In January, U.S. existing-home inventories were 16% below levels seen this time five years ago. Beneath the headline numbers, different states are recovering at sharply different paces. In Texas, the number of properties for sale is 20% higher than it was before the pandemic while in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the number of homes currently on the market is still less than half what was normal before the pandemic.
Pending home sales fell 4.6% in January 2025 to the lowest level on record as mortgage rates held above 7% for the entire month.
The number of full-time real estate agents and brokers has dropped to its lowest point in more than a decade. During the height of the housing boom in the run-up to the financial crisis, the total number of full-time agents and brokers was about 504,000 in the U.S. and by 2024, that number dropped to 398,000. The last time the number of full-time agents and brokers was that low was in 2013.
About 7.05% of FHA mortgages issued last year went seriously delinquent—90 or more days past when a payment is due—within 12 months. That’s more than at the 2008 peak of the subprime bubble (7.02%).
The cost of a so-called “starter home” has soared in recent years. In 2012, the typical median sale price for what is defined as a starter home was $95,000. That price rose in 2019 to $165,500 — and it rose further, to $250,000, last year.
Shelter costs increased 4.4% in January from last year. That was the smallest annual uptick since January 2022, and well below the peak period of 2023.
Blackstone Real Estate Partners X has completed its previously announced acquisition of all outstanding common shares of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. for $17.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4 billion, including outstanding debt.
Values for less than premium grade A office buildings are about 35% to 60% lower than they were before the pandemic.
Opportunistic real-estate funds had $196.8 billion available at the end of last year, up from $179.9 billion at the end of 2020.
There are around 1,500 consumer-branded residences around the world, with half completed and half in development. That total is expected to exceed 3,700 by 2040.
