What happened
Many housing-related stocks rose on Wednesday on optimism that inflationary pressures could be easing. By the close of trading, shares of Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) and Redfin (RDFN -6.55%) were up 9.4% and 5%, respectively.
So what
The consumer price index (CPI), which measures the prices people pay for various goods and services, rose by 8.5% year over year in July. That was down from its 9.1% year-over-year surge in June.
The news was celebrated by investors, who took the report as a sign that inflation was slowing. If that proves to be true, the Federal Reserve's planned interest rate hikes could become unnecessary. That, in turn, could lead to a decline in mortgage rates, which would improve affordability levels for homebuyers and likely boost demand for real estate services.
Now what
In addition to this positive economic news, Opendoor and Redfin have both reported some bullish company-specific developments in recent days.
On Thursday, Opendoor announced a partnership with former iBuying rival Zillow (Z -1.82%) (ZG -1.92%). After shuddering its own home buying and selling business, Zillow will give home sellers on its platform the option to request a purchase offer from Opendoor for their properties. The collaboration should help to fuel Opendoor's expansion and strengthen its position atop the iBuying industry.
That same day, Redfin reported impressive market-share gains and solid growth in several of its business lines. Redfin's share of U.S. existing home sales by units rose to 0.82% in the second quarter, up from 0.77% in the prior-year period. Better still, its mortgage originations jumped more than fivefold.
