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Today on Real Estate Backstage, new home sales are up, while existing home sales are down … Trump walks back his comments about firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell … Proposed legislation seeks to eliminate the Florida Real Estate Commission … and Coldwell Banker agrees to pay $20 million to settle a TCPA lawsuit.
New Home Sales Climb
According to RISMedia:
“During March 2025, new single-family home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 724,000. Per the latest findings from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), sales were up 7.4% month-over-month and 6% year-over-year.
Since the beginning of 2025, new single-family home sales have see-sawed from increases to decreases. Coming off of December 2024 showing the highest new-home sale numbers since 2021, January 2025’s new-home sales were reported at a 10.5% drop. Then, new-home sales increased again in February 2025, a trend that continued in March.
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release that, ‘the homebuilders’ focus on smaller-sized homes is also attracting buyers.’ He further contrasted positive signs of new-home sales with the struggles of the existing home market.
… Cotality … Chief Economist Selma Hepp was more cautious in her statement about the new-home sales data.
‘While home sales are showing a seasonal uptick, they are weaker than expected and continue to trend below 2024 levels despite new for-sale inventory reaching the highest level since 2009,’ said Hepp. ‘Many markets with growing new inventories have also experienced a significant rise in existing inventories and weakening overall demand.’
Hepp said that these conditions will challenge homebuilders’ pricing power, creating a need for further incentives. Hepp added that, alongside mortgage rates (which she stated are ‘likely to remain volatile and elevated’), homebuilders are facing potential cost upticks from tariffs and rising labor costs.
Inventory also showed improvements. The report estimated that there are 503,000 new homes for sale as of March 2025. This is 0.6% higher than in February 2025, and also 7.9% higher than in March 2024. Between current inventory and sales rate, supply is estimated at 8.3 months.
… As new-home sales went up, median prices trickled down. In March 2025, median sales prices of new homes clocked in at $403,600, 1.9% lower than in February … and 7.5% below March 2024.
… National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chief Economist Robert Dietz added in another press release that declining mortgage rates help spur sales, too. “In February, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.84%, while in March it fell to 6.65%,” said Dietz.
Buddy Hughes, chairman of the NAHB, said in the association’s press release that ‘an increase in economic certainty would be a big boost to future sales conditions.’”
(Source: RISMedia.com)
Existing-home Sales Fall
According to Inman:
“Existing-home sales fell in March to their slowest pace since the subprime mortgage crisis in 2009 as high home prices and mortgage rates continued to impede buyers, data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors shows.
Sales dropped in all four major regions month over month, with total existing-home sales decreasing by 5.9 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million in March. On an annual basis, sales dropped by 2.4 percent from March 2024’s rate of 4.12 million.
Economists had pegged March 2025’s existing-home sales to hit closer to 4.13 million units.
‘Homebuying and selling remained sluggish in March due to the affordability challenges associated with high mortgage rates,’ NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. ‘Residential housing mobility, currently at historical lows, signals the troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society.’
Total inventory hit 1.33 million units in March, which was up 8.1 percent month over month, and up 19.8 percent year over year. At the current sales rate, unsold inventory is at a 4 month supply, which is up from 3.5 months in February 2025 and up from 3.2 months in March 2024.
The median existing-home sale price across all housing types rose 2.7 percent year over year to $403,700.
‘In a stark contrast to the stock and bond markets, household wealth in residential real estate continues to reach new heights,’ Yun added.
‘With mortgage delinquencies at near-historical lows, the housing market is on solid footing.’
(Source: Inman.com)
Trump and Powell
According to the Wall Street Journal:
“President Trump is threatening to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell unless he cuts interest rates to cushion the blow from his tariffs.
The problem is twofold. It isn’t clear the president has the legal authority to dismiss Powell before his term ends next year. And Trump’s trade war has made rate cuts more difficult for now because the Fed fears acting to shore up the economy could worsen inflation.
That tension has left the two men on a collision course without any easy escape—unless Trump backs down on tariffs or until the economy shows signs it is crumpling under the weight of the import duties.
‘It is the most complex hand any Fed chair has been dealt,’ said Patrick McHenry, a Republican congressman from 2005 until January who chaired the House Financial Services Committee for the last two years.
The trade war threatens to touch off a contentious showdown between the White House and the Fed that threatens an unprecedented legal standoff or a rollback of the institution’s longstanding autonomy to set interest rates as it deems fit.
Powell … made clear that he would not leave his position if asked because he doesn’t believe the law allows him to be dismissed over a policy dispute.
… Trump, recognizing the potential for short-term pain from his tariffs, is looking for the Fed to come to his rescue now. Powell, aware that the Fed may need to soften the blow from the trade war if a recession unfolds, isn’t willing to move pre-emptively, as that could make inflation worse.
… Many constitutional scholars believe it would be difficult to remove the Fed chair, but the issue isn’t settled legally. Powell has consistently said that he doesn’t believe he can be removed from office over a policy dispute. ‘Our independence is a matter of law,’ he said Wednesday.
If Trump follows through on threats to remove Powell, the Fed chair is likely to personally finance a legal challenge, according to people who have spoken to the Fed chief. Such a battle would likely fall to the Supreme Court to sort out.
Even if a near-term collision is avoided, Trump will still have the opportunity to put his stamp on the institution by naming his successor next year.”
(Source: wsj.com)
According to RISMedia:
“After an initial firestorm sparked by President Donald Trump’s sharply critical—and threatening—comments directed at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week, the controversy may be dying down, at least for now.
On Tuesday, Trump clarified that he had ‘no intention’ of attempting to fire Powell before his term is up in 2026—a move that would almost certainly set off a major legal confrontation and likely further roil financial markets.
But following the threats and pressure, as Trump has explicitly pushed the Fed to lower interest rates, Fed members—who will meet on May 6 and 7 to vote on interest rate changes—addressed the controversy directly and indirectly, while also sticking to the message that new trade and immigration policies have created uncertainty regarding the broader state of the economy.
This past Monday morning, Fed member Austan Goolsbee was interviewed on CNBC and asked directly about Trump’s comments.
‘There’s virtual unanimity among economists that monetary independence from political interference—that the Fed or any central bank be able to do the job that it needs to do—is really important,’ he said.
Goolsbee added that uncertainty around tariffs is giving Fed members pause, with ‘a lot of question marks’ around what policy will look like in the near future.”
(Source: RISMedia.com)
Florida Real Estate Commission Being Dissolved?
According to Inman:
“A bill moving through the Florida Legislature seeks to eliminate the commission responsible for handling licensing and disciplinary matters for the state’s 320,000 real estate professionals.
The bill — which takes aim at the Florida Real Estate Commission, the body that is responsible for licensing and regulating real estate agents and brokers in the Sunshine State — has drawn fierce opposition from the real estate community.
The seven-member commission, which is made up of brokers, agents and everyday Floridians and is appointed by the governor, also handles rulemaking.
‘Right now we’re 320,000 active licensees across the state,’ Millie Kanyar, a broker who is chair of the commission, told Inman. ‘Basically, our role is crucial in maintaining the public trust and potential integrity in real estate transactions.’
It’s not immediately clear how disputes and disciplinary action would be handled if the bill, HB1461, passes the House and Senate with the provision in place.
The bill is part of a broader deregulation push by the sponsor, Rep. Taylor Yarkosky, a central Florida Republican, that also takes aim at dozens of other commissions under the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Among the other commissions targeted for elimination are the Board of Architecture and Interior Design, the Board of Landscape Architecture and the Construction Industry Licensing Board.
When Yarkosky introduced the bill in February, it didn’t include any mention of the real estate industry. It proposed updates to the construction licensing board and architecture board. It was revised last week to propose the outright elimination of a slew of boards and commissions, including the Florida Real Estate Commission.
… The Florida Homebuilders Association has come out in support of the bill. The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors and Florida Realtors were opposed, among others.
‘We do welcome continued conversation, including the conversation around the privatization of what would happen with the administration and oversight of Florida licensure within the state of Florida,’ said Tim Weisheyer, broker of Dream Builders Realty and president of the Florida Realtors, during a hearing on the bill in a House subcommittee on Tuesday.
‘We understand the intent of the bill and what the state is trying to do with deregulation in our state,’ he said. ‘But we do truly believe that real estate is one of those that should be preserved.’
‘FREC is a regulatory body composed of experienced brokers, agents, and public members who understand the nuances of real estate transactions, ethics, and consumer protection,’ the American Real Estate Association said in a statement. ‘Replacing that expertise with a generic bureaucracy not only weakens professional oversight — it jeopardizes the public trust. Let’s be clear: this is not deregulation … this is de-professionalization.’”
(Source: Inman.com)
Park City Board of REALTORS® Resumes CCP Enforcement
According to Real Estate News:
“The Park City Board of Realtors … which last year paused enforcement of Clear Cooperation over legal concerns, today announced that it will embrace the updated policy, which allows sellers to temporarily hold off on publicly marketing their homes.
The Clear Cooperation Policy requires homes to be listed on the MLS within a day of being publicly marketed. This ‘promotes an open, inclusive marketplace where buyers have access to all properties in one place,’ said Jamie Johnson, CEO of the Park City Association and MLS. ‘At the same time, the delayed marketing option recognizes that some sellers need a higher level of privacy.’
‘We’re pleased to be among the first MLSs to adopt this reasonable and balanced approach,’ Johnson added.
… The policy update, plus the news that the Department of Justice does not consider CCP to be inherently anti-competitive, eased fears of the Park City association that continuing to enforce Clear Cooperation would lead to legal action.
… The industry at large, however, continues to wrestle with the implications of the new policy, with Zillow and Redfin among the major players barring listings that are publicly marketed but not widely available via the MLS.”
(Source: RealEstateNews.com)
Coldwell Banker to Pay $20M in TCPA Settlement
According to Inman:
“A slate of homeowners who sued the franchiser over alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) agreed to a settlement agreement in the case, a move that would help Coldwell Banker avoid trial while also denying wrongdoing.
As part of the proposed settlement agreement, individuals whose numbers were on the National Do Not Call Registry but who still received two or more marketing calls from Coldwell Banker agents between June 11, 2015, and Dec. 3, 2020, are entitled to a piece of the settlement.
Coldwell Banker and the plaintiffs in the case reached a settlement agreement in December and received preliminary approval last month. Notices began being sent this month. Claimants have until July 3, 2025, to file claims and receive compensation.
The settlement also covers anyone who got a call from a Coldwell Banker agent that included an artificial or prerecorded message between June 11, 2015, and Dec. 3, 2020, according to the website outlining the terms of the settlement agreement.
In the suit, which was first filed in June 2019, the plaintiffs — homeowners Sarah Bumpus of California, Cheryl Rowan of Minnesota and Micheline Peker of Florida — alleged they received, without their consent, unwanted calls from agents affiliated with then-Realogy’s Coldwell Banker brand asking them to list their homes for sale. Rowan and Peker also alleged they received prerecorded messages from Realogy agents.
The plaintiffs alleged the calls and messages violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which prohibits making unsolicited autodialed calls to consumers without their consent, including calls to consumers registered on the National Do Not Call Registry.
… Anywhere Real Estate, which owns Coldwell Banker, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the settlement agreement.
A final settlement hearing is scheduled for Aug. 28 in San Francisco. The judge will then decide whether to grant final approval.”
(Source: Inman.com)
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