On prices, rent, and mortgage:
- Trump says US housing agencies to launch $200bn mortgage bond-buying spree. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to carry out purchases – FT
- Trump announces $200B bond purchase in bid to lower mortgage rates. FHFA Director Bill Pulte says Fannie and Freddie will buy bonds from the public market. – Politico
- Trump Orders Fannie and Freddie to Buy $200 Billion in Mortgage Bonds. The move, a bid to make homes more affordable, would be a back-to-future moment for the two mortgage firms. Buying risky mortgage bonds helped push them to near-bankruptcy in 2008. – New York Times
- Trump orders his ‘Representatives’ to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds – Reuters
- Mortgage Bonds, Home Lenders Jump as Trump Targets Housing Costs – Bloomberg
- Pulte backs away from 50-year mortgage. The Federal Housing director said the president is reviewing between 30 and 50 ideas to bring down housing costs. – Politico
- Will Mortgage Rates Improve More than Expected in 2026? – Zillow
- Mortgage Applications Today: Home Loan Refinancing Rebounds—Soaring 40% After Holiday Slump – Realtor.com
- Housing Payments Drop to Lowest Level in 2 Years As Mortgage Rates Decline – Redfin
- The top 10 hottest housing markets in 2026: Zillow – The Hill
- Top 5 Metros Where Home Prices Are Falling the Fastest – Realtor.com
- Mamdani’s First Big Move to Help Renters Is Dealt a Blow by Court. Summit Properties USA won an auction on Friday to buy more than 5,000 apartments out of bankruptcy from the Pinnacle Group despite City Hall’s efforts to intervene. – New York Times
- Rent Concessions Are on the Rise in America’s Sunbelt Cities. Cities like Phoenix overbuilt upscale housing when remote workers started showing up during the pandemic. Now that extra inventory means perks for renters. – Wall Street Journal
- Household Real Estate Asset Values Fall in the Third Quarter – NAHB
- Blaming short-term rentals won’t solve the housing crisis. Blaming and banning short-term rental platforms for high housing costs ignores the history of laws that have contributed to the current problem. – Reason
- U.S. Home Equity Dips From Record Highs in 2025Q3, as Home Values Ease – Realtor.com
- Manhattan Rents Hover Near Highs in Sign of Affordability Crunch – Bloomberg
On sales, permits, starts, and supply:
- The Landlords Are Not the Problem – New York Times
- The Trump-Warren Housing Condominium. Banning investors from buying homes won’t reduce home prices. – Wall Street Journal
- President Trump and Institutional Investors in Single-Family Rentals – AEI
- Trump Blindsides Wall Street Allies With Crackdown on Housing Investors. Move after 2008 housing crash to buy and rent out single-family homes comes under fire – Wall Street Journal
- Do Institutional Investors Raise Housing Prices? – Home Economicus
- Buying a home is 150% more expensive than in 2019. But here’s why Trump’s plan to shut out institutional investors could raise costs even more – Fortune
- Two Fed officials say key to fixing US housing more about supply than financing – Reuters
- Can Trump Lower Home Prices by Taking On Wall Street Buyers? – Bloomberg
- Trump Wants Cheaper Housing. How Pulte Could Pressure Builders to Deliver It. – Barron’s
- Trump Administration Takes Aim at Home-Builder Stock Buybacks. Housing finance chief Bill Pulte says home builders aren’t doing enough to lower housing costs – Wall Street Journal
- Housing Starts Decreased to 1.246 million Annual Rate in October – Calculated Risk
- Residential Construction Softens Amid Ongoing Housing Market Headwinds – NAHB
- Townhouse Construction Share Gains Continue – NAHB
- Why are housing starts still falling despite lower mortgage rates? – Los Angeles Times
- US Housing Starts Fall to Lowest Level Since May 2020 – Bloomberg
- US single-family housing starts rebound in October, building permits dip – Reuters
- A powerful force has been holding back the housing market. It’s finally easing. The U.S. housing market recently reached a key milestone that could lead to more buying and selling. – Washington Post
- What a New Betting Market for Housing Prices Means for Home Buyers and Sellers. Slower-moving indicators have widely been considered the most reliable data for home buyers and sellers – Wall Street Journal
- Growth for Custom Home Building – NAHB
- How Mamdani and Cea Weaver Plan to End Private Housing. Their proposals would make many apartment buildings impossible to sustain. That’s by design. – Wall Street Journal
- Top 5 Metros Where Homes Are Piling Up on the Market – Realtor.com
- 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in December – Calculated Risk
- Housing markets where homebuyers are gaining power heading into spring 2026
- In total, 17 states are back above pre-pandemic 2019 housing inventory levels. Here’s what that tells us. – Fast Company
- New Home Sales at 737,000 Annual Rate in October. Median New Home Price is Down 15% from the Peak due to Change in Mix – Calculated Risk
- Building Material Price Growth Remains Elevated in November – NAHB
- New York State to Loosen Environmental Rules to Speed Up Homebuilding. Review process can add two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs to housing projects – Wall Street Journal
- US existing home sales accelerate in December – Reuters
- Home Sales in December Jump 5.1%, Biggest Gain in Nearly 2 Years. Easing mortgage rates and slower growth in home prices boosted sales to the highest level since February 2023 – Wall Street Journal
- Existing Home Sales Climb to Near 3-Year High in December – NAHB
- Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-January 2026 – Calculated Risk
On other developments:
- Trump officials prepare executive order on housing affordability. More details are expected when President Donald Trump speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month. – Washington Post
- As President Trump Tackles Housing Affordability, Progress Emerges — and More Relief Is on the Horizon – The White House
- This Is Not the Way to Make Housing More Affordable – Bloomberg
- How Trump policies are colliding with housing market – Axios
- Trump is planning to rescue a crucial part of the American Dream. The president is moving to end Wall Street’s grip on housing prices. – Washington Post
- Trump and Affordability. They’re just not that into each other. – Jared Bernstein
- Facing Political Pressure, Trump Seeks Answer to Rising Housing Costs. White House officials have explored a vast array of ideas as the president looks to unfurl a housing affordability plan at an economic conference this month. – New York Times
- Trump’s New Housing Strategy Is All About Boosting Buyers Now. Administration says more proposals are on the way, but it has yet to address the shortage at the root of the affordability crisis – Wall Street Journal
- As Trump Pushes Housing Affordability, His Mortgage Chief Undermines It. Under Bill Pulte, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have pulled away from efforts to help low-income people buy homes. – New York Times
- The cities with the oldest homes in America — and no, they’re not all in New England. Why so many U.S. homes predate 1960, and how aging inventory is reshaping markets, according to Redfin – Quartz
- The Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers in 2026 – Realtor.com
- The Past, Present, and Future of Public Housing: Dunlop Lecture with Kenzie Bok – JCHS
- The Housing Market’s Lock-In Effects – AEI
- Real-Estate Tech Gets the Message: Focus on Affordability. Venture investors target startups aiming to ease the difficulty of buying a home – Wall Street Journal
- U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increases in 2025 – ATTOM