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The Hidden Cost of the ‘Great Stuff Transfer’ – Shared Article By Allaire Conte

As a generation prepares to inherit unprecedented wealth, they may be overlooking what comes with it: all the other stuff.

More than 8 in 10 recent inheritors of real estate (84%) said the property had to be cleaned out before it could be listed, and 36% called the cleanout one of the hardest parts of the process, according to a new survey of 1,350 heirs and executors.

Jennifer Carr knows how quickly that job can overwhelm a family. Her Dallas-based company, Jen Rosie Designs, helps clients sort, sell, donate, and dispose of household contents after deaths, downsizing moves, and other transitions.

One recent client had taken responsibility for clearing a 4,500-square-foot Dallas home after his father moved into a nursing home. The only problem was, he lived in Oklahoma, while the house and decades worth of belongings remained in Texas.

“I thought my wife was going to have to quit her job, and we were going to have to come down here and deal with this house for months,” Carr recalls him saying.

Instead, Carr and her business partner, Katie Whiteman, took over. They spent five full days going through the house, where the family had kept tax returns dating to the 1960s. By the end, they had assembled 339 auction lots, filled four or five minivan loads with donations, and hauled away roughly three cargo vans’ worth of trash.

It’s the far less glamorous side of the Great Wealth Transfer. Along with the $124 trillion in assets estimated to change hands through 2048, older Americans are leaving behind the contents of the homes where much of that wealth was built.

For families responsible for those homes, that can mean days of labor, thousands of individual decisions, and new expenses before the property is ready to sell.

What does it cost to empty a lifetime from a home?

An estate cleanout costs an average of $1,250, according to the latest estimates from HomeAdvisor, with especially large or difficult jobs reaching $4,000 or more.

But hauling things away is the last step. Before a family can get to that point, someone has to decide what relatives want, identify anything worth selling, arrange donations, and determine what can be discarded.

It can be an enormous undertaking. Researchers studying middle-class U.S. households once counted 2,260 visible possessions in just three rooms of one home.

Various antique wooden furniture pieces and picture frames stored together — Jennifer Carr’s Dallas-based company, Jen Rosie Designs, grew out of her own family’s downsizing experience. About 15 years ago, when her parents moved from a large house to a high-rise, she decided having a third party help them sort their belongings would be less emotionally fraught than doing it herself.Getty Images

It’s little surprise then, why nearly two-thirds of respondents either said they were not very prepared (34%) when they inherited the property or did not know where to start (31%), according to the survey. Only 9% described themselves as very prepared.

That’s why Carr tells families not to try to make decisions too early.

“You guys take what you want,” she tells clients. “Leave the rest, and don’t throw anything away. Don’t donate anything. Leave it all, and we will go through it.”

Is any of it actually worth anything?

Carr’s advice comes down to preserving whatever value may be hiding in the house.

“You’d be surprised at the things you thought were trash that they might sell for a lot of money,” she says. “And sometimes it’s the other way, too. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Well, I bought this in 1972, and it was $3,000,’ and it’s worth nothing now.”

Even so, there’s typically very little wealth associated with the stuff inside a home. A typical estate sale grosses less than $10,000, despite containing between 1,000 and 1,999 items, according to EstateSales.NET’s most recent industry survey.

Antique Dining Room with a chandelier and rugs — Items in Carr’s online auctions typically start at just $1. She says the low opening bid can encourage competition: “It only takes two people that want it” to push the final price higher.Getty Images

Chairs and more antiques outside — Carr says even experienced eyes sometimes can’t distinguish precious metals from costume jewelry. “A fake gold chain and a real gold chain, you really cannot tell,” she says, which is why her team tests pieces before deciding what they are worth.Getty Images

Compared with the value of the home itself, that’s a relatively small pool of money to recover from hundreds or thousands of individual objects. But getting the most out of those items can depend on knowing which few carry disproportionate value.

Carr says jewelry is a prime example. Families sometimes assume a box contains costume pieces when real gold or silver is mixed in.

“These homes are full of gold and silver that these families don’t even know is there,” she says.

And that can mean big earnings for families. Gold prices have climbed from about $1,784 an ounce in August 2021 to roughly $4,458 in August 2026, while silver has risen from about $24 per troy ounce to around $65 over the same period.

That’s why Carr says the cost of hiring an expert like herself might hide what it ultimately saves a homeowner.

“Sometimes they get, like, $2,000, but they haven’t had to do anything,” Carr says. “So it’s basically like, ‘Hey, listen, we will take care of this entire project for you, and at the end, we’ll hand you a check for $2,000.’”

Why it’s so hard to empty a home after someone dies

And taking that emotional load off of a family can be its own gift.

“If it’s your parents or your family or a loved one has passed away, it takes so much more time because it’s emotional and you feel like you need to go through everything,” Carr says.

Research on bereavement helps explain that impulse. Deciding what to keep, give away, sell, or discard can become part of grieving itself. Possessions can preserve a connection to the person who died, forcing survivors to decide which physical reminders they want to retain and which they are ready to relinquish.

That attachment can affect what happens to the property: 54% of heirs and executors said grief or emotional attachment delayed a decision about an inherited home, according to the survey.

And 59% of Americans who had helped clear a relative’s home said they felt guilt or an obligation to keep family possessions rather than get rid of them, according to separate survey from 1-800-JUNK.

That can also create conflict within families, Carr says. In the Dallas case, the son overseeing the home was fielding requests from relatives who wanted different belongings and felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of dividing them fairly.

“I just can’t deal with being fair and even and dividing all this up,” Carr recalls him saying.

Carr suggested that relatives first take the things they most wanted to keep. Everything else could go into the online auction, where family members could bid alongside other buyers if they still wanted it.

It’s yet another toll the Great Stuff Transfer exacts: not just moving and selling possessions, but making decisions in one of the hardest times of life.

Scott Carr, Jennifer’s husband and business partner, says helping families deal with that piece has become a central tenet of what they do.

