Jeptha Sheene - Compass

“It’s the only thing that lasts,”

- Ted Turner once said he didn’t like to buy anything except land. He owned around 2 million acres, mostly dedicated to conservation!

Shrinkflation has arrived in newly constructed homes as developers seek ways to deliver more affordable home options that are still profitable: quality is now a concern. They are finding savings in cabinets, faucets and even the garage door remote, opting for cheaper materials and rejiggering designs with cost savings top of mind. Particle board cabinets are in. Hardwood is out. Countertops are becoming thinner. Walls now feature smaller and fewer windows. An automatic garage opener is sometimes a frivolous luxury. KB Home’s communities now include homes with less than 1,600sf. The median square footage of new single-family homes was 2,153 in 2025, down from 2,466 in 2015..... the average number of windows in a home will fall to 18 in 2027, compared with 21 in 2015. Builders are also slashing the number of different layouts, paint colors, window shapes and finishes to improve efficiency. James Hardie, with 700 colors of siding, now offers home builders a set of 8 colors in a collection marketed for cost-cutting. (WSJ)

Sales of previously owned homes ran at a 3.98 million pace in March. If sales continued at this rate for the full year, 3.98 million homes would be sold.... the lowest since 1995. Let's not forget that this number exludes NEWLY BUILT homes....around 690,000 of those were sold in 2025.

For more insights into the US real estate markets, watch THIS VIDEO from COMPASS' Chief Economist Mike Simonsen.

Which US real estate markets have the largest YOY pending sales increases? San Diego/Chula Vista/Carlsbad is #1, up 13,5%.....followed by Jacksonville, Florida, San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, CA, Denver/Aurora/Centennial, CO, Miami Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, FL, Phoienix/Mesa/Chandler, AZ, Sacramento/Roseville?folsom, CA, Kansas City MO, KS, Austin/ROunbd ROck?San Marco, TX, and Oklahoma City. Interestingly, not-low-tax California had the most on the TOP 10 list....aaaah, that weather! (NAR)