Is spring still the right time to buy a home, and does carrying a mortgage forever actually make more financial sense?

Before entering into the “forever mortgage” debate, hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola are joined by senior news writer Anna Helhoski and mortgage writers Abby Badach Doyle and Kate Wood to examine why 2026's spring housing market is falling short of expectations. They explain what declining home sales data and 30-year mortgage rates hovering above 6% reveal about buyer and seller hesitation, how economic uncertainty is driving different outcomes across local markets around the country, and whether the timing is right to make a move.

Then, Sean, Elizabeth, and Kate unpack the question of whether carrying a mortgage into retirement could actually be a smarter wealth-building strategy than paying it off early. They break down what the life cycle hypothesis says about holding debt in retirement, what happens to the math when you weigh opportunity cost and market returns against mortgage payoff, and what personal and financial blind spots could make or break the strategy for you.

Check out our Mortgage Amortization Calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/calculators/amortization 

Check out our Mortgage Calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/calculators/how-much-can-i-borrow 

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