“It’s not just the logistics of it. It’s the emotional part of it, too,” he says. “Then they can just dedicate their time and their energy toward what’s really important, and that’s dealing with the family issues of what’s going on.”

This is by far one of the hardest parts of the life – let alone Real Estate. The Caton Team has helped many families get through this hard part – please let us know if we can be of service during this challenging time. This is just one of the behind the scenes work we do and we’re happy to do it.

I read this here.

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What do we do with all this stuff? A question we Realtors encounter often.

Sharing this article I read here. It’s not an easy topic. It’s not an easy job. In my career I’ve been faced with this often and it is no easy task for anyone. Sharing this here in hopes it helps you prepare and your family. The Caton Team is happy to help you with your family home, we do it all the time and have resources to help you. Please enjoy this article…

My Mom Is ‘Death Cleaning.’ What She Decided To Leave Me Was a Surprise. By Allaire Conte

More than 1,700 readers had something to say after I wrote about the “Great Stuff Transfer“—the furniture, dishes, and everything else that will accompany trillions of dollars in wealth as older Americans pass their legacies on to younger generations.

Some scoffed at heirs complaining about clearing out a home with hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity, and amounted it to “dismantling and erasing” a life. Others described spending months trying to sell or even give away possessions, with one reader suggesting proactively getting rid of possessions before you die is “one of the kindest things you can do for your heirs.”

What surprised me was how quickly a story about the cost of dealing with all that stuff turned into a fight over what, exactly, constitutes the inheritance: Is it the home and money an heir ultimately receives? The objects a parent spent a lifetime acquiring? Or the memories attached to them?

My mom, it turns out, has been thinking about those questions for years.

“I don’t want you to be burdened by any of that,” she told me when I asked about the possessions she expects me to inherit. “I don’t want you to keep anything that doesn’t make your life happy.”

The not-so-morbid act of ‘Swedish death cleaning’

My mom is all too familiar with what that burden feels like. She’s had to sort through her grandmother’s and parents’ homes after their deaths—a process she called “a very emotional thing to do.”

Handwritten Graduation Inscription Inside Wooden Hope Chest — Some furniture has proved harder for my family to let go of because my grandfather built it himself, but my mother draws a distinction between preserving his work and preserving him: “Yes, he made it, but it’s not him.”Sandy Conte

Double-Strand Gold Charm Necklace with Written History Sheet — My great-grandmother labeled the jewelry she passed down with notes explaining who had given each piece to her, a practice my mother now continues with the objects she expects me to inherit.Sandy Conte

Research suggests that there is a measurable cognitive cost, as well as an emotional one.

A study of recently bereaved adults found that those experiencing more intense grief performed worse on measures of executive function, attention, and processing speed even after researchers accounted for depressive symptoms.

Perhaps it’s because she has had to pay this price, that my mom says she often thinks about all the stuff I will one day be responsible for sorting through.

“It’s just so overwhelming,” she says.

So, her solution has been to take on some of that burden herself, by “Swedish death cleaning,” or döstädning.

The practice was popularized internationally by the late author Margareta Magnusson, who encouraged people to pare down their possessions while they were still alive rather than leaving someone else to confront them after their death. And while my mother’s maternal side is Swedish, she insists her purging practice is rooted in a much more basic instinct.

“I don’t really like to have a lot of clutter,” she says. “If I’ve gone all this time and never looked at it or cared about it, I guess I really don’t need it.”

But my mom is also an outlier. People become progressively less likely to shed belongings after age 50, according to research from David Ekerdt and Lindsey Baker. Among those over 70, they found that about 30% reported doing nothing in the previous year to clean out, give away, or donate possessions, and more than 80% had sold nothing.

They called the collection of possessions people accumulate over a lifetime a “material convoy.” And, as Ekerdt and Baker point out, that convoy eventually becomes an intergenerational matter: “Its disposition must be undertaken sooner or later by someone,” they write.

The Great Wealth Transfer is also a transfer of things

And sooner or later is rapidly approaching families across the country.

U.S. households are expected to transfer $124 trillion worth of assets through 2048, according to estimates from Cerulli Associates.

Much of that wealth has been built through things like stocks and real estate—relatively easy holdings to value because they have established resale markets. But the value of everything else—the furniture, jewelry, collectibles, and other possessions passed down alongside them—is proving much harder to determine, especially because one generation prizes what the next may not.

An Edmond de Rothschild analysis released this month warned of this great repricing. Some of the assets accumulated by older generations are expected to lose appeal as they reach younger heirs, according to the bank’s analysis. At the top of the list are items such as traditional furniture and out-of-vogue collections like antique tableware.

A drafting table my grandfather built for my mom that I would love to inherit but have nowhere to putSandy Conte

Another piece of furniture my grandfather built—the china cabinet isn't my style, but I can't imagine every parting with it because of the meaning behind it. — Another piece of furniture my grandfather built—the china cabinet isn’t my style, but I can’t imagine every parting with it because of the meaning behind it.Sandy Conte

In a random national U.S. sample, marketing researcher Carolyn Curasi found that a majority of adults hoped loved ones would care about their cherished possessions and believed those possessions reflected their family’s identity. But older consumers worried that younger relatives would not care about the cherished possessions they hoped to transfer.

My mom says she’s watched that change happen.

“When your dad and I got our place, everybody gave us their old stuff,” she says. “That was our how we got started—with everybody else’s old stuff, because there wasn’t Target and Ikea.”

Now, she says, “Nobody wants old furniture. If you want a couch, you just go to Target and you get one for cheap.”

It’s the strange divergence at the heart of the Great Wealth Transfer: As possessions change hands, the market will determine what they’re now worth. And for many heirs, that reevaluation will have to happen before they can decide what to do with the far more valuable thing containing them—the home itself.

When an heirloom becomes ‘just plates’

While many headlines cast this as an entirely new problem, my mom says she has experienced that divergence herself, explaining it through her own mother’s china.

