A recent survey from Talker Research asked Americans to pick one word to describe how 2026 has felt so far. The winner? Stressful. And honestly, there’s been a lot going on.
You may have heard the number of homes for sale isn’t growing like it was. And maybe that has you worried you won’t find a home you love when it’s time to make your move.
But that may be about to change. Here’s why your pool of options may actually start ticking back up again.
If you're waiting for mortgage rates to fall a lot before you buy, you may be waiting a while. But before you get discouraged, there's a number working behind the scenes that's actually good for you right now. It's called the spread, and once you understand it, you may see today’s rates in a whole new light.
If you’ve always assumed a newly built home is just not in your budget, you should know the math just got a little friendlier.
The median sale price of a newly built home is now at its lowest level since 2021, according to the latest data from the Census. And on top of that, builders are still rolling out incentives to bring buyers through the door.
Price cuts are turning up everywhere right now, and they read very differently depending on which side of the deal you’re on.
Sellers tend to worry a cut means walking away with less than they hoped. Sometimes that’s true, but more often it just means the market moved faster than the listing did.
Buyers, for their part, often assume a cut means something’s wrong with the house. Most of the time, that’s not it.
Today’s housing market splits into four distinct types. You’ve got cash buyers, buyers financing a purchase, owners who feel locked into a low rate, and builders with homes to sell. Which type you’re in changes how you should buy or sell. Ryan Serhant, CEO of SERHANT agrees:
“There is no longer a housing market . . . There are four Americas.”
Here’s what each looks like, and what it means for you.
If you're trying to buy a home, affordability is probably what keeps you up at night. And as you watch mortgage rates tick up again lately, it’s fair to wonder if you should just hit pause and wait for them to go down.
For now, though, they’re headed the other way. Mortgage News Daily data shows how rates have risen this year (see graph below):
Selling your house this fall is absolutely doable. But there’s something you need to know about this time of year.
Buyer activity typically starts to slow while the number of homes for sale climb – and you need the right strategy to get attention in this type of market.
The good news? There’s a lot you can control.
Want to buy a house this year, but not sure if the timing’s right? Seasonally, it may actually be a better time to buy than you expect.
Yes, mortgage rates have been ticking up lately – and that’s creating some real challenges with affordability. No one’s arguing that. But there are also predictable trends that happen this time every year that can put some wind back in your sails.
Ask a couple people how the housing market is doing and you’ll probably get a couple different answers. That’s because right now, the market runs on 2 very different tracks, split by price point.
Knowing which track your house is on changes everything about your sale, from your asking price to how long you can expect to wait before an offer comes in. Here’s what you need to know.
For most first-time buyers, the hardest part of buying a home is making the numbers work. You budget, you save, and the finish line still feels far away.
But your salary is only half the equation. Where you live shapes what you can afford just as much. And if you can work remotely, you have an advantage a lot of buyers don't.
You've been waiting for something to change before you buy. It just might not be the thing you expected…
While everyone’s paying attention to mortgage rates, only the savviest buyers know that the changing season can start tipping things in their favor.
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