Weekly Housing Headlines

Mortgage applications decreased 1.4% from one week earlier; sales of previously owned homes rose 2% in July compared with June to 4.01 million units; originations climbed 5% YoY in Q1 2025 thanks to a 44% refi leap, while the home equity market saw its strongest growth in three years; single‑family housing starts climbed by 2.8% in July; U.S. foreclosure activity reached its highest point of the year in July; and home purchases are getting cancelled at a record rate.

Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage Bankers Association - 8/20/2025
Mortgage applications decreased 1.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 15, 2025. 

July home sales rise as prices approach inflection point
CNBC - 8/21/2025
Sales of previously owned homes rose 2% in July compared with June to 4.01 million units, on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 0.8% higher than July 2024.

Originations, Refinances, Home Equity Loans All See Gains
National Mortgage Professional - 8/15/2025
Originations climbed 5% YoY in Q1 2025 thanks to a 44% refi leap, while the home equity market saw its strongest growth in three years.

Not A Decline But A Rise In Single-Family Housing Starts In July
National Mortgage Professional - 8/19/2025
Single‑family housing starts climbed by 2.8% in July, reaching an annual rate of 939,000 units — a rebound from the revised June rate of 913,000.

U.S. foreclosure activity climbs to 2025 high in July
Mortgage Professional America - 8/15/2025
U.S. foreclosure activity reached its highest point of the year in July, with filings rising 13% compared with the same month in 2024, according to ATTOM’s latest US Foreclosure Market Report.

Home Purchases Are Getting Canceled at a Record Rate
Redfin - 8/21/2025
Roughly 58,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in July, equal to 15.3% of homes that went under contract last month. That’s up from 14.5% a year earlier and marks the highest July rate in records dating back to 2017.

New and Existing Homes Remain Largely Unaffordable in Second Quarter
Eye On Housing - 8/21/2025
In the second quarter of 2025, a family earning the nation’s median income of $104,200 needed 36% of its income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new home.

Q2 Mortgage Delinquency Snapshot
MortgagePoint - 8/15/2025
The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties with one to four units dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.93% of all outstanding loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

California home sales decline for fourth straight month
Mortgage Professional America - 8/20/2025
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 261,820 in July. That figure was down 1% from 264,400 in June, and 4.1% below the 272,990 sales in July 2024. 

Weekly Housing Trends: Latest Data as of Aug. 16
Realtor.com - 8/21/2025
Even though mortgage rates have eased in recent weeks, the housing market continues to see little movement, with steady prices and longer days on market.