Author: Brad Beckett

Back in October we saw where 33% of Americans have more credit card debt than savings.  A recent report from WalletHub says that, as of Q3 2025, Americans are carrying over $1.3 trillion in credit card debt – which they say is a staggering figure that continues to climb.  In fact, the average U.S. household now owes more than $11,000 in credit card debt, marking a 0.5% decrease from the previous year.  Interestingly, they say credit card debt isn’t impacting everyone equally. “In the cities with the least sustainable credit card debt, residents tend to have low median incomes, which…

On a recent episode of the Planet Wealth podcast, Mary Katherine Johnson, CXO (chief experience officer), of Planet Wealth, sits down with NREIA’s Rebecca McLean to unpack how the JOBS Act and Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) opened a new lane for everyday investors and community focused entrepreneurs to fund real estate; legally, transparently, and at scale. Mary says this episode is a practical roadmap for raising community-first capital and doing deals that actually move neighborhoods forward. “Rebecca traces National REIA’s 40-year mission to promote, protect, and educate the industry, including advocacy that helped unlock today’s crowdfunding rules. They dig into…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices rose 0.4% in October, 2025.  In addition, prices were up 1.7% from October 2024 to October 2025.  The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. Click here to read the full report at the FHFA.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in December, 2025 and has shown little net change since April.  December’s unemployment rate came in at 4.4%.  In addition, the report says employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, and social assistance while retail trade lost jobs. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in October, 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000, which is 4.6% lower than September’s revised number and is 7.8% lower than one year ago.  October’s rate for buildings with five units or more was 481k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,412,000, which is 0.2% below than September’s revised number and is 1.1% lower than one year ago.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 481k in October.…

According to the ADP National Employment Report for December, 2025, private sector employment decreased by 41k jobs and pay was up 4.4% year-over-year.  ADP says December brought a rebound in hiring, led by education and health services, and leisure and hospitality.  The ADP National Employment Report is an independent and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on the aggregated and anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. “Small establishments recovered from November job losses with positive end-of-year hiring, even as large employers pulled back.”  Said ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson. Click here to read…

Now that the new year is here it’s time to see what it takes (took?) in income to in the top 1% in every state.  Citing data from SmartAsset, the Visual Capitalist looks at the amount of income you need to earn in each state to join this prestigious club.  Happy New Year, and stay safe & have a Happy Friday!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

The NY Post is reporting that a recent HUD audit found more than $5 billion in taxpayer funds went to “questionable” rental assistance recipients during the final year of the Biden administration – including around 30k deceased tenants and 1000’s of potential non-citizens.   The Post says HUD will now reach out to public housing authorities and other entities to confirm the extent of the fraud and either pause or revoke funding.  In addition, criminal referrals could be made if warranted. HUD’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer uncovered $5.8 billion of the “questionable” payments out of nearly $50 billion in…

The U.S. Census Bureau says sports betting tax revenues have skyrocketed in recent years as more states got in on the action. Their recent analysis shows that from Q3 2021 (when data collection started) until Q2 2025, the national total of state sales tax revenue from sports betting soared 382%.  They say this revenue (extracted from the gambling industry) helped fund schools, roads, highways, law enforcement and interestingly, gambling addiction treatment. Sports betting became possible in May 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Since then, a majority of states have legalized…

We love these migration reports….they reveal a lot of interesting data about where people are going to and coming from.  Today we’re looking at  Atlas Van Lines’ 2025 Migration Patterns Study. In 2025, Atlas’ interstate moves held steady compared to years past, aligning with recent U.S. Census data. Despite this, overall mobility remains low today, primarily due to affordability constraints such as the high cost of homeownership and limited inventory. The continued volume of interstate moves, even as the median age of first-time homebuyers climbs and home sales slow, highlights the industry’s role as a consistent facilitator of necessary life…