May 18, 2023

If the US defaults on its debt, housing costs could spike by 22 percent and mortgage rates could rise above 8 percent, according to a recent Zillow analysis. “Home buyers and sellers finally have been adjusting to mortgage rates over 6 percent this spring, but a debt default could potentially raise borrowing costs even higher and send the market into a deep freeze,” said Jeff Tucker, a senior economist at Zillow.

If the US defaults on its debt, housing costs could spike by 22 percent and mortgage rates could rise above 8 percent, according to a recent Zillow analysis. “Home buyers and sellers finally have been adjusting to mortgage rates over 6 percent this spring, but a debt default could potentially raise borrowing costs even higher and send the market into a deep freeze,” said Jeff Tucker, a senior economist at Zillow.

The Inflation Reduction Act gives the Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment $837.5 million to implement the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which will pay for owners of low-income multifamily housing to install rooftop solar panels, heat pumps, and other climate-friendly upgrades. The new spending is intended to help strengthen homes before new disasters strike.

Almost Home, a rent-to-own initiative in northern Delaware, offers affordable rent to ease financial burdens for participants while they work to improve their credit and save to buy homes. “We see over 400 applications a year for people who want to become first-time homebuyers,” said CEO of Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County Kevin Smith. “But because many don’t meet their credit requirement, most of those applicants are turned down.”