The Unassuming Economist

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Mortgage Refinancing Starts to Thaw as Rates Trend Down. It has been a frustrating wait for people who bought homes in the past few years, when mortgage rates have been high – Wall Street Journal
• Mortgages Could Shrug Off a Fed Cut—but Not This One – Barron’s
• House Price Appreciation by State and Metro Area: Second Quarter 2025 – NAHB
• US Housing Outlook – Apollo
• The U.S. housing market is ‘finally starting to listen’ to homebuyers plagued by high mortgage rates and home prices, economist says – Fortune

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Homebuilder inventory hits 2009 levels—creating deals in these housing markets. A record 121,000 completed single-family homes sat unsold in July, as affordability challenges weigh on buyers in key Sun Belt markets. – Fast Company
• Forget YIMBY. The housing shortage could disappear on its own. Demographic shifts and construction surges are likely to resolve the housing crisis without federal intervention. – Washington Post
• The 5 most competitive housing markets in America right now — and the 5 least. Some cities are still seeing bidding wars — but others are flooded with inventory – Quartz
• June Private Residential Construction Spending Edges Higher – NAHB
• U.S. construction spending fell in July amid a slow housing market. Construction spending was down 2.8% year-over-year in July, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau – Quartz
• The Mobile Home Comeback: New California Program Offers Cash To Repair or Replace Aging Homes – Realtor.com
• Open Construction Jobs Rise in July – NAHB
• How We Are Working to Increase the Multifamily Housing Supply – Freddie Mac
• Congress continues to advance significant housing supply incentives – JP Morgan Chase

On other developments:    

• Bubble thought: What beliefs can reveal about housing market risks – Dallas Fed
• Dynamic Tables: Comparing Cities – Home Economics
• Trump May Declare a National Housing Emergency: What to Know – Time
• Bessent: Everything on table for housing affordability fixes – Axios
• Bessent says Trump administration will tackle high housing costs with new measures – Reuters
• Trump wants to ax an affordable housing grant, a lifeline for many rural communities – Los Angeles Times   
• Trump Considers Declaring National Housing Emergency This Fall – Realtor.com
• Yes, America Has a Housing Emergency. But Trump will make it worse – Paul Krugman
• The Trump Administration’s Fake Housing Emergency. The results of America’s overly burdensome housing regulations aren’t great. But they’re not an “emergency.” – Reason
• The Face of Homeownership in the U.S. is Getting Older—What You Need to Know – Realtor.com
• There’s a housing market shift afoot—just ask Realtors. Among real estate agents that Zoodealio and ResiClub surveyed, 81% say buyers are gaining leverage in their local housing market—that share is even higher among agents based in the Southwest (96%). – Fast Company
• NAHB HBGI:  Relative Gains for Smaller Markets, Particularly for Multifamily – NAHB
• America is escaping its office crisis. The torment caused by covid-19 and high interest rates appears to be over – The Economist
• Cruel Summer: Why the U.S. Housing Market Is Stuck – Realtor.com
• Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and the Affordable Housing Crisis: A Closer Look –CEPR
• U.S. Housing Costs to Return to ‘Normal’ by 2030 With Stable Price Growth and Moderately Lower Rates – Realtor.com
• The ‘abundance movement’ needs to help distressed places, not just booming ones – Brookings 
• Strong Foundations: A Playbook for Housing and Economic Growth – AEI
• Wall Street Is Killing the Housing Market. Investment giants are buying up homes and pricing real people out of the market. But it doesn’t have to be this way. – Inequality.org
• I Did My Dissertation on Housing Displacement. Then I Experienced It Myself. If someone like me can get trapped in the cycle of housing instability, anyone can. But the solutions are out there. – Inequality.org
• Metro Area Growth at Risk from Recent Drop in Immigration – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• California and Florida Top New List of the Riskiest Housing Markets in the Nation – Realtor.com