7 U.S. Cities Where Homes Still Cost Under 300K

In partnership with

New here? Join the newsletter (it's free).

Big Apartment Markets with the Most Concessions in August link

• Nationwide, 14% of apartments offered concessions in August 2025, with discounts averaging 9.7%.

• Austin had the steepest cuts, with 30.5% of units offering concessions averaging 12.9% off rent, the highest in the country.

• Four of the top 10 concession-heavy markets were in Texas, with San Antonio (29.9%), Fort Worth (22%), and Dallas (23%) all under pressure from high supply.

HUD Lending Surges, Healthcare Loans More Than Double link

• HUD lending hit $10.42 billion in the first nine months of FY2025, up from $6.97 billion in the same 2024 period, with Q3 alone adding $3.59 billion. Multifamily loans rose 26% year-over-year to $6.4 billion.

• Healthcare lending skyrocketed to $4.1 billion from $1.9 billion in 2024, tied to seniors housing occupancy gains, now 88.1%, the highest in years. Independent-living rents jumped 4.25% to $4,402 per month.

• New senior housing construction is at historic lows, with under 22,000 units underway and just 809 delivered in Q2, the weakest pipeline since 2005, fueling rent growth and investment momentum.

Warehouse demand craters, first quarterly drop in 15 years link

• Net absorption fell by 11.3 million square feet in Q2 2025, the first quarterly decline since 2010, leaving just 27 million square feet absorbed in the first half of the year.

• Industrial vacancy hit 9.1% in July, up 270 basis points from a year earlier, while rents still managed a 6.1% year-over-year increase.

• Sales volume reached $74.3 billion in 2024, down from the $129.8 billion peak in 2021, and average property prices are up only 6% from 2022 after surging 54% between 2019 and 2022.

7 U.S. Cities Where Homes Still Cost Under $300K link

• The national median list price in August was $429,990, but metros like Rochester, Canton, Rockford, Akron, Toledo, Erie, and Springfield all remain below $300,000.

• Rockford, IL (+16.3%), Janesville-Beloit, WI (+13.8%), and Toledo, OH (+11.4%) saw double-digit annual price growth, showing affordability doesn’t mean slow appreciation.

• Mortgage rates dropped to 6.35% for a 30-year fixed, the largest weekly decline in a year, while national supply hit five months, creating a more balanced market with both buyer and seller leverage.

Homeownership costs jump 26% in 5 years link

• The median monthly cost for homeowners with a mortgage hit $2,035 in 2024, up 26% from 2019 and 7% from the prior year, driven not just by rates but rising insurance and HOA fees.

• Homeowners without a mortgage also face pressure: their monthly costs climbed to $664, a 31% increase since 2019, largely from taxes, insurance, and maintenance.

• Nearly 25% of homeowners now pay HOA or condo fees, with a U.S. median of $135, but some areas are extreme, New York averages $739, while half of Nevada owners face dues.

Elite Research Gives Northern California Life Sciences Competitive Advantage link

• Vacancy ticked up from 28% to 29% and average asking rents slipped by $0.10 ($71.97 → $71.81). National life sciences funding fell 21% YoY with one-third fewer deals, which could slow expansions.

• The Bay Area led 12 tracked markets with 667,000 sq. ft. of Q2 leasing while just 540,000 sq. ft. is under construction, about half of other top markets and ~1/6 of Boston’s >3M sq. ft. That low pipeline points to faster absorption and a move toward balance.

• Notable deals signal selective demand: Guardant Health leased 162,700 sq. ft. at Seaport Centre and Dren Bio took 99,577 sq. ft. at 835 Industrial Rd. King Street’s The Landing (Burlingame) delivered phase one, with phase two due later this year.

Tool of the day - Trip Suite

An AI-powered platform designed to modernize travel agency operations by integrating CRM, commission tracking, accounting, and analytics into a single, cloud-based system.

AI and Smart Tech Take Center Stage at Multifamily’s Smart Spaces Summit link

At Parks Associates’ Dallas event, industry leaders spotlight AI, IoT, and energy management as must-have amenities, 83% of renters paying tech fees say they’re worth it, underscoring demand for smarter, revenue-boosting properties.

AI Breaks Down Silos in Real Estate Investing link

Institutional Real Estate reports AI is streamlining complex, siloed investment workflows, speeding research, document analysis, and data-driven decisions across regions, asset types, and strategies.

Griffin Funding Rolls Out AI Platform for Non-QM Underwriting link

The new “LIA” system digests hundreds of pages of guidelines and delivers instant qualification answers, helping loan officers tackle complex non-QM deals faster and with greater accuracy.

Smart tech that makes real estate branding easy link

From Canva’s AI design tools to instant headshots and automated print campaigns, new platforms are helping agents polish their brand, stay consistent, and save hours on marketing.

Surprising Shift Locking Families in Place

The new land financing playbook

CRE at a Crossroads

Housing’s Weirdest Trend Yet Is Taking Off

The Housing Shortage Paradox No One Saw Coming

Proptech Startups That Just Got Funded

Where Are the Poor in America? States Ranked by Poverty

An indoor pool at $265k?

Link to the listing

That's all folks. If these emails aren't for you anymore, you can unsubscribe here.

Cheers,

Vidit

Instagram

P.S - Read past newsletters here