The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales increased 3.2% in May, 2026 to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million. Total housing inventory at the end of May was 1.55 million units, up 3.3% from April and up 0.6% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 4.5-month supply at the current sales rate. The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $429,300 – the 35th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. “More Americans are on the move, with home sales rising to the highest level since December. This is great news…
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
Chartistry says car damage can occur for several reasons, and we’re all vulnerable to it at any time or place. Weather events are a huge factor in vehicle wear and tear. Things such as Hail can be a death sentence for your car, as well as intense UV radiation and heat – which can gradually destroy your car’s interior and paint job…and let’s not even get started in road salt during the winter months. OK…stay/drive safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “This map can help drivers determine what factors are most likely to damage their car based on where they…
We’ve had a lot of post about the problem with squatters. Now comes a recent report from FOX News about a Brooklyn landlord named Thomas Diana who says he has spent nearly a decade trying to remove a tenant from one of his apartments, accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent and legal expenses while the case remains tied up in court. Mr. Diana, who owns an eight-unit building, said the dispute began after a woman moved into an apartment in 2014 as a live-in companion for an elderly, disabled tenant. She had responded to a Craigslist advertisement…
The Tax Foundation says new Internal Revenue Service data for tax year 2023 shows the US federal income tax system continues to be progressive, as high-income taxpayers pay the highest average income tax rates. Some key points: In 2023, taxpayers filed 153.1 million tax returns They reported earning nearly $15.2 trillion in adjusted gross income (AGI), and paid $2.1 trillion in individual income taxes. The average income tax rate in 2023 was 14.1%. The top 1% of taxpayers paid a 26.3% average rate, seven times higher than the 3.7 percent average rate paid by the bottom half of taxpayers. The…
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is reporting that personal income decreased less than $0.1 billion (less than 0.1% at a monthly rate) in April. Disposable personal income (DPI – personal income less personal current taxes) decreased $19.9 billion (0.1%), and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $111.1 billion (0.5%). Personal saving was $611.7 billion in March, and the personal saving rate (personal saving as a percentage of DPI) was 2.6%. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
According to the ADP National Employment Report for May, 2026, private sector employment increased by 122k jobs and pay was up 4.4% year-over-year. ADP says eight out of 10 supersectors showed gains last month, and employers of all sizes were hiring. 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 26 million U.S. employees. “Hiring was more broad-based in May than we’ve seen in the last few years. The labor market continues to show sustained momentum going into the summer hiring season.” Said…
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices rose 0.1% in March, 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.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172k jobs in May, 2026. May’s unemployment rate came in at 4.3% – about the same as the last few months. The BLS said Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care. Employment in financial activities and the federal government continued to decline. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in April, 2026 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,172.4 billion, up 0.4% from March’s revised number. In addition, April’s estimate is 0.9% higher than one year ago. Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $909.9 billion in April, which is 0.8% higher than March’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.
Statista says U.S. home prices have dipped slightly since peaking in late 2022 but remain far above pre-pandemic levels. After years of stability following the 2008 housing crash, prices surged between 2020 and 2022. Today’s graphic illustrates median house price and days on the market over the last 10 years. As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.
