Housing

Home prices are up 55% since 2019. 278 metros dropped this year, but the average correction is just $7,800. The market isn't crashing — it's barely flinching.

Austin is down 24% from its 2022 peak. Cape Coral down 18%. San Francisco down 10%. Here's every major metro that's lost value from the top — and how much.

Not every city got hammered. These 20 cities have affordable rent, declining or flat year-over-year prices, and reasonable growth since 2019. If you're looking for a place where your rent isn't eating your paycheck, start here.

Rock Springs fell 7.2%. Cape Coral fell 4.6%. These 20 cities are the only places in America where rent is actually going down — and Florida dominates the list.

Abilene jumped 30%. Monroe jumped 26%. These 20 cities saw the biggest year-over-year rent increases from January 2025 to January 2026 — and almost all of them are small towns that were supposed to stay cheap.

Buy a house ASAP or rent and invest the difference? We used real home price and rent data across all 50 states to settle the debate — and the answer depends entirely on your zip code.

Even the cities with the biggest rent crashes are still charging dramatically more than before the pandemic. Austin is down 12.6% from peak — and still up 15% from 2019. There is no major U.S. city where rent in 2026 is cheaper than it was in 2019.

The usual advice is "buy, don't rent." But with mortgage rates and prices where they are—and the math on cars, tools, and vacation—renting often wins. Here's when and why.

Rent growth is slowing in some markets while mortgage payments remain near record highs. We break down where housing costs are actually cooling — and where they're not.

America is short 3-5 million homes. Until we build more, housing costs will keep climbing. We dig into why construction can't keep up.