Housing Week Ahead: Monthly Trends Data, Mortgage Rates, and Jobs Report

With all eyes on Election Day, this marks a relatively light week for new Realtor.com economics research reports and housing market indicators. 

On Wednesday, I'll be issuing our October monthly housing trends report, taking a look at whether elevated mortgage rates caused buyers or sellers to pull back more, as well as what happened to inventory, asking prices, and contract signings.

The September snapshot showed a housing market softening under the weight of rising mortgage rates. Median list prices fell, while inventory and price cuts rose. I expect more of the same from the October data, after mortgage rates hit their highest levels since 2023.

On Thursday, senior economist Joel Berner will issue our Realtor.com weekly listing data update. As well, senior economist Hannah Jones will have commentary on Freddie Mac's latest mortgage rate reading on Thursday.

It’s too early to call the direction of rates this week. But I’ll be watching the bond market, especially the 10-year Treasury yield, for any reaction to the midterms, new developments in the Middle East, and any Fed signals about a December hike.

Rates matter locally, too. For buyers in Phoenix; Tucson, AZ; Raleigh, NC; Charlotte, NC; and Louisville, KY, Nov. 1–7 is your best time to buy. If rates ease for a third week in a row, buyers there and elsewhere could have more purchasing power than a month ago, more homes to choose from than a year ago, and fewer buyers to compete with. That’s a winning combination heading into the slow season. 

One final indicator: I’ll be up bright and early on Friday morning to track the latest labor market data, which covers October unemployment and job growth.

September's jobs report was disappointing but not a disaster, adding just 29,000 jobs while unemployment rose to 4.2%. We expect the low-hire, low-fire labor market to continue, which keeps the Federal Reserve focused on inflation ahead of its December meeting.