The rare, so-called 'assumable' mortgage is landing homebuyers a 3% rate

Mortgage insurance offers help to buyers who can’t afford to put down 20% up front

Buyers who need mortgage insurance end up paying more per month on top of their loan to cover the added insurance. At its core, mortgage insurance helps buyers purchase a home they can’t afford, letting them put down 20%, while protecting lenders offering potentially risky loans.

How interest rates affect homebuying

Rising interest rates impact every aspect of buying a home. This five-minute article gives a high-level overview of the relationship between the housing market and interest rates.

Securitization has become common practice in home financing

When a homebuyer finances with a lender, they aren’t necessarily the one footing the bill. After a buyer secures a home loan, the lender can sell the loan to another financial institution or a private institution. That group can later sell that mortgage to investors. This is called securitization.

In 2024, 74% of homebuyers took out a mortgage

Debt owed on mortgages made up about 70% of US consumer debt as of 2025. Mortgage collateral ensures the lender isn’t at a complete loss if the borrower defaults. Under most mortgage contracts, the property is considered collateral under the loan. This means that if a borrower doesn’t repay the loan, then the lender can seize their property.

Mortgages are loans used to buy property

A mortgage is a loan used to buy property, like a house. Borrowers typically put down a percentage of the cost of the home, and the amount left over is financed through a lender, like a bank.

Roughly 37% of first-time US home buyers have student debt

When those people have extra money, they might wonder: Is it better to pay down my mortgage or my student loans first? This article argues that the answer depends on each loan's interest rate, among other factors.

57% of future homebuyers plan to put down less than the recommended 20% on a house

Historically, experts have recommended buyers put down 20% on a house when buying. But due to rising housing costs and the cost of living, this goal is unattainable for many buyers.

Find out ways to get lower rates on private loans, such as applying with a cosigner

More borrowers are being pushed to opt for private student loans as changes to federal borrowing caps and repayment plans are implemented. Private lenders typically advertise interest rates that fall anywhere between sub-3% and 15% or higher.

Mortgages evolved from exclusive agreements for the wealthy into a key part of homeownership today

The word "mortgage" comes from medieval French, meaning "death contract"—but the modern American mortgage has a more recent and complicated history. This explainer looks at how mortgages evolved from exclusive agreements for the wealthy into a key part of homeownership today, including the impacts of New Deal policies, redlining, and the Fair Housing Act.

The average monthly mortgage payment in the US costs 38% more than monthly rent

A recent study showed that the price gap between renting and buying grew in 38 major US metro areas since last year. The metro areas with the smallest price gaps between renting and buying include Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.

'Floating rate' loans periodically adjust their interest rates in accordance with economic conditions

When the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in 2022 to combat inflation, interest payments borrowers owed to private credit lenders increased accordingly. Private credit funds benefited as loan returns increased, making the asset class attractive to investors at the time.

Title loans are a type of short-term loan with high interest rates

Title loans allow borrowers to use their vehicle's title as collateral for a short-term loan. Similar to payday loans, title loans often have high interest rates and are mostly structured to last around 30 days. If title loans aren't repaid, the lender can take possession of the borrower's vehicle.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

30-year fixed mortgage rates have changed significantly over time

In the 1980s, 30-year fixed mortgage rates peaked just under 17%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they were much lower, hovering around 3%.

Getting prequalified or preapproved for a loan is typically step one in securing a home loan

While prequalification and preapprovals give buyers an idea of the type of loan offer they might expect, the prequalification process is much more straightforward than getting preapproved. However, some real estate agents require buyers to get preapproved, and some sellers may take a buyer's offer more seriously.

Construction of small, affordable starter homes has decreased 75% since the 1970s

Rising costs aren’t the only thing stopping first-time homebuyers from buying real estate—only 9% of recent new construction is for starter homes. The majority of new housing construction focuses on higher-end buyers due to the increased cost of land, labor, and resources.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta provides a monthly measure of home ownership affordability

Specifically, the Home Ownership Affordability Monitor shows a monthly measure of the median-income household's capacity to afford the median-priced home at the national level, the metro level, and more.

US homeownership rates declined from the start of the Great Recession through 2016

In 2004, the US homeownership rate was 69%. When the bubble popped in 2007, due to a variety of factors (including the prevalence of subprime mortgages) the Great Recession began. Foreclosures increased, as did the ratio of renters to homeowners. In 2016, the homeownership rate was at roughly 63.4%.

The market share of institutional investors in the US housing market is less than 1%

Institutional investors have drawn negative media attention for their purported role in limiting housing supply and driving housing unaffordability. This report separates myth from fact in the nuanced discussion around institutional investors' role in the US housing market.

Affirm's COO recently said that the company believes the credit card is 'going the way of the VHS tape'

Some people use buy now, pay later apps as an alternative to credit cards. BNPL services have a lower barrier to entry than credit cards—many frequent BNPL users have low credit scores.

How the credit scoring system could change

Factoring rental payments into credit scores is just one proposed change some have suggested making to today’s credit scoring system to cater the system to renters as well as homeowners.

Investors need a 'margin account' to short sell stock

Margin accounts are leveraged accounts through brokerage firms that allow investors to make trades without the full amount of capital on hand. Similar to a secured loan, margin accounts often require some form of collateral and typically have a cap on how much investors can borrow. However, trading with a margin account is much riskier than a traditional investment account. Fees and charged interest are due on margin accounts, regardless of trade performance, meaning it's possible for investors to lose more money than just their initial investment.

How art-backed loans work

Using your art collections—some of which are valued in the millions—to secure a loan is becoming more common among collectors. Here's a breakdown on how banks and private lenders are making best of the opportunity in liquidity.

Zero-coupon bonds have no regular interest dates over the length of the loan

Instead, they pay all the interest at once when the bond hits its maturity date. These bonds aren’t the right investment for everyone, but they do carry some pros, like a lower initial investment cost.

What are repurchasing agreements?

Repurchasing agreements are short-term trade agreements in which a dealer sells securities and agrees to repurchase them at a higher price soon after (often within 1 to 2 days). This gives dealers quick access to cash and allows the purchasing party, often the Federal Reserve, to control liquidity in securities. This can be used to alter the money supply, which is a key element in combating deflation.

While annuities can guarantee an income for risk-averse investors, they may play it too safe for others

Whether or not an annuity is the right investment option depends on the buyer’s unique needs. People who plan to retire soon are more likely to opt for the lower-risk investment, but there may be opportunity costs for people seeking higher returns.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography