Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in March, 2026 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 682k, which is 7.4% higher than February’s revised rate and is 3.3% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $387,400 with an average sales price of $503,100.  There were an estimated 481k new houses for sale at the end of March representing an 8.5 month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The latest S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index has reported a 0.7% annual increase for February, 2026.  Their 10-City Composite posted 1.5% increase year-over-year and their 20-City Composite posted a 0.9% year-over-year increase.  They say for the ninth consecutive month, inflation outpaced national home price appreciation, with CPI running 1.7 percentage points above the 0.7% annual gain – extending the streak of negative real home price returns. “More than half of major U.S. metropolitan markets posted year-over-year price declines in February, signaling that the housing slowdown has broadened well beyond its Sun Belt origins”  Said Nicholas Godec,…

Citing data from Zillow and WalletHub, a recent graphic from the Visual Capitalist illustrates average monthly rent prices in 100 U.S. cities as of February, 2026.  They illustrate how rents across these cities range from over $3,500 in the most expensive markets to around $1,200 in more affordable regions.  Interestingly, they point out that while the average rent is $1,843, renters in the most expensive cities are paying more than double that rate.  Be sure to visit the site to see the entire list.   Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

We have had several posts about marijuana laws around the nation.  A recent report from the Tax Foundation says recreational marijuana taxation is a hot policy issue and, along those lines, that many states tax & regulate it.  In addition, last year President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Attorney General to expedite reclassification of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances.  The map below shows those states that have nullified the federal prohibition to establish a legal recreational cannabis market subject to an excise tax. “Nearly half of US states…

A recent report from Airbnb says the economic impact of their platform across the U.S. was $93 billion – the highest level on record.  In addition they say visitor spending helped support more than 1.1 million jobs.  Airbnb says this impact underscores the economic opportunity & impact for local residents, small businesses, and governments.  Indeed… Click here to read the full post at AIrbnb.

On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron and Scot Aubrey explore what happens when you experience the rental process from the tenant’s perspective—and the results may surprise you.  David shares a real story about helping one of his employees find a safer home after a frightening situation in her neighborhood. What followed was a series of frustrating rental experiences: being ghosted by landlords, questionable application fees, and even potential Fair Housing violations. “With personal data widely available online and scammers becoming more sophisticated, both landlords and renters must take extra steps to verify who they’re dealing…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for April, 2026.  According to their data, median rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1508 (up 0.4%) and $1895 (up 0.8%) for two-bedrooms.  Be sure to check out their list of the 100 top metros.  Zumper says annual rent changes remain negative for the tenth straight month, but declines have nearly disappeared, but they’re seeing a distinct divergence: “Underneath the national averages, the rental market is splitting in two…Expensive coastal cities are seeing rents spike as supply remains constrained, while markets in the Sun Belt and Mountain States are…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in March, 2026 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,502,000, which is 10.8% higher than February’s revised number and is also 10.8% higher than one year ago.  March’s rate for buildings with five units or more was 446k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,371,000, which is 10.8% below than February’s revised number and is 7.4% lower than one year ago.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 427k in…

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac will adopt new mortgage credit score models, including VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T. The update aims to lower borrowing costs and expand access to homeownership, especially for overlooked borrowers. The move advances the Credit Score Competition Act of 2018, increasing competition, flexibility, and modernizing mortgage underwriting. ““By embracing additional predictive credit scoring models, we are taking a meaningful step toward expanding access to homeownership – particularly for creditworthy borrowers who may have been overlooked under older systems…This exciting announcement is…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices rose 0.2% in February, 2026 and  were up 1.7% year-over-year.  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.