Michael Carter covers U.S. mortgage trends and macro housing developments. He focuses on how interest rate movements, affordability shifts and broader economic conditions impact buyers, sellers and investors across the country. His reporting emphasizes data interpretation and practical market implications.
A Redfin analysis of five decades of mortgage data finds that adjustable-rate mortgages have given most borrowers a window to refinance into a lower fixed rate before their introductory period even ends.
The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 6.71% this week, its highest point since July 2025, as rising borrowing costs continue to weigh on home sales and buyer purchasing power.
Fresh inventory is flooding the U.S. housing market at its fastest pace in four years, but sluggish demand and elevated mortgage rates are keeping many buyers on the sidelines.
San Francisco's housing market is accelerating on the back of AI-industry wealth, while Seattle's market cools under the weight of tech layoffs and economic uncertainty. Redfin data shows the two cities are now moving in sharply opposite directions.
A new Redfin analysis finds buyers need to earn roughly $41,000 more per year to afford a home in a highly rated school zone, and median-income households face long odds in those neighborhoods.
Fed Chair Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole speech has put a rate hike back on the table, shifting expectations ahead of the September 16th FOMC decision and leaving mortgage borrowers in a two-week holding pattern.
Americans are leaving counties with high air-quality risk at a slower pace than during the pandemic, and cost—not climate—appears to be the primary driver behind where people move.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told an annual central bank conference that inflation remains too stubborn to declare victory, and that current interest rates may not be tight enough to return prices to the Fed's 2% target.
Supply is climbing while pending sales hit a six-month low, shifting leverage toward buyers in cities like Miami, Nashville and across Texas—especially for homes that have sat on the market for weeks.
Markets are watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech Friday and Wednesday's core PCE release closely, but analysts expect neither Canadian tariff talks nor inflation data to significantly shift mortgage rates.
Buyer discounts on homes peak in late August through late September depending on the metro, with cities like Austin, Baltimore and Las Vegas each hitting their own deal-making sweet spots, according to a Redfin analysis.
Redfin data shows 14% of U.S. home-sale contracts were canceled in July 2026, the highest rate since late 2023, driven by a record-low buyer pool and elevated affordability pressures.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dipped to 6.65% this week, continuing a short-lived retreat — yet rates remain higher than a year ago as bond market pressures and inflation concerns keep borrowing costs elevated.
Fresh supply is entering the market as summer fades, but pending home sales have slipped to their weakest point since March amid elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty.
Redfin's latest home price index shows national prices grew just 0.27% month over month in July, almost unchanged from June, while San Francisco, Oakland and West Palm Beach led all metros in gains driven by wealthy buyers.
A new analysis from Redfin and childcare marketplace Winnie finds that combined housing and childcare costs consume 52% of the median working family's income nationally, but that figure ranges from under 40% in Little Rock to nearly 97% in Los Angeles.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate edged down to 6.67% this week, breaking a six-week streak of increases, though rates remain higher than a year ago as inflation and geopolitical pressures linger.
Pending home sales rose a modest 0.4% week over week through early August, while new listings jumped 1.7%—the largest weekly gain in five months—giving buyers slightly more room to negotiate in a market still weighed down by elevated mortgage rates.
July home sales fell 4.1% month-over-month to their lowest seasonally adjusted level in nearly two years, with mortgage rates at a one-year high and record home prices squeezing buyers across the country.
Wednesday's CPI report is shaping up to be the most consequential economic release of the week, with a potential September Fed rate hike hanging near 50/50 odds.
July's surprising job loss of 23,000 positions—far below the 80,000 gain economists expected—could push the Federal Reserve to hold off on rate hikes, offering modest relief to borrowers watching mortgage costs.
The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6.69% this week—its highest point in over a year—as five straight weeks of increases continue to erode homebuyer purchasing power across the U.S.
Slower summer conditions, high mortgage rates and growing inventory are shifting bargaining power toward buyers in Austin, Nashville and beyond, while Chicago and San Diego remain more competitive.
The income required to afford a typical U.S. starter home has dropped 1.5% year over year, outpacing the broader market's modest gains, as wage growth and slower price appreciation widen the cushion for entry-level buyers.