By CHARLOTTE KRAMON, ALEX VEIGA and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
In a rare bipartisan effort for a deeply divided Congress, the Senate has passed a broad bill to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable. The bill passed on Thursday would reduce regulations, regulate corporate investors and expand how housing dollars can be used to build affordable homes and rentals. It now heads back to the House, which passed a separate version earlier this year. It is unclear whether President Donald Trump would sign it after declaring last weekend that he won't sign any new measures unless Congress passes legislation that would require voters to show proof of citizenship.
Worries about the war with Iran sent oil prices back to $100 per barrel and stocks sinking worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Thursday and returned to big swings following a couple days of relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.8%. The center of action was again the oil market, where the price of a barrel of Brent crude got as high as $101.59. Treasury yields climbed in the bond market on worries about higher inflation and fewer cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Inflation declined a bit last month as prices for gas and used cars fell, a sign that cost pressures are slowly easing. The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from the prior month, the same as in November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 0.2%, also matching November's figure. Even as inflation has eased, the large price increases for necessities such as groceries, rent, and health care have left many American households feeling squeezed, turning "affordability" issues into high-profile political concerns.
Owning a home is a benchmark of success and a way to amass wealth. But in California, with increasing home prices and mortgage interest rates above 6%, combined with rent control policies, it might make more financial sense to rent. For some, renting is necessary because they cannot afford to buy. Others may rent and put additional money into the stock market or other investments to build wealth. The advantages of buying a single-family home include extra space, a sense of security and likely better schools than might be available to people living in apartments. California's homeownership rate of 55% is second lowest in the nation and a full 10 percentage points below the national average.
A federal lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell accuses the Trump administration's top housing regulator of abusing his position to misuse private mortgage records belonging to Swalwell and other Democratic critics of the Republican president. Swalwell sued Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte on Tuesday — less than two weeks after Pulte formally referred the California Democrat to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution on mortgage fraud charges. Swalwell is seeking a court order for Pulte and his agency to withdraw the criminal referral. Pulte didn't immediately respond to a text message and telephone call seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes accelerated in September as declining mortgage rates and a pickup in available properties on the market encouraged home shoppers. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing home sales rose 1.5% last month from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units. That's the fastest sales pace since February. Sales jumped 4.1% compared with September last year. The national median sales price climbed 2.1% in September from a year earlier to $415,200. The housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates climbed from historic lows. Affordability remains a daunting challenge for most aspiring homeowners following years of skyrocketing home prices.
