New homes now selling for $20K less than existing homes

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Yields in stocks and bonds now look the same - why that’s a problem link

• Bond yields are at multi-year highs while the S&P 500 forward earnings yield has been sliding, creating an unusual convergence between debt and equity returns.

• Fixed income currently offers higher implied returns than equities, meaning investors are being paid more for lower risk.

• Apollo warns that investors buying the S&P 500 today aren’t being compensated for the risk they’re taking, suggesting equities may be mispriced.

Apartment construction surges past 500K units in 2025 - South takes more than half link

• More than 506,000 new apartments are expected nationwide in 2025, with 52.5% (265,613 units) concentrated in the South, led by Texas (81,407 units) and Florida (62,184 units).

• Austin tops all U.S. cities with 15,195 new apartments, while New York remains the #1 metro with 30,023 units—edging out Dallas by 1,065.

• Smaller metros like Naples, FL (+275%) and Birmingham, AL (+198%) are seeing explosive year-over-year growth, while Chicago faces the steepest drop, down 60.4% to just 3,756 units.

Federal Funding Uncertainty Shakes Life Sciences Real Estate Market link

• Life sciences vacancies jumped 170 basis points in Q2 and 500 bps year over year, with Chicago reporting over half its lab space empty and NYC/Boston each seeing one-third vacant.

• Despite weak leasing, big pharma plans $270 billion in U.S. manufacturing and research facilities, signaling a potential long-term tailwind for the sector.

• Developers are pulling back: lab construction has hit a cyclical low after seven straight quarters of above-average new deliveries, while some obsolete lab space is being converted to other uses.

Condos are quietly becoming the smart buy in today’s housing market link

• Condo inventory hit 194,000 units this summer, nearly double the supply seen in early 2022, giving buyers far more choice and less pressure to bid fast.

• Prices are softening: nationwide condo prices slipped 1.3% year-over-year in June, with more than half of the top 100 U.S. metros recording small declines.

• Sellers are more flexible—many are conceding on price or covering closing costs, giving buyers real leverage that’s rare in today’s housing market.

Single-family housing starts edge higher - but affordability roadblocks keep pressure link

• Overall housing starts rose 5.2% in July to a 1.43 million annual rate, driven by a 9.9% jump in multifamily construction to 489,000 units. Single-family starts increased 2.8% to 939,000 but remain 4.2% lower year-to-date.

• The pipeline of single-family homes under construction fell to 621,000, the lowest since early 2021, down 1% from June and 3.7% from a year earlier. Builders are pulling back due to affordability pressures, high mortgage rates, and labor shortages.

• Regional trends diverge: year-to-date starts climbed 17.7% in the Midwest and 10.2% in the Northeast, but slipped 2.4% in the South and 0.5% in the West. Permits also dropped 2.8% overall, signaling caution ahead.

New homes now selling for $20K less than existing homes - biggest price flip in decades link

• In June, the median new-home price fell to $407,200—$28,000 cheaper than existing homes, a 6.5% discount, the largest inversion in at least 25 years. July’s gap narrowed to $19,000 but still marked the fourth straight month of inversion.

• Builders are aggressively cutting prices and offering incentives like cash at closing and mortgage-rate buy-downs, while resale sellers are holding firm—leading to a standoff in the market. Delistings have surged as many homeowners refuse to drop prices.

• New homes average $218.66 per square foot nationally versus $226.56 for existing homes, and supply is far higher: 9.2 months for new construction versus 4.7 months for resale homes, showing builders are under pressure to move inventory.

Tool of the day- Optiml

Optiml is an AI-powered platform that helps real estate and infrastructure owners optimize building retrofits and sustainability strategies by analyzing environmental, technical, and financial data.

Compass Shows Off New AI Demo as Fluentes Charts Next Move for Brokers – link

The latest demos reveal how Compass and Fluentes are arming brokers with AI-driven search, marketing, and workflow tools — signaling the next competitive battleground in proptech.

AI in Machinery Could Spark Big Shifts — With Real Estate Ripple Effects – link

Heavyweights like ABB, Siemens, and GE are pushing AI into machinery — a move set to transform construction efficiency, building systems, and facility management.

eXp Bets on Digital Twins While Lenders Brace for AI Compliance Rules – link

This week’s Tech Pulse highlights eXp’s push into AI-powered digital twins for real estate — and how new compliance rules are set to reshape AI use in mortgage lending.

San Francisco’s AI Boom Is Colliding with a Rental Housing Crisis – link

Soaring demand from AI workers is driving up rents and straining supply — forcing the city to confront a new tipping point in housing and urban development.

Fix-and-flip market shows early signs of strain 

AI reshaping industrial leasing

Land prices set to decline - A consulting study

How older homebuyers are reshaping America’s hottest housing markets

A Decade of Slowing Household Growth Ahead for Both Owners and Renters: A Harvard Study

Proptech Startups That Just Got Funded

Charted: U.S. Business Growth by Industry (2019-2024)

A house with a petting zoo!?

Link to the listing

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Vidit

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