02/10/2026
📊 Housing update - Redfin is showing the typical monthly housing payment is down about 5.5% from last year, sitting around $2,413. That is the biggest drop in over a year.
Sounds like relief… until you look at inventory. New listings are still sluggish, down about 4.7% year over year, and they recently hit the lowest seasonally adjusted level since January 2024. So buyers get a little breathing room, but there still is not much to buy.
Now we are seeing a bunch of policy levers being pulled at the same time
In early January, Trump directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200B of mortgage bonds to try to push rates down. Rates dipped briefly, then started ticking back up again.
There is also a new executive order aimed at limiting large institutional investors from using certain federal programs to buy single family homes that families could buy instead.
And there is a proposal in Congress to allow penalty free 401(k) withdrawals for down payments. That could help some buyers, but it also could add more demand without adding more homes.
Big picture, we keep circling the same problem: supply. Builders are still dealing with constraints like labor, lots, materials, and regulation. Demand side fixes can feel good short term, but if supply stays tight, prices can get stubborn again.
Investor takeaway 💪
Whether you are wholesaling, flipping, or buying rentals, the edge still is buying right and moving fast on clean deals. When inventory is tight, the best deals do not wait.
👇Do you think affordability is actually improving, or is this just a temporary dip before spring heats up again. Which matters more in your area: rates, inventory, or big investors
If you could pick ONE fix, would you choose building more homes, pushing rates lower, or restricting institutional buyers
