HousingWire Daily Inflation and new home sales
9 snips
Jan 14, 2026 
Logan Mohtashami, a lead analyst in housing and mortgage markets, joins to unpack the impacts of inflation on home sales. He shares insights on mortgage spread volatility and interprets the latest CPI report, highlighting the absence of breakaway inflation. Logan argues that labor market data is key to Fed policy, rather than just CPI figures. He reviews trends in new and existing home sales, discussing how lower rates are boosting demand, and evaluates the controversial idea of prepayment penalties on mortgages.
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Volatile Mortgage Spreads Will Normalize
- Mortgage spreads became extremely volatile after an abnormal trading day, causing short-term confusion.
- Logan Mohtashami says spreads should calm over a few trading days as markets digest the shock.
Inflation Growth Is Moderating
- CPI inflation growth is slowing and remained tamer than estimates in the report.
- Logan attributes this to lower energy and shelter inflation plus slowing wage growth, making breakaway inflation unlikely.
Let Labor Data Drive Fed Expectations
- Watch labor market data because it drives Fed decisions more than single inflation prints.
- Logan advises focusing on unemployment and wage trends to anticipate yields and Fed action.