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- Home listings pile up in October, but sellers won’t slash prices
Home listings pile up in October, but sellers won’t slash prices
Plus: Mortgage applications jump 6.2% last week
🐈⬛ It's Friday the 13th. Today’s newsletter is 675 words, a 2-minute read. Let’s dive in
Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of November 12, 2026. © MND Daily Rate Index.
1. Home listings pile up in October, but sellers won’t slash prices
Active inventory hit 183,500 homes in October, up 7.4% from a year ago, according to Realtor.com. That is the fastest annual growth in eight months. Supply is now just 6.6% below typical pre-pandemic levels, the narrowest gap since the pandemic.
Buyers are pulling back. Newly pending sales fell 16.8% from a year ago, according to Zillow, the biggest annual drop since August 2023. Sellers are not budging. New listings fell 7.5%, but just over 20% of sellers cut prices, about the same as last year, and delistings did not rise.
“November is shaping up to have an even larger contraction, but the silver lining is that next month is likely going to be the worst of it,” said Zillow chief economist Mischa Fisher. He expects the slowdown to ease into the new year.
2. Mortgage applications jump 6.2% last week
Total application volume rose 6.2% from the previous week. Purchase apps rose 8% for the week but are still 18% below a year ago. Refi apps rose 5% and are 57% lower than last year.
Conventional, VA and FHA purchase apps all gained, with particularly strong growth for FHA and VA loans. The ARM share slipped slightly.
“The declining trend in rates helped to spur stronger application activity, although the pace of purchase and refinance applications remain considerably lower than a year ago,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s deputy chief economist.
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3. More Nuggets
📈 Take Care of America’s Veterans Act advances with VA mortgage fee hikes. (HousingWire)
🤝 loanDepot and Davidson Homes form Davidson Mortgage joint venture. (StreetInsider)
🏡 Warren Buffett says ‘accumulating great amounts of money’ doesn’t achieve greatness—He still lives in a $31,500 Nebraska home. (Fortune)
4. Newrez adds personal loans for its servicing customers through Upgrade
Newrez is partnering with fintech firm Upgrade to offer unsecured personal loans to eligible customers whose mortgages it services. Upgrade originates and services the loans, which are issued by Cross River Bank. The loans do not touch the borrower’s home equity or change their existing Newrez mortgage.
Newrez says qualified borrowers can be funded in as little as one business day, with no prepayment fees and soft-credit prequalification. They are aimed at debt consolidation, home improvements and unexpected expenses.
“Our relationship with homeowners doesn’t begin and end with a mortgage,” Leslie Gillin, Newrez’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “Homeowners’ financial needs often extend beyond their monthly mortgage payment, and we’re proud to broaden the ways we can support them, including helping identify opportunities for savings as they navigate important financial decisions.”
5. UWM rolls out 40 bps year-end pricing bonus
UWM’s “40 to the Finish” gives brokers 40 basis points on all agency and nonagency loans through Dec. 31. To qualify, the borrower needs a 700+ FICO and the broker must use Underwriting+, TRAC+ or virtual closing.
Underwriting+ puts processing and underwriting under one UWM employee. TRAC+ has UWM handle title review and closing on refis. Both move more of the loan work onto UWM.
UWM ran a similar 40 bps promotion earlier this year for its anniversary, through February. Separately, UWM said it’s expanding its partnership with Bilt, a neighborhood commerce and rewards platform, to bring Bilt Neighborhood OS into its servicing ecosystem.
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