‘Hibernating’ Housing Market Could Stoke Voter Anger in Midterms
Summary
The article says high mortgage rates and weak home sales have kept the U.S. housing market slow in 2026, adding to voters’ concerns about the cost of living ahead of the midterm elections. Surveys cited in the article show broad concern about housing costs and suggest that housing affordability could influence how some people vote.Key Facts
- Realtor.com economist Joel Berner described the U.S. housing market as being in hibernation, with several years of very low sales.
- Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.32 percent on October 22, compared with 6.19 percent a year earlier.
- The article says mortgage rates rose above 7 percent after briefly falling below 6 percent for one week in late February.
- The National Association of Realtors reported a September median existing-home price of $417,500, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.
- September existing-home sales were down 2.2 percent from the same month in 2025, while housing inventory reached 1.60 million units.
- A Pew Research Center survey found that 66 percent of U.S. adults were very concerned about housing costs.
- In the Pew survey, concern about housing costs was reported by 76 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 53 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
- A Hometap survey of 1,000 homeowners found that 77 percent said a candidate's plan to lower homeownership costs would affect their vote.
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