I suspect this chart will surprise a lot of people. More Americans told the Conference Board that they plan to buy a home in the next 6 months than during the absolute frenzy days of the housing bubble. That is because millions of people were priced out during Covid, then millions more got priced out by surging mortgage rates after Covid. We all know a ton of people, millions of them, who are waiting, waiting, waiting, for what has amounted to several years now. At some mortgage rate, a bunch of these people can enter the market as serious buyers and sellers. Is it 5.5%? Maybe 5%? I don't know. Mortgage rates are down to 6.39%; the peak was 8%. If you are trying to forecast the stock market and the economy in 2026-2027, this concept is so very much on the table, akin to someone flipping on a light switch. This concept represents one of the singularly largest upside economic surprise scenarios if mortgage rates keep drifting down: buyers and sellers transacting because "the number" finally made sense for their budget. Contractors coming in to do bathroom renovations, landscaping crews pruning the bushes, go buy some paint, fix the drywall, replace the fence. We will see if it plays out.