# Why the Housing Market Is Still Frozen in 2026 | Mortgage Rates, Home Sales & Inventory Explained Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-economics-5552046/why-the-housing-market-is-still-frozen-in-2026-mortgage-rates-home-sales-inventory-explained Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-economics-5552046/why-the-housing-market-is-still-frozen-in-2026-mortgage-rates-home-sales-inventory-explained.md Podcast: [Everyday Economics](https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-economics-5552046) Published: 2026-07-11T13:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.americastalking.com/ Audio file: https://afp-444292-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/96b856a1-f65f-4dca-aaab-015f21c57dfc/episodes/166d05eb-8759-4546-8122-4545d6bf3cda/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=96b856a1-f65f-4dca-aaab-015f21c57dfc&awEpisodeId=166d05eb-8759-4546-8122-4545d6bf3cda&feed=kKVDvBbd Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/everyday-economics-5552046/episodes/why-the-housing-market-is-still-frozen-in-2026-mortgage-rates-home-sales-inventory-explained Duration seconds: 487 ## Resource The housing market has stabilized—but that doesn't mean it's healthy. In this episode of Everyday Economics, Chris Krug and economist Orphe Divounguy explain why home sales remain stuck near historic lows despite expectations for a stronger 2026 housing market. They discuss why Americans aren't moving, how weak job growth is slowing housing demand, the impact of mortgage rate lock-in, rising rents, aging demographics, housing shortages, and why a lack of inventory continues to keep the market frozen. Plus, what to expect from the latest Zillow housing market report. Topics Covered: Why the housing market remains frozen Home sales and inventory trends Mortgage rates and housing affordability Why Americans aren't moving Labor market's impact on real estate Housing supply shortage explained Rising rents and the rental market 2026 housing market outlook Subscribe to Everyday Economics for weekly insights on housing, inflation, jobs, interest rates, and the U.S. economy. #HousingMarket #RealEstate #MortgageRates #HomeSales #HousingInventory #Economy #InterestRates #EverydayEconomics #TheCenterSquare ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/everyday-economics-5552046/episodes/why-the-housing-market-is-still-frozen-in-2026-mortgage-rates-home-sales-inventory-explained/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-economics-5552046/why-the-housing-market-is-still-frozen-in-2026-mortgage-rates-home-sales-inventory-explained.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.