“I have specific memories of helping my mom wash the china after a holiday,” she says. “Hand-washing it, hand-drying it, putting it away—it was special.”

Her siblings didn’t share that ritual with their mother, “so it’s just plates to them,” she says.

That affects not only what items seem like assets worth keeping, but also the monetary value heirs assign to the objects, research shows.

In one experiment, researchers Katherine Christensen and Suzanne Shu asked people to imagine selling a vintage car previously driven by their deceased grandparents. When a potential buyer shared the car’s family heritage, sellers were willing to give that buyer an average 31% discount from their initial asking price. A stranger, meanwhile, received an average discount of just 12%.

The findings help explain something seemingly irrational about heirlooms: Stories have economic values of their own.

How do you pass down meaning?

That’s where the act of Swedish death cleaning—or at least my mother’s version of it—gets interesting.

As she pares down her belongings, she also documents the things worth keeping.

She has photographed antiques and written on the backs where they came from. Her own grandmother labeled linens with the names of the people who made them and jewelry with notes explaining who gave each piece and why. My grandfather even wrote directly on a piece of furniture to record that it had been made for his daughter.

Vintage Cameo Necklace with Note and Blue Jewelry Box — My mother says a person “can’t possibly keep everything that was special” to someone who died as a memorial to them. Eventually, she says, “you have to build your own life and your own memories.”Sandy Conte

“You actually get to see it and touch your stuff and enjoy it for a minute and have your memories,” she says, while also realizing “some things you're not as attached to as you thought you were.” — “You actually get to see it and touch your stuff and enjoy it for a minute and have your memories,” she says, while also realizing “some things you’re not as attached to as you thought you were.”

They all have, in effect, annotating the inheritances they left behind while making peace with whatever didn’t make it to the next generation.

In my mom’s words: “None of this is me. You have all of me. Right here, right now.”

And if I eventually need money more than I need one of her possessions, she wants me to use it.

“If this ring can get you there,” she says, “sell this ring.”

At the end of our conversation, I asked whether going through her possessions and talking about what she will eventually leave me felt morbid.

Not really, she says. Instead, she describes it as “another step of parenting.”

“You have to prepare your children for when they’re without you.”

Ok so now I am crying – remembering going though my father’s things, sitting next to my future mother in law while she did this for her mother. It is an honor and a labor of love. If we can help – let us know, we have resources lined up. As I age, and look at my treasures, I know I don’t want to leave a mess for my nephews. So I will eventually do the same – but not yet. I got a whole lot of living to do and I hope you do to!

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Where ‘Affordability Refugees’ Are Moving as High Prices Push Them Out – Shared Article by Snejana Farberov

Thank you for tuning in. I am sharing this article I read here.

Squeezed by sky-high home prices, buyers in expensive and mid tier metros alike are increasingly looking beyond the horizon of their local market in search of greater affordability or better job prospects.

Cross-market home searches on Realtor.com® topped 60% across the 100 largest U.S. metros this spring, up from roughly 48% in 2019, with housing affordability overwhelmingly dictating whether buyers stay or go, according to the Realtor.com economic research team.

However, the report highlights that affordability is relative, taking on different meanings depending on the local market and a buyer’s budget.

“Affordability retains shoppers when present, pulls them in from pricier markets, and pushes them out once it’s gone,” explains Realtor.com senior economist Jiayi Xu.

Regionally, the West led in outbound home shopping traffic, which eclipsed 65% in the second quarter of 2026, followed by the South (59.8%), Northeast (58.3%), and Midwest (56.1%).

In other words, more than half of home shopping traffic in every region of the U.S. went to listings outside the local market.

Priciest market in the nation

At the metro level, San Jose, CA, recorded the highest out-of-market search traffic across the top 100 metros, with over 94% of shoppers based in San Jose looking for listings elsewhere in the second quarter.

A glance at San Jose’s market helps explain this shift in demand: The metro holds the dubious distinction of being the most expensive major housing market in the U.S. with a median asking price exceeding $1.39 million in spring 2026.

“While San Jose’s unemployment rate is below the national level, its median listing price sits 225.5% above the national average—an affordability gap steep enough to push shoppers elsewhere despite the strong labor market,” notes Xu.

For San Jose’s out-of-market homebuyers, San Francisco emerged as the top destination. While the City by the Bay is no bargain by any stretch of the imagination, with median prices running a staggering 133% above the national average, it still sits 28% below San Jose’s price tag.

San Jose was the top source of inbound traffic to San Francisco in the second quarter, driving roughly 40% of out-of-market views, according to Realtor.com data. Los Angeles was a distant second at 7%, followed by Seattle, in third at 4.3%.

A marble courtyard with a balustrade and fountain in the middle in San Jose, CA — San Jose, CA, the nation’s most expensive major housing market, recorded the highest share of out-of-market traffic in the spring, topping 94%. Realtor.com

“San Francisco’s AI-driven job boom appears strong enough to pull shoppers in from all three markets,” says Xu, referring to the California metro’s latest technological surge anchored by industry powerhouses like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Down the coast, economic uncertainty is creating a different dynamic.

Victor Currie, a real estate agent at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Los Angeles, tells Realtor.com that many would-be local buyers are holding off on transactions altogether.

“Uncertainty brings fear of taking action, and because we’re bombarded with the kind of economic news that keeps people guessing, they are nervous about committing to a purchase that ties up their funds, or selling and giving up their pandemic-era interest rate,” says Currie. “Even though there are more homes on the market now, and more buyers than sellers, those buyers still aren’t buying.”

Budget-friendly options

Golden light from the sunrise cast over Los Angeles, California, USA — Over 70% of would-be buyers in Los Angeles looked for homes outside the pricey metro. Getty Images

Seattle originated the third-highest share of traffic to out-of-market homes this spring, at nearly 84%, trailing Washington, DC, where nearly 86% of shoppers searched for properties outside the local market.

