Real Estate Boomers Aren’t Downsizing — They’re Buying Bigger Homes: WSJ Wealthy boomers are upsizing in retirement instead of downsizing, per the WSJ. Empty-nest boomers own 28% of three-bedroom-plus U.S. homes — nearly double millennial families — freezing supply for younger buyers.
Markets Detroit Tops List as America's Most Stressed City Detroit has been ranked as the most stressed city in the U.S., with high unemployment and poverty rates impacting residents and local industries.
Markets Homeownership Costs Explode Since 2019: Repairs +175%, Insurance +72% Homeownership costs have exploded since 2019: emergency repairs up 175%, maintenance up 85%, insurance up 72%, and interest up 35%. Buyers are getting squeezed and insurers keep repricing.
Tech In San Francisco, Even $180K Tech Salaries No Longer Cut It Even $180,000 tech salaries are no longer enough in San Francisco as an AI elite tied to OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX reshapes the housing market and outbids rank-and-file engineers.
Markets Ken Griffin Completes Acquisition of Entire Miami Block for Citadel HQ Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, has secured ownership of an entire city block in Miami's Brickell district for the firm's new headquarters, including plans to relocate a historic cottage.
Markets Foreclosures Reach Highest Level Since 2019 U.S. foreclosures have surged to their highest level since 2019, with a 21% increase in the first half of 2026. Key markets and sectors are feeling the impact.
Markets Majority of Americans Now Favor Buying Over Renting For the first time since 2023, 53% of Americans prefer buying a home over renting, indicating a shift in consumer sentiment despite affordability challenges.
Real Estate 90% of Under-40 Americans Say Buying a Home Is Harder Than for Their Parents Pew Research finds 89% of Americans under 40 say buying a home is harder than it was for their parents, as home values outpaced young-adult incomes more than 3-to-1 from 2019 to 2024.
Markets Housing affordability isn’t going back to “normal,” Morgan Stanley warns Morgan Stanley says U.S. housing affordability isn’t returning to pre-2022 levels. Lock-in effects, tight supply, and structural costs mean buyers waiting for “normal” may be waiting forever.
Real Estate 46% of Home Sellers Offer Concessions to Buyers, Reaching Record High In May 2026, 46% of U.S. home sellers provided concessions to buyers, marking a record high and indicating a shift towards a buyer's market.
Real Estate Gen Z and Millennials Losing Faith in the American Dream as Housing Slips Out of Reach Only 37% of young renters can afford to own a home, and just 24% of under-40s call it a good investment. Gen Z and millennials are rewriting the American Dream — with real consequences for builders, lenders, and rental operators.
Markets Households Need ~$117K Income to Afford the Average U.S. Home U.S. households need roughly $117,000 in annual income to afford the average home, well above the $88,000 median household income. Homebuilders and mortgage names are the tickers to watch.
Markets New Home Prices Fall Below Resales for First Time New home prices have fallen below resale prices for the first time, indicating a shift in the housing market and potential challenges for major builders.
Markets Morgan Stanley: Housing Affordability Unlikely to Return to Pre-2022 Levels Morgan Stanley reports that U.S. housing affordability is unlikely to return to pre-2022 levels, citing higher mortgage rates and tight supply.
Real Estate Starter Homes Priced at $200K Unaffordable for 62% of Non-Homeowners A LendingTree study reveals that 62% of non-homeowner households cannot afford a typical $200,000 starter home, highlighting significant affordability challenges in the housing market.
Politics Mamdani Rejects $47K Pay Raise as NYC Council Votes Itself 18% Bump NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani will forgo an 18% pay raise to $305,800 as the City Council votes itself a first salary bump in a decade, expected to cost the city $17M next year.
Macro US Home Prices Rise for 36 Straight Months, Hit Record High US home prices have risen for 36 straight months, with June’s median existing-home price hitting a record $440,660 as sales stall and affordability worsens.
Real Estate 1 in 3 Adults Under 35 Lives with Parents, Impacting Housing Market A significant portion of adults under 35 are living with their parents, affecting housing demand and the real estate market.
Markets US Housing Hits Record Unaffordability, Per CBS Report Per CBS, US home affordability is at a historic low. Median existing home prices hit $440,660, with buyers needing $117K+ in income and over 75% of listings out of reach.
Macro Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Under 30 Now Live With a Parent: Fed A Federal Reserve survey shows 49% of U.S. adults under 30 lived with a parent last year, up 12 points from 2019. Housing costs, rents, and AI-driven entry-level job cuts are delaying household formation.
Markets Ken Griffin Bought All 138 Condos in a Miami Tower to Tear It Down Ken Griffin quietly spent about $125M buying every unit of Miami's 138-condo Solaris tower through anonymous LLCs, then plans to tear it down for a $2.5B Citadel headquarters campus in Brickell.
Markets US Home Sellers Slash Asking Prices as Housing Weakness Deepens US home asking prices dropped 2.5% year over year in June, the steepest annual decline in Realtor.com data going back to 2017. Sellers are capitulating as elevated mortgage rates weigh on buyer demand.
Macro Trump: I Want To Drive Housing Prices Up, Not Down Trump said at a cabinet meeting that he wants to drive housing prices up, not down, to protect homeowner wealth. The comments complicate the administration’s affordability pitch and raise questions for homebuilders and housing-linked stocks.
Tech 38% of Americans Live Near Data Centers Amid Rapid Expansion Data centers are expanding rapidly, with 38% of Americans now living within five miles of one. This growth impacts real estate, energy, and local economies.
Politics Trump: ‘I’d Be the Greatest Communist in History’ Trump told the Faith & Freedom Coalition he’d be ‘the greatest communist in history,’ attacking NYC socialist wins and rent-control politics. Here’s the market angle.
