Weekly Housing Headlines

Mortgage applications decreased 9.7% from two weeks earlier; impairments to non-qualifying mortgage pools rose in November at their fastest pace in the sector’s history; mortgage credit availability fell by 2.6% in December; 37.5% of agents surveyed by CNBC said the housing market was balanced, up from 30% as of the third quarter; and a new survey of 1,000 millennials planning to buy a home in 2026 found that 40% of them are desperate to buy despite financial strain.

Mortgage Applications Decreased Over a Two-Week Period in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage Bankers Association - 1/7/2026
Mortgage applications decreased 9.7 percent from two weeks earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 2, 2026.

Non-QM impairments hit record pace in November
Scotsman Guide - 1/5/2026
Impairments to non-qualifying mortgage pools rose in November at their fastest pace in the sector’s history, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by dv01, a loan-level data analytics platform.

Mortgage Credit Availability Decreased in December
Mortgage Bankers Association - 1/8/2026
Mortgage credit availability increased on an annual basis in December due to increased loan program offerings and industry capacity. However, on a monthly basis, credit supply declined to its lowest level in three months.

Real estate agents say the housing market is starting to balance out
CNBC - 1/8/2026
Of real estate agents surveyed by CNBC in the fourth quarter, 37.5% said it was a balanced market, up from 30% as of the third quarter. More agents reported having at least one seller cut their price in the fourth quarter.

Newsom Plans Crackdown On Corporate Home-Buying In California
Financial Advisor - 1/8/2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom will call for a crackdown on institutional investors buying up homes in the state during a speech Thursday, following a similar announcement by President Donald Trump.

Millennial buyers weigh ‘desperate’ bids against deep financial strain in 2026
Mortgage Professional America - 1/6/2026
A new Clever Offers survey of 1,000 millennials planning to buy a home in 2026 found that 40% of millennial home buyers are desperate to buy a home this year, even as nearly all reported major obstacles to ownership.

U.S. Housing Market Risk Intensifies
National Mortgage Professional - 1/6/2026
ATTOM finds affordability strains, rising foreclosures, and elevated unemployment pushing several U.S. housing markets, led by inland California counties, into heightened downturn risk in Q3.

What It Would Take To Make the Housing Market Affordable Again in 2026
Realtor.com - 1/6/2026
Realtor.com considers what it would take to restore home affordability to 2019 levels, when the typical mortgage payment was about 21% of the median household income, compared with more than 30% today.

Housing affordability ‘remains a real challenge’ in the U.S., says Brown Harris Stevens CEO
CNBC - 1/2/2026
Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman joins ‘Money Movers’ to discuss housing affordability, her expectations for NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and more.

Mortgage rate forecasts hint at sub‑6% relief in 2026
Mortgage Professional America - 1/7/2026
After two years of aggressive Federal Reserve tightening and a sharp run‑up in Treasury yields, Bankrate projects that the average 30‑year fixed mortgage rate would sit near 6.1% in 2026.