Consumer News: Senate passes legislation aimed at making homes more affordable

Rising bond yields may keep rates above 6% for a while

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• 30-year mortgage rate rises to 6.11%, returning to roughly the same level seen last month, according to Freddie Mac.

• Rates remain lower than a year ago, when the average 30-year mortgage was 6.65%.

• Early signs of spring housing activity are emerging, with existing-home sales rising 1.7% in February and purchase applications increasing.

Mortgage rates ticked up slightly this week but remain lower than they were a year ago, a trend that could help support demand as the spring homebuying season begins.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.11% for the week ending March 12, up from 6.00% the previous week. At the same time last year, the average rate was 6.65%, meaning borrowing costs remain more than half a percentage point lower than a year earlier.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage a common option for homeowners refinancing or seeking shorter loan terms increased slightly to 5.50%, compared with 5.43% last week and 5.80% a year ago.

Sam Khater, Freddie Macs chief economist, said the modest increase still leaves rates within a range that buyers appear willing to accept.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage returned to last months level of 6.11%, Khater said. Despite the modest uptick, buyers are responding to rates in this range, with existing-home sales increasing 1.7% in February.

More people taking out mortgages

Khater also pointed to a recent rise in mortgage purchase applications, which track demand from prospective homebuyers. The increase suggests buyers are beginning to reenter the market as the traditionally busy spring season approaches.

Lower borrowing costs compared with last year could help boost affordability for some buyers, even though mortgage rates remain well above the ultra-low levels seen during the pandemic housing boom. For a typical borrower, the difference between a 6.65% rate last year and 6.11% today can translate into meaningful monthly savings.

Still, affordability challenges persist due to elevated home prices and limited housing supply in many markets. Even so, the recent stability in mortgage rates could encourage more buyers who had been waiting on the sidelines to start shopping.

If purchase applications and home sales continue to rise in the coming weeks, it may signal that the spring housing market is gaining momentum despite borrowing costs that remain historically elevated compared with the past decade.

New research found little evidence of that

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• A new Cleveland Clinic study of nearly 8,000 patients found that people who stop popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs often avoid major weight regain in real-world settings.

• Researchers say many patients restart the medications or switch to other obesity treatments, which may help stabilize their weight.

• The findings contrast with earlier clinical trials that suggested patients regain more than half of the lost weight within a year after stopping the drugs.

As the use of injectable GLP-1 drugs continues to rise, researchers are beginning to examine what actually happens when patients stop taking them outside tightly controlled clinical trials.

A new analysis from the Cleveland Clinic suggests that, in real-world clinical practice, patients who discontinue semaglutide or tirzepatide often avoid the significant weight regain reported in earlier randomized studies.

The research, published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, examined nearly 8,000 adults who had started one of the injectable medications and later stopped taking it within three to 12 months. Investigators found that many patients either restarted the drug or transitioned to other weight-management treatments, helping them maintain much of their earlier weight loss.

Our real-world data show that many patients who stop semaglutide or tirzepatide restart the medication or transition to another obesity treatment, which may explain why they regain less weight than patients in randomized trials, said Hamlet Gasoyan, DS, Ph.D., MPH, a researcher with the Cleveland Clinics Center for Value-Based Care Research who led the study.

Study looked at nearly 8,000 patients

The retrospective cohort study included 7,938 adults with obesity or overweight in Ohio and Florida who had been prescribed injectable semaglutidesold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovyor tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Patients had been using the drugs to treat either obesity or type 2 diabetes.

Researchers tracked the treatments patients pursued after discontinuing the medications and monitored how their weight changed during the following year.

Before stopping treatment, patients generally experienced meaningful weight loss, though results varied by condition.

Patients using the medications to treat obesity lost an average of 8.4% of their body weight before discontinuation and regained about 0.5% of their weight one year later.

Those taking the drugs for type 2 diabetes lost an average of 4.4% of their body weight before stopping treatment and, on average, lost an additional 1.3% during the following year.

Weight changes varied across patients

Individual outcomes differed widely. Among patients treated for obesity, 55% gained weight during the year after stopping the medication, while 45% either continued losing weight or maintained their weight.

In the group treated for diabetes, 44% gained weight, while 56% continued losing weight or stayed roughly the same.

The researchers say the findings highlight the range of strategies patients use to manage weight after discontinuing GLP-1 medications, including restarting the original drug, trying another obesity treatment or adopting therapeutic lifestyle changes.

Cost and side effects drive discontinuation

Previous research by the same group found that two main factors led patients to stop taking the medications: high cost or insurance coverage limitations and side effects. Financial barriers were the most common reason.

Insurance coverage differences may also explain why patients using the drugs for diabetes were more likely to restart treatment than those taking them for obesity, the researchers said. Prescriptions related to diabetes are typically covered more consistently by insurers.

As the popularity of GLP-1 medications continues to grow, the researchers say understanding what happens after patients discontinue treatment will become increasingly important for clinicians and policymakers evaluating long-term obesity care.

Theres been a slowing in rent increases, but rents are still at a high level

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Rent growth has stalled nationwide, but millions of renters still face severe affordability challenges after years of pandemic-era rent increases.

