Getting Creative With Real Estate

Interesting dynamics have played out in the housing market since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to counter inflation back in 2022. Some of those trends go back even further to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, when the central bank dropped rates to zero at the same time people were seeking more space and lifestyle changes. 

The effects have led to an increasingly expensive environment for housing and rent, and triggered an affordability crisis across many markets. 

Location, location, location? Higher borrowing costs steepened the price of new construction, while supply is short due to the influx of real-estate investors who have charged into the sector. Landlords have also raised rents to keep up with the inflationary environment, and many retiring Baby Boomers are still living in their homes rather than downsizing or moving to retirement communities. 

One of the biggest cost drivers, however, is called the “lock-in effect,” where people who locked into ultra-low interest rates before 2022 cannot afford to move between markets or make traditional financial changes, which would increase liquidity and free up supply. 

There have been many creative solutions to the current state of affairs, some of which are already common across the globe and are now being entertained by the Trump administration. One of them is mortgage assumability, where new owners of a house “assume” the mortgage terms of the seller (with full coverage of existing equity). That already happens in the U.S. on a minimal scale with FHA and VA loans. Other touted remedies include mortgage portability, which permits buyers or sellers to simply “port” their existing mortgage terms to a new location, as well as potential 50-year mortgages that made waves earlier this month. 

According to the latest Wall Street Breakfast poll, readers think mortgage assumability and portability are a great way to ease the housing crisis, but not so much with 50-year debt. However, there are challenges to overcome. Land ownership in the U.S. is recorded and held at the local level, complicating efforts of porting a mortgage to a different state or even to a different county. 

Another factor that also affects assumability is that the majority of mortgages are securitized and bundled with other sales, making it difficult to alter statements and terms, especially if things are not mitigated by origination premiums, a higher percentage of variable rates, or larger down payments. 

Fed funds futures now show market odds of a December cut at 68 percent, up from 30 percent. Support for a cut by John Williams, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank and vice chair of the Fed’s Open Markets Committee, appears to be the primary factor in the huge swing in sentiment. By Wall Street’s count, there were five clear doves and four clear hawks among the 12 voters. Not so long ago, Austan Goolsbee was leaning hawkish but insisted he had not made up his mind. Williams and Chair Powell were the other two whose votes will decide the outcome. Williams and Goolsbee are not likely to split from Powell. Nor will Powell, as chair, dissent from the majority. Hence, with Williams indicating support, this month’s 8-4 vote in favor of a final 2025 cut.

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2025