Written by Chase Majerus
The holidays are here, the housing market is chaotic, and your inbox deserves something fun and useful. Welcome to another festive edition of This Week Today.
A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, lets you borrow against your home’s available equity. Applying for a HELOC with Synergy One Lending is fast and easy. Our application is fast, easy, and all online. If pre-approved, you’ll be instantly presented with your offer options.
(from Housingwire.com and CNBC)
On one hand, CNBC reports, “Home sellers are giving up at ‘unusually high rate,’ says new Realtor report” and on the other hand, Housingwire reports, “December housing demand near 3-year high as spreads improve” so someone is… LYING??
New data shows home delistings jumped 45% this year, the highest rate Realtor.com has ever recorded. At the same time, mortgage purchase applications just hit their strongest level in nearly three years. So… sellers are quitting, buyers are showing up, and everyone is confused.
Here’s what’s really happening.
On the seller side, the frustration is piling up. Higher rates over the past few years pushed monthly payments out of reach for many buyers, leaving sellers stuck with slow showings, longer days on market, and rising canceled contracts (15% of deals fell through in October). In pricier metros like Miami, Denver, and Houston, the share of delisted homes is especially high, these markets saw some of the biggest pandemic-era price jumps, and sellers there are realizing they may not get the numbers they hoped for.
So what do they do? They pull the listing, wait for spring, and hope rates fall.
But on the buyer side, a totally different story is unfolding. For 18 straight weeks, mortgage rates have hovered near 6%, thanks largely to improving mortgage spreads… basically, the invisible math that determines how much lenders charge above the 10-year Treasury yield. Those tighter spreads have lowered rates even though the 10-year hasn’t dipped much below 4%.
That small shift has made a big difference. Demand has surged, with double-digit year-over-year growth in purchase applications for 18 weeks in a row and pending home sales hitting multi-year highs. And much of that demand is flowing into so-called “refuge markets”… places like Grand Rapids, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Milwaukee, where homes are still 20–30% cheaper than the national median and price growth is steady but manageable.
So how can both things be true?
Because the market isn’t one market anymore. It’s two:
And hanging over all of this is the Fed. A December rate cut is expected, but Powell is signaling a tough stance for 2026, meaning this near-6% window might be the best stretch buyers get for a while.
Until the rate path becomes clearer, expect more of these split-screen moments: sellers tapping out in one part of the country while buyers rush into another.
Read more here and here
(from TheRealDeal.com)
Dallas just claimed the crown for Texas’ priciest home sale of 2025 — a European-inspired Highland Park estate that originally asked $32.5 million. With nearly 19,000 square feet of gilded detail and imported stone, this place is basically a château that wandered into North Texas and decided to stay.
4000 Euclid Avenue — Highland Park, Dallas
Highlights:
Texas real estate may cool, heat up, or zigzag, but the luxury market always finds a way to flex.
(from ThePlaybookMB.com)
Tariffs were supposed to bring jobs back to the U.S., but new data shows something else might happen first. Companies across manufacturing, energy and transportation are warning that higher import costs could force them to cut staff in 2026. Some are already preparing for offshore production, permanent cost changes and even voluntary severance programs.
The latest ISM manufacturing survey showed elevated concern, a drop in employment sentiment, and comments like “reduction of staff” and “conditions are more trying than during the coronavirus pandemic.” That is not the kind of phrase you want to hear heading into a new year.
Big picture. GDP is still growing and hiring has not collapsed, but the combination of higher costs, weaker imports and slower demand is creating a confusing financial environment. Experts are saying the real economic impact of these tariffs has not fully hit yet. Translation. 2026 could be bumpy in ways people are not expecting.
So what does this mean for normal people trying to build financial stability?
It means it is more important than ever to understand your money, reduce unnecessary costs and build a plan that matches the real economy, not the wishful one. You cannot control tariffs or hiring trends, but you can control how prepared you are.
That is where S1 FinFit becomes valuable.
