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Epoch Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
S&P Home Price Index Rises 3.4 Percent in March Amid Tight Affordability
A key housing indicator rose by 3.4 percent year over year in March, a 'slight decrease' from the 4 percent annual gain in February, S&P Global said in a May 27 On a month-over-month basis, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index registered a 0.8 percent increase in March before seasonal adjustments. The index 'Home price growth continued to decelerate on an annual basis in March, even as the market experienced its strongest monthly gains so far in 2025,' said Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradables & commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. The housing market is shifting from 'mere resilience to a broader seasonal recovery,' he said. 'Limited supply and steady demand drove prices higher across most metropolitan areas, despite affordability challenges remaining firmly in place,' he said. Among the 20 metros tracked, New York City registered the highest annual gain in March, with prices up by 8 percent. Chicago and Cleveland were the next highest. Related Stories 5/21/2025 5/21/2025 Tampa was the only metro to register a year-over-year drop, with prices dipping by 2.16 percent. The second worst-performing metro was Dallas, which saw a marginal 0.19 percent annual gain. According to Godec, while housing affordability continues to remain 'severely constrained,' affordability did not worsen during the early part of this year because borrowing costs stabilized. 'Mortgage rates hovered in the mid-6 percent range throughout March, keeping monthly payment burdens near multi-decade highs relative to incomes,' he said. 'This continued to weigh on buyer demand.' However, he said, 'persistent supply shortages helped counteract the headwinds. Many existing homeowners remained reluctant to sell and give up low pandemic-era mortgage rates, and new construction activity stayed limited—a combination that kept inventory levels extremely tight.' In a May 27 However, sales lagged during the month, resulting in the share of listings offering price cuts hitting the highest March level in six years. This trend continued in April, with 25 percent of homes listed on Zillow receiving a price cut, the post said. Buyers 'now have more homes to choose from. There are 1.2 million homes for sale in April—the most since August 2020,' Zillow said. 'A price correction is expected to result in a modest recovery in sales over the coming year.' Possible Trend Toward Affordability Housing affordability could improve this year as home prices and mortgage rates potentially decline. Redfin is predicting a 1 percent dip in prices by the end of 2025, citing higher inventory and fewer people interested in buying properties, the brokerage said in a May 22 'It's a buyer's market. That means homebuyers in many parts of the country are able to successfully negotiate prices down, especially for fixer-uppers and/or homes that aren't located in desirable neighborhoods,' it said. 'The longer the market is slow, the more sellers will come to terms with the fact that they can't sell their homes for what they could have at the height of the market.' Together with the 1 percent expected dip in home prices, wages are projected to keep rising at the current rate of roughly 4 percent, contributing to improving affordability. As for mortgage rates, the average weekly 'Mortgage rates inched up this week but continue to remain lower than one year ago,' Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, 'With more inventory for buyers to choose from than the last few years, purchase application activity continues to hold up.' Moving forward, rates are expected to drop to 6.1 percent by the end of this year, Fannie Mae said in a May 21 With lower home prices and mortgage rates predicted by year-end, many buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines could re-enter the housing market.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Peter Thiel warns of ‘catastrophe' in US real estate — but sees ‘windfall' for 1 class of boomers.
Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. As a co-founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, Peter Thiel is widely recognized for his expertise in the tech world. But lately, the billionaire venture capitalist has been sounding the alarm on an entirely different sector: real estate. During an interview with The Free Press, Thiel drew upon the insights of 19th-century economist Henry George to underscore the gravity of America's real estate crisis. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has an important message for the next wave of American retirees — here's how he says you can best weather the US retirement crisis Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) 'The basic Georgist obsession was real estate, and it was if you weren't really careful, you would get runaway real estate prices, and the people who owned the real estate would make all the gains in a society,' Thiel said. The core of the issue, Thiel explained, lies in the 'extremely inelastic' nature of real estate, especially in regions with strict zoning laws. 'The dynamic ends up being that you add 10% to the population in a city, and maybe the house prices go up 50%, and maybe people's salaries go up, but they don't go up by 50%,' he said. 'So the GDP grows, but it's a giant windfall to the boomer homeowners and to the landlords, and it's a massive hit to the lower middle class and to young people who can never get on the housing ladder.' Thiel warned that this 'Georgist real estate catastrophe' is playing out across many 'Anglosphere countries,' including the U.S., Britain and Canada. The surge in U.S. home prices has been nothing short of alarming. Over the past five years, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index has climbed by over 50%. More recently, the leading measure of U.S. home prices reported a 3.9% annual return for December 2024. This sharp rise in home prices creates significant challenges for prospective buyers, but renters aren't immune to the impact either. It's all part of the broader cost-of-living crisis gripping many Americans. Thiel broke it down, stating, 'There's a way you could talk about inflation in terms of the prices of eggs or groceries, but that's not that big a cost item, even for lower middle class people. The really big cost item is the rent.' At its core, Thiel argued, the issue boils down to supply and demand. 'If you just add more people to the mix, and you're not allowed to build new houses because of zoning laws, where it's too expensive, where it's too regulated and restricted, then the prices go up a lot,' he said. 'And it's this incredible wealth transfer from the young and the lower middle class to the upper middle class and the landlords and the old.' Thiel isn't the only one raising the alarm. