Housing affordability, then and now

Marketplace Morning Report · Oct 21, 2026 · 6m

The housing industry got a heap of bad news on Tuesday. New construction was down, and pending home sales dropped to their lowest level since 2001. Higher mortgage interest rates are to blame. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan is just shy of 7.5%. Average mortgage rates in the '70s were higher, though, and didn't lead to a housing affordability crisis like today's. What gives? And later: lessons from a San Francisco Bay Area universal basic income program.

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