Buyers Retreat as Rates Climb
Spring housing hit a wall fast.
The 10-year Treasury rose to 4.35%, and rates had briefly touched 5.99% before the bond market reversed hard, by week’s end the 30-year sat at 6.57%.
Traders started pricing in a rate hike instead of a cut.
Then the war hit just as buyers were daring to hope cheap money was back.
Agents started seeing more canceled deals, longer time on market, and sellers quietly stepping back.
When a spring market loses cheap money and buyer confidence at the same time, the first trouble usually shows up in owners who needed a fast sale.
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Bond Market Gets Nervous. Mortgage Rates Spike from 5.99% to 6.57% in a Week
Bond traders flinched, and mortgages felt it fast. The 10-year hit 4.35%, inflation fears and debt supply pushed rate hike chatter back onto the table, and the 30-year finished the week at 6.57% which erased the brief dip that had buyers moving again.
Iran War Upends Spring Housing Market. Here’s What Real Estate Agents are Seeing
Spring housing got clipped fast. Rates jumped from 5.99% to around 6.5%, buyers grew skittish about jobs and war, and more deals started falling apart. Homes are sitting longer, sellers are hesitating, and the market lost the easy momentum agents were counting on.
California Inventory Hits a Decade High as Buyers Disappear.
Listings kept piling up while buyers stepped back. Inventory hit one of the highest March levels in ten years, demand stayed roughly a third below 2019, and even hot markets like San Jose and Los Angeles are starting to look crowded.
Refi Demand Falls for a Third Straight Week as Rate Spike Bites
Applications dropped again as the 30-year climbed to 6.57%, wiping out the brief window that had refinancers moving. Purchase demand softened alongside it, and the market kept leaning on FHA and VA borrowers to carry the load.
Foreclosures Mount Around Temple University as Inflated Student Housing Deals Collapse
Landlords who overpaid for North Philly student rentals are sliding into foreclosure, tenants are stuck in the middle, and a fraud-tainted pocket of the market is showing how shaky financing can wipe out landlords, lenders, and leases all at once.
The Counties Where Homeownership Still Pencils Out
Nearly 70% of counties still ran past affordability limits in Q1 2026, but a handful of markets in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Alabama kept costs close to what average wages can actually support.
