Zillow Enters $500 Million Revolving Credit Facility Agreement

By Katherine Hamilton

Zillow entered a credit agreement providing for a $500 million revolving credit facility.

The facility could be increased by an additional $250 million, the home listing service said in a filing Friday.

Revolving loans may be borrowed, repaid and reborrowed under the agreement until Jan. 30, 2031, at which time all amounts borrowed must be repaid.

Revolving loans may be prepaid and revolving loan commitments can be permanently reduced by Zillow in whole or in part without penalty.

Revolving loans will bear interest at either a floating rate per year equal to the alternate base rate plus a margin, or at an annual rate equal to the secured overnight financing rate plus a margin.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

A mortgage payment on a typical home is forecast to be affordable in 20 major metropolitan areas by the end of the year, Zillow says. Zillow expects slow but steady home value growth, falling mortgage rates and rising incomes to contribute to a nationwide improvement in affordability this year. Affordability in this case means a mortgage payment on a typical house that doesn't require more than 30% of the median household income. When housing costs rise above that 30% threshold, they become a financial burden. Prices soared starting in 2020, and affordability declined sharply in 2022, when mortgage rates doubled. Affordability reached all-time lows in October 2023, when a typical mortgage required 38.2% of median household income. At the national level, a mortgage payment now takes 32.6% of median household income, already the best affordability seen nationwide since August 2022.(chris.wack@wsj.com)

Competition for houses is set to be fiercest in Hartford this year, beating back-to-back leader Buffalo, Zillow says. Common among the Northeast and coastal California metros at the top of the list are few options for buyers to choose from. That spurred fast sales and home price growth in 2025 and should keep home values rising fast in 2026. Home values grew faster in Hartford than in any other major metro last year, up 4.6%. Hartford is forecast to lead price growth yet again this year, though at a slightly more relaxed pace of 3.9% annually. Third on the list is the New York metro area, which includes parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Contributing to its high ranking in 2026 are a positive home price forecast, strong employment, and the lowest share of listings with a price cut among major metros at just 13.5%. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1044 ET - Renovated homes are still attracting more online interest and selling faster than other older homes, Realtor.com says, but the long-standing fix-and-flip advantage has weakened significantly as higher mortgage rates reshape buyer demand and pricing power. This analysis follows an earlier in-depth analysis of fixer-uppers on the market, which found fixer-uppers are priced 54.2% lower than the median single-family home in the U.S. Renovated homes still catch buyers' eyes, but financing the cost of those improvements at today's rates is less appealing to today's price-sensitive shoppers. That's causing the performance gap between flipped homes and other older homes to shrink compared with 2021. Flipped homes tend to be smaller than older homes, carry a higher price per square foot, and are more likely to be located in urban areas. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1039 ET - Seasonal cooling is finally seeping into the housing market after an unseasonably active fall, according to Zillow. Price cuts from sellers dropped back to normal levels from near-record highs; a rare instance of buyers losing a bit of leverage in a year when many housing trends moved in their favor. Affordability is still a hurdle for home buyers, Zllow says, but 2025 brought real progress. Mortgage payments dropped by more than $100 a month, while incomes continued to rise. For many households, that small shift can be the difference between sitting out the market and finally being able to buy or sell a home. Low mortgage rates in September and October pushed buyers and sellers to be more active than usual. But November saw a return to seasonality, despite mortgage rates that ticked down to 2025 lows. Homeowners without a need to sell are likely deciding to wait out the winter. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1031 ET - The chance of further easing at the European Central Bank are slim to none after its latest decision to hold its key rate at 2%, Pantheon Macroeconomics economist Melanie Debono says in a note. The statement accompanying the decision reflects little change in tone, with the ECB continuing to emphasize reliance on data. Inflation data are set to soften early in 2026, raising the chances of a rate cut marginally, she says. But the ECB will look through slightly lower inflation as the rate should still be consistent with the bank's symmetric 2% inflation target, Debono says. The bank will likely keep rates on hold for now and throughout 2026 before two increases in 2027, she says.(edward.frankl@wsj.com)

1026 ET - The European Central Bank's ambition for a potential digital euro is that it must provide an anchor of stability for the financial system, ECB President Christine Lagarde says Thursday. "At the moment that anchor is central bank money which essentially has material form," she says at a press conference after the ECB left rates unchanged. A digital euro would need to be a digital expression of that sovereignty, she says. It would also need to be user friendly, not costly, fast, efficient private and can work both offline and online. The ECB has laid the ground work for a digital euro but it's now up to the European Council and European Parliament to take the next steps, she says. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

1025 ET - The likelihood of the European Central Bank raising interest rates in 2026 appears very low, Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Simon Dangoor says in a note after the ECB left rates unchanged Thursday. The subdued inflation backdrop argues against a rate rise despite recent comments from policymakers signalling such a move, he says. There is some scope for additional rate cuts next year if inflation falls below 2%, although that probability has moved lower, he says. "Resilient growth, combined with inflation expected to remain below target, suggests the ECB will stay on hold for the foreseeable future." (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

