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Lazy Days
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
Table of Contents
Pending home sales were down month-over-month and year-over-year, but home prices and interest rates didn’t get the memo. Redfin is the latest source to proclaim that U.S. home prices have hit a record high, joining First American and the National Association of Realtors. Each week we wait for a resolution to the Iran conflict keeps consumers and the market on edge, but Bill Bodnar notes this should be a pretty quiet week in his latest Master the Markets segment.
CHATTER
Embed the LO in the Flyer: Uplist Launches New Tool - HW
Uplist has launched Homebuyer Intelligence, a listing-connected tool that lets homebuyers see mortgage lender-specific payment estimates and affordability strategies while they are viewing a property in person or online, the company announced Thursday.
The Washington state-based mortgage technology firm said in its announcement that Homebuyer Intelligence is designed to plug loan officer expertise directly into listing flyers, open houses and online property marketing.
Loan officers generate a single Uplist link or QR code that can be added to any flyer or digital asset, taking buyers to a personalized listing page powered by the lender’s live pricing.
SCOTUS Stopping Money Grabs
Illinois Complies: State Changes Property Tax Foreclosure Process
The state passed a law to comply with a 2023 SCOTUS decision that says states may not confiscate and keep homeowners’ equity in excess of tax debt when foreclosure actions occur. The SCOTUS decision was on a case brought by a Minnesota woman who had roughly $15,000 in unpaid property taxes, penalties, and interest on her Minneapolis condominium. Hennepin County seized the property and sold it at auction for $40,000, retaining the $25,000 surplus for itself. Tyler sued and won, arguing this forfeiture violated both the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment.
TCPAin the Butt: Lawsuit Claims Rocket Called 40x in May - NMN
Mortgage > Pro Sports: Former Rocket CEO Jay Farner Gets Involved in Detroit City Football Club
Farner’s investment firm Ronin Partners entered an agreement for a stake in the club. He’s in good company: Rocket Founder Dan Gilbert has major share of Cleveland Cavs NBA team, UWM’s Mat Ishbia is involved with the Phoenix Suns.
MOVING & SHAKING
CoStar Group names Robin Rossmann as CFO, effective July 31, 2026.
Rate announced the promotion of Bryan Brown to Regional Manager.
Dream Finders appointed Rick Beckwitt co-chair and added Steve Fischer to its board.
Vice Capital Markets named Terry Aikin EVP of Strategic Growth.
First Horizon Bank named Craig Netterville Baton Rouge President.
SingleSource Property Solutions hired Noah Meier as Chief Appraiser.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
Mortgage Rates Average 6.55%: Freddie 7-16-26
Mortgage applications decreased 2.7% from one week earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 7-10-26.
Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 2.4% in June from a year ago. Compared to May 2026, applications decreased by 6% - MBA’s Builder App Survey.
The Mortgage Credit Availability Index says credit availability decreased last month. The MCAI fell by 2.0% to 105.8 in June. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
Summer Slog
Month-Over-Month
5.4% decrease in pending home sales
Declines in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West
Year-Over-Year
0.3% decrease in pending home sales
Gains in the Northeast and Midwest; Declines in the South and West
“The highest mortgage rates in nearly a year and the record-high national median home price together are contributing to a tepid housing market that is especially difficult for first-time homebuyers. However, job gains can help support housing demand.” - NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun
Another New High
Redfin Records: June Home Prices Hit New High
Prices rose 2.2% year over year in June to a record high, mainly because of growing demand.
Existing U.S. home sales ticked up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.4 million, the highest level since 2022, and pending home sales reached their second-highest level since 2023.
U.S. existing-home sales ticked up 0.1% month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of roughly 4.4 million in June–the highest level since November 2022. On a year-over-year basis, existing home sales rose 4.2% from last June.
The total number of homes sold–including both existing and newly built homes–fell 0.5% in June from a month earlier, but were still at their second-highest level since October 2022 and up 4.5% year over year.
Still Coming Up Short…
Short Sale Stats: Fetching More than Foreclosures
Foreclosed homes sold for a fairly steady 25% to 30% below their estimated value, year after year. The short-sale discount swung widely by comparison. It started around 30% in 2018 and ballooned to 50% in 2022, when the typical short sale went for about half its estimated value.
Nearly 30,000 short-sale transactions took place in the United States in 2025. Short sales accounted for roughly 0.6% of all conventional, arm’s-length home sales and 28% of distressed home sales last year.
Short-sale transactions have accelerated recently, rising 4% from 2023 to 2024, nearly 10% from 2024 to 2025, and about 16% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
For most of the past decade, short sales sold at a steeper discount to their estimated value than foreclosures did, bottoming out at around 50% below value. But in January 2026, short sales finally started selling at a smaller discount than foreclosed homes.
Flimsy Flips: ATTOM Data’s Q126 Home Flipping Report
64,348 single-family homes and condominiums were flipped during Q126, representing 8% of all home sales completed from January through March.
The home-flipping rate of all home sales nationwide in Q1 2026 was up from 7.2% in the previous quarter but down slightly from 8.2% a year earlier. Despite the quarterly increase in market share, the total number of homes flipped fell to 64,348, down from 69,711 in Q4 2025 and 70,579 in Q1 2025.
The typical profit margin on a home flip improved slightly in Q1 2026, rising to 25.4 percent from 24.7 percent in the previous quarter, which had marked the lowest return since mid-2008. Even with the quarterly gain, margins remained below the 29.6 percent return recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Foreclosure Activity Up: ATTOM Data’s Mid-Year 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report
Foreclosure starts increased 18% from a year ago.
While some homeowners may be facing greater financial strain, the report suggests the housing market is continuing a gradual return toward more typical foreclosure patterns.
Foreclosure timelines continued to shorten, with properties foreclosed in Q2 2026 spending an average of 563 days in the process, the lowest level since 2013.