• Nearly half of all U.S. renters are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing, according to a new Harvard housing report.

• Rising construction costs and a shift toward higher-priced apartments are shrinking the supply of lower-cost rental units.

Despite a recent slowdown in rent increases and signs of cooling in the apartment constructionpipeline, rental housing in the United States remains deeply unaffordable for households across a wide range of income levels, according to a new report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The report, "Americas Rental Housing 2026," finds that headline rent figures showing little or no growth in recent years mask the financial strain facing millions of renters who are still grappling with the lingering effects of steep pandemic-era rent hikes and a shrinking supply of lower-cost units.

Headline numbers showing flat or falling rents can be misleading, said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. For millions of renters, especially those with lower and moderate incomes, housing is deeply unaffordable.

National rent growth hovered near zero from mid-2023 through 2025, after surging earlier in the decade. By the fourth quarter of 2025, asking rents for professionally-managed apartments had declined 0.6% compared with a year earlier. Vacancy rates rose to 5.2%, roughly the same level as a year earlier, as rental demand slowed faster than new supply reached the market.

Construction still strong but slowing

Multifamily construction activity remains high by historical standards, though it has begun to retreat from recent peaks. Developers started about 416,000 multifamily units in 2025, below the three-decade high recorded in 2022, but still above typical pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, the number of apartments under construction dropped significantly from a record 996,000 units in 2023 to 686,000 in 2025. Market data also show a sharp year-over-year drop in new construction starts, suggesting a broader slowdown ahead.

Rising costs are a major factor. Between January 2020 and December 2025, prices for materials used in residential construction increased 42%, while employment costs for construction workers rose 24%.

These pressures have pushed developers toward higher-priced projects, contributing to a major shift in the rental market. From 2014 to 2024, the number of units renting for less than $1,400 per month fell by 9.3 million, while units renting for $1,400 or more increased by 11.8 million.

Cost burdens reach record levels

Even as rent growth has cooled, affordability problems have intensified. The report estimates that 22.7 million renter households in 2024about 49% of all renters spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, the threshold commonly used to define a cost burden.

Among them, 12.1 million households were severely cost burdened, meaning they spent more than half their income on housing.

Over the past five years, the share of renters facing cost burdens has risen in 44 states and in 88 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. The trend increasingly affects middle-income households, as well as those with the lowest incomes.

The affordability crisis is no longer confined to the lowest-income households, said Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a senior research associate at the center. She noted that renters earning between $45,000 and $75,000 annually are increasingly struggling to keep up with housing costs.

Safety-net programs under pressure

The report warns that federal rental assistance and housing preservation programs are not keeping pace with growing demand. Aging rental housing, energy costs, and climate-related risks are also increasing the need for investment in the nations housing stock.

Budget cuts to some safety-net programs and delays in energy assistance funding are adding pressure on household finances, while potential changes to disaster assistance policies could shift more responsibility to state and local governments.

Meanwhile, the high cost of homeownership is likely to keep many households renting longer. However, broader economic uncertainty and stricter immigration policies could also dampen rental demand in some markets.

New discounts aim to help shoppers refresh their homes and wardrobes without overspending

• Target is lowering prices on more than 3,000 products for spring, including apparel, home goods, and essentials.

• Most discounts range from 5% to 20% off, with price cuts rolling out starting in March.

• The move is designed to help shoppers save on seasonal updates while dealing with ongoing inflation.

If youve been waiting for a good time to refresh your wardrobe or home for spring, Target may have just delivered it.

The retailer announced it is lowering prices on more than 3,000 popular items across several categories as part of a seasonal push to give shoppers more value. The reductions began rolling out in March and will continue throughout the spring shopping season.

The move comes as many households continue to feel the impact of higher living costs. By lowering prices on everyday items and seasonal favorites, Target says it wants to make it easier for families to update their homes, wardrobes, and essentials without stretching their budgets.

"Busy families are thinking about value as they begin to update their homes and wardrobes for spring," Cara Sylvester, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, Target, said in a news release.

"We're delivering by lowering prices on 3,000 spring favorites across apparel, essentials, and home. We're committed to making it easier than ever for guests to have the fresh style and incredible value they love, with lower prices on the items we know they want."

What items are getting cheaper

The price reductions span a wide range of categories, including many items shoppers typically buy as the weather warms up.

According to Target, some of the biggest savings will be found in:

• Apparel: Womens and kids clothing designed for spring trends and everyday wear

• Home items: Bedding sets, blankets, and sheets for seasonal refreshes

• Footwear: Popular styles like flats, sneakers, and sandals

• Everyday essentials: Baby products, household necessities, and pantry staples

• Select food and beverages included in grocery aisles

The company says the discounts are part of a broader strategy to emphasize value for shoppers.

What shoppers should know before heading to the store

If youre planning to shop these new lower prices, a few tips can help you get the most out of them.

• The price cuts wont necessarily appear all at once. Target says the reductions are rolling out throughout the spring season, so you may see new deals appear over time

• Shoppers may be able to stack additional savings. Target notes that customers can combine the lower prices with offers through its Target Circle rewards program, which is free to join and often includes extra discounts and deals.

• Availability may vary by location and online, so its worth checking the app or website if youre looking for a specific item.