Trump Weighs ‘National Housing Emergency’

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Retail’s strange split: vacancy risk rises while cap rates hit 12-year high link

• Net closures are mounting, about 2,000 more stores closed than opened in H1 2025, after a net loss of 1,350 in 2024. But average backfill time fell from 11 months to 9, softening the hit to occupancy.

• Q2 2025 was the busiest deal quarter in three years, with most trades in the $1M–$5M range. Buyers favored smaller centers and net-leased assets for lower management and steadier rent rolls.

• Pricing is resetting: average cap rates hit 6.8%, the highest since 2013. Investors are leaning into QSR, convenience, and auto repair (tight vacancies), and eyeing re-tenanting plays, especially neighborhood centers and former drugstore boxes, while Southern markets show single-tenant vacancy below the national average.

Investors Stay Selective, Multifamily’s Next Test link

• Median cap rates on sold deals ticked up to 6.36% while asking cap rates slipped to 7.19%, a spread signaling price discovery and selective bidding. Multifamily is still viewed as lower risk versus other asset classes due to the national housing shortage.

• The median sold price hit $210.28/sf (+3.55% MoM; +1.2% YoY), about 20.48% above the $174.53/sf median ask. Crexi attributes this to sales skewing toward stabilized, well-located assets.

• Average time on market rose to 152 days (vs. 146 a year ago), though sales velocity remains healthier than office or industrial. Rent growth is stabilizing at low single digits, San Francisco popped on tight vacancy and office return, and possible Fed cuts later this year could ease cap-rate pressure and spur more trades.

Trump Weighs ‘National Housing Emergency’, Could First-Time Buyers Finally Catch a Break? link

• First-time buyers hit a historic low at just 24% of 2024 sales, squeezed by record-high prices, limited inventory, and mortgage rates that remain elevated. Even well-qualified buyers are struggling to cover upfront costs.

• One proposal: auctioning 850 square miles of federal land, with the potential to build up to 3 million homes, though most of that land is far from job centers and lacks infrastructure.

• Down payment support is flagged as the most impactful short-term fix, while federal pressure on zoning reform could legalize townhomes, duplexes, and ADUs to expand affordable supply.

Home Prices Slip in 29 Markets as Inventories Surge: A Harvard Study link

• National home prices rose just 2.2% year-over-year in May, down sharply from 5.9% the year before, and have now fallen for three straight months. Prices remain 57% higher than in 2019, but momentum is shifting.

• By June 2025, 29 of the 100 largest markets saw annual price declines, with the steepest drops in Cape Coral (–7.8%), San Francisco (–3.7%), and Stockton (–2.8%), all tied to sharp inventory growth.

• The Northeast and Midwest bucked the trend, with inventories still 52% and 26% below pre-pandemic levels, fueling price gains up to 10% in Rochester and 7.3% in Milwaukee.

Retirees Flock to Sun Belt But HOA Fees Are Draining Wallets link

• Nevada leads the nation with 51.3% of homeowners paying HOA or condo fees, though the median monthly cost is just $95-$40 below the U.S. median. In Arizona and Florida, about 45% of households face these costs.

• Florida’s median HOA/condo fee hit $230, the highest of the top three states, driven by new laws requiring older buildings to undergo safety inspections and fund reserves after the 2021 Surfside condo collapse.

• One Florida owner saw his HOA fee surge 250% in six years, from $380 in 2018 to $880 in 2025, plus $2,500 in special assessments, pushing him to list his condo for sale.

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Realtor.com Taps OpenAI to Power Next-Gen Home Search link

News Corp says the partnership will fuel “unimaginable personalization,” aiming to help Realtor.com reclaim the portal crown with AI-driven search and tailored buyer experiences.

Startup SetWave Uses AI to Turn Clunky Inspections Into Negotiation Power link

Broker-turned-founder Dalton Brewer built SetWave to scan 40–50 page inspection reports and instantly attach repair costs, giving buyers clearer decisions and agents a new edge in negotiations.

AI Will Reshape Housing Faster Than Expected, Say Tech Trendsetters link

Past HousingWire honorees predict agentic AI will soon handle end-to-end tasks like listings and underwriting, while automation in valuations, compliance, and customer experience accelerates approvals and slashes friction across housing.

Real Estate Agents Rapidly Embrace AI, Survey Finds link

Inman Intel’s survey shows brokerages racing to adopt new AI models, with engaged agents reporting major workflow gains, from faster client outreach to automated deal prep, as AI becomes a core productivity driver.

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Cozy stone home with 1980s interior!

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