Asking prices post record annual drop

🥳 A happy 250th birthday to the US of A, baby!

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1. Seniors hold a record share of housing wealth

Americans aged 70 and older now hold the largest share of the nation's housing wealth, HousingWire reported. In 2025, they owned about 26% of the country's $48 trillion in residential real estate wealth, surpassing homeowners aged 40 to 54 for the first time on record.

Homeowners 62 and older now hold a record $14.66 trillion in home equity, reflecting decades of homeownership and rising property values. As more Baby Boomers remain in their homes, their share of the nation's housing wealth continues to grow.

The milestone highlights the growing financial strength of older Americans and the increasing role home equity plays in retirement. It also reflects a housing market where older generations now hold more real estate wealth.

2. Consumer groups ask FTC and DOJ to probe Compass MLS deals

A coalition of consumer advocacy organizations is urging federal regulators to investigate Compass and several MLSs, arguing that their private listing agreements could reduce market transparency and limit competition. The groups say the arrangements give some buyers and agents early access to listings before they reach the broader market.

The coalition says expanding private listing networks could make it harder for buyers to find homes and disadvantage smaller brokerages. It argues that open access to listings promotes a more competitive and transparent housing market.

The groups are asking the federal government to determine whether the agreements violate antitrust or fair housing laws to help ensure homebuyers and sellers continue to benefit from fair competition and broad market access.

⚖️ Related News: Zillow, MRED, Compass take listing control fight back to federal court. (Zillow)

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3. Catch up quick

🤖 AI becomes early step in homebuying journey. (NAR)

🤯 53% of buyers don’t understand the home buying process. (Clever)

⏱️ San Antonio had the shortest time to save for a median home down payment. (Realtor.com)

🏠 Only 37.6% of nonhomeowner households can afford a typical starter home. (LendingTree)

4. Asking prices post record annual drop

Homebuyers are getting a welcome break as listing prices continue to fall. In June, the national median asking price dropped 2.5% from a year earlier to $430,000, marking the eighth straight month of declines and the largest annual drop since Realtor.com began tracking the data in 2017.

Key takeaways:

• The typical homebuyer would pay about $132 less per month than a year earlier, saving more than $1,500 annually.

• Pending home sales rose 3.7%, while homes spent a median of 53 days on the market, unchanged from last year.

• New listings increased 2.4% to 463,480, giving buyers more options.

• Austin recorded the largest decline in listing prices among the nation's 50 largest metros, with the median asking price per square foot falling 8.2% from a year earlier.

5. Luxury home prices are rising 3x faster than non-luxury prices

The luxury housing market continues to outpace the broader market. Redfin says the median luxury home sold for $1.37 million during the three months ending May 31, up 4.7% from a year ago, more than triple the 1.5% increase for non-luxury homes.

Demand also remained strong, with pending luxury home sales rising 5.2%, compared with 3.6% for non-luxury homes.

In Texas, Fort Worth led the state with a 9.4% increase in luxury home prices, followed by Austin (9.0%), San Antonio (5.1%), and Houston (4.9%). Dallas was the only major Texas metro to see a slight decline, with prices down 0.3%.

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