Home prices finished 2024 strong, NAR data shows. But in the last five years alone, median home prices have jumped 50%.

Coercing your team to perform or expecting them to conform to often biased standards is part of what Kim Scott, author and co-founder of Radical Candor, calls "brutal ineffectiveness," which Scott writes can lead to discrimination, bullying and harassment. Scott recommends a culture of collaboration and cooperation where all leaders face checks and balances that are "baked into the company's management systems, processes and organizational design."

Traditional homeownership might be on the decline, particularly for millennials and people in big metropolitan areas, but the trend could be a boon for traditional multifamily and self-storage real estate, Inland Real Estate Investment says in a report. Renting is less costly than owning a home in all 50 of the biggest U.S. metro areas, where the typical mortgage payment is 37% higher than the typical rent, the report says.

U.S. construction spending rose 0.5% in Dec., exceeding expectations, driven by a 1% increase in single-family homebuilding, according to the Commerce Department. However, high mortgage rates could limit future residential construction gains. Private construction spending increased 0.9%, while public construction spending fell 0.5%.

KBW analysts see opportunity in high-quality commercial real estate stocks at a time when tariffs may take a toll on other corners of the market, and single-family rental REITs could act as a safe haven. Tariffs could affect the costs of homebuilding, as China, Mexico and Canada are all suppliers of construction materials.

RET Ventures partner Christopher Yip said in an interview that the venture capital firm's strategy centers on its strategic investors, who own and manage significant rental portfolios and that the firm prioritizes technology that offers immediate, tangible benefits, with a keen interest in solutions that drive centralization and leverage AI. "In the near term, the application of generative AI to existing workflows is another trend that has the potential to significantly impact property operations," Yip said.

Ship Bottom Borough Council in New Jersey has accepted state calculations for affordable housing but plans to use a formula that includes an analysis of vacant land to show no additional units are needed. Special Counsel Cameron MacLeod says the borough has no vacant land due to flood zone issues, aligning with other communities in the area.

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson emphasized the need for cautious rate adjustments amid broader uncertainty. He highlighted the importance of moving slowly as the economy and labor market are strong, adding that inflation is on a "bumpy" path to the 2% target. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly also cited uncertainty and said that