According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices were up 4.5% from January 2024 to January 2025, after rising 0.2% in January.  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 post FHFA Says Home Prices Up 4.8% Year-Over-Year appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today.

The condo market has been slowing due to surging insurance costs and HOA fees, which have priced many buyers out. It has also become more common for townhouses and single-family homes to sell below list price as buyers gain negotiating power amid rising inventory and high housing costs. Roughly two-thirds (68.4%) of U.S. condos that sold in February sold for less than their original asking price, up from 63.3% a year earlier and the highest February level in five years.  The share of townhouses selling for below their original asking price also hit the highest February level in five years, rising to 59.4% from 54.7% a year earlier—but that’s smaller than the uptick for condos. The share of single-family homes selling for less than list price hit the highest February level in two years, climbing to 64.2% from 61.2% a year earlier—also smaller than the uptick for condos.  Across all …

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in February, 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676k, which is 1.8% higher than January’s revised rate and is 5.1% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in February was $415,500 with an average sales price of $487,100.  There were an estimated 500k new houses for sale at the end of February representing a 8.9-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.   The post New Home Sales Up 1.8% in February appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today.

57% of homes in San Francisco sold above their list price in February, up from 50% a year earlier—the biggest jump among the top 50 metros. Homebuyer competition slowed fastest in Southern California; over half of homes in San Diego sold for below their list price, compared with just 42% a year earlier. Eight of the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas saw an increase in the share of homes selling for above their original list price in February, and half of those metros are in the Bay Area or New York. In San Francisco, 57.2% of homes that sold went for more than their original list price, up 7.5 percentage points from a year earlier. That’s the biggest jump among the top 50 metros. Next came Nassau County, NY (+4.4 ppts), San Jose, CA (+3.5 ppts), Milwaukee (+2.7 ppts), San Antonio (+2.4 ppts), New York (+2.2 ppts), Portland, OR …

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 4.1% annual increase for January, 2025.  Their 10-City Composite increased 5.3% and their 20-City Composite increased 4.7%, year-over-year. “Rising mortgage rates throughout the year elevated monthly payment burdens, which, combined with already high home prices, pushed affordability to multi-decade lows in many regions. This likely contributed to subdued activity in the back half of the year, with both buyers and sellers exercising caution. Inventory constraints also remain a challenge, particularly in legacy metro areas, where limited new construction continues to restrict supply.”   Said Nicholas Godec, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, Head of Fixed Income Tradables & Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones Indices.   The post S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Sees 4.1% Annual Gain in January appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today.

According to ATTOM’s year-end 2024 U.S. Home Flipping Report, 297,885 single-family houses and condominiums were flipped in 2024.  That figure is down 7.7% from 322,782 in 2023 and 32.4% from a recent peak of nearly 441k reached in 2022.  In addition, the report further says that as the number of flipped homes declined, so did flips as a portion of all home sales, from 8.1% in 2023 to 7.6% last year.  However, they point out that profits and profit margins rose slightly in 2024 on typical buy-renovate-and-resell projects….even though margins again remained at one of their low points over the past 10 years “The home-flipping industry saw investors shy away even more in 2024 amid the extended period of languishing profits. But even as activity waned, there was at least a glimmer of hope that returns were starting to turn around…While home flippers still seemed to be having difficulty timing …

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales rose 2% in in February, 2025. The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) came in at 72 in February.  Year-over-year, contract signings dropped in all four U.S. regions, with the Midwest undergoing the greatest reduction.  In addition, the NAR says contract signings are below historic norms; “Despite the modest monthly increase, contract signings remain well below normal historical levels…A meaningful decline in mortgage rates would help both demand and supply – demand by boosting affordability, and supply by lessening the power of the mortgage rate lock-in effect.”  Said the NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Click here to read the full report at the NAR.   The post Pending Home Sales Up 2% in February appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today.

Chartistry says every year, Fortune magazine publishes its much-anticipated Fortune 500 list showing the 500 most profitable companies across the U.S.  Today’s graphic illustrates those companies by listing the largest Fortune 500 company in each state.  Indeed….  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Chartistry.   The post The Biggest Fortune 500 Company in Each State appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today.

Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill top Redfin’s 2025 list of hot neighborhoods, after posting a 105% spike in home sales from a year ago. Five of the 10 hottest neighborhoods are located on the outskirts of Midwestern metros, with buyers seeking affordability and an easy commute. A neighborhood in the heart of San Francisco and a commuter suburb just outside Washington, D.C. also made the top 10. Five of Redfin’s 10 hottest neighborhoods of 2025 are in Midwest suburbs. Pricey coastal cities are also in high demand, with neighborhoods in New York and San Francisco making the list as workers return to the office following the pandemic. This is according to a Redfin analysis ranking U.S. zip codes in the 150 most populous metro areas by year-over-year growth in listing views on Redfin.com and Redfin Compete Score—a measure of how difficult it is to win a home. Please note …

CNBC is reporting that Rocket Companies is acquiring Redfin in an all-stock deal worth $1.75 billion.  The deal is expected to close in 2nd or 3rd quarter of this year.  Comparing the two companies, CNBC says Redfin operates a home search platform with more than 1 million for-sale and rental listings and a tech-powered brokerage of more than 2k agents.  While Rocket, whose flagship business is its mortgage-lending arm, aims to lean on technology and AI to help link prospective buyers with its financing arm and speed up deals once the transaction closes. “Rocket and Redfin have a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes…Together, we will improve the experience by connecting traditionally disparate steps of the search and financing process with leading technology that removes friction, reduces costs and increases value to American homebuyers.”  Said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies. Click here to read …