Destination choices reveal a pattern: For DC buyers, the top destination was budget-friendly Baltimore, where the median listing price is roughly 35% below the capital’s $588,332 price tag.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s shoppers targeted Portl a nd, OR, where the typical home in the second quarter was priced 24% below Seattle’s $779,827 median.

In L.A., just over 70% of prospective buyers searched for homes outside the metro, with Riverside, CA, capturing much of the interest thanks to its lower prices.

While homes viewed by L.A. shoppers within their own metro averaged $641 per square foot, that figure plunged to just $341 per square foot for views in Riverside.

Pressure on midtier markets

Xu points out that buyers’ continued quest for greater affordability extends far beyond the priciest markets.

By spring 2026, previously budget-friendly metros, including Salt Lake City, Denver, and Durham, NC, began producing their own cohorts of priced-out locals.

Over 70% of shoppers in each of these three metros searched for out-of-market homes in the second quarter, targeting neighboring areas where prices run 5% to 15% lower.

For Denver buyers, the top destination was Colorado Springs, CO. Salt Lake City shoppers perused listings in Ogden, UT, while Durham house hunters viewed properties in Raleigh, NC.

The economic pull

Notably, home prices alone do not dictate migration; employment plays an equally important role.

A case in point is Birmingham, AL, where the share of out-of-market traffic stood at roughly 72%. Birmingham’s top destination was Nashville, TN, despite “Music City” carrying a median asking price 80% higher than Birmingham’s market.

According to Xu, what drew Birmingham buyers to the pricier metro was Nashville’s stronger job market, a lower unemployment rate of 3.2%, and no state income tax.

Currie says that broader economic considerations heavily influence his L.A.-area clients deciding where to purchase their next property, with many looking outside California.

Nashville Tennessee skyline at sunset — Buyers from Birmingham, AL, are flocking to Nashville, TN (pictured), because of the meto’s stronger job market, even though homes there are much more expensive. Getty Images

“They’re considering other states that offer economic benefits beyond just the housing prices,” explains the agent. “I ran the numbers just the other day with a potential seller to see what he could buy in Nevada with the equity on his home here, even after he took the capital gains hit. He had been considering a move out to Palm Springs, but he was thinking that if he was going to deal with the desert heat, he might as well go all the way to Las Vegas and not have state income tax.”

Similar dynamics could explain the shopping interests from Stockton, CA, to Sacramento, CA, and Virginia Beach, VA, to Richmond, VA, where the top destination markets have lower unemployment rates but higher home prices.

– What are your thoughts?

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Consumer Guide: Helping Family Members Become Homeowners – Shard Article

With housing costs rising, young adults sometimes look to parents or other family members for help covering the upfront costs of homeownership. If you are contemplating providing financial support to your children or other family members, here are helpful facts and guidelines to bear in mind.

The share of first-time buyers is down.

First-time buyers made up just 21% of all purchases between July 2024 and June 2025, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. This is the lowest share of the market since NAR began tracking in 1981. Saving for the down payment remains the biggest hurdle.

Many parents want to help.

Nearly three-quarters of parents with kids still at home say they are either already saving or planning to help their children buy a home someday, according to the 2026 Planning & Progress Study by Northwestern Mutual. Among Gen Z respondents, 44% expect parental assistance, compared with 16% of millennials and 12% of Gen Xers. Help can come in many forms, including gifting the down payment; funding the escrow or earnest money payment; cosigning; covering an escalation clause (which may be part of the offer in a competitive-bid situation); helping with seller closing costs, broker compensation or inspection costs; or buying the home outright.

Buyers should understand the upfront and ongoing expenses of homeownership.

Beyond the down payment, buyers spent an average of $31,502 on upfront homebuying expenses, according to a 2026 survey of 1,000 recent home buyers by Clever Real Estate and Best Interest Financial. That’s almost four times the $8,083 they expected to pay. The expenses included repairs/improvements in the first year ($15,073), concessions to the seller ($7,678), closing costs ($5,719) and moving costs ($3,032). When it comes to ongoing expenses, encourage your family member to make a budget that includes:

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) for buyers putting down less than 20% of the purchase price
Homeowners insurance and potentially flood insurance
Property taxes
Homeowners association (HOA) dues
Utilities
Repairs – YOU ARE THE HOA
Furnishings
Cash reserve for unexpected expenses

Before helping a family member with a home purchase, set expectations about what you can and can’t do. Ask yourself these questions:

Is this family member ready for the responsibilities of homeownership? Does the person have enough income and reserves to handle other expenses that come with homeownership?
Do you have enough to be able to financially help? If you are dipping into your own reserves or retirement accounts, be sure you aren’t jeopardizing your own retirement.
Are you offering a gift or a loan? If it’s a loan, the lender will factor it into your family member’s debt when underwriting the loan. If it’s a gift, your family member will need to document the source of the funds using a gift letter and bank statements.
Do you expect some control over the home purchase in exchange for your financial support? If so, talk it through with your family member in advance to avoid any potential conflict.
Have you set clear parameters? Be aware of reporting requirements, tax implications or potential financial implications (in the case of cosigning, that includes the impact on your credit and liability in the case of a default). Be sure to consult with a financial or tax advisor and attorney in advance. Then put the agreement in writing so there are no surprises.

Helping family members with a home purchase can be a wonderful gift, starting them on the path to building wealth through home equity. But be sure to go in with a mutual understanding of each party’s contributions and responsibilities.

The Caton Team can help you sort out the steps – reach out – we are here to help.

I read this here.

How can The Caton Team Help You?

Contact The Caton Team 650.799.4333 | Email Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Whether you are selling or buying – today or tomorrow – contact The Caton Team – we’re happy to help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

Effective. Efficient. Responsive. The Caton Team 🏡

Got Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

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What can we do for you?

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices – Drysdale Properties

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The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third-party information not verified.