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has highlighted similar concerns. 'The real issue with housing is that we have had, and are on track to continue to have, not enough housing… It's hard to find — to zone lots that are in places where people want to live… Where are we going to get the supply?' Powell said at a press conference in September. The gap in the housing market is significant. A recent report by estimated the U.S. housing shortage to be 3.8 million homes as of 2024. Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense — and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now Beyond soaring home prices, elevated mortgage rates are another major obstacle preventing many Americans from 'getting on the housing ladder,' as Thiel described. The good news? The U.S. Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates, providing opportunities for potential buyers. Freddie Mac recommends shopping around by obtaining quotes from three to five lenders to secure the best mortgage rate possible. New investing platforms are also making it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market. For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $36 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors. With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property. With risk-adjusted internal returns ranging from 12% to 18%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets. If you're not an accredited investor, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allows you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100. Arrived offers you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals, curated and vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part. Another option is First National Realty Partners (FNRP), which targets necessity-based commercial real estate. With a minimum investment of $50,000, investors can own a share of properties leased by national brands like Whole Foods, Kroger and Walmart, which provide essential goods to their communities. Thanks to Triple Net (NNN) leases, accredited investors are able to invest in these properties without worrying about tenant costs cutting into their potential returns. Simply answer a few questions – including how much you would like to invest – to start browsing their full list of available properties. Access to this $22.5 trillion asset class has traditionally been limited to elite investors — until now. Here's how to become the landlord of Walmart or Whole Foods without lifting a finger Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Are you rich enough to join the top 1%? Here's the net worth you need to rank among America's wealthiest — plus a few strategies to build that first-class portfolio This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Peter Thiel warns of ‘catastrophe' in US real estate — but sees ‘windfall' for 1 class of boomers.
Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. As a co-founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, Peter Thiel is widely recognized for his expertise in the tech world. But lately, the billionaire venture capitalist has been sounding the alarm on an entirely different sector: real estate. During an interview with The Free Press, Thiel drew upon the insights of 19th-century economist Henry George to underscore the gravity of America's real estate crisis. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has an important message for the next wave of American retirees — here's how he says you can best weather the US retirement crisis Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) 'The basic Georgist obsession was real estate, and it was if you weren't really careful, you would get runaway real estate prices, and the people who owned the real estate would make all the gains in a society,' Thiel said. The core of the issue, Thiel explained, lies in the 'extremely inelastic' nature of real estate, especially in regions with strict zoning laws. 'The dynamic ends up being that you add 10% to the population in a city, and maybe the house prices go up 50%, and maybe people's salaries go up, but they don't go up by 50%,' he said. 'So the GDP grows, but it's a giant windfall to the boomer homeowners and to the landlords, and it's a massive hit to the lower middle class and to young people who can never get on the housing ladder.' Thiel warned that this 'Georgist real estate catastrophe' is playing out across many 'Anglosphere countries,' including the U.S., Britain and Canada. The surge in U.S. home prices has been nothing short of alarming. Over the past five years, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index has climbed by over 50%. More recently, the leading measure of U.S. home prices reported a 3.9% annual return for December 2024. This sharp rise in home prices creates significant challenges for prospective buyers, but renters aren't immune to the impact either. It's all part of the broader cost-of-living crisis gripping many Americans. Thiel broke it down, stating, 'There's a way you could talk about inflation in terms of the prices of eggs or groceries, but that's not that big a cost item, even for lower middle class people. The really big cost item is the rent.' At its core, Thiel argued, the issue boils down to supply and demand. 'If you just add more people to the mix, and you're not allowed to build new houses because of zoning laws, where it's too expensive, where it's too regulated and restricted, then the prices go up a lot,' he said. 'And it's this incredible wealth transfer from the young and the lower middle class to the upper middle class and the landlords and the old.' Thiel isn't the only one raising the alarm. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has highlighted similar concerns. 'The real issue with housing is that we have had, and are on track to continue to have, not enough housing… It's hard to find — to zone lots that are in places where people want to live… Where are we going to get the supply?' Powell said at a press conference in September. The gap in the housing market is significant. A recent report by estimated the U.S. housing shortage to be 3.8 million homes as of 2024. Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense — and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now Beyond soaring home prices, elevated mortgage rates are another major obstacle preventing many Americans from 'getting on the housing ladder,' as Thiel described. The good news? The U.S. Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates, providing opportunities for potential buyers. Freddie Mac recommends shopping around by obtaining quotes from three to five lenders to secure the best mortgage rate possible. New investing platforms are also making it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market. For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $36 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors. With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property. With risk-adjusted internal returns ranging from 12% to 18%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets. If you're not an accredited investor, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allows you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100. Arrived offers you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals, curated and vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part. Another option is First National Realty Partners (FNRP), which targets necessity-based commercial real estate. With a minimum investment of $50,000, investors can own a share of properties leased by national brands like Whole Foods, Kroger and Walmart, which provide essential goods to their communities. Thanks to Triple Net (NNN) leases, accredited investors are able to invest in these properties without worrying about tenant costs cutting into their potential returns. Simply answer a few questions – including how much you would like to invest – to start browsing their full list of available properties. Access to this $22.5 trillion asset class has traditionally been limited to elite investors — until now. Here's how to become the landlord of Walmart or Whole Foods without lifting a finger Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Are you rich enough to join the top 1%? Here's the net worth you need to rank among America's wealthiest — plus a few strategies to build that first-class portfolio This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Newsweek
30-04-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Housing Market Shows Positive Sign For Summer 2025 Buyers
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. While home prices are still rising across the U.S., the pace of their growth has slowed down significantly compared to the previous couple of years, suggesting that the U.S. housing market is finally turning in favor of buyers. In March, according to Redfin data, home prices inched up by only 0.2 percent month-over-month—the slowest pace since December 2022. Recent data by S&P Dow Jones for the first two months of the year confirmed this trend, showing a slowdown in home price growth. Why It Matters The cost of housing in the U.S. had skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when relatively low mortgage rates led to an explosion in demand at a time when the country was struggling with a historic shortage of inventory. However, climbing home prices and the sudden rise of mortgage rates in 2022, which followed the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate-hiking campaign to combat inflation, have since squeezed many aspiring buyers to the sidelines of the market. While inventory is now growing, sales are dwindling as many can't afford to buy a home or decide to wait for a better time, with less uncertainty around the future of the U.S. economy. While buyers are still feeling the squeeze of higher housing costs, the addition of new inventory to the market is giving them more negotiating power, and sellers are increasingly being forced to slash their initial asking price to get their properties under contract. What To Know Home prices in the U.S. rose 3.9 percent in February compared to a year earlier, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, released on Tuesday. It was down from the annual gain of 4.1 percent in January. "The 10- and 20-city indices also posted gains of 5.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, slowing from 5.4 percent and 4.7 percent the previous month," Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones said in a statement shared with Newsweek. An aerial view of houses undergoing construction in a neighborhood on April 17, 2025, in Austin, Texas. An aerial view of houses undergoing construction in a neighborhood on April 17, 2025, in Austin, month's S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index release covers home sales in December, January and February, a period in which buyers enjoyed growing inventory and easing mortgage rates. "After peaking at 7.04 percent in January, mortgage rates eased to 6.76 percent by the end of February," Jones said. "This period of rate relief was not quite enough to spur many sidelined buyers into action. Sale prices continued to climb, however, as higher-priced homes sold to less rate-sensitive buyers." The dynamics at work in the U.S. housing market vary significantly by region. "The affordable Midwest and the less affordable Northeast housing markets continue to thrive as the well-supplied South and West regions show signs of cooling," Jones explained. "New York City led with a 7.7 percent annual gain in February, the biggest among the 20 cities, followed by Chicago (+7.0 percent) and Cleveland (+6.6 percent). Tampa saw prices fall in February with a 1.5 percent decline, the lowest return of the cities," she explained. Redfin data for March confirm that home prices are now growing at a much slower rate than before. Home prices last month rose by 4.6 percent year-over-year, down from 5.1 percent the month before. It was the 11th consecutive month that annual growth had slowed. While sales were also down year-over-year by 2.9 percent, for a total of 401,894 homes sold in March, 19.2 percent were sold with price drops, up 4.5 percent compared to a year earlier. That suggests that buyers are slowly gaining the upper hand over sellers. What People Are Saying Nicholas Godec, Head of Fixed Income Tradables & Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement: "Even with mortgage rates remaining in the mid-6 percent range and affordability challenges lingering, home prices have shown notable resilience. Buyer demand has certainly cooled compared to the frenzied pace of prior years, but limited housing supply continues to underpin prices in most markets." Jones said in a statement shared with Newsweek: "The spring selling season is here, and inventory is well above year-ago levels, offering buyers plenty of options in many areas." She added: "However, high housing costs and widespread economic uncertainty have curbed buyer enthusiasm. Recent data shows that concerns about job security have increased, which could make both buyers and sellers more hesitant to enter the housing market until the outlook for the economy and job market becomes clearer." What Happens Next As the spring selling season, the busiest time of the year for the housing market, gives way to summer, aspiring homebuyers in the U.S. can expect to have more options to choose from and greater negotiating power with sellers. However, uncertainty over the direction taken by the U.S. economy, which risks sliding into a recession should the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs be particularly disastrous, is making buyers more cautious about buying real estate now. A recent survey by Redfin found that 24 percent of Americans are scrapping plans to make a major purchase, like buying a home, due to concerns over the impact of tariffs.
