of the border.

The median monthly payment amount for new purchases moved higher for the first time in six months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

New single-family home sales decreased 17% last month to a 610,000 annualized rate, according to government data issued Tuesday.

The Department of Justice suggested that new buyer broker agreements resulting from a National Association of Realtors settlement may violate antitrust laws.

While what they get for their money is important, it was not the leading reason why home buyers decided to relocate, the National Association of Realtors said.

"If he manages to get through the policies that he's proposing, that will be really bad news," says Desmond Lachman, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.