Jeff Ostrowski

2026 was supposed to be a year of double-digit jumps in home sales. Alas ... bankrate.com/homeownership/…

“They pissed away $16,000 trying to make $10,000,” says @DouglasRill, @CENTURY21 broker in West Palm Beach, Florida, tells my @Bankrate colleague Andrew Dehan. bankrate.com/mortgages/sun-…

The most dramatic shift in housing market conditions over past four years came in Colorado Springs, according to a new Bankrate analysis. Meanwhile, the strongest buyer's markets among the Top 100 metro areas is in McAllen, Texas. bankrate.com/mortgages/buye…

Amid ongoing housing shortage, states are taking steps to boost the housing supply: bankrate.com/mortgages/yimb…

January home sales weren't as bad as originally thought: @nardotrealtor revised up from 3.91M to 4.02M. And February prices set a record, just barely.

Car payments are near record levels, and a growing share of Americans are taking on payments north of $1,000. That can mess up your mortgage application. bankrate.com/mortgages/car-…

Mortgage rates fell to 6.09% this week, per @Bankrate's weekly survey, lowest since September 2022. Homebuyers' reaction? Meh. @nardotrealtor says pending sales were down for January. linkedin.com/posts/jeff-ost…

Lumber prices infamously spiked during the pandemic, but they're back to pre-pandemic levels, says Robert Dietz of @NAHBhome. #IBS2026

New acronym for a turning housing market, per @AliWolfEcon: FOBATT, fear of buying at the top. With prices falling in Austin, Tampa and elsewhere, a pertinent concern. #IBS2026

Rob Dietz of @NAHBhome tells #IBS2026 that Kevin Warsh is a surprising choice of Fed chair by a president who wants rate cuts: "He was a notorious hawk."

Robert Dietz of @NAHBhome expects no ‘sustained’ sub-6% mortgage rates until 2027. #IBS2026

January home sales back below 4 million -- they were 3.91 million, down 4.4% from a year ago and 8.4% from a month ago, @nardotrealtor reports. Median price eked out a new record for January, at $396,800.

Never a good sign when Lawrence Yun uses the phrases "crisis" and "big bummer" to describe @nardotrealtor home sales release. linkedin.com/posts/jeff-ost…

Austin home prices are off 11% from their peak @odetakushi, tells @HousingWire summit. But fret not: Austin prices soared 65% before that.

Isaac Boltansky of PENNYMAC expects a flurry of proposals during President Trump's State of the Union Feb. 24. “There's a moment here where they're thinking about big ideas, they're thinking about new ideas. Some of them aren't great. Some of them could be great.” @HousingWire

Accomplishment of the day: Getting through this live shot with an LA TV station without dropping any Tribe Called Quest references. ("I Left My Wallet in El Segundo")

Mortgage rates are down to 6.18%, their lowest level since September 2022, according to @Bankrate's weekly national survey of #mortgage lenders. bankrate.com/mortgages/anal…

There's a nationwide housing shortage -- so why are some local markets experiencing gluts? I chalk it up to two types of supply. There's the long-term number of housing units, and the short-term supply of homes available for purchase now. bankrate.com/mortgages/hous…

Mortgage rates averaged 6.7% in 2025, they're likely to average 6.0% in 2026, Lawrence Yun of @nardotrealtor says.

Yes, NAR's data series for median first-time homebuyers should be taken with a grain of salt That said... EACH GENERATION IS TAKING A LITTLE LONGER TO MOVE INTO HOMEOWNERSHIP Analysis via @ApartmentList