Reports released this week showed that the economy continued to send mixed signals in August. Consumer spending remained surprisingly strong, with U.S. retail and food-service sales jumping 1.2% from July and 6.0% from one year ago, suggesting that consumers remain resilient despite higher prices and borrowing costs. Inflation, however, remains above the Federal Reserve’s target, prompting the Fed at its September meeting to raise the federal funds rate by 0.25%, bringing the target range to 3.75%-4.00%. The increase in rates continues to create a headwind for housing, where U.S. existing-home sales fell 2.0% in August to a 3.98-million annualized pace. At the same time, inventory increased to a 4.9-month supply, its highest level in more than 10 years, giving buyers more choices and negotiating power. Home prices, however, remained resilient, with the national median existing-home price rising 1.6% from a year ago to $429,100.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday, Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of September 17, 2026, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.95%, up from 6.76% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.26%, up from 6.09% last week.

U.S. Treasury Bonds – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 5.01%, up from 4.95% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 5.34% down slightly from 5.37% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 51,782.64, down 1.5% from 52,576.29 last week. It is up 7.7% year-to-date from 48,063.29 on December 31, 2025. The S&P 500 closed the week at 7,650.50, down 0.1% from 7,656.94 last week. The S&P is up 11.8% year-to-date from 6,845.50 on December 31, 2025. The Nasdaq closed the week at 26,522.55, up 0.7% from 26,333.04 last week. It is up 14.1% year-to-date from 23,241.99 on December 31, 2025.

U.S. existing-home sales – August 2026 – The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 3.98 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in August, down 2.0% from 4.06 million units in July and down 1.2% from one year ago. The median price paid for an existing home in the U.S. was $429,100 in August, up 1.6% from $422,400 one year ago. There was a 4.9-month supply of homes for sale in August, up from a 4.6-month supply in July and August 2025. First-time home buyers accounted for 30% of all homes sold, 27% of transactions were cash sales, 15% were individual investors or second-home buyers, and 2% of sales were distressed sales, which include foreclosures and short sales.

August California existing-home sales – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 269,620 on an adjusted annualized basis in August, up 2.4% from 263,320 in July and up 1.4% from 265,780 annualized sales in August 2025. The statewide median price paid for a home was $901,420 in August, up 1.6% from $887,210 in July and up 0.1% from $900,620 last August. Housing inventory loosened in August but remained tighter than one year ago. The Unsold Inventory Index showed that there was a 3.7-month supply of homes for sale in August, up from 3.4 months in July, but down from a 3.9-month supply in August 2025.