Portable Mortgages Sound Great. The Math Is Messier – Shared article

Thank you for tuning in – I am sharing this article featured on my friends blog – lender Christian Carr – visit his lending blog here.

The MOVE Act, introduced by Representative Tom Kean Jr., aims to address homeowners’ frustrations about being locked into low-rate mortgages. However, it only proposes future portable mortgages that won’t retroactively help current borrowers. While this could assist mobility, it doesn’t eliminate financing gaps or selling costs for new homes.

Infographic showing a homeowner selling a $1.2 million home with a $500,000 mortgage at 3%, using roughly $630,000 to $640,000 in net equity toward a $1.6 million replacement home, and still needing about $460,000 to $470,000 in new financing.

A portable mortgage may preserve a low existing rate, but it does not eliminate the financing gap on a more expensive replacement home. Selling costs reduce usable equity, and the remaining balance may need to be financed at a higher rate.
There is a reason H.R. 10028 is getting attention.
It speaks directly to one of the biggest frustrations in housing today: homeowners who are effectively locked into their current homes because the mortgage they already have is far more attractive than the mortgage they would have to take on if they moved.
It’s a real problem affecting household mobility, inventory turnover, and the willingness of would-be move-up buyers to make a change even when life is pushing them in that direction.
So when Representative Tom Kean Jr. introduced H.R. 10028, the MOVE Act, the headline was naturally compelling. The pitch is simple enough for a cocktail conversation: what if a homeowner could take their mortgage with them when they move?
At first glance, that sounds like a breakthrough. If someone has a $500,000 mortgage at 3.00%, why should they be forced to give that up just because they want to buy a different house? Why not let them transfer that loan balance, rate, and remaining term to the next property?
It is a smart political message because it sounds like common sense. It also happens to leave out some very important details.
The first and most important issue is that the bill does not appear to do what many casual listeners will assume it does. H.R. 10028 does not say that every existing low-rate mortgage suddenly becomes portable. It directs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin purchasing and securitizing conventional mortgages that are designed to allow portability. That is a very different idea.
In plain English, this looks much more like a proposal for a future mortgage product than a retroactive rescue plan for today’s 3% borrowers.
That distinction matters.
A homeowner hearing the phrase “transfer your existing mortgage rate, term, and balance to a new property” could easily assume Congress is trying to let them keep the mortgage they already have. But the economics of the mortgage market make that far more complicated. Existing low-rate mortgages are not simply sitting on a bank’s balance sheet waiting to be modified out of generosity. In most cases, those loans have already been sold into the secondary market and are owned, directly or indirectly, by investors who purchased cash flows based on a certain set of assumptions. One of those assumptions is that when the borrower sells the home, the loan generally gets paid off.
Portable mortgages change that.
That is the overlooked angle here. Portability is not just a consumer perk. It is a borrower option, and options have value. If a borrower can keep a below-market mortgage even after selling the home, the investor loses one of the most common paths to getting principal returned and redeployed at current yields. If market rates are 6.75% or 7.00% and the investor is stuck collecting 3.00% for years longer than expected, that is not a small issue. It is the entire pricing issue.
Which is why portability is not free.
Analysts looking at portable mortgages have already suggested that borrowers would likely pay for that flexibility upfront, probably in the form of a somewhat higher interest rate at origination. In other words, if portable mortgages become a standard future product, the borrower may be buying the right to preserve that mortgage later. Useful, yes. Free, no.
Even that, however, is only the first layer of the story.
The second layer is the one I think gets missed almost entirely in the public conversation: portability helps only on the portion of the new purchase that can be covered by the old mortgage balance. It does not solve the rest of the transaction.
Let’s walk through a realistic example.
Suppose a homeowner sells a current home for $1.2 million. They have an existing first mortgage of $500,000 at 3.00%. On paper, that leaves about $700,000 of gross equity. But nobody gets to move “gross equity” into the next house. Selling costs come first. Between commissions, escrow, title, transfer charges, and other transaction costs, it would not be hard to see $60,000 to $70,000 disappear before the homeowner ever touches the proceeds.
So now the net equity available is closer to $630,000 to $640,000.
Assume that homeowner then buys a new home for $1.6 million. If the $500,000 mortgage is portable, great. That old loan balance moves over. The homeowner also applies roughly $630,000 to $640,000 in net proceeds from the sale. But the new purchase price is still $1.6 million.
The gap does not vanish.
At that point, the borrower still needs roughly $460,000 to $470,000 in additional financing.
That is where the clean political story starts to get messy.
The homeowner is no longer financing the new purchase at 3.00%. They are financing part of it at 3.00% and part of it at whatever the market demands for the new money. And because that new money may need to come in as a second lien or other subordinate structure, the rate on that gap financing may be meaningfully higher than the rate on a standard first mortgage.
Now we are talking about the actual capital stack, not the campaign version.
Let’s use $465,000 as the new financing amount. If that money potentially carries an 8.10% rate (or higher), which is not unreasonable for higher-risk secondary financing, the borrower’s balance-weighted blended rate would look attractive on paper. You would have $500,000 at 3.00% and $465,000 at 8.10%, producing a rough blended rate of about 5.46%.
That sounds pretty good relative to financing the full amount at today’s first-mortgage rates.
But rate is only part of the story. Payment matters more.
The old portable mortgage would not magically become a fresh 30-year loan. If that mortgage has 24 years remaining, then that is likely the remaining term coming into the new property. If the additional $465,000 is financed separately at 8.10%, the amortization period on that second piece becomes crucial.
If the $500,000 portable first has 24 years remaining at 3.00%, the principal and interest payment is about $2,438 per month. If the $465,000 gap financing is set up at 8.10% over 20 years, the principal and interest payment is about $3,918 per month. Combined, the borrower is at roughly $6,356 per month in principal and interest.
Now compare that with a single new $965,000 mortgage at 6.75% over 30 years. That payment would be roughly $6,259 per month.
Read that again. The borrower “kept the 3% mortgage,” and the monthly payment still comes out slightly higher in this structure than simply taking one new 30-year first mortgage at current rates.
That is not because portability has no value. It absolutely can. It is because the value of the portable piece can be weakened or even overwhelmed by the structure, pricing, and amortization of the gap financing.
And if the second piece is amortized more gently over 30 years instead of 20, the payment improves. In that case, the $465,000 loan at 8.10% would be about $3,444 per month, bringing the combined payment to around $5,882. Now portability is helping more clearly. But even then, the borrower still has to manage a more complex financing structure, potentially with two liens, two different terms, and the complications that come with that.
This is the part of the conversation that deserves more attention.
Portable mortgages are easy to understand at the slogan level. They are much harder to evaluate in an actual transaction.
Who underwrites the gap financing? Does it come in behind the portable first as a true second lien? What does that do to combined loan-to-value limits? How is the borrower requalified? What happens if the new property is a condo with its own approval issues? What happens if values soften and the subordinate lender becomes more conservative? What if the second lien is adjustable, or requires a shorter payoff horizon? What if the borrower later wants to refinance one piece but not the other?
Those are not side questions. Those are the deal.
That is why I think the real story around H.R. 10028 is not that portable mortgages are a bad idea. In concept, they are actually a very interesting idea. They recognize that a mortgage is not just debt; under the right circumstances, it can also be a valuable financial asset. A homeowner sitting on a 3.00% loan in a 7.00% world clearly owns something economically valuable.
The problem is that Washington has a habit of selling the headline benefit of a financing innovation while understating the cost, complexity, and tradeoffs underneath it.
We have seen versions of this before. A 40-year mortgage can be pitched as a lower-payment solution, but extending duration changes the economics of the loan and the way investors price the risk. The payment may go down relative to a shorter term, but the borrower pays for longer, builds equity more slowly, and can end up carrying more interest over time. The wrapper changes. The economic realities do not disappear.
Portable mortgages raise a similar issue. If you give borrowers a valuable option, someone has to absorb that cost. If you preserve only part of a low-rate financing structure, someone still has to fund the rest. And when that additional capital sits in a riskier position, it usually commands a higher rate.
That is the story.
The MOVE Act, authored by Representative Tom Kean Jr., is politically sharp because it taps into a genuine frustration in the housing market. Homeowners feel trapped by the success of their old financing. They know their current mortgage is too good to casually surrender. Any policy proposal that seems to honor that reality is going to attract attention.
But attention and execution are two different things.
If portable mortgages eventually become a viable conventional product, they may help mobility for some borrowers. They may improve transaction flow. They may allow some homeowners to preserve a meaningful portion of their financing advantage when they move. That would be a real benefit.
What they will not do is magically turn a move-up purchase into a 3.00% financing event. They will not erase selling costs. They will not eliminate the need for new capital. And they will not prevent the market from pricing the risk associated with that structure.
The cleanest way to say it is this: portability may preserve the cheap money you already have, but it does not make the next house cheap.
For borrowers, advisors, and anyone trying to think clearly about housing policy, that is the conversation worth having. Not whether portable mortgages sound good. They do. The better question is whether the full financing stack still makes sense once the math, structure, and incentives are laid out honestly.
That is where the real answer lives.

