Axios Portland

December 22, 2025
🎁 It's Monday and a holiday week, so take 'er easy.
🌧️ Today's weather: Rain showers then light rain, with a high of 49 and a low of 42.
🎧 Sounds like: "It's My House" by Diana Ross.
🏡 Programming note: We've got Axios real estate reporter Sami Sparber taking over the newsletter today with economists' 2026 forecasts, the home trends to watch and a few tricks to tidy your space.
🎂 Happy belated birthday to our Axios Portland member Roy Lichtenstein!
Today's newsletter is 1,223 words — a 4.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 🏠 What 2026 could bring
For 2026, expect lower mortgage rates but a still-tough housing market.
Why it matters: Homes remain unaffordable for many, especially younger people.
Here's what industry economists predict.
Rates will stay above 6%
U.S. mortgage rates are expected to hover near 6.3% in 2026, according to Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale.
- Redfin also projects 30-year fixed rates will average 6.3%, dipping from 6.6% in 2025 while staying well above pandemic-era levels.
What we're hearing: "A lot of the challenges that the housing market has been grappling with — the lack of affordability and the 'lock-in effect' on existing homeowners — are still going to be present in 2026, but the grip is kind of loosening," Hale tells Axios.
The big picture: Cheaper monthly payments could lift home sales, even if they won't move the needle for every buyer as economic uncertainty and other costs loom large.
Also offering shoppers some relief: Wages are expected to grow faster than home prices, which will rise another 1% in 2026, per Redfin's forecast.
- The median price of a home sold in the U.S. in the second quarter was $410,800, federal data shows, up 27% from the same time in 2019, before the housing market went haywire.
More roommates, fewer babies
High housing costs may be reshaping U.S. households.
- Think: More adult children living with their parents (and vice versa), smaller families and more friends buying homes together, "often with prenup-style agreements," according to Redfin researchers.
Between the lines: "Entry-level inventory remains tight, limiting options for first-time buyers," says Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, an industry data provider.
What we're watching: "Renovations that create space for multiple generations are becoming increasingly common" — from garage conversions to separate suites for adult kids or aging parents — as "families rethink the homes they already have," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather tells Axios.
Tale of two markets persists
A regional divide in the housing market isn't going away.
Catch up quick: Home prices are rising faster in the Northeast and Midwest, where there's less newly built housing.
The latest: Northeastern and Midwestern metros now dominate Realtor.com's annual ranking of the top housing markets for 2026. That's a big shift from a year ago, when the top 10 were exclusively in the South and West.
The bottom line: Prices will likely increase 3 to 4% in the Northeast and Midwest this year, "supported by tight inventory and strong labor markets," Hepp tells Axios.
- In the Sunbelt and West, prices are expected to cool further but remain above pre-pandemic levels.
2. 🗓️ Map du jour: Days on the market

Homes are generally selling faster in the Midwest and Northeast and slower in the South — another sign of a split U.S. housing market.
The big picture: In parts of the South where builders have cranked out new homes, prices have eased and buyers have gained room to negotiate.
What we're watching: Nationally, homes are changing hands at record low rates (and usually take longer to sell in the colder months).
- Roughly 70% of homes for sale in October sat on the market for at least 60 days, long enough to go "stale," according to Redfin.
- Many sellers are now pulling their listings rather than cutting prices.
3. Rose City Rundown
🦆 The Ducks breezed past James Madison University, 51-34, in the College Football Playoffs over the weekend, though the team gave up its most yards and points of the season in the process.
- The Ducks will head to the Orange Bowl to take on No. 4 Texas Tech on Jan. 1. (The Oregonian)
⛺️ Roughly $38 million in federal grants that funds housing for more than 2,000 people who were previously homeless could be at risk next year under new Trump administration rules. (The Oregonian)
☀️ The Oregon Environmental Council is leading a coalition of advocacy groups suing the IRS over now-retired tax credits for wind and solar energy projects. (OPB)
🥐 Jinju Patisserie, the North Williams shop that won a James Beard award for outstanding bakery this year, will close at end of service on Sunday. The owners said on social media that they're still searching for a new location. (Eater Portland)
☕️ Deadstock Coffee will close its Old Town location on New Years Eve. The Beaverton cafe will remain open. (Portland Business Journal)
4. 🧹 A resolution for your home
If decluttering is your New Year's resolution, don't skip your bedroom — even if no one else sees it.
Why it matters: "When you don't make your own space a priority, it leads to feelings of stress, overwhelm, and a lack of control that you carry with you throughout your day," write authors Meg DeLong and Ea Fuqua of "Tidying Up."
To tidy up where you get ready, DeLong and Fuqua, co-founders of a Nashville-based organizing company, recommend these daily tasks:
- Make your bed.
- Clear your nightstand of clutter.
- Put away your clothes.
- Wipe down and organize your vanity. (They suggest storing your most-used products in a top drawer.)
- Pick up items left on the floor.
- Turn on a fan or crack a window.
The bottom line: "Creating a peaceful, organized bedroom isn't just about aesthetics. It's about setting the tone for both your day and night," DeLong and Fuqua write.
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5. 🤩 The next big design features

Get ready for more at-home wellness perks, nostalgic design nods and eco-friendly upgrades, according to industry pros.
Why it matters: These trends indicate what American homes may look like in 2026.
State of play: "Wellness features" are now being mentioned 33% more often in Zillow listings compared to a year ago, per the real estate site's 2026 Home Trends Report.
Meanwhile, "traditional" and Art Deco styles are back — part of a bigger retro revival, according to Houzz, a design and remodeling site.
- Think: Curves, arches and scalloped edges throughout the home, detailed woodwork, and earth tones reminiscent of the English countryside and modern Tudors.
- Plus, opulent marble and mirrored surfaces, metallic accents and jewel tones inspired by the 1920s and 1930s.
- Behr, Valspar and Sherwin-Williams already announced their picks for the next big paint colors, a mix that includes '70s sunbaked hues and calming blues and greens.
Sustainability is also in demand.
- Mentions jumped on Zillow for certain energy-efficient homes (+70%), whole-home batteries (+40%) and EV charging (+25%), suggesting buyers want "eco-conscious living options that save them money and reduce their environmental impact," per the report.
What we're watching: Buyer favorites like home offices, fully fenced yards and walk-out basements remain hot, according to Realtor.com's analysis of this year's top home trends.
- But formal dining rooms with built-ins, infinity pools and three-car garages may be on their way out, the researchers found.
👖Sami is committing to the "one-in, one-out" rule for closet organization.
⛰️ Kale is looking for snow in the Rockies and coming up empty.
👩🏼💻 Meira is hoping to optimize her office to be more ergonomic in the new year.
Thanks to our editors Ashley May and Geoff Ziezulewicz.
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