Rental Vacancy Rose to 7.6% in the Third Quarter as Homeowner Vacancy Held Steady
New Census figures show a higher share of vacant rental housing than a year earlier, while the apparent rise in homeownership was not statistically significant.
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The Estate Wire — real estate news for November 7, 2026
Rents Have Risen Seven Months Straight and Are Still Below Last Year
Mortgage Rates Jumped 19 Basis Points in a Single Week to 6.95%
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Lodging REITs Returned 42.8% in the First Half While Apartment REITs Managed 8.3%
Illustrative residential architecture; not a property discussed in the article.
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The 10-Year Treasury Yield Falls Below 5%, but Mortgage Relief Is Not Yet Established
A 17-basis-point decline on October 22 reversed the week's rise in the 10-year yield. The move follows a Federal Reserve assessment that financing remained restrictive for home borrowers.
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Consumer Sentiment Slips Again as Borrowing Costs and Gas Prices Weigh on Households
The University of Michigan's preliminary October survey found sentiment falling for a third straight month, with current economic conditions hitting a record low as long-term interest rates surge.
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Factory Orders Held Flat in August as Transportation Equipment Dragged on an Otherwise Steady Report
Census data show new orders for durable goods essentially unchanged from July, with the drag concentrated in aircraft and vehicles rather than the broader industrial base builders and suppliers depend on.
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The Fed Held Rates Steady at Jerome Powell's Last Meeting as Chair — With a Record Number of Dissents
Four officials broke from the April decision, the most dissents at a single meeting in more than three decades, as the housing sector stayed the weakest part of an otherwise expanding economy.
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The Fed Says Home Prices Are Still 'Well Above' What Fundamentals Justify
The Federal Reserve's May Financial Stability Report flags elevated residential valuations even as mortgage delinquencies stay low and equity cushions remain large.
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Consumer Credit Grew at Its Fastest Pace in Over a Year in July, and Nonrevolving Debt Led the Way
The Fed's G.19 release shows credit-card and installment borrowing accelerating together — a signal that bears on mortgage underwriting even though the report excludes housing debt entirely.
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The Fed's Beige Book Found Residential Construction Falling While Commercial Building Rose
Ten of twelve districts reported growth, one Richmond builder gave a 35% pay rise to keep staff from data centre projects, and residential sales improved only modestly.
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Household Net Worth Hit a Record $195.9 Trillion, Almost All of It From Rising Asset Prices
The Fed's Q2 2026 Financial Accounts showed a $12.8 trillion quarterly gain driven overwhelmingly by revaluation rather than new saving, with owner-occupied real estate at $49.8 trillion.
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Inflation Ranged From 3.1% to 3.9% Depending on Where You Live in August
BLS regional CPI data for August put the Northeast eight-tenths of a point above the South, a gap the national headline figure erases entirely.
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Producer Prices for Construction Materials Rose Through the Spring and Summer
The BLS special index for construction materials climbed from 355.5 in March to 374.0 in July, with final demand producer prices up 5.4% over twelve months in August.
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Consumer Prices Fell 0.4% in June, the Year's Only Monthly Decline
BLS put the 12-month rate at 3.5% and core at 2.6% — a release that briefly reset expectations for the second half of 2026.
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Total Household Debt Edged Down in Q2 While HELOC Balances Rose for a 17th Straight Quarter
The New York Fed's Q2 2026 report found $18.8 trillion in total household debt, with mortgage balances distorted by a servicer reporting gap and home-equity lines climbing to $459 billion.
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Shelter Inflation Picked Back Up in August as Headline CPI Rose 0.4%
The shelter index advanced 0.3% after a 0.1% July reading, keeping housing costs at the center of the inflation debate.
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The Fed Raised Rates a Quarter Point in September, Citing Elevated Inflation
A unanimous FOMC lifted the target range to 3-3/4 to 4 percent, and mortgage rates recorded their largest weekly move of the month that same week.
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Residential Investment Added Almost Nothing to Second-Quarter Growth
BEA's second estimate held Q2 GDP growth at 1.5%, with housing contributing 0.05 percentage points and still down 3.9% from a year earlier.
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Household Growth Has Halved Since 2021 and Mobility Hit a Record Low
Harvard's annual housing report found nearly half of renters cost-burdened and Americans moving less often than at any point on record.
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How July’s New-Home Report Maps the Builder Market
Sales, prices and inventory capture a market that differs fundamentally from existing-home resales.
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Permits, Starts and Completions Map the Housing Pipeline
July’s construction measures track separate stages of development—and should not be read interchangeably.
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Housing Inflation’s Slow Turn Keeps Pressure on Household Budgets
Shelter costs move through inflation data with a lag, making housing a persistent part of the economic picture.
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