Real Estate From The Trenches

Home Prices Hit Historic High—Why 78% of America’s Counties Are Now Unaffordable

June 26, 2025

When it comes to housing affordability, location isn’t just important, it’s crucial. ATTOM Data Solutions’ latest U.S. Home Affordability Report reveals that in the second quarter of 2025, homeownership expenses were unaffordable for typical residents in 77.9% of counties across the country. Nationally, the median home price rose to a historic high of $369,000, requiring average earners to dedicate 33.7% of their income, well above the recommended maximum of 28%,towards housing expenses.

This increasing burden is especially pronounced in populous counties such as Los Angeles County, CA; Cook County, IL (Chicago); and Maricopa County, AZ (Phoenix), where affordability has sharply declined. The report highlights how wages have stagnated compared to rapidly rising home prices: since early 2020, the median home price in the U.S. increased by 55.7%, while average wages rose by just 26.6%.

Open Access or Walled Gardens? What’s Really at Stake in the Compass-Zillow Lawsuit

June 26, 2025

EXP Weights in on Compass vs Zillow Suit over Private Listings

The Compass-Zillow Lawsuit Isn’t Just Legal Drama—It’s a Battle Over Real Estate’s Innovation DNA

Glenn Sanford, CEO of eXp, just weighed in on the Compass-Zillow lawsuit—and whether you agree with him or not, his post hits a critical nerve about where this industry could be headed.

Why the Compass vs. Zillow Lawsuit May Reshape Real Estate’s Digital Future

June 25, 2025

The Compass antitrust lawsuit against Zillow is heating up, and Greg Hague’s latest analysis puts an even sharper point on what’s at stake. I covered the legal filing last week, but Hague’s breakdown highlights just how transformative this case could be for the real estate industry. He’s right: this isn’t just about listing policies or portal preferences. It’s a fight over who controls the digital front door to homebuying—and whether innovation in marketing strategies gets crushed under the weight of a near-monopoly.

What Zillow calls a policy change for transparency, Hague frames as textbook exclusionary conduct. And it’s hard to argue with that lens when you consider the timing: Compass gains traction with its Private Exclusives and extended pre-MLS marketing, NAR adjusts the Clear Cooperation Policy to allow more flexibility, and suddenly Zillow drops a 24-hour rule that effectively bans listings that don’t play by its rules. It’s not about fairness to buyers; it’s about eliminating options that threaten Zillow’s lead-gen machine. The permanent nature of the ban, coupled with Zillow’s platform dominance, underscores the concern.

Compass Sues Zillow Over New Listing Ban That Targets Private Marketing

June 24, 2025

Compass vs Zillow Lawsuit over private listings

Compass filed a federal antitrust lawsuit yesterday accusing Zillow of trying to crush competition in the home search space. The core of the lawsuit challenges what Compass calls the “Zillow Ban,” a new policy set to begin enforcement June 30th, which blocks any listing from appearing on Zillow if it was marketed elsewhere—even on a brokerage’s private platform—for more than one day.

Compass claims this rule unfairly targets its 3-Phased Marketing Strategy, which allows sellers to start privately marketing a listing before it hits the MLS and public portals. According to the complaint, 94% of listings that used the strategy in 2024 ultimately went to the MLS and sites like Zillow, but the new policy would strip those sellers of that exposure unless they bypass pre-marketing altogether—or fire their agent and relist with someone else. The suit alleges this is a classic monopolistic move to limit seller choice, eliminate competing innovation, and control inventory. Compass also accuses Zillow of conspiring with Redfin and eXp to enforce the policy across multiple platforms, describing it as a coordinated boycott.

Top Metro Areas for Landlords: Rents and Home Prices Projected to Grow Through 2025

June 23, 2025

For landlords, investors, and property managers eyeing opportunities, recent data from Zillow through May 2025 highlights 24 promising U.S. markets where rents are climbing alongside positive housing market forecasts. Notably, the list identifies metros where both rental and home price growth signal healthy market dynamics and potential profitability.

Topping the list, Syracuse, NY, and Rochester, NY, demonstrate robust year-over-year rent increases of 6.2% and 5.2%, respectively. Home prices in these cities are forecasted to outpace rental growth, signaling stronger appreciation prospects. Investors in these markets may find themselves benefiting from immediate rental income boosts and favorable long-term equity gains.

The Real Estate Freeze: What Today’s Fed Drama Means for Your Move

June 20, 2025

Pulte vs Powell on Fed Rates and the impact on homebuyers

When Interest Rates Collide with Real Life

It’s easy for the average home buyer or seller to feel like interest rates are just a far-off number—something the Fed talks about on CNBC that doesn’t really affect your day-to-day life. But make no mistake: today’s interest rate debate is very real, and very personal, for anyone thinking about buying or selling a home.

SFR Market Cools but Stays Hot: Investors Lean In as Rents Outpace Inflation

June 20, 2025

Single family rental properties returns outpacing inflation

After a stretch of white-hot growth, the single-family rental (SFR) market seems to have settled into a more balanced—but still very active—phase. Arbor’s Q2 2025 Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report (see complete report below) paints a picture of a sector adapting to higher interest rates, tenant turnover challenges, and a still-constrained for-sale housing market, but doing so with impressive resilience.

While overall rent growth has slowed from the post-pandemic highs, it continues to outpace inflation. Through March 2025, national SFR rents were up 4.1% year-over-year, just a hair below the 2016-2019 average of 4.4%, according to Zillow’s Observed Rent Index. Some metros are outperforming the national average by a wide margin—Indianapolis led the pack with 6.3% annual rent growth, followed closely by St. Louis (6.1%) and Kansas City (5.7%).

Rent Payments Dip Again in June: Independent Landlords See Lowest Full-Pay Rate Since 2021

June 20, 2025

Landlord trying to manage falling on time rental payments

If you’re an independent landlord, or you represent one, June’s rent payment numbers might catch your attention.

According to Chandan Economics’ latest monthly tracker, only 84.3% of independently managed rental units were paid on time last month. That’s down 85 basis points from May and marks a 23-month streak of year-over-year declines in on-time payment rates. The report, based on data from RentRedi covering 73,502 units, shows a clear downward trend that landlords can’t afford to ignore.

Private Listings: A Risky Move as Buyer Demand Shifts

June 17, 2025

Private Listings - Hidden from the Market

As the real estate market tips slowly toward a buyer’s market, it’s time for a serious gut-check on the rise of private or “exclusive” listings. Damian Eales, CEO of Realtor.com, hit this issue head-on in an Op-Ed yesterday, calling out what he sees as a growing and dangerous trend: the quiet erosion of transparency and competition in the U.S. housing market.

According to Eales, “Selling a secret is no way to start a bidding war and will surely result in shortchanged sellers.” I have to agree. The data doesn’t lie—more eyeballs mean more competition, and more competition typically means better offers.

DOJ Seeks Early Termination of Multiple Redlining Settlements

June 16, 2025

In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice has moved to terminate or seek early termination of several redlining-related consent orders with banks, citing substantial compliance with the terms of the original settlements. These actions mark a shift in approach and have sparked conversation across the financial and regulatory landscape.

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