Inflation ticked down in the early March reading, the Fed again kept its benchmark rate unchanged, and interest rates remained well below 7%. Amid high volatility, stock markets saw substantial declines, then some recovery. Consumer confidence continued to fall across all population segments.

Much of the data at this point still reflects winter market conditions. We will see soon where the spring market is taking us and hopefully what effect the quickly changing national stage will have.

The monthly median house sales price began its usual rebound from the mid-winter low and also increased year over year. It will typically continue to rise through June as the spring market heats up.

Months supply of inventory is a comparison of supply vs. demand, measuring how long it would take to sell the inventory of active listings at the existing rate of sale. On a long-term, pre-pandemic basis, the MSI in February 2025 would not be considered high, but it was the highest February reading since 2019.

Since the early-year market is dominated by new listings, February is not normally a month with a high number of price reductions, however last month did have the highest count for the month of February in 6 years.

It’s been a rocky, volatile time in stock markets as investors try to get a handle on the political and economic uncertainty prevailing nationally and internationally. After a huge plunge, markets started to rebound, but it’s beyond us to predict what may happen next.

These charts break out net domestic migration – people moving between regions within the country – and net foreign migration among 4 broad national regions. In domestic migration, only the south saw a net inflow, while all 4 saw substantial gains due to immigration from abroad.

With the appreciation of home prices since 2012, and especially since 2020, homeowner equity now constitutes an enormous part of household wealth (for homeowners): almost $35 trillion.

Regardless of the cost of higher rates or insurance, the opportunity to build equity remains a strong reason to choose homeownership over renting whenever possible.