Headlines

What’s new in the world of Real Estate

• Retail vacancy at a 20-year low

• Foreign buyers are pulling back

• Housing inventory grows

• Multifamily construction surging

Plus: The most affordable walkable cities, Sunbelt evictions, why culture boosts real estate, and more.

Listing of the week: The southernmost house in the U.S.

Performance

_{as of market close on July 22}

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Market Updates

Retail vacancies dropped to 5.3%, a two-decade low. The turnaround is due to construction levels remaining at historic lows, particularly for higher-end shopping centers, combined with increased consumer spending. The South led the way in leasing demand, with the West actually showing a decrease. Overall, quality retail space has become more difficult to find, which in turn could send rent prices higher, as demand is unlikely to decrease anytime soon.

Annual foreign investment in U.S. existing homes dropped by 21.2%. Foreign buyers bought $42 billion of existing homes in the period between April 2023 and March 2024, a drop-off from the prior year stemming from a strong U.S. dollar, decreased inventory and higher rates. Internationals bought 54,300 properties, a 36% drop and the lowest total since 2009, when tracking this data began. That said, the average price of $780,300 and median price of $475,000 were the highest ever recorded, indicating that international buyers have shifted focus to more expensive properties.

Total homes on the market is 23% above last year’s level. Zillow’s latest Housing Market Report showed that inventory increased 4% in June. This supply expansion is a step in the right direction for potential buyers, though levels remain 33% below where they were before the pandemic. As supply has increased without a corresponding spike in demand, the rate of price appreciation has slowed. Annual appreciation came in at 3.2%, and the monthly appreciation of 0.6% was the slowest June result since 2011. Zillow now forecasts home prices to rise by only 1% in the coming 12 months.

New multifamily construction rose by 19.6% in June. Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Census Bureau showed that overall construction starts were up 3% in June, with multifamily leading the charge, as single-family starts fell by 2.2%. Multifamily completions also reached their highest total since 1986, bringing more supply to the market. The rise in supply could lead to a slowdown in rent growth in the short-term, but the amount of apartment buildings under construction is still down 11.4% from last year.