Mapped: Most affordable U.S. cities to buy a home in 2025

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What's in the 'big, beautiful' Trump tax bill for lenders? link

• The bill keeps key real estate tax perks from the 2017 TCJA, like mortgage interest deductions and the $500,000 capital gains exclusion on home sales. It also maintains Section 1031 exchanges and boosts the business interest deductibility for commercial investors.

• A permanent expansion of the Qualified Business Income deduction from 20% to 23% under Section 199A helps small businesses, including real estate partnerships and S Corps. Title and settlement firms, backed by ALTA, view this as a long-term boost to community stability.

• The SALT deduction cap was raised from $10,000 to $40,000, benefiting homeowners in high-tax states like New York and California. The bill also increases the estate tax exemption to $15 million and slightly raises the child tax credit and standard deduction.

The rise of signature restaurants in luxury hotels link

• Luxury hotels partnering with celebrity chefs are seeing higher room rates and stronger brand prestige. This model also helps properties qualify for travel programs like the Michelin Guide and Forbes Travel Guide.

• New high-profile projects include José Andrés' first hotel in Washington, DC and Richard Blais revamping food and drink at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale with six new restaurant concepts. These collaborations turn restaurants into key hotel attractions and guest magnets.

• Deal structures vary—leases, management, operating, and licensing agreements—each with different levels of risk and control. Hotels often subsidize breakfast or redesign room service to maintain chef-level quality.

Extreme weather and high insurance costs posing more and more foreclosure risk link

• Flooding is now the top driver of post-disaster foreclosures, especially in areas outside FEMA’s flood zones where insurance isn't required. These zones are seeing more damage without the financial protection usually tied to high-risk regions.

• Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath shows how disasters can crash home prices—affected homes lost 14% in value annually before the storm, triggering $68 million in hidden credit losses. That translates to $34 million in bank losses under a 50% loss assumption.

• Climate-linked credit losses could hit $1.2 billion this year and may climb to $5.4 billion by 2035. Rising insurance costs and more frequent flooding are pushing foreclosures up and straining mortgage stability.

Real estate is voted the best long-term investment 12 years in a row link

• Real estate topped Gallup’s poll again, making it the #1 long-term investment choice for the 12th year in a row. It beat out stocks, gold, savings accounts, and bonds for public trust.

• Even with slowing price growth and economic uncertainty, homeownership is still viewed as a strong wealth-building tool. This shows that long-term confidence in housing remains high despite market ups and downs.

• Many people are still looking to buy despite affordability concerns. Talking to a local agent about loan or assistance programs could be key to getting in.

What’s really happening in Florida’s housing market? link

• Inventory of single-family homes in Florida has surged by 363% since March 2022, rising from 22,000 to 102,000 homes. Major metros like Orlando, Tampa, and Miami have seen new listings jump by over 35% year over year.

• Sales are dropping across the board despite the increased supply, with Tampa down 12.5%, Orlando 9.5%, and Miami 4.3% in annual single-family home sales. High mortgage rates and economic uncertainty are the main reasons buyers are holding back.

• Home prices are falling in several Florida metros: Tampa is down 4.5%, Jacksonville 2.8%, and Miami 2.3% year over year. Only Orlando shows slight annual growth at 0.7%, after starting the year at 4.3%.

Texas, Florida housing markets have the most inventory per capita link

• San Jose has the least inventory per capita with 3,389 people per home listing, followed by Boston at 2,199 and San Francisco at 2,005. These tight inventory levels make affordability worse in already expensive markets.

• Texas metros dominate the high-inventory-per-capita list, led by San Antonio with just 208 people per listing. Houston (281), Austin (304), and Dallas (335) also show much looser market conditions.

• Florida metros like Jacksonville (271), Tampa (342), Orlando (363), and Miami (418) also rank high for inventory per capita. These cities had red-hot housing markets during the pandemic but have cooled as rates rose.

Prudent AI is helping mortgage lenders cater to gig economy workers link

• Lenders using Prudent AI saw underwriting productivity increase by 4x and processing time drop from over an hour to just 15–20 minutes. This speed lets underwriters handle more files and focus on quality control instead of repetitive tasks.

• The AI helps detect fraud by flagging altered bank statements and inconsistencies, making underwriting more secure. It also ensures consistent income evaluations, especially for non-traditional earners like gig workers.

• Lenders like Sierra Pacific Mortgage and Angel Oak use AI to prequalify borrowers upfront, giving self-employed buyers faster and more accurate assessments. This allows real estate agents to act quicker with confident income numbers in hand.

Mapped: Most affordable U.S. cities to buy a home in 2025 link

• Detroit ranks as the most affordable large U.S. city for homebuyers with a score of 73.42 and a median price per square foot of just $87. Over 22% of homes are vacant, offering buyers significant leverage.

• Rust Belt cities dominate the list, with Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Memphis all scoring above 69 for affordability. In Pittsburgh, the median home price is only 3.8 times the median income.

• Southwestern cities like Las Vegas, Mesa, Tucson, and Phoenix are gaining ground in affordability rankings. Las Vegas and Henderson tied with a score of 67.70, highlighting a shift in value to the Sun Belt.

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Vidit

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