Three truths about others in life...accept this and your life will almost certainly be easier:
- If they wanted to, if they could, they would.
- You cannot make others change.
- Stop being mad that others are not the person you want them to be. (Mel Robbins)

Since 2019, US rents have risen 1.5x faster than incomes, limiting labor mobility and productivity. Lowering housing costs could boost GDP by $1.4 trillion. (Scott Galloway)

30% of adults said they have more emergency savings now compared to one year ago. (CNBC)

What percentage of Los Angeles home buyers are international buyers? Just 4.6% in 2024. Many home sellers think this number is much, much higher.... Most foreign buyers throughout the US are......national, not international! (WSJ)

Tariffs on steel and aluminum appear imminent, as high as 25%.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home last week dropped 4%, compared with the previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.97% from 7.02%

What are the cheapest sources of energy? Industrial Gas turbines/combined turbines, solar power, wind power, diesel, battery. The most expensive: Coal, fuel cells, nuclear (mostly due to high upfront costs and waste management), biomass.

50% of the renovators surveyed by Houzz in 2022 who had set an initial budget said they’d overshot it, with 12% overspending by 25 - 49%, and 5% going over by more than 50%. (FT)

Just three high-density US cities saw population growth in the past 4 years. The vast majority have much smaller populations and far lower density. This has been fueled by the COVID impact that is currently waning as the primary reason for moving.

Around 44.8% of all U.S. homes are in areas that face at least one severe or extreme climate risk. (CNBC)

The global Real Estate market size was valued at $4.06 trillion in 2024 and is estimated to grow from $4.36 trillion in 2025 to reach $7.84 trillion by 2033. (Straits Research)

Could Open House activity increase? The new real estate rule requiring home buyers to sign agreements with brokers to tour houses privately may make open houses, which don't require buyer agreements, an option for shoppers who aren't ready to commit to an agent? (Axios)

Existing-home sales fell 0.7% in 2024 from the prior year to 4.06 million. That is down from more than 6 million in 2021....and 7.08 million in 2005. The national median existing-home price in December was $404,400, down from the record high of $426,900 reached in June. (NAR)

A survey of wealthy Americans reveals a fascinating generational divide over how, and when, they leave money to their heirs: Millennials and Generation Xers want to transfer wealth to the next generation during their lifetime. Baby boomers prefer to wait until they are dead. (Schwab)

Real estate listings that feature a cold plunge pool are up 130%, with the most seen in Stamford, Connecticut, Las Vegas, & Los Angeles. The share of for-sale listings that mention flood barriers is up 22% in a year, seismic retrofitting up 20% & Drought-resistant turf yards are up 14%. (ELLE DECOR)

Global annual water consumption of AI could reach between 4.2 - 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027, which is roughly equivalent to the annual water usage of Denmark. Is there an AI center in your area that could impact water supply for homes?

Fun Fact: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over a quarter of all households in the U.S. now house only a single person—the amount having tripled from 1940 to 2020. (US CENSUS)