91% of first-time buyers finance their homes

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1. Austin homes are most at risk of selling at a loss

According to a new Redfin report, nearly half (48%) of for-sale homes in Austin purchased after July 2022 are at risk of selling at a loss — the highest share among major metros and nearly three times the national average of 16%.

32% of homes in Austin purchased during the pandemic (July 2020 to July 2022) are at risk of selling at a loss — the second-highest share among major metros and more than triple the national average of 9%.

Overall, 13% of for-sale single-family homes in Austin are at risk of selling at a loss — the highest share among major metros, followed by San Antonio at 10%.

2. 91% of first-time buyers finance their homes

Even with all the talk about all-cash deals, most Americans — especially first-time buyers — still take out loans to buy their homes, says new data from the NAR.

• In 2024, 74% of people buying a primary home used financing. For first-time buyers, that number jumps to 91%.

• Typical down payment for first-time buyers has remained between 6% and 9% since 2018. For repeat buyers, the figure was significantly higher last year at 23%.

• Nearly 29% of first-time buyers used FHA loans, and 9% went with VA loans.

Type of loan used

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3. Catch up quick

❌ Zillow's ban on private listings begins. (Inman)

🏆 Houston beats Dallas, Austin in list of America's best cities. (BestCities)

📉 Home flipping profits drop in first quarter. (Attom)

🏙️ HUD to relocate HQ from D.C. to Alexandria. (HUD)

💰 Buyers need a $17,000 raise to afford a typical home. (Zillow)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Fun read: ‘Nepo-buyers’ are America’s new class of homeowners. (NYPost)

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4. Pending home sales rise 1.8% in May

Pending home sales rose 1.8% in May compared to April, according to new NAR data released Thursday. All four U.S. regions saw month-over-month gains, but year-over-year, only the Midwest and South saw an increase. The Northeast and West experienced declines, with the West suffering the largest impact.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) increased to 72.6 in May. Year-over-year, pending transactions rose by 1.1%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.

5. eXp’s CEO fires back at Compass over private listings

Compass named eXp Realty as a co-conspirator in its lawsuit against Zillow. In response, eXp CEO Glenn Sanford posted on LinkedIn that he’s been “following the Compass-Zillow lawsuit with great interest.”

Sanford argues that private listings hurt both innovation and competition by limiting access to inventory — especially for smaller brokerages — and making agent recruitment harder.

He also warns that private listings could fragment the market, eventually forcing smaller brokerages to merge with bigger firms just to stay competitive.

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