The U.S. housing market weakened further in September even as price pressures persisted, complicating the Federal Reserve's decisions on whether to raise interest rates. The 30-year mortgage rate was above 7% for most of September and ended the month around 7.6%, and could rise further if the Fed hikes short-term rates as expected. The National Association of Realtors' pending sales index fell 7.3% for the month and was 11.3% lower than a year earlier, an all-time low in records dating to 2001. Privately owned housing starts dropped 5.2% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, far worse than the expected 0.4% decline, while Goldman Sachs expects affordability pressures to dominate the housing market in 2027.
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Fedinterest rateshousingmortgagesinflation
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Related tickers and likely impact
DXY
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: high
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/19/2026 | 101.98 |
| Change that session | +0.20% |
XAU/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: medium
| Market | Gold |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/19/2026 | 4,140.75 |
| Change that session | -0.60% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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