February 7, 2025 Economic and Housing Market Update

February 7, 2025

• The Realtor.com® economics team video update gives you the relevant economic and real estate information you need to know each week every Friday to navigate the housing market as a homebuyer, home seller, or industry professional.
• For the week ending February 7, Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale discusses the latest job market developments showing that despite slower hiring, unemployment remains low and wages continue to rise. 
• Even before the solid jobs data, Fed speakers reinforced last week’s conclusion: the Fed is not in a hurry.
• Meanwhile, Danielle highlights key takeaways from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent Fox interview and the latest trends in long-term and mortgage rates and what they mean for housing.
• Danielle reviews the good and the bad in the latest homeownership rate data and how long-term homebuilding trends are playing a role in these figures.
• Danielle covers the latest Realtor.com weekly housing data and what it suggests about buyer and seller enthusiasm for housing.
• Finally, as Realtor.com announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters to Austin, Danielle highlights what the latest Realtor.com research says about what is motivating residents and businesses to move to Texas. 
• You’ll find all the details including full reports and our housing data for download at realtor.com/research. You can also follow us on X (formerly twitter) for real time updates. And instagram @realtordotcomecon for graphics.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

• I’m Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com®. As Punxsutawney Phil suggests that winter will stick around for a bit, I’m going to cover the latest data on the U.S. labor market and mortgage rates, homeownership and housing inventory, and most importantly – tell you what it means for you. I’ll also highlight what Texas is doing right.
• It may be cold outside, but the U.S. labor market remains pretty hot. Unemployment fell to 4.0% even as the number of jobs rose by only half as much as December. More importantly, for consumers, earnings continue to rise by more than 4%.
• Even before the jobs data were released, Fed speakers this week reinforced what we learned last week. They believe that the economy is on solid footing and aren’t in a rush to cut the policy rate. 
• Meanwhile, Trump’s Treasury Secretary this week noted that he and the President are focused on 10-year yields as a benchmark borrowing cost. This week, 10-year yields reached their lowest level since mid-December, and mortgage rates declined for a third straight week. Despite the declines, mortgage rates are still pretty close to 7%, and likely acting as more of a headwind than tailwind for home shoppers.
• Homeownership rates remained high at the end of 2024 overall. Digging in deeper, however, we see that homeownership rates slipped for younger households, a sign of how challenging the market has become for first-time buyers amid a decade-long housing shortage. In fact, the homeownership rate for age 35 and under fell to the lowest level since before the pandemic.
• Realtor.com weekly housing data point to difficulties for buyers, too. For-sale homes this week spent more time on market even as asking prices remain below their year-ago level. Of note, new listings growth pulled back from its recent pace, which suggests some easing of home sales is likely ahead.
• Finally, in conjunction with the relocation of Realtor.com headquarters to Austin, my team took a look at what the Lone Star state is doing that has attracted residents and businesses like ours to the area. Movers to Texas from California–the top domestic source–cited its affordable housing, jobs, and climate as major motivators.
• You can find all the details, including full reports and our housing data for download, at realtor.com/research.  You can also follow us on X (formerly twitter) for real time updates. And instagram for graphics.

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