The two government sponsored enterprises buy loans from mortgage lenders to ensure liquidity in the market and repackage those into investment products. They also set the standards for creditworthiness and ability to repay for mortgage loans. While they offer several construction products, those support lenders and homebuyers, not builders. HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami has written extensively on what could trigger more homebuilding and weighed in on Trump's statement.
Inventory growth was running at 33% year over year a few months ago, but it dropped to 17.66% last week. Let's find out what happened. In recent years, our inventory data has grown steadily in August, but this year it hasn't. I initially believed that we had not yet reached the peak of active inventory in 2025, but I've been proven wrong. Now we are entering the phase where inventory typically experiences its seasonal decline.
During the pandemic housing boom, from summer 2020 to spring 2022, the number of active homes for sale in most housing markets plummeted as homebuyer demand quickly absorbed almost everything that came up for sale and home sellers had ultimate power. Fast-forward to the current housing market, and the places where active inventory has rebounded to 2019 levels (due to strained affordability suppressing buyer demand) are now the very places where homebuyers have gained the most power.
Pending-home sales slid in July despite improvements in housing supply, affordability and mortgage rates as buyers remained on the sidelines, the National Association of REALTORS® said. The pace of sales ticked 0.4% lower month over month and 0.7% lower year over year nationwide, NAR said, adding that the West was the only geographic region to see a monthly gain, while the Midwest and South were the only areas with annual increases.