1014 ET - The Bank of England's monetary policy easing bias could prove a headwind for sterling over the coming months, particularly against the Australian dollar, HSBC forex strategist Nick Andrews says in a note. The BOE cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.75% Thursday in a 5-4 vote and signalled further gradual cuts. Sterling looks vulnerable against currencies where central banks are on the cusp of raising rates, he says. HSBC prefers to sell sterling against the Australian dollar as the Reserve Bank of Australia recently signalled the prospect of a rate rise. Sterling rises 0.2% to a three-week high of 2.0280 Australian dollars, boosted by the narrow BOE vote, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

1008 ET - The European Central Bank's current policy of holding interest rates faces a "fascinating test" in 2026 amid uncertainties about the inflation outlook, says Deutsche Bank's Mark Wall in a note. Headline inflation is projected to be below 2% in both 2026 and 2027, but core inflation is stickier, he says. The chief European economist wonders what could happen if the headline undershoot were to deepen or if inflation expectations 'de-anchor' from 2%, implying an overshoot. "Could that open the door to further policy easing?," he says. "Or does the improving growth outlook, driven by domestic demand, and firmer services inflation outlook mean an increasingly confident pause?" Hikes are not on the agenda, not just yet at least, he says. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

1000 ET - U.S. pending home sales fell 5.8% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending December 14, Redfin says, the biggest decline since the start of 2025. On a metro level, pending sales declined in all but six of the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas, with the biggest drops in San Jose with 35.1% year-over-year, Houston with 20.9%, and Oakland with 17.6%. The typical U.S. home that does sell is taking 52 days to go under contract, about a week longer than last year. Redfin says house hunters are hesitant this holiday season because mortgage rates are stubbornly sitting above 6%, and home-sale prices are rising, putting homes out of reach for many would-be buyers. Slow homebuying demand is pushing would-be sellers to the sidelines, too. New listings are down 3.1% year-over-year, the biggest decline in more than two years. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

0950 ET - The European Central Bank is unlikely to chance its current policy stance in the near future, Carsten Brzeski at ING says in a note. Interest rates remaining unchanged for more than half a year suggests that a significant drop in inflation or growth would be needed for the central bank to start cutting rates, he says. "The inflation forecasts, in particular, provide more evidence that the Bank's current 'good place' is also the right place." The bank revised its 2026 inflation forecast slightly up to 1.9% due to a slower-than-expected drop in services inflation. "With inflation expected at or slightly below 2%, as well as growth expected at around potential, there is no reason for the central bank to change its policy stance any time soon." (don.forbes@wsj.com)

0944 ET - The Bank of England's policy guidance indicates that U.K. inflation is expected to continue falling in the coming months but could rebound over the medium term, EFG Asset Management's Joaquin Thul says in a note. The BOE expects the U.K. budget measures to lead to lower inflation in the near term. Tax measures due to take effect in the coming years could drive up inflation, however. The BOE cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.75% on Thursday in a tight 5-4 vote. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

0930 ET - The Bank of England's rate cut on Thursday is unlikely to be the last, says Raymond James Investment Services' Jeremy Batstone-Carr in a note. The majority on the monetary policy committee will be well aware that by April, the inflationary measures contained within last year's budget will drop out of the year-on-year comparison, a development likely to result in a pronounced closing in the gap between U.K. price pressures and those elsewhere, the European strategist says.(emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0914 ET - TD Bank says its tracking of bank-card spending shows a pickup in consumer outlays compared with 2024, powered by expenditures on entertainment and recreation. With 11 months of anonymized bank-card data, TD says spending through November rose 5.4% versus 4.9% in the comparable year-ago period. TD economist Maria Solovieva attributes the pickup in spending to lower interest rates, as Bank of Canada cut its policy rate four times this year to 2.25%. "Growth would likely have been stronger had consumer confidence not taken a hit from tariff tensions," Solovieva says. This represents another sign of resilience in the Canadian economy amid heightened trade-policy uncertainty. (Paul.Vieira@wsj.com, @paulvieira)

Seasonal cooling is finally seeping into the housing market after an unseasonably active fall, according to Zillow. Price cuts from sellers dropped back to normal levels from near-record highs; a rare instance of buyers losing a bit of leverage in a year when many housing trends moved in their favor. Affordability is still a hurdle for home buyers, Zllow says, but 2025 brought real progress. Mortgage payments dropped by more than $100 a month, while incomes continued to rise. For many households, that small shift can be the difference between sitting out the market and finally being able to buy or sell a home. Low mortgage rates in September and October pushed buyers and sellers to be more active than usual. But November saw a return to seasonality, despite mortgage rates that ticked down to 2025 lows. Homeowners without a need to sell are likely deciding to wait out the winter. (chris.wack@wsj.com)