Kate Wood

speaker

431 appearances 7 recordings 2 series first heard Dec 2025 last heard 13 Aug

Kate Wood’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 7 in all, peaking in Feb 2026 with 4.

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NPR News Now · NPR News: 02-26-2026 1PM EST · 26 Feb 2026 podcast

Mortgage rates have been steadily declining since last May, so it's not like housing got drastically more affordable this week.

But Kate Wood with NerdWallet said the psychological effect of a mortgage below 6% and just how long people have been waiting to move could get more Americans house shopping.

The U.S.

is in a housing affordability crisis, and cheaper mortgages can help.

But the U.S.

also has a housing shortage, so a flood of new buyers without more supply could drive prices up, cutting into any affordability gains.

Stephen Passaha, NPR News.

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast · Split-Expense Planning for Couples and the Winter Homebuying Advantage · 12 Feb 2026 podcast

Yeah, the winter market has fewer buyers, but it also has fewer sellers, which does mean lower inventory.

So often people who list their homes in winter are doing it because they have to, not necessarily because they want to.

So winter sellers who list in the winter are often dealing with a big life change, could be a death in the family, a divorce, maybe relocating for their career.

Exactly.

Average home prices tend to drop in the winter too.

So seasonally, December through February, prices are about 16% lower than when the market's at its peak in June.

That's according to numbers from the National Association of Realtors.

So you can use that winter weather to your advantage, though, since after all, you're going to be living in the place year-round, so long as it's not your second home.

So you really do want to know how the home feels in winter.

Honestly, my last house, I closed in September, and if I had toured it in winter, I'd

don't know if I would have bought it.

It was beautiful, but it really, really felt like a cabin.

So this is the time where you're going to know like, wow, the heating really isn't that great.

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