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- Home sellers outnumber buyers by a record margin
Home sellers outnumber buyers by a record margin
Plus: Trump signs executive order on institutional investor ban
🎉 Hey there. Happy Thursday. Today's newsletter is 685 words, a 2.5-minute read.
1. Pending home sales fell 9.3% in December
According to the NAR Pending Home Sales Index, pending home sales in December fell 9.3% month over month to 71.8 and were down 3.0% year over year.
Month-over-month pending sales declined across all four regions, while year-over-year sales rose in the South but fell in the Northeast, Midwest, and West.
Homes also stayed on the market longer in December, averaging 39 days, compared with 35 days in December 2024.
“Consumers prefer seeing abundant inventory before making the major decision of purchasing a home. So, the decline in pending home sales could be a result of dampened consumer enthusiasm about buying a home when there are so few options listed for sale.”
2. Trump signs executive order on institutional investor ban
President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at curbing Wall Street firms from buying single-family homes, a move he says is intended to make homeownership more affordable for American families.
Trump said the order strengthens antitrust enforcement against institutional investors and directs federal agencies to develop new rules limiting large firms’ purchases of single-family homes in local markets.
Titled “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers,” the order gives federal agencies 60 days to draft new restrictions or revise existing regulations governing institutional purchases of single-family homes.
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3. Catch up quick
⬇️ Home values in Texas fell 2.45% in 2025, the largest drop in 14 years. (KXAN)
🚀 Realtor.com launches home search platform with MLSs. (Realtor.com)
🏡 Where homes are most and least affordable. (Bankrate)
🕵️ First American launches free title monitoring, fraud alerts. (FirstAmerican)
🚗 Mapped: States with the longest commutes. (VisualCapitalist)
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4. Home sellers outnumber buyers by a record margin
According to a new Redfin report, there were an estimated 47.1% more home sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market in December. This marks the largest gap on record, dating back to 2013.
The imbalance increased 7.1 percentage points from November, the largest month-over-month jump since September 2022, and 22.2 percentage points from a year earlier.
In Austin, there were an estimated 128% more home sellers than buyers in December, the largest imbalance among the top 50 U.S. metros.
Source: Redfin
5. Texas homebuilder to launch crypto rewards
Texas homebuilder Megatel Homes LLC announced it will launch a crypto payments and rewards token called "MegPrime" after receiving a no-action letter from the SEC.
Customers who use the token for everyday purchases can earn rewards such as rebates, discounted gift cards, and points redeemable for housing-related benefits.
The program will also offer up to $25,000 in down payment assistance and homebuyer support for renters who sign up.
The platform launches in Texas within weeks, with a national rollout planned by the end of 2026.
"We've been always dreaming about coming up with a solution that can solve this housing affordability crisis. We believe we can perfect this model and take it to the next level, merging real estate activity with the benefit of digital currencies."
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