The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in January, 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657k, which is 10.5% lower than December’s revised rate and is 1.1% lower than one year ago. The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $446,300 with an average sales price of $510k. There were an estimated 495k new houses for sale at the end of January representing a 9-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
What does it take to join the top 1% of income earners in America? That’s the subject of today’s graphic from the Visual Capitalist. They say it all depends on which state you live in…indeed. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.
The Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says aging baby boomers are about to rekindle the senior housing market. They say that while senior housing has been one of the biggest disappointments for commercial real-estate investors, thanks to millions of aging baby boomers, that may be about to change. In fact, they point out that the oldest of the baby boomers turn 80 in less than a year. The sector is expected to move from its former glut to a shortage in the next five years. More than 560,000 new units are needed to meet all the demand by 2030,…
According to the latest CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), U.S. single-family home rental prices continue to experience slower growth, increasing 1.8% in December, 2024. They say this marks the lowest annual growth rate in about four years. In addition, CoreLogic says price growth for high-end rentals was 2.4% year over year in December as this market continues to outpace low-end rentals. “Single-family rent growth averaged 2.6% in 2024, below the 2010-2020 average of 3.5% when rents were growing at a fairly steady rate. Growth was frontloaded and slowed throughout the year…Though increases were moderate, rents continue to increase, with an…
ATTOM Data says in January, 2025 foreclosure rates saw a slight increase from December 2024 but remained lower than the same period last year. Their latest foreclosure report says in January the U.S. housing market experienced a modest increase in foreclosure activity, with 30,816 properties filing for foreclosure – up 8% from December but down 7% year-over-year. Be sure to check out their list of all 50 states. “Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, noted that the rise in foreclosure filings may partially reflect a post-holiday catch-up in processing, making it too early to determine whether this signals a shift in…
Rentcafe says office-to-apartment conversions are surging in popularity and predict that 2025 will reach a record-breaking milestone of almost 71k units in the pipeline. In addition they this trend reflects a shift toward sustainable, community-focused urban spaces that cater to the evolving lifestyles and priorities of modern American cities. Indeed… “While the volume of office-to-apartments conversions is growing, indicating increased interest in this type of retrofitting, the carryover of pending projects from one year to another is quite large. This suggests that other factors like conversion feasibility, construction costs, and local incentives come into play.” Some key points: The number…
The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 4.9% in January to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million – up 2% year over year. Total housing inventory at the end of January was 1.18 million units, up 3.5% from December and up 16.8% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.5-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 41 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $396,900. “Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of…
The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in January, 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,366,000, which is 9.8% lower than December’s revised number and is 0.7% lower than one year ago. January’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 355k. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,483,000, which is 0.1% higher than December’s revised number and is 1.7% lower than one year ago. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 427k…
The National Association of Realtors says nearly 90% of metros experienced home price increases in Q4 2024, as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate ranged from 6.12% to 6.85%. In addition 14% of the 226 tracked metro areas posted double-digit price gains over the same period, up from 7% in the third quarter. Indeed….Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “Record-high home prices and the accompanying housing wealth gains are definitely good news for property owners…However, renters who are looking to transition into homeownership face significant hurdles.” Said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Hat tip to the Realtors!
Is it better to buy or rent? That’s an age-old question that really depends on a lot of variables – especially an individual’s station in life. According to their 2025 Rental Affordability Report, ATTOM says both owning & renting remain difficult for average U.S. workers, commonly consuming 25-60% their wages. However, they point out that major ownership expenses on typical single-family homes require a smaller portion of average wages than renting three-bedroom residences in close to 60% of the 341 county-level markets with enough data to analyze. Indeed… Buying or renting a home in the U.S. these days can be like…
