Headlines

What’s new in the world of Real Estate

• The best cities for renters

• Is this the bottom for CRE?

• The hottest markets in the U.S.

• Existing-home sales fall again

Plus: Where Americans should buy abroad, the luxury market stays hot, and more.

Listing of the week: The “Darth Vader” house.

Performance

_{as of market close on July 29}

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Market Updates

Raleigh ranked as the best US city for renters. The second biggest city in North Carolina is also one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with its population rising nearly 2% from 2022 to 2023. CNBC’s ranking looks at the amount of new construction, vacancy rates and median rents. Meanwhile, Wallethub released its own rankings earlier this month, which named Bismarck, ND, as the #1 market for renters. The two cities to make the top 10 on each list were Huntsville, AL, and Sioux Falls, S.D. While these lists are good guides for potential renters, it may be the opposite for investors, as they represent markets where supply often outpaces demand.

Commercial property foreclosures grew by 13% in Q2. Lenders are now reclaiming distressed properties at the highest rate in almost a decade, as the amount of lender-owned properties topped $20 billion. Office buildings are responsible for the bulk of the increase, as banks are finally giving in and foreclosing on delinquent loans. Counterintuitively, this surge in foreclosure activity could mean that the market is nearing a bottom, as it has in previous market downturns. Indeed, delinquency rates actually declined in Q2, as the worst offenders are off the books, their foreclosure in the rear view mirror.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, topped a list of the hottest housing markets in the U.S. The rankings looked at the 200 largest metro areas in the country and compared how fast homes are selling, price growth, macroeconomic data, and other factors. The top three cities, and seven of the top 10, are in the Midwest, standing out for their affordability and robust job growth. While housing in Fort Wayne is less expensive than the average U.S. city, prices have risen by 15% in the last year, so it may not stay affordable for too long.

Existing-home sales fell 5.4% in June and 5.4% year-over-year. The report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) also showed that inventory is up 3.1% monthly and 23.4% year-over-year. This means the dip in sales is not due to a lack of supply, but rather due to lower demand and higher prices. The median existing-home price hit an all-time high of $426,900, an increase of 4.1% year-over-year, but NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said “further large accelerations are unlikely,” as “[s]upply and demand dynamics are nearing a balanced market condition.”