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Today: Landmark Properties delivered 826 beds of new student housing near USC, the 30-year fixed dipped to a two-week low on Iran deal optimism, and NAR data shows 80% of metro areas posted Q2 price gains while mortgage applications fell to their first annual deficit since April.
30-year fixed rates dropped to a two-week low, but the weekly trend is still hostile. Monday's Mortgage News Daily reading showed rates falling as Iran-related headlines pulled oil prices to their lowest since mid-July and bond yields followed. Treasury Secretary Bessent floated a possible Hormuz transit deal "within days," pushing MBS up over a quarter point. But the MBA weekly data tells the real story: the average 30-year fixed hit 6.81% last week, the highest in over a year, and total mortgage application volume dropped 2.9% week-over-week and 5% year-over-year, the first annual decline since April. Purchase applications fell 4%, refinance applications fell 2%. For Richland County agents, the takeaway is straightforward: rate buydowns remain mandatory to move inventory. Any listing without a buydown strategy is sitting. Watch Friday's jobs report and Wednesday's ISM Services for the next directional signal. Mortgage News Daily | CNBC | MBS Recap
NAR: 80% of metro areas posted home price gains in Q2, but the South underperformed. The national median single-family existing-home price rose 1.5% year-over-year to $434,900. The South posted just 1.0% price growth, the weakest of all regions except the West (down 0.8%). Monthly mortgage payments on a typical home with 20% down sit at $2,199, up $219 from Q1 but down $52 from a year ago. For a starter home at $369,700 with 10% down, the payment is $2,158. NAR's Yun noted sales rose in the South due to faster job growth, but home prices appreciating slower than incomes is a double-edged sword for Columbia sellers: affordability is improving (families spent 23.8% of income on mortgage payments, down from 25.5% a year ago), but pricing power is limited. Sellers who overshoot will chase the market. Price to where the market is, not where you wish it were. Source
M/I Homes is going all-in on spec homes while others pull back. 78% of M/I Homes' Q2 orders were spec (move-in-ready) homes, and they sold 2,387 units, a Q2 record, up 15% year-over-year. The catch: margins on specs ran below build-to-order, with gross margin at 22.0% vs. 24.7% a year ago. CEO Schottenstein was blunt: "If it weren't for mortgage rate buydowns, the sales environment would be bleak." M/I operates in 17 markets. Columbia-area resale agents competing against national builder inventory need to understand that builders are effectively buying down rates to the 4s to move product. If you're listing a resale home near new construction in Lexington County or Blythewood, your pricing must account for the subsidized rate the builder next door is offering. Source
JPMorgan Chase commits $750 billion through 2035 for housing supply. The initiative targets 1 million affordable housing units and 500,000 homebuyers, including 200,000 first-time buyers. The firm is hiring 850 new loan officers and exploring modular and manufactured housing as new loan products. For Columbia-area developers and nonprofits, this is a capital source to track. JPMorgan is specifically calling for streamlined zoning, expanded tax credits, and public-private partnerships. Any Richland County or City of Columbia affordable housing project should be exploring whether this capital pipeline applies. Source
Landmark Properties and Peninsula deliver 826-bed student housing project near USC. This is the most directly Columbia-relevant item today. An 826-bed purpose-built student housing development is now delivered near the University of South Carolina campus. For the Five Points and Vista rental market, 826 new beds absorb demand that would otherwise flow into older apartment stock. Landlords with Class B/C units near campus should expect increased vacancy pressure and should not raise rents for the upcoming lease cycle without checking comparable occupancy at this new property. Investors evaluating student housing acquisitions in the USC orbit need to factor this supply addition into underwriting. The beds are delivered; the absorption clock is running. Source
U.S. Army investing $25 million in a new child development center for military families. The headline is not Fort Jackson-specific (the article references a different installation), but the spending pattern signals continued federal investment in military family infrastructure. Fort Jackson agents should monitor whether similar projects are planned locally, as child development center construction typically correlates with stable or growing troop assignments and sustains housing demand near post. Source
Prologis acquires Segro for $18.8 billion, creating a $269 billion industrial platform. The world's largest industrial REIT just absorbed the UK's largest REIT, adding 117 million square feet of logistics and data center space. Prologis' European footprint grows 47%. For Columbia-area commercial brokers, this consolidation means institutional capital is concentrating further in industrial and logistics. The I-77/I-26 corridor and Richland County's inland port proximity make the Midlands a target for the next wave of distribution facility demand. Track whether Prologis-affiliated capital starts acquiring or developing in the Columbia MSA. Source
Life science REIT Alexandria shows leasing recovery. Alexandria leased 1 million square feet in Q2, up from 647,300 in Q1, though revenue and FFO declined year-over-year. Relevant to Columbia only as a signal: life science real estate is stabilizing nationally after a pandemic-era overbuild. USC's biomedical research footprint and Prisma Health's expansion could eventually attract secondary-market life science tenants, but that remains speculative. Source
Compass CEO Reffkin: 90% of MLSs will allow Private Exclusives and Coming Soons by year-end. Reffkin reported that 60% of Compass markets already allow its three-phase marketing plan (Private Exclusive, Coming Soon, then full MLS). In Chicago, Compass.com sessions surged 111% year-over-year after MRED adopted seller-choice rules. Reffkin called the current MLS system "anti-competitive" and "illegal." For Columbia agents on the Consolidated MLS, watch whether your local MLS adopts similar seller-choice rules. If it does, Coming Soon and Private Exclusive listings will reshape how inventory appears in the market. Listing agents should prepare a three-phase strategy now. Source
Zillow lays off 500 employees (7% of staff), its second cut this year. CEO Wacksman cited the need for a "disciplined cost structure" despite outperforming a flat housing market. Zillow stock is down 45% this year. For agents relying on Zillow Flex leads or advertising, the layoffs signal possible changes to lead routing, customer service response times, or product features. Review your Zillow ROI now and have a backup lead generation channel. Source
21st Century ROAD to Housing Act ties CDBG funding to local homebuilding. The new federal law rewards municipalities that expand housing stock with larger Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations and penalizes those that underperform. The median city gets CDBG funding equal to just 1/300th of its budget, so the financial incentive is modest for large cities. But for smaller Midlands municipalities, Cayce, West Columbia, Irmo, the penalty or bonus could be meaningful relative to total revenue. Local planning commissions should review their housing production metrics against the new benchmarks. NAHB Podcast | Realtor.com Research
Carrington acquires Valon Mortgage, approaching 2 million serviced loans. The deal brings an AI-native servicing platform (ValonOS) to Carrington's government-lending operation. For Columbia borrowers with Valon-serviced loans, expect a servicer transfer notice. For mortgage professionals, this consolidation reinforces the trend toward AI-driven servicing at scale. Source