According to the latest Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) Home Price Insights (HPI) report, price growth in October rose 1.1%, continuing its downward trend. In addition, they say price declines expanded from six of the 100 largest metros in January to 32 by October, marking the broadest softening of prices since the early 2010s. “Mortgage rates will play a critical role in shaping the 2026 housing market. A notable drop in mortgage rates combined with low supply could lead to a re-acceleration of price gains.” Said Dr. Selma Hepp, Cotality’s Chief Economist. Click here to read the full report at Cotality.
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
As the predictions for 2026 roll in Realtor.com says to expect a steadier housing market, with some caveats. They say mortgage rates are forecast to average 6.3%, easing affordability pressures slightly, while home prices will rise modestly by 2.2%. Existing-home sales should climb about 1.7% to 4.13 million. In addition, for-sale inventory will continue to recover, up nearly 9% year over year. For homebuyers and sellers, the shift signals a more balanced market—one where price growth steadies, rate relief offers breathing room, and negotiating power tilts subtly toward buyers. Housing affordability improves as incomes outpace inflation, pushing the typical payment share of income…
Which states pay the most for electricity? The folks at data visualizer Voronoi remind us that electricity costs vary widely across the country. These variations are from a combination of geography, infrastructure, fuel mix, and policy. Today’s graphic ranks states based on average electricity rates – both residential & commercial. As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Voronoi.
A recent story in the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says that in Los Angeles the hottest game in town is building affordable housing – thanks to a policy that promises to streamline the approval process by cutting the previous wait time from about a year to 60 days. According to the report, this might just change previous thinking by developers that building all-affordable housing complexes rarely makes financial sense. Indeed… Since the city implemented the policy in December 2022, plans for about 42,300 units of affordable housing have been submitted to the city under what is known as…
According to Apartment List’s National Rent Report for December 2025, national median rent dropped 1% in November to $1,367 – the fourth consecutive month-over-month decline. They say all of their key indicators are pointing toward ongoing sluggishness in the multifamily rental market – rent prices are down and the vacancy rate is at an all-time high. In addition, they added that it’s likely 2025 will close out with an additional modest rent decline in December. Click here to read the full report at Apartment List.
Recent analysis from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says aggregate residential building material prices rose at their fastest pace since January 2023. The data came from the latest Producer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, input energy prices increased for the first time in over a year, while service price growth remained lower than goods. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.
According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income in September increased $94.5 billion (up 0.4% at a monthly rate). Disposable personal income (DPI – personal income less personal current taxes) increased $75.9 billion (up 0.3%) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $65.1 billion (0.3%). Personal outlays (the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments) increased $70.7 billion in September. Personal saving was $1.09 trillion in September and the personal saving rate (personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income) was 4.7%. ** Editor’s Note – with the U.S. government back…
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices U.S. house prices house prices rose 2.2% between Q3 2024 and the Q3 2025. House prices for Q3 2025 rose 0.2% compared to Q2 2025. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for September remained unchanged from August. The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. Click here to read the full report at the…
According to the ADP National Employment Report for November, 2025, private sector employment decreased by 32k jobs and pay was up 4.4% year-over-year. ADP says November hiring was particularly weak in manufacturing, professional and business services, information, and construction. The ADP National Employment Report is an independent and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on the aggregated and anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. “Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment…And while November’s slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses.” …
We have had many posts about the growing issue of student debt. Today’s graphic from Statista cites Federal Reserve data showing that the total federal student loan portfolio has now surpassed $1.8 trillion – tripling over the past 15 years – making student loans the 2nd largest category of household debt in the U.S., right behind housing debt and auto loans. That’s about one in six Americans (nearly 43 million) carrying federal student loan debt. As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.
