Squawk on the Street · Sep 24, 2026
With Kamini Rangappan Lane, CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty
For the first time in several years, more US mortgages carry a rate above 6% than below 3%, Kamini Rangappan Lane said.
The host noted the 30-year mortgage rate is back above 7%, and she called the summer soft. She said the shift shows owners are now willing to give up the very low rates they locked in during COVID, because they have to move or have found a home they want, and each of those moves can put another home on a market that is short of them.
"And ultimately, inventory is the problem right now."
Kamini Rangappan Lane, CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty, on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, drew on what the brokerage's own agents are reporting about who is buying and why.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 6 insights that matter.
Key Takeaways
Homes are still selling, at a pace she put near 4M units a year despite higher rates
More mortgages are above 6% than below 3%, a sign owners are willing to give up low rates
Price cuts in September are at a 10-year high, she thinks
Buyers who must move could reach 30% of the market, up from about 10%, her agents say
The South and much of the West are holding up because homes there are more affordable
This is not 2008: she said about 98% of owners have positive equity
1. Rates Up, Sales Holding
The host opened with new home sales in August at their highest since last December, and the 30-year mortgage rate back above 7%.
Rates are higher than a year ago but similar to three years ago
"Rates are climbing. They've been climbing in the last several months. They're higher than they were a year ago than they were six months ago. But rates are around the same as they were three years ago." — Kamini Rangappan Lane
She said about 4 million homes changed hands in 2023, and 2026 is on course for about 4 million again.
"So while we don't like to see rates climbing at the pace that they have been, homes are still trading." — Kamini Rangappan Lane
