Stephen Passaha

But there are some clues that economists say might kind of sort of help us predict bubbles.

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 percent of the single family rental market.

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

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 Passaha, NPR News.

There were signs of a return to optimism among single-family homebuilders at the end of the year.

The housing market index saw three straight months of gains, but that's now ended.

The index fell two points to 37.

Anything below 50 means an overall negative outlook.

Builders are dealing with rising construction costs and high interest rates.

Most of the builders responded before the Trump administration announced new housing policies, like ordering Fannie and Freddie Mac to buy up $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to lower mortgage rates.

The average 30-year mortgage is down.

It's just over 6%.

But that's still well above COVID-era rates that make many homeowners reluctant to sell.

Stephen Passaha, NPR News.