Pending home sales sink to record low, Redfin data shows
Mortgage applications fell last week despite lower rates. Joel Kan of the Mortgage Bankers Association says affordability pressures continue to limit buyer activity. https://t.co/89rtC1fU8r
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) October 21, 2026
What this means for brokers
At 7.4%, mortgage rates are not only discouraging potential buyers, they are narrowing the pool of qualified ones.
Nicholas Barta, division president at Security First Financial in the US, captured the challenge in a May interview with Mortgage Professional America, saying, “There’s not as many people that will qualify to purchase homes, or they can’t qualify to purchase the homes that they want because they qualify at a lower level.”
Earlier this year, Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage in New York, told MPA that rate direction would ultimately determine market trajectory: “But obviously, where interest rates go will have a lot to do with where the real estate market goes.”
She added: “I think if rates remain stable, then hopefully we’ll see some improvement because a lot of people put off making a move last year.”
That improvement has not materialized. On the supply side, the rate lock-in effect holding firm among pandemic-era mortgage holders continues to constrain resale inventory, keeping potential move-up sellers on the sidelines.
