The Part of the Mortgage Payment That Keeps Rising After You Buy
Insurance premiums up 46% since 2021 and property assessments catching up with pandemic-era price gains are pushing escrow payments higher for owners whose loan payment never changes.
Section
Real Estate
Mortgages, housing supply and commercial property
What a Fannie and Freddie Sale Would Do to Your Mortgage Rate
The value of the two companies is a secondary question. The one that determines borrowing costs is whether investors still believe the federal government stands behind the securities they issue.
The Renter Who Would Rather Be a Buyer
Three years of unaffordable ownership have produced a large and growing population of high-income renters, reshaping what gets built and who owns it.
Housing Starts Fall to the Weakest Pace Since April 2020
Construction began on homes at a 1.18 million annual rate in May, with multifamily starts collapsing 40% in a single month — a supply contraction that will be felt in rents two years from now.
A Record 90,000 Apartments Are Being Carved Out of Old Offices
Conversion projects rose about 28% over the past year, led by New York with more than 16,000 units underway, as cities pair tax abatements with a permanent surplus of office space.
The Plan to Take Fannie and Freddie Public Has Stalled
An offering that had been discussed at roughly $30 billion — which would be the largest in U.S. history — faces new uncertainty after the official leading it took on a second full-time government role.
Can an Empty Office Become a Data Center? Usually Not
With office delinquencies at records and data center space unobtainable, owners are studying conversions — but power capacity, floor loading and cooling defeat most candidates before the design phase.
Rents Are Flat or Falling in Much of the Country
The national rental vacancy rate has climbed to roughly 7.3% as a wave of apartment construction finished delivering, giving renters the best negotiating position they have had in a decade.