Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief
The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate just broke below the 6% threshold. That could break the housing market logjam – putting one of my favorite “Sleeper Sectors” for 2026 firmly in focus!
Take a look at the MoneyShow Chart of the Day. It shows the average 30-year home loan rate from Freddie Mac, which has been tracking the data since 1971. You can see it dipped to 5.98% this week, the first time that’s happened since September 2022.
Source: Freddie Mac
Why does that matter? The housing market has been caught in a state of stasis. Owners who locked in ultra-low rates in the 2s, 3s, or 4s have been reluctant to give up those cheap loans by selling. Buyers have been reluctant to buy because rates in the 6s and 7s have made monthly payments too high. As a result, home listings, sales, and pricing have remained weak for a few years.
But as I noted several weeks ago, lower rates could break the logjam! Taking out a big, round number will also get the attention of buyers AND sellers – especially since it’s being widely reported in the press.
The two housing ETFs I wrote about last month are trouncing the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) so far in 2026. The State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is up 10.8% year-to-date, while the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) is up 10.5%. That compares to just 1.6% for SPY.
If mortgage rates continue on their current trajectory, that outperformance could be just the beginning. And in a year where rotation is the name of the game, home building, real estate, and construction stocks could be just what your portfolio needs to pile up more profits!
Rotation is the word of the year, and it’s reshaping everything from tech stocks to energy, materials, and even global markets. In this episode of the MoneyShow MoneyMasters Podcast, we sit down with Victoria Fernandez, Chief Market Strategist at Crossmark Global Investments, and Paul Hickey, Co-Founder of Bespoke Investment Group, to break down what this market rotation really means for investors.
We talk through why leadership is shifting away from mega-cap tech, how a “bullish but brittle” market changes portfolio strategy, and where investors need to be more selective right now. The conversation also touches on interest rates, the Fed, fixed income strategies, global markets, and what recent volatility in commodities and crypto is signaling about liquidity and risk.
Dive Into the Most Powerful Market Trends — in Hollywood!
The coming year will test investors with volatility, political change, and powerful new market forces — but it will also reward those who are properly positioned. From April 9–11, 2026, at the Diplomat Beach Resort, the MoneyShow Masters Symposium Hollywood Florida will bring together a distinguished lineup of financial educators.
They’ll reveal where they see the most compelling opportunities across today’s markets…and show you how to navigate risks in an increasingly complex world. This is your chance to gain timely, high-level insight, refine your strategy, and prepare your portfolio for what’s coming next.!
The One Indicator to Watch as Private Credit Woes Mount
👉 TICKERS: HYG, JNK, TLT, OWLConcerns about the $1.4 trillion private credit market resurfaced last week when alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL) surprisingly restricted withdrawals from one of its funds and sold off part of the loan portfolio of another fund to raise cash. That’s why you should monitor the Baa/Treasury credit spread, advises Tom Essaye, president of the Sevens Report.
👉 TICKER: CRM
The Dot Com Bust didn’t kill the Internet. It killed overvaluation. Fast-forward to today. AI doesn’t eliminate moats — it reshapes them. So, let’s talk about Salesforce Inc. (CRM) as a contrarian AI trade, writes Nicholas Vardy, editor of The Global Guru.
🖥️ 📈 1 Internet of Things Stock That Just Hit New All-Time Highs. (Barchart)
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