January 2026 Housing & Mortgage Market Update

Cost Implications for Relocation Programs

As organizations plan workforce moves for 2026, recent housing and mortgage market indicators point to a shifting—but still constrained—environment. For HR, Mobility, and Finance leaders, the implications extend beyond employee experience to enterprise-level cost exposure, financial risk, and mobility program governance.

Within an enterprise mobility management framework, housing market volatility directly affects benefit utilization, policy compliance, exception volume, and total program cost—making structured oversight more critical than ever.

Buyer Activity Is Picking Up—But Cost Pressure Remains

Pending home sales rose 3.3% month-over-month and 2.6% year-over-year in November, signaling renewed buyer activity nationwide. At the same time, the U.S. housing market continues to show a significant imbalance, with more than 37% more sellers than buyers—creating negotiation opportunities, but also longer transaction timelines and pricing variability.

For enterprise relocation programs, these conditions increase the likelihood of extended temporary housing stays, higher exception requests, and misaligned benefit utilization when employees navigate housing decisions without coordinated mobility guidance and policy guardrails.

Elevated Rates Reinforce the Need for Cost Governance

With Federal Reserve policymakers signaling caution on additional rate cuts and mortgage forecasts suggesting rates may remain near or above 6% in 2026, affordability constraints are expected to persist. Combined with limited housing turnover driven by historically low-rate, 30-year fixed mortgages, inventory constraints in key markets will continue to place upward pressure on relocation-related costs.

From an enterprise mobility management perspective, prolonged market pressure amplifies the need for proactive cost governance—monitoring case progression, housing timelines, and benefit decisions before costs escalate downstream.

Renters Today, Buyers Tomorrow—Flexibility Reduces Cost Risk

Nearly half of U.S. renters expect to be ready for homeownership within four years. This reinforces the importance of mobility policies that allow flexibility—supporting renting, purchasing, or delayed decisions—without defaulting to higher-cost benefit structures that increase employer exposure.

Well-designed enterprise mobility programs balance flexibility with disciplined benefit frameworks, enabling informed employee decision-making while maintaining financial control.

Why This Matters for Employers

In today’s market, relocation costs are no longer driven by isolated line items—they are the cumulative result of housing decisions, timing, exceptions, and benefit utilization over the life of each relocation case. Without structured oversight, organizations face:

• Increased temporary housing durations
• Reactive exception approvals
• Overutilization of higher-cost benefits
• Limited visibility into where and why costs escalate

The result is not only higher spend but increased financial and operational risk across the enterprise mobility program.

How InterLink Relocation Resources Helps Companies Save Money

InterLink supports enterprise mobility management through disciplined program design, market expertise, and a superior service experience—helping organizations control costs while maintaining a positive employee experience.

Key components include:

• Technology-enabled exception management and reporting, providing real-time visibility into cost drivers, trends, and intervention points
• Relocation policy review and modernization, aligning benefit structures with current housing and mortgage market realities—not outdated assumptions
• Policy-aligned benefit utilization, guiding employees toward decisions that reduce unnecessary cost exposure while remaining compliant
• Expert housing and financial guidance, minimizing temporary housing extensions and downstream exceptions
• Negotiated supplier pricing with full cost pass-through, ensuring transparency and eliminating hidden markups

By applying enterprise mobility management principles—governance, data-driven oversight, and policy discipline—InterLink helps organizations reduce volatility, protect ROI, and manage relocation spend with confidence.

Ready to Assess Your Program?

If you are evaluating your relocation program for 2026—or experiencing cost pressure driven by housing conditions, interest rates, or benefit utilization—InterLink can help.

Contact InterLink today to schedule a relocation policy review and cost-risk assessment, and gain practical recommendations to strengthen financial oversight, modernize your program, and align enterprise mobility strategy with today’s market realities.