S1 FinFit takes your entire financial picture and makes it simple to understand. It can help you:
When companies tighten their budgets, the smartest move is tightening your financial clarity. S1 FinFit gives you a roadmap when the economy gets noisy. It helps you stay proactive instead of panicked.
If 2026 is going to be unpredictable, your finances do not have to be.
S1 FinFit is a FREE app that provides a roadmap to help you reach your financial and lifestyle goals, no matter how big or small! Free credit monitoring with alerts, set financial goals, create budgets, and keep track of your spending to see where your money is going.
Download the app on the appropriate app store with the links below!
(from National Mortgage News.com)
A new Clever Offers survey says 40% of Americans planning to buy or sell a home in 2026 fear a housing crash, and 98% expect challenges. Yet in the same breath, nearly three out of four also think 2026 will be a good year to both buy and sell. So which is it? Optimism or doom?
Turns out, buyers and sellers are emotionally split.
Confidence in the economy is shaky: only 40% believe the U.S. is headed in the right direction, and an equal share expect things to get worse. That uncertainty is pushing 45% of sellers to consider skipping agents altogether to avoid extra costs. And when it comes to home prices? Most consumers think they’re heading up, while a much larger share of agents think they’re due for a decline, meaning even the experts aren’t aligned.
But underneath the anxiety, the demand is real. A separate RE/MAX survey found 88% of buyers are likely to purchase next year, even though 71% say current conditions have already delayed them. And almost everyone agrees that lower prices or better affordability would speed things up.
The quiet good news: First American’s Real House Price Index suggests affordability could improve by 3% next year as income growth finally outpaces price appreciation. It’s not a miracle cure, but it’s the first hint of tailwind buyers have seen in years.
So the vibe heading into 2026? Hopeful, stressed, a little contradictory… and very active.
A Big Housing Bill Has Unanimous Senate Support
(from Housingwire.com)
The Senate unanimously passed the ROAD to Housing Act back in October, a rare moment of total bipartisan agreement on anything, but the House is tapping the brakes.
Instead of slipping it into the giant $900 billion defense bill (as many expected), House leaders want more time to actually read the legislation before advancing it. So for now, the biggest federal housing reform in years is sitting in line.
The ROAD to Housing Act is aimed at one thing: making it easier and faster to build housing in America. It strips away regulatory barriers, streamlines environmental reviews, and uses a carrot-and-stick approach to push local governments toward zoning and land-use rules that allow more homes. Cities that welcome new development would get more federal Community Development Block Grant dollars; cities that refuse to build could lose funding.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a co-sponsor, says the bill passed the Senate unanimously because every member of the banking committee added something useful, 38 provisions in total, all pointed toward the same goal: more access, more housing. The bill would also modernize rules around modular homes, manufactured housing, pre-approved design plans, NEPA reform, and loan insurance programs to make construction cheaper and approvals faster.
Housing advocates are frustrated it wasn’t fast-tracked, but still optimistic. House Financial Services Chair French Hill says the committee will review the bill this month and work with the Senate to send a finalized version to the President next year. That means 2026 could see some of the most significant federal housing reform in decades, even if the path there is slower than hoped.
And this isn’t the only bill in motion. The separate HOME Reform Act of 2025 is also gaining traction, aiming to reduce duplication in environmental reviews and modernize eligibility rules to reflect today’s market.
The takeaway: Washington is finally treating housing supply as a national priority… it just has to get through Congress first.
(from Synergy One Lending Loan Officer, Randy Atkinson)
This week, Synergy One loan officer Randy Atkinson shared a clutch reminder: the holidays are amazing… and also expensive. Between gifts, travel, hosting, and the 47 last-minute things you swear you wouldn’t buy, it’s no surprise that December is when a ton of Americans rack up high-interest credit card debt often at 20–30% interest.
That’s where a HELOC can actually be a smarter move for homeowners. Instead of piling short-term expenses onto sky-high revolving debt, a HELOC gives you:
It’s not about overspending, it’s about financing the season responsibly if you are going to spend. A HELOC basically asks: would you rather fund the holidays at 25% interest, or at a normal loan rate that doesn’t haunt you in February?
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