Housing Market News
Homebuyers Must Earn Nearly $80,000 to Afford the Typical U.S. Starter Home, Just Shy of the All-Time High
Homebuyers need to earn roughly $80,000 to afford the median-priced starter home, up 4.4% from last summer and only about $500 below the all-time high.
The Typical Homebuyer’s Down Payment is a Record $67,500, Up 15% From a Year Ago
The typical homebuyer put down 18.6% of the purchase price, up from 15% a year ago. Nearly 3 in 5 homebuyers put down more than
6 of Every 7 People With Mortgages Have an Interest Rate Below 6%, But the Lock-In Effect Is Starting to Ease
The mortgage rate lock-in effect is prompting many homeowners to stay put, contributing to America’s housing shortage. But the lock-in effect is slowly easing because
Starter Homes Emerge as Bright Spot as Mortgage Rates Settle Near 15-Month Low
Pending starter home sales grew 10% in July year over year, while other price brackets fell. The median price for a U.S. starter home climbed

Condo HOA Fees Surge in Florida Amid Insurance Crisis
HOA dues are up more than 15% from a year ago in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, compared with a median gain of 6% across
U.S. Home Prices Tick Up 0.2% for the Second Month in a Row
Home prices grew 0.2% in July, equal to the slowest pace since January 2023. Twenty of the 50 most populous U.S. metros recorded a drop
Homebuyers Are Scoring the Biggest Discounts in 13 Years
The typical buyer who scored a home for below the list price in 2025 got a 7.9% discount—the largest since 2012. 1 in 4 buyers
More Gen Zers are Buying Homes. But It’s a Trickle, Not a Flood.
Homeownership for young Americans is a mixed bag. The homeownership rate for Gen Zers and millennials is ticking up, but both generations are tracking behind
Homebuyers Are Canceling Deals at the Highest Rate on Record
Over 40,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in December, equal to 16.3% of homes that went under contract that month—the highest December percentage in records
Home Sellers Outnumber Buyers By a Record Margin, Upping Buyers’ Bargaining Power
There were a record 47% more home sellers than buyers in December, giving the buyers who were in the market negotiating power. The Sun Belt
Trump’s Mortgage Bond Order Pushes Rates Below 6% For First Time in Nearly 3 Years, Boosting Purchasing Power
Purchasing power has increased $30,000 in the last six months, with rates falling below 6% the day after President Trump ordered a $200 billion mortgage
The U.S. Housing Market Has 37% More Sellers Than Buyers—More Than Double Last Year’s Gap
Summer 2025 was the only time in records dating back to 2013 that sellers outnumbered buyers by a larger percentage. This mismatch means it’s a