How can The Caton Team Help You?

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Whether you are selling or buying – today or tomorrow – contact The Caton Team – we’re happy to help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

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Why Big Banks Are Pouring Billions Into Reviving the Housing Market – Shared Article By Tristan Navera

Thank you for tuning in – sharing this article – I read here.

JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, is a name typically attached to big numbers. But a new plan to invest $750 billion into housing market initiatives in the next decade stands out.

The bank announced this summer it would deploy $750 billion into the housing market through 2035. Its “American Dream Initiative” aims to build or preserve 1 million affordable housing units and help 500,000 customers purchase homes, 200,000 of them for the first time.

It’s not alone. Wells Fargo, Citibank, and Bank of America—which, with JPMorgan, comprise the “big four” of American finance—have each announced major housing initiatives. And, like the $5 trillion JPMorgan Chase, they’re directing tens of billions toward the problem.

The nationwide housing supply shortage, as well as rampant pessimism among young people, make the issue too big to ignore, says Sam Sheets, a strategy executive for Community & Affordable Lending at JPMorgan Chase.

“At the end of the day, it’s a function of supply and demand,” Sheets says. “Supply is the big issue—and supply of homes at the right price point.”

Housing has long been a major focus for banks. Bank of America, for instance, has provided $15 billion in loans and grants since 2019 to support down payments, closing costs, and affordable mortgage options for homebuyers. It partners with 300 housing counseling groups in the process.

But banks are now also expanding their support for efforts like zoning reform, building code changes, and new homebuilding in an effort to restore affordability to the housing market—and potentially expand the pool of mortgage borrowers, which has been shrinking lately.

“It’s driven by slower new construction but also just a lock-in effect, which has forced families to stay put when they would have moved and upsized,” Sheets says.

The business case for bank intervention

Reading between the lines, banks may be concerned about the decline in mortgage business in recent years.

The number of annual new mortgage accounts at large banks has hovered below 500,000 for the past three years, well below the million-plus levels typically seen in a single year before the pandemic, according to tracking from the Philadelphia Fed.

The sharp drop-off in big bank mortgages is due in part to increased competition from specialty lenders, but the main culprit may be the overall decline in homebuying activity since 2022.

Bernard Nossuli, COO at lending data company iEmergent, notes the mortgage business has been racked by the uncertain market, including high interest rates and limited signals from the Federal Reserve about when that might change.

Roughly 581,000 home purchase loans were originated from January through March 2026, down 19% from the previous quarter and a 12-year low. With many younger buyers priced out, and older buyers “locked in” to homes with low rates, supply-side solutions seem to be the easiest lever to pull right now.

But while those policies might seem straightforward, “the reality is a lot more complicated than that,” Nossuli says.

Beyond mortgages

Obviously, banks have always played a major role in the housing market via the mortgages they provide. But as the nation confronts a major affordability crisis with complex causes and difficult solutions, banking leaders have sought a more proactive role.

The $49 trillion housing market has been the bedrock of Americans’ financial prosperity for generations. But the shortage of millions of homes, as well as millions of affordable rentals, has meant more Americans’ financial lives are being stifled because housing eats into their ability to save and invest.

At a Washington, DC, conference hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center in June, Edward Skyler, head of Enterprise Services for Citi, said the private sector has roles to play around the edges.

“We need American ingenuity and entrepreneurship to help us build cheaper,” Skyler said. “We need to apply some of this great intellectual capacity and allocate some of that brain power to housing, because it is ripe for innovation.”

This year, Citi launched its “Blueprint for Housing Opportunity Initiative,” a $60 billion plan to support the preservation and construction of 250,000 homes. Last year, it financed $7 billion to support 30,000 units, and the new initiatives would double the pace, Skyler said.

Citi also committed $50 million to support housing nonprofits, including “seed funding” to support pre-development work like architecture and zoning studies on new housing projects. That support helps those companies prepare developments to turn dirt. Their role in their cities makes their housing pitches more likely to be successful, Skyler said.

“This is an issue that is really harming Americans across the country, and not just in the big cities,” he noted.

Banks push for policy change

In the case of JPMorgan, the bank has leaned into thought leadership. It has backed housing market analysis through a policy center that advocated for reducing regulatory barriers and encouraging manufactured housing innovation.

“We’re really trying to look at what levers, and particularly state and local levers, that can reduce the cost drivers of what it takes to build housing,” Olivia Barrow Strauss, vice president of Housing Policy at JPMorgan, recently told Realtor.com®.

And for Citi, policy advocacy is part of its plan, too. Its blueprint encourages lawmakers to consider changes to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, a tool that helps finance affordable housing development. Allowing it to be transferrable would encourage more banks and other investors to put money behind the credit that developers can use, Skyler said.

“We’re seeing a lot of money left on the table,” he noted. “Our idea is simply to … try and create a market for them.”

The banks are also backing the private sector. Wells Fargo has awarded $53 million to back innovations in home construction and financing through its “Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge.” Its foundation has contributed $830 million toward housing efforts since 2019.

The initiatives aren’t just a philanthropic effort, either. Dennis Shea, co-leader of BPC’s Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy, says the housing shortage has major macroeconomic effects that limit labor mobility, productivity, and economics. That in turn limits bank customers and stifles growth of the broader private sector.

At Chase, Sheets says the bank is aggressively trying to grow its mortgage business. It originated $52.8 billion in mortgage volume in 2025, up from $40.8 billion in 2024, according to its most recent financial reporting.

The bank’s housing initiatives offer it “a more comprehensive view” for how it can positively influence housing supply, he says.

I read this here.

How can The Caton Team Help You?

Contact The Caton Team 650.799.4333 | Email Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Whether you are selling or buying – today or tomorrow – contact The Caton Team – we’re happy to help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

Effective. Efficient. Responsive. The Caton Team 🏡

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What can we do for you?

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DRE # |Sabrina 01413526 | Susan 01238225 | Team 70000218 |Office 01499008

The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third-party information not verified.

The Stats are In… Market Snapshot for July 2026

Hello Caton Team Readers,

Thank you for tuning in. The stats are in for July 2026.

I am happy to see some growth in home sales for San Mateo County. I am not surprised about the dip in the townhome / condo market as they are faced repairs due CA legislation SB 326 (read more here). Small dip in Santa Clara County home sales. The luxury condo market in the South Bay are often newer developments so that may account for the growth there – they may not be faced with repairs due to older buildings.

As Summer comes to and end and Fall begins. I am curious where are market will go. I’ve seen an increase in buyers getting approved for loans, but also many opting to rent and save in order to buy something more to their liking. That can be a tricky move as waiting one year will impact purchase power if homes continue to appreciate and I think they will – it is the pace that I see slowing down. Homes in California have been appreciating since 1849 (I kid but you get it) – it just may not be as steep. Add some tech lay offs and we stand by to see the impact. However…

If you want to live in the Bay Area, if you have a steady job here and want to grow roots here – NOW – is a great time to buy. There are properties sitting, there are price reductions – this is an opportunity for a buyer to get a house, even under list with contingencies! As long as you see yourself here for about 7-10 years – that is a realistic time it takes to see appreciation. The longer you hold onto a home, the better. So when the market is soft and you have long terms goals here – let’s jump in.

The Caton Team provides free buying and selling consultations – to determine the current value of your home if you are selling or if you’re in the market to buy – where you get the most bang for your buck.

Remember, each neighborhood is different, if you are considering a purchase – let us guide you through this and help you find your way home.

If you’re in the market to sell – each area and price point has it’s own pros and cons – let us help you figure out your next steps.

What are your thoughts for the year ahead?

For my selling clients, life changes everyday and if you need to sell your home – let’s come up with a strategy to get you sold! Even in an odd market The Caton Team can help you strategically sell your home. We have before and we will again. We move with the market.

For my buyers, some homes are garnering multiple offers, but some are overlooked. With a little legwork, a buyer can truly find some great opportunities when they align with the market.

If you’re considering a Real Estate move, contact The Caton Team for a free consultation. With over 45+ years of combined, local Real Estate experience, we have the knowledge and know-how to guide you to your goal. Call us at 650.799.4333 or email us at sabrina_caton@yahoo.com.

Let’s see our month over month…

How can The Caton Team Help You?

Contact The Caton Team 650.799.4333 | Email Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Whether you are selling or buying – today or tomorrow – contact The Caton Team – we’re happy to help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

Effective. Efficient. Responsive. The Caton Team 🏡

Got Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

RECENTLY SOLD by THE CATON TEAM

Homes Sold by The Caton Team | Helping Our Buyers Find Their Way Home

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The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina
A Family of Realtors
Effective. Efficient. Responsive.
What can we do for you?

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices – Drysdale Properties

DRE # |Sabrina 01413526 | Susan 01238225 | Team 70000218 |Office 01499008

The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third-party information not verified.

The Stats are In… Market Snapshot for May & June 2026

Hello Caton Team Blog Readers,

Thank you for tuning in. The stats are in for May and June 2026.

Welp – in May we saw all market points take a dip. With a slight rise in May and June for Condos / Townhomes. Across the board we are seeing a dip in sales. Is it seasonal? Doesn’t feel that way – we often see a good boost in sales each May – as that is the start of selling season and June often holds steady but this year is a bit different. There is so much going on in the world, economically and socially.

With no expected drop in interest rates and the cost of gas and groceries at an all time high. Folks are feeling it. When fear prevails, or concern, we see a dip in sales, and a dip in active buyers. Oddly enough – this sort of data makes the market ripe for buyers but not everyone feels they can take the plunge.

When the market is weird, it is actually a great time to buy in the Bay Area. Some homes still get multiple offers but some do not – and instead of waiting for a price drop – when you work with professional Realtors like The Caton Team – we search those over looked properties – and show them. Don’t wait for a price drop – if you’ve watched a home and it has not sold in 2 -3 weeks – have your agent contact their agent and get the whole picture. We do not wait for price reductions – we are proactive and will see if there is middle ground a buyer and seller can stand on.

With values dipping .8% – 13% – that is a market for buyers! Sellers are not seeing the demand we once had when rates were lower and if a seller has to sell, they are taking a moment to grieve their lost value and hopefully moving forward. The market is the people and what the people are feeling.

If you want to live in the Bay Area, if you have a steady job here and want to grow roots here – NOW – is a great time to buy. There are properties sitting, there are price reductions – this is an opportunity for a buyer to get a house, even under list with contingencies! As long as you see yourself here for about 7-10 years – that is the normal time it takes to see appriciation. The longer you hold onto a home, the better. So when the market is soft and you have long terms goals here – let’s jump in.

Remember, each neighborhood is different, if you are considering a purchase – let us guide you through this and help you find your way home.

If you’re in the market to sell – each area and price point has it’s own pros and cons – let us help you figure out your next steps.

What are your thoughts for the year ahead?

For my buyers, some homes are garnering multiple offers, but some are overlooked. With a little legwork, a buyer can truly find some great opportunities when they align with the market.

If you’re considering a Real Estate move, contact The Caton Team for a free consultation. With over 45+ years of combined Real Estate experience, we have the knowledge and know-how to guide you to your goal. Call us at 650.799.4333 or email us at sabrina_caton@yahoo.com.

Let’s see our month over month…

How can The Caton Team Help You?

Contact The Caton Team 650.799.4333 | Email Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Whether you are selling or buying – today or tomorrow – contact The Caton Team – we’re happy to help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

Effective. Efficient. Responsive. The Caton Team 🏡

Got Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

RECENTLY SOLD by THE CATON TEAM

Homes Sold by The Caton Team | Helping Our Buyers Find Their Way Home

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Got Real Estate Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina
A Family of Realtors
Effective. Efficient. Responsive.
What can we do for you?

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices – Drysdale Properties

DRE # |Sabrina 01413526 | Susan 01238225 | Team 70000218 |Office 01499008

The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third-party information not verified.

The Stats are In… Market Snapshot for April 2026

Hello Caton Team Blog Readers,

The stats are in for April 2026.

Oddly enough – the high-end sector is doing great! Homes above 2 million are selling and with multiple offers.

However – with the cost of gas and groceries – we’re seeing some adjustment in the market. Interest rates are holding where they are – so no relief in sight for the buyers on that front. Which oddly enough makes it a bit of a buyers market. So keep saving, keep looking and if you are in the market to buy – each neighborhood is different, so let us guide you through this and help you find your way home.

If you’re in the market to sell – each area and price point has it’s own pros and cons – let us help you figure out your next steps.

What are your thoughts for the year ahead?

For my buyers, some homes are garnering multiple offers, but some are overlooked. With a little legwork, a buyer can truly find some great opportunities when they align with the market.

Let’s see our month over month…

How can The Caton Team Help You?

Contact The Caton Team 650.799.4333 | Email Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Whether you are selling or buying – today or tomorrow – contact The Caton Team – we’re happy to help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

Effective. Efficient. Responsive. The Caton Team 🏡

Each market is unique and with over 40 years of combined Real Estate experience, The Caton Team is more than happy to be of service if and when you are considering a move. Contact us anytime during your journey, together we’ll help you achieve your Real Estate goals.

Got Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

RECENTLY SOLD by THE CATON TEAM

Homes Sold by The Caton Team | Helping Our Buyers Find Their Way Home

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Got Real Estate Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina
A Family of Realtors
Effective. Efficient. Responsive.
What can we do for you?

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices – Drysdale Properties

DRE # |Sabrina 01413526 | Susan 01238225 | Team 70000218 |Office 01499008

The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third-party information not verified.

The Stats are In… Market Snapshot for Feb 2026 & March 2026

Hello Caton Team Friends,

The stats are in for Feb & Mar 2026.

What gain we saw in Feb has tempered in March. We are midway through April and I can feel the cold thawing. Buyers are doing their homework, loan shopping and budget making. While sellers are getting their homes ready for the Spring Market that officially starts on May 1. Are you ready?

There was slight price adjustments in March, which still feels seasonal. Buyer right now are weighing so much, the interest rates haven’t fallen much, hovering around 6%+, the state of the economy and the world has folks on edge. But not off the table. With caution and a solid plan, I am seeing my clients make their Real Estate goals work! How can The Caton Team help you?

What are your thoughts for the year ahead?

For my buyers, some homes are garnering multiple offers, but some are overlooked. With a little legwork, a buyer can truly find some great opportunities when they align with the market.