Author: Brad Beckett

It’s time for Terminix’s annual list of the top bed bug infested cities.  Once again Philadelphia takes the top spot (2nd year in a row), while New York and Cleveland/Akron both climb higher into the top five.  Interesting, the states that seem to appear the most are Ohio, Texas, Florida, California, and Pennsylvania. “We have seen a consistent increase in bed bug control service performed since the ‘new normal’ post-COVID-19 pandemic…As travel, social gatherings, and public activity resumed, so did the opportunities for bed bugs to spread, prompting a rise in both awareness and demand for professional pest control services.” …

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices U.S. house prices house prices fell 0.2% in May.  Year-over-year, house prices rose 2.8% from May 2024 to May 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.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in June, 2025 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,136.2 billion, down 0.4% from May’s revised number.  In addition, June’s estimate is 2.9% lower than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $883.1 billion in June, which is 0.7% lower than May’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

A story on Realtor.com recently revealed the most popular HGTV shows in every state across America.  Citing data from Deed Street Capital, the results revealed that favorites differed among the states, however, there was one clear winner – Property Brothers.  Indeed… stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Realtor.com.

According to the ADP National Employment Report for July, 2025, private sector employment increased by 104k jobs and annual pay was up 4.4% year-over-year. 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. “Our hiring and pay data are broadly indicative of a healthy economy. Employers have grown more optimistic that consumers, the backbone of the economy, will remain resilient.”  Said ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson. Click here to read the full report at ADP.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for July, 2025.  According to their data, median rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1520 (flat) and $1905 (down 0.3%) for two-bedrooms. Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. “Even with ongoing economic uncertainty, the U.S. rental market continues to demonstrate striking resilience…While the national rent rates are slightly down from last year, that softness is misleading. In the context of a historic wave of new supply, the limited decline in rents is a strong indicator of how powerful renter demand remains.”  Said…

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index has reported a 2.3% annual increase for May, 2025.  Their 10-City Composite and their 20-City Composite both increased 0.4%, year-over-year.  Yardi says the trends are experiencing broad-based fatigue: “Monthly trends also signaled broad-based fatigue. All three headline indices rose just 0.4% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the slowest monthly gain since January. After seasonal adjustment, each declined 0.3%, marking the third consecutive month of seasonally adjusted declines for the National Composite…”  Said Nicholas Godec, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, Head of Fixed Income Tradables & Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. …

CNBC’s Diana Olick says it’s getting harder to sell a home, as rising supply, high mortgage rates and waning consumer confidence conspire to keep potential buyers on the sidelines. She says some frustrated sellers are deciding to de-list their properties and instead offer them on the rental market – which is putting them in direct competition with institutional investors in the markets where they’re most prevalent.  Click on the image below to watch: Click here to read the full story at CNBC.

According to their “advance” estimate, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is reporting that America’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3% in Q2 2024. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales dropped 0.8% in June, 2025 and down 2.8% year over year.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) came in at 72 in June.  The NAR’s explanation offers a mixed bag of variables: “The data shows a continuation of small declines in contract signings despite inventory in the market increasing. Pending sales in the Northeast increased incrementally even though home price growth in the region has been the strongest in the country.”  Said the NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Click here to read…