The Unassuming Economist

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• The Credit Bubble Everybody’s Ignoring. Federally backed student loans and mortgages are seeing increased defaults. Taxpayers are on the hook. – Wall Street Journal
• Reform the Federal Home Loan Banks to finance the housing America needs – Brookings
• The housing “bubble” in the late 2000s looks quaint by comparison now – Alec Stapp
• AEI National Home Price Appreciation (HPA) Index: March 2026 – AEI 
• Event: Vanishing Tax Credits and a Shrinking Market: Who Can Afford to Rent? – Chicago Fed
• Freddie Mac House Price Index Decreased in March; Up only 0.7% Year-over-year. Punta Gorda House Prices Down 21% from Recent Peak, Austin Down 18% – Calculated Risk

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Final Look at Local Housing Markets in March and a Look Ahead to April Sales – Calculated Risk
• When’s the Best Time to Buy a Home? It depends on whether you prioritize selection or price – Home Economics
• A Bill Aimed at Creating Homes Is Leaving Plots Empty Instead. The Senate housing bill would severely restrict build-to-rent homes. It is already causing projects to pause and financing to dry up. – Wall Street Journal
• Housing Starts Increased to 1.502 million Annual Rate in March – Calculated Risk
• Home Building Shows Signs of Stabilization with Monthly Gain in Starts – NAHB
• A strong month in a fragile market. March data shows momentum, but a build-to-rent crackdown and tighter capital markets threaten to stall future supply – Slow Boring
• Federal Threats on the Horizon Are Killing Housing Supply Growth Now – Cato  
• Why Texas Is Winning the Housing War. Rents are falling in Texas — and the reason is simpler than you think. Derek Thompson, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, tells the Opinion columnist Ezra Klein how Dallas and Austin have shown that the only real cure for a housing crisis is an aggressive, unrelenting surge in supply. – New York Times
• U.S. Housing Starts Rose in March. For February, housing starts fell – Wall Street Journal

On other developments:    

• A troubling plan to revive the frozen US property market. Buyers should beware the real estate dark pools – FT
• Bipartisan House coalition pressures leaders on housing bill. 76 House lawmakers warn investor limits in Senate housing bill could curb supply, squeeze renters and derail affordability push. – Politico
• Congress May Finally Recognize That Mobile Homes Aren’t Really That Mobile. An obscure federal rule requires manufactured homes to be built on a chassis, making them more costly. A bill in Congress would remove the mandate, enacted five decades ago. – New York Times
• Nearly 4 in 5 Americans Don’t Feel Their Financial Future Is Secure. Owning a Home Could Be the Fix – NBER
• Event: Housing Abundance, Where Jobs Sleep, and Good Neighbors Market Intelligence – AEI
• Government Benefits Reduce Housing Cost Burdens – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Aging Homeowners Poised to Reshape Housing Market in Key Cities – Realtor.com
• Homeownership Rate Ticks Down in Early 2026 – Realtor.com
• This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Housing Market. Are you mad your iPhone costs more than a flip-phone? Then you shouldn’t be so frustrated with home prices either. – Wall Street Journal
• How the War in Iran Is Hurting the U.S. Housing Market. Buyers across the country are cautious, while the Miami market seems immune. – New York Times