People are watching closely to see if the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when it meets on September 16–17.
This week, we got mixed news about prices.
Some producer prices went down, but consumer prices went up a little in August. Experts don’t think this will stop a rate cut.
The Fed has two main goals: keep prices steady and make sure people can find jobs. Right now, jobs are softening—fewer people are being hired, and unemployment claims are higher.
Because of this, the Fed may focus more on helping workers by cutting rates.
Mortgage rates also fell a lot this week. A 30-year fixed home loan is now 6.35%, the first time it’s been under 6.5% in almost a year.
When rates were this low last year, home sales went up in the months after.
Mortgage applications are already rising, so we might see more homes sold soon—but it won’t be a huge boom.
Many homeowners still have mortgages with rates below 6%, so they aren’t rushing to move.
High mortgage rates have slowed the housing market, and people’s confidence in buying homes dropped in August because of job worries and slower home price growth.
But prices have started to flatten because more homes are on the market now.
Across the country, the housing market looks different depending on the region. Out of the 50 largest U.S. markets:
- 7 are in a buyer’s market (lots of homes for sale)
- 23 are balanced between buyers and sellers
- 20 still favor sellers
In some areas, sellers are waiting to list their homes. Newly listed homes fell nearly 2%, the biggest drop since January.
But in hot markets, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, buyers are still active.
Prices in these top 20 markets went up about 3.6%, even though prices stayed flat across the country. Some of these hot markets even have homes under $300,000.
Finally, climate risks like floods, hurricanes, and wildfires are affecting real estate.
More than $12 trillion in property value is at risk. Homeowners are finding it harder and more expensive to get insurance.
Many people worry it could become too costly if things keep rising.
Because of this, climate risk is becoming an important factor for people buying or protecting homes.