It’s headwinds galore for the US housing market.

“Every time we’re talking about affordability, we’re talking about the housing shortage. And then a year later, we’re talking about it again, except the stats have gotten worse,” Drew and Jonathan Scott said on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid (video above).

At the government level, “we need to figure out financing programs that incentivize people to build affordable housing,” they added. “Then, at the everyday level, people need to understand affordable housing is good for the city. We need it. But the NIMBYs are the ones who block a lot of it … They don’t understand that low-income [housing] does not mean that it’s drugs and crime and things. It’s nurses and teachers and police officers.”

Jonathan and his twin brother, Drew, are the dynamic duo from HGTV’s “Property Brothers,” a show where they help families find and renovate homes. The brothers Scott have also branched out with the Healthy Home Innovation Fund, which invests in tech companies that innovate in the residential sector.

More recently, they debuted a new HGTV show called “Under Pressure.” The premise is to assist would-be homebuyers in the purchase process and then help them add smart upgrades to the property.

Read more: What is the 30% rule for home renovations?

The US housing market could currently be defined as “two-speed,” where stabilizing mortgage rates are clashing with new geopolitical volatility.

The Trump administration’s $200 billion liquidity injection — in the form of mortgage bond purchases — briefly pushed 30-year fixed rates below 6% in February. But the war in Iran has reversed that momentum.

Mortgage rates have risen back up to 6.11% as of March 12 due to soaring oil prices and inflation fears.

Affordability remains the primary hurdle to buying a house. The typical household now spends nearly 47% of its annual income on recurring bills, with housing costs acting as the biggest anchor.

Inventory levels have risen modestly by 4.9% year over year, yet supply remains stuck at a 3.8-month level — well below the six months experts consider “balanced.” This scarcity continues to prop up prices in resilient markets like the Midwest and Northeast.

“The consumer is strained as confidence slides,” RenMac economist Neil Dutta said in a note on the challenges facing the housing market.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.