63% More Sellers Than Buyers; 1 in 5 Homes Gets a Price Cut; Why a BAD Mortgage Market Can Be a GREAT Buying Market October 26, 2026 | Michael Belfor Mortgage rates are ugly. ⠀ There. I said it. ⠀ Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed rate finally dipped last week — from 7.40% to 7.32% — but borrowing costs are still near a three-year high. AP News ⠀ And yet, buried underneath all the terrible affordability headlines is something buyers have not had in years: ⠀ Leverage. ⠀ Redf

October 23, 2026 | Michael Belfor Mortgage Pricing Finally Gets Some Relief After weeks of difficult mortgage-market conditions, buyers and homeowners received some welcome news this week. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed Thursday near 4.96%, breaking below the 5% threshold as investors sought safety in government bonds. Mortgage-backed securities also rallied. That improvement can translate into more favorable mortgage pricing, although individual loan terms still depe

A new White House executive order signed yesterday is aimed directly at housing affordability. The White House ⠀ And unlike a lot of broad housing proposals, this one reaches into very specific parts of the mortgage process. ⠀ The order directs federal housing agencies to work on: ⠀ Automatic mortgage-insurance cancellation for certain future Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. ⠀ Lower refinance closing costs through expanded title-insurance alternatives. ⠀ Potentially easier d

The investor story in housing is changing. ⠀ For years, one of the biggest complaints in real estate was that giant institutional buyers were competing with regular homeowners and small investors for houses. ⠀ That is still part of the market. ⠀ But the latest Realtor.com investor report shows something different happening in 2026. ⠀ Investor purchases declined in the first half of the year. ⠀ Large institutional buyers pulled back. ⠀ And small investors took a larger share o

“I’m just going to wait until rates come down.” I hear that almost every week. It’s a fair instinct. Nobody wants to lock in a rate and then watch rates drop six months later. But the rate is only one number in the decision. While you wait, other things can move too: The price of the home you want Your rent How much cash you need to close How much equity you would have built if you’d already bought Sometimes waiting wins. Sometimes it doesn’t. The only honest answer is to run

October 19, 2026 | Michael Belfor The housing market is not simply “good” or “bad” right now. ⠀ It is splitting. ⠀ At the lower end of the market, buyers are struggling with affordability. ⠀ At the upper end, cash buyers and high-equity buyers are still moving. ⠀ A new Wall Street Journal analysis found that luxury home prices are outperforming lower-priced homes in most major metro areas. ⠀ In 33 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, luxury prices are either rising faster or fallin

After seven straight weeks of increases, mortgage rates finally stopped climbing. ⠀ Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate held at 7.40% this week, unchanged from the prior week and ending a seven-week streak of increases. ⠀ That is not low. ⠀ It is not especially comfortable. ⠀ But after the sharp move higher since August, even a pause matters. ⠀ And there is an important distinction here: ⠀ A rate that stops rising is not the same thing as a rate that

For the first time since spring, existing-home sales moved higher. ⠀ That sounds like good news. ⠀ And it is — sort of. ⠀ September existing-home sales increased 1.5% from August to an annualized pace of 3.99 million homes. ⠀ But sales were still down 2.2% from a year earlier. ⠀ At the same time, inventory climbed to 1.60 million homes — the highest level since November 2019. Reuters ⠀ That combination tells us something important: ⠀ The housing market is not booming. ⠀ But i

For the last few years, homebuilders had a major advantage over regular home sellers. ⠀ They could cut prices. ⠀ They could offer closing-cost credits. ⠀ They could buy down mortgage rates. ⠀ And they could make the monthly payment look much better than a resale home down the street. ⠀ That advantage is starting to shrink. ⠀ A new Wall Street Journal report says resale sellers are becoming more aggressive on price and concessions as higher mortgage rates pressure buyers. The

For decades, mortgage borrowers have been trained to think about credit in one very simple way: ⠀ “What is my FICO score?” ⠀ That question is becoming less simple. ⠀ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now broadly allow eligible loans to use VantageScore 4.0, giving approved lenders another credit-score option alongside Classic FICO. Fannie Mae says 37% of conventional applications created in Desktop Underwriter during September included a VantageScore 4.0 score. Fannie Mae ⠀ That is

October 9, 2026 | Michael Belfor After one of the most difficult stretches for mortgage rates we've seen in years, the bond market may finally be showing signs of stability. That's welcome news for California homebuyers, homeowners, and real estate professionals who watched borrowing costs climb sharply throughout September. But before anyone starts celebrating a major rate decline, there's an important distinction to understand. Stabilizing mortgage rates are not the same as

⠀ The national housing story right now sounds pretty simple. ⠀ More sellers are cutting prices. ⠀ Homes are sitting longer. ⠀ Buyers have more leverage. ⠀ And nationally, that is largely true. ⠀ But then Berkeley does Berkeley things. ⠀ A three-bedroom Craftsman at 2129 Roosevelt Avenue was listed at $1.095 million. ⠀ It sold for $2.05 million. ⠀ That is about 87% over asking. ⠀ Same country. ⠀ Same week. ⠀ Completely different housing market. ⠀ And this is exactly why I keep

Most homebuyers never think about the appraisal form. They think about one thing: Did the value come in? But beginning November 2, 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are moving to the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset 3.6 for new appraisal submissions, with a redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report. Fannie Mae That sounds like an industry technology change. It is. But it also matters to buyers, sellers and agents because the new system is designed to capture property inform

California homeowners are sitting on an extraordinary amount of housing wealth. According to Cotality’s latest Homeowner Equity Insights report, California homeowners with mortgages averaged approximately $623,000 in equity in the second quarter of 2026 — one of the highest levels in the country. Nationwide, homeowners with mortgages held $17.9 trillion in equity. Cotality And there is another number that jumped out at me: New HELOC and closed-end second-mortgage originations

There is a housing problem in California that almost nobody talks about enough. A lot of homeowners simply are not moving. Not because they love every part of their current house. Not because they do not want to downsize. But because the next move can feel financially worse. AARP reported last week that nearly 1 in 3 baby boomers who own homes say they may never sell. AARP In California, the issue is especially visible in places like Marin County, where more than a third of r

Yes. A buyer can be fully qualified for a mortgage while the condominium project itself fails the lender’s requirements. When you buy a condo, the lender may evaluate two separate things: You, the borrower The condominium project That means excellent credit, strong income, adequate assets and a solid down payment do not necessarily guarantee that a particular condo can be financed. I see this surprise buyers and real estate agents all the time. Watch: You Qualify. The Condo D

California condos have always been the “more affordable” way into a lot of expensive markets. But there is a problem getting harder to ignore: The monthly mortgage payment is only part of the cost. HOA dues are rising. Insurance costs are rising. Buildings are aging. Reserve accounts are getting tested. And some owners are getting hit with massive special assessments. The Los Angeles Times reported today that owners at a San Clemente condo complex were recently assessed $26,0

California has spent years making it easier to build accessory dwelling units. But there has been a pretty ridiculous problem hiding in the process: You can get the ADU designed. You can get it permitted. You can get it built. And then you can still wait months for the utility hookup. California just took a swing at fixing that. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1196 on September 27, directing the California Public Utilities Commission to establish clearer timelines for utility

Vacation homes were one of the hottest real estate trades of the pandemic era. People wanted space. Rates were low. Short-term rental income looked amazing. And suddenly every cabin, beach house and mountain property seemed like an “investment.” That story is changing. Recent reporting shows vacation-home markets around the country cooling hard, with some sellers cutting prices aggressively and short-term rental owners dealing with more competition, softer occupan

If someone tells you what “the Bay Area housing market” is doing right now, my first question would be: Which part? Because August produced two numbers that almost seem like they belong to different markets. New listings in San Jose jumped 25.5% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, San Francisco home sales increased 9.5% year over year — the largest increase among the major metros Redfin tracked. Same Bay Area. Very different story. And for buyers, sellers and agents, that differe