US Housing View – June 19, 2026

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

  • High US mortgage rates to keep housing market subdued: Reuters poll – Reuters
  • The States Where Housing Prices Have Surged the Most (2021–2026) – Visual Capitalist
  • How Mortgage Lock-In Is Quietly Pushing Up House Prices. A new paper co-authored by Wharton’s Lu Liu argues that homeowners stuck with low fixed mortgage rates aren’t just frozen in place — they’re propping up the housing market. – Wharton


On sales, permits, starts, and supply:     

  • Residential Building Material Prices Rise at Highest Rate In Over Three Years – NAHB
  • Lennar Cuts Full-Year Target, Citing ‘Stubborn’ Housing-Market Headwinds. The homebuilder says it now expects full-year deliveries of around 82,000 to 83,000 homes, citing high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. – Wall Street Journal
  • Single-Family Permits Continue to Decline Through April as Multifamily Activity Strengthens – NAHB
  • Builder Sentiment Remains Weak Amid Affordability Concerns – NAHB
  • Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-June 2026 – Calculated Risk
  • Grading the States: Affordability & Homebuilding Report Cards—2026 Update – Realtor.com
  • Housing Starts Decreased Sharply to 1.177 million Annual Rate in May. Lowest total starts annual rate since May 2020 (at the start of pandemic). 2026 – Calculated Risk
  • U.S. Housing Starts Fell Sharply in May. Housing starts, a gauge of new residential construction, fell 15.4% in May to 1.177 million – Wall Street Journal
  • High Costs and Slumping Demand Squeeze Housing as Affordable Units Remain in Short Supply – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
  • The Great American Housing Shortage Is Finally Forcing a Search for Solutions. ‘Granny flats’ in California and single-staircase codes in Texas: States are trying to fill a gap that has pushed homeownership out of reach for many – Wall Street Journal


On other developments:    

  • Ten Takeaways from the 2026 State of the Nation’s Housing – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
  • The Landscape of Apartment Property Management – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
  • The “Home ATM” Mostly Closed in Q1. Total Mortgage Equity Withdrawal (MEW) was Negative in Q1 – Calculated Risk
  • As Cities Turn to AI To Lower Housing Costs, Data Center Backlash Grows – Realtor.com
  • US real estate outlook – Edition June 2026. Stability returns as sectors diverge – UBS 
  • Mamdani Is about to Make Housing Even More Expensive – Heritage Foundation
  • Grading the States: Affordability & Homebuilding Report Cards — 2026 Update – Realtor.com
  • Why is America’s capital of cheap retail becoming so expensive? Rapid growth puts housing affordability under strain in Walmart’s Arkansas heartland – FT
  • Senate eyes vote on updated housing affordability legislation. The bill has gone back and forth between the House and the Senate for months. – Politico
  • Congress Reaches Deal on Housing Bill – Wall Street Journal
  • Bipartisan housing bill limiting investor home purchases is headed to Trump’s desk. The Senate voted 87-8 to advance the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which caps large investor single-family purchases at 350 homes – Quartz  

Posted by at 5:00 AM

Labels: Global Housing Watch

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