Stephen Massaha

The good news is wages have grown faster, and the National Association of Realtors says housing affordability is the best it's been in about four years.

But homeowners and will-be buyers are not looking back four years, but five, back when mortgage rates were half what they are today.

They have declined a bit over the last year, but homeowners are still reluctant to move and give up their old lower rate.

Stephen Massaha, NPR News.

Renters typically spent about $6,500 less than homeowners with a mortgage in 2024.

The biggest gaps were in San Francisco, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and New York City.

Mortgage rates have gotten cheaper over the past few months, but they're still much higher than they were five years ago.

A study by the Center for Generational Kinetics finds only 8% of single-family home renters define the American dream as owning a home.

And home ownership is still one of the best ways for people to build wealth, assuming they plan to stay in their home for more than a few years.

Stephen Massaha, NPR News.

The order itself is pretty limited.

Trump can't ban the sale of homes to institutional investors with an executive order.

But his order does tell several federal agencies that in 60 days, they must stop supporting these sales through things like providing insurance or approvals.

And it tells his cabinet to review rules to make those purchases harder.

Last year, institutional investors only owned about 3% of the single-family rental market.

But those numbers are much higher in some Sunbelt cities, like Atlanta, where it's around 25%.

But some economists say that what's driving up the price of housing is not the number of Wall Street investors.

It's that there aren't enough homes on the market.

Stephen Massaha, NPR News.

Carmakers and suppliers met for rapid-fire five-minute meetings in Huntsville, Alabama, during the Southern Automotive Conference earlier this month.