Port Lavaca and Corpus Christi are Texas' most affordable beach towns of 2025

🌤️ Good morning! Today, we're covering the THC ban, the most affordable beach towns, a projected dip in home prices, and trends in homes with a pool.

Today's newsletter is 847 words — a 2.5-minute read.

1. Redfin will begin banning certain listings in September

Redfin will begin banning certain listings in September, the same month the NAR requires multiple listing services (MLSs) to implement the Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings (DMEL) terms under the Multiple Listing Options for Sellers (MLOS) policy.

Redfin’s ban affects listings that aren’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of being publicly marketed.

The ban won’t impact DMEL, an option where the seller can have their broker delay the public marketing of their listing through an IDX feed.

2. Texas House passes THC ban

The Texas House on Thursday approved a ban on THC just six years after the Legislature legalized it.

The move spells trouble for Texas' multibillion-dollar hemp industry, leaving those who rely on legal over-the-counter THC products, including veterans, in the lurch. CBD products are exempt from the ban.

The Texas House passed Senate Bill 3, already approved by the Senate, in an 87-54 vote. The bill will now return to the Senate to approve minor changes before likely heading to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

Some business associations have threatened to sue the state if Gov. Abbott signs the measure into law.

A MESSAGE FROM DAVE YOUR MORTGAGE GUY

The TRUTH on Student Loans and your Mortgage!!

I’ve seen too many homebuyers count themselves out because of student loans. And it's time to set the record straight.

In this video, I’ll show you:

🔍 Why your balance matters less than your payment
🔧 The key differences between FHA, VA, and Conventional loan rules
🚨 What happens if your loans are in default
🔥 The little-known trick that can help you qualify for more home!

If you’ve ever worried that your student loans are blocking your path to homeownership, you need to watch this.

3. Catch up quick

🏖️ Port Lavaca and Corpus Christi are Texas' most affordable beach towns of 2025. (Realtor.com)

🏙️ Americans are moving back to big cities. (Census)

📐 In many Texas cities, apartments are getting smaller. (DallasNews)

🗣️ FHFA Director Bill Pulte called on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. (X.com)

💼 More than 6,800 residential real estate agents switched brokerages. (NowBAM)

📣 Denee Evans will step down as CMLS CEO. (Inman)

🕊️ Fun read: Memorial Day history. (History.com)

4. Home prices expected to dip before the end of 2025

Both Zillow and Redfin have released updated home price forecasts. While they differ slightly, both predict that home prices will decline by the end of 2025.

Zillow expects home prices to fall 0.9% between April 2025 and April 2026. The company also forecasts 4.12 million home sales in 2025, up 1.4% from 2024.

Redfin projects home prices to rise 2% in Q2, remain flat in Q3, and fall 1% year-over-year in Q4. It notes that, aside from a brief dip in 2023, prices have increased year-over-year since 2012.

5. Property tax cuts for homeowners passed by Texas House

Lawmakers in the Texas House gave final approval Wednesday to two bills designed to cut property taxes for homeowners by increasing the state’s homestead exemption.

• House members voted 143-0 to approve Senate Bill 4, which would raise the homestead exemption for all homeowners from $100,000 to $140,000.

The House also passed Senate Bill 23, which would increase the additional homestead exemption for homeowners aged 65 and older, as well as those with disabilities. The exemption would rise from $10,000 to $60,000, on top of the existing $100,000 homestead exemption available to all Texas homeowners.

6. Pool homes are bigger and selling for more

According to a Realtor.com analysis, in April 2025, the median list price for a home with a pool was $599,000, compared to $389,000 for a home without one — a 54% premium. While that is down from the 61% peak in January 2022, it remains well above pre-pandemic levels.

Pool homes are typically 600 square feet larger than those without pools, and the price-per-square-foot premium is clear: $247/sq. ft. for homes with a pool compared to $204/sq. ft. for homes without one.

April 2025 marked an all-time high for pool listings, with 333,000 homes marketing a pool feature. That represents 24.4% of all listings, the largest share ever recorded on Realtor.com.

A MESSAGE FROM PACASO

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