{"id":8633,"date":"2025-12-26T13:55:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/26\/trump-promised-aggressive-housing-reform-next-year-heres-what-to-expect-for-home-prices-in-2026-komu-8\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T13:55:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:55:51","slug":"trump-promised-aggressive-housing-reform-next-year-heres-what-to-expect-for-home-prices-in-2026-komu-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/26\/trump-promised-aggressive-housing-reform-next-year-heres-what-to-expect-for-home-prices-in-2026-komu-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump promised \u2018aggressive\u2019 housing reform next year. Here\u2019s what to expect for home prices in 2026 – KOMU 8"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(CNN) \u2014<\/strong> Next year may mark a turning point for the US housing market.<\/p>\n

After several years in a deep freeze, with high borrowing costs and soaring prices locking many Americans out of homeownership, economists say conditions may begin to shift in 2026.<\/p>\n

But next year, many economists are optimistic about the housing market. Many anticipate that rising incomes will start to outpace home prices, making homes feel more affordable for many Americans.<\/p>\n

Redfin has dubbed 2026 \u201cThe Great Housing Reset,\u201d while Compass has described it as the start of a \u201cnew era.\u201d<\/p>\n

And after years of historically low sales volumes<\/a>, even a small increase in activity would mark a turning point for the housing market. The shift would come as the Trump administration has signaled it intends to prioritize housing affordability<\/a> in 2026, though details of those plans remain limited.<\/p>\n

The last few years, the housing market has felt stuck, said Mike Simonsen, the cheif economist at Compass. Fewer homes changed hands, but home prices kept relentlessly climbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the next era, we\u2019ll have sufficient inventory on the market across the country, allowing sales to increase,\u201d he said, predicting that the number of home sales would finally tick higher in 2026.<\/p>\n

That may happen for a number of reasons \u2013 but government reform probably isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

Will home prices fall?<\/h2>\n

Home prices have exploded since the pandemic, as demand for homes outstripped supply, pricing many Americans out. Between the start of 2020 and the third quarter of 2025, home prices climbed nearly 55% nationwide, according to a recent report<\/a> from the National Association of Homebuilders.<\/p>\n

Beyond the general lack of housing already, many sellers have been unwilling to give up the ultra-low mortgage rates they locked in years ago, held off on listing.<\/p>\n

But as homeowners adjust to rates above 6%, more may decide it\u2019s time to sell in 2026, adding inventory to the market and easing price pressure, said Simonsen.<\/p>\n

This year, there were glimmers of affordability, with some states like Florida, Texas, and California seeing average home<\/a> prices decline in 2025 from their peaks.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t expect a sharp nationwide drop in home prices in 2026, Simonsen said. Prices are more likely to hover near current levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re forecasting a half a percent increase in home prices next year, which is essentially flat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even so, many buyers may still feel priced out in 2026. The best way to make homes more affordable long term would be to build more homes, Simonsen noted.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to homebuilding, Simonsen said \u201cwe are behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

What will happen to mortgage rates?<\/h2>\n

Mortgage rates have trended lower in the second half of this year. Last week, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.18%, significantly lower than at the start of 2025, when rates were approaching 7%.<\/p>\n

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Simonsen expects mortgage rates to stay above 6% next year, but that could change. A weakening labor market or falling inflation might prompt the Federal Reserve to cut rates more than expected. While mortgage rates don\u2019t follow the Fed directly, they track the 10-year Treasury yield, which reacts to the Fed\u2019s moves.<\/p>\n

Consumer confidence is critical to the housing market, said Jason Waugh, president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates. If the labor market softens further and buyers feel less secure in their jobs, they may be less willing to buy a home, weighing on sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the majority of folks, (buying a house) is a 15-year or a 30-year commitment,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not confident in your income stream or your income potential, you may pause and not take on larger commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about rent prices?<\/h2>\n

After an explosion in rent prices in many cities a few years ago, renters got a little relief in 2025 as rent growth cooled, according<\/a> to Bank of America.<\/p>\n

Rents were flat year-over-year in October for the first time in three and a half years, according to the bank\u2019s internal payments data.<\/p>\n

But that relief may not last.<\/p>\n

With many Americans still locked out of homeownership by high down payments and expensive monthly mortgage payments, Redfin estimates rental demand will stay elevated, even as fewer newly constructed apartments hit the market.<\/p>\n

Rents may rise by about 2% to 3% year over year by the end of 2026, according<\/a> to Redfin.<\/p>\n

What is the Trump administration proposing?<\/h2>\n

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump teased plans to pursue the \u201cmost aggressive housing reform plans\u201d in US history next year.<\/p>\n

While the White House has been mum on details so far, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett suggested plans focused on housing regulations during a television appearance last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of things that we can do with regulations to try to help get stuff approved quicker,\u201d he said on Fox Business. \u201cAnd we can also do things like reward states that make it easier for people to build a new home.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said that homeownership was a \u201ctop priority for President Trump\u2019s affordability agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American people can count on more to come \u2013 stay tuned!\u201d Desai added.<\/p>\n

Over the last few months, the Trump administration floated several ideas to make it easier to buy homes, including a 50-year mortgage plan<\/a> and portable mortgages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, it is unlikely either proposal will become a reality in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe there are limits on what the President can do in 2026 to boost housing,\u201d Jaret Sieberg, a housing policy analyst at TD Cowen wrote to clients in a note earlier this month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(CNN) \u2014 Next year may mark a turning point for the US housing market. After several years in a deep freeze, with high borrowing costs and soaring prices locking many Americans out of homeownership, economists say conditions may begin to shift in 2026. But next year, many economists are optimistic about the housing market. Many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}