Mortgage applications decreased 5.0% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Dec. 19, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 6% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 6% from the previous week and was 110% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance...
At the top end of the coastal market, ocean views come with a long list of environmental challenges. Salt-heavy air, relentless sun exposure, wind-driven rain, and the growing threat of major storms all place enormous demands on a home’s exterior systems. For $30+ million oceanfront properties, weatherproofing isn’t a line item — it’s a design mandate baked into every decision from the earliest...
Just in time for Christmas, a slice of Midwest holiday tradition is officially up for grabs. Meert Tree Farm, a long-running Christmas tree destination in Festus, has been listed for sale, offering buyers the chance to own not just a seasonal business, but an entire working farm that’s been part of local holiday rituals since the 1970s. The nearly 150-acre property is being offered at $2.2 million...
Even my coworkers jumped on the...
Discover which items should never be plugged into a power strip, along with other hazardous mistakes people frequently...
This Trending Now story features the most-saved porch photos uploaded to Houzz since Jan. 1, 2025....
Why Pre-Biden Mortgages Froze the U.S. Housing Market The U.S. housing market isn't breaking. It isn't rebounding. It's frozen -- held in place over the last 3 years by the quiet force of lower mortgage rates, specifically those that originated before the Biden presidential era. Tens of millions of homeowners remain locked into loans carrying interest rates below 4%, a remnant of the pandemic refinancing...
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently announced “Operation Double Nickel,” a proposal that would lower the age for senior property tax benefits from 65 to 55 and expand homestead tax exemptions. According to Patrick’s website, the plan “would accelerate school property tax cuts, reduce school property taxes, and freeze appraised values for more than 3.3 million homeowners, forever, by taking the...
In a wholesale mortgage market dominated by giants, Arizona-based lender The Loan Store (TLS) has found a way to grow quickly by hiring a team of “samurai” account executives and underwriters from across the industry and picking up loans that others would deny. In the first nine months of 2025, the company doubled its origination volume to $8.2 billion compared to the same period in 2024, ranking as...
U.S. mortgage delinquencies jumped sharply in November, reaching their highest level in more than four years, according to ICE Mortgage Technology’s latest First Look report, released on Tuesday. The national delinquency rate rose to 3.85% in November, up 50 basis points from October, as the number of past-due mortgages increased by 275,000 to about 2.3 million. ICE said that the increase...
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