U.S. Home Prices Ease, But Rates and Supply Keep Pressure On
United States Housing and Mortgage Market – FHFA said prices dipped in April, Freddie Mac put the 30-year rate at 6.43% on July 2, and May starts fell 15.4% from April.
U.S. housing data pointed in different directions this week. FHFA said national house prices fell 0.1% in April from March, but were still 2.0% higher than a year earlier. Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.43% on July 2, down from 6.49% the week before. The Census Bureau and HUD said May housing starts were at a 1.177 million annual rate, down 15.4% from April, while permits were 1.413 million.
For buyers, the key point is that slower price growth has not yet offset borrowing costs. Freddie Mac also said the 15-year fixed rate was 5.79%, barely changed from the prior week. That keeps monthly payments elevated even as home-price growth cools.
The supply side is still uneven. May completions reached 1.313 million annualized, but the drop in starts suggests builders are not adding homes quickly enough to change the national affordability picture in the near term. That is an inference from the data, not a separate policy finding.
What to watch next: FHFA’s next house-price release is due July 28, 2026, and the next Census/HUD housing-starts report is due July 17, 2026.
Sources
- FHFA House Price Index release
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey release
- U.S. Census Bureau and HUD New Residential Construction report for May 2026
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