"At a Glance" Local Housing STATS and News 07/29/26

30-Year Fixed: 6.76%  |  15-Year Fixed: 6.31%

Homeowners are rich on paper and stuck in practice. Americans now hold a combined $17.9 trillion in home equity, and equity as a share of total U.S. real estate value sits at 71.6%, right near its all-time high (chart below). That share bottomed at 46.2% in 2011 after the crash. The problem is access: most owners carry an ultra-low mortgage rate they would surrender by selling, so they simply do not list.

That is the whole lock-in market in one number, and it points at where the business is. An owner who wants to tap equity without giving up a 3% note is a HELOC conversation, a rental conversion, or an ADU, not necessarily a listing today. Stay in that relationship and you are there when it does become a move.

Also worth watching: college towns are running hot while the rest of the market crawls. Morgantown, West Virginia jumped 12.9% year over year to $275,000, against a national median up just 2%.

Today’s live board across our five focus cities shows 728 homes a buyer can actually pursue right now, including 53 brand new listings and 105 more coming soon. The full, always-updating ledger lives at harvrealtor.net/live-inventory.

Today’s Live Inventory (buyable now)

• Fremont: 278 available (211 active, 23 new, 44 coming soon)
• Hayward: 200 available (163 active, 18 new, 19 coming soon)
• Milpitas: 108 available (84 active, 1 new, 23 coming soon)
• Newark: 83 available (65 active, 6 new, 12 coming soon)
• Union City: 59 available (47 active, 5 new, 7 coming soon)

S&P 500: 7,428 ▲ 0.21%  |  DOW: 52,747 ▲ 1.03%  |  NASDAQ: 24,876 ▼ 0.22%

There is a new king on Wall Street. Apple became just the second company ever to reach $5 trillion in value and is now the most valuable public company on Earth, edging past Nvidia. The top of the leaderboard has never been this tightly packed (chart below).

Earnings were a mixed bag. Ford beat on better efficiency and steady truck pricing, UPS fell 6.57% after cutting ties with Amazon and warning on package demand, Royal Caribbean guided lower on the U.S. and Iran conflict, and Boeing took a hit on Air Force One cost overruns.

US 10-Year: 4.61% ▲ 0.01%  |  Gold: $4,029 ▼ 0.33%  |  Silver: $58.05 ▲ 0.90%  |  Brent: $88.04 ▲ 4.70%

All eyes on the Fed, which wraps its meeting today and is expected to hold rates steady, with the decision due at 2:00 PM ET. Inflation is still running at 3.5%, well above the 2% target, and tariff costs are part of why. On that front, the Senate is weighing a bill allowing a 500% tariff on Russian goods and 100% on its top energy buyers.

Oil turned back up: Brent jumped 4.70% to $88.04, snapping a three-day slide after renewed strikes in the Middle East. Metals split ahead of the Fed, with gold easing to $4,029 and silver rebounding to $58.05.

Why a REALTOR® cares: PJM, operator of America’s largest electric grid, said it will cut power to data centers drawing 50 megawatts or more if the grid strains, starting June 2027. Where data centers cluster, they compete with housing for power and land, and that shapes what a jurisdiction will approve and how fast.

BTC: $63,662 ▼ 0.29%  |  ETH: $1,907 ▼ 0.65%  |  XRP: $1.07 ▼ 0.45%

Crypto drifted again, and Washington is closing a favorite loophole. Congress is moving to end the wash sale exemption that lets crypto investors sell at a loss, buy right back immediately, and still claim the deduction, something stock investors cannot do. The Treasury estimates closing it raises $24 billion over a decade. Meanwhile wealthy investors trimmed crypto from 7% to 6% of their portfolios last year, though 45% say they plan to increase again next year.

Disclaimer: The market data, rates, and information provided are for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always verify rates and data with your lender or financial advisor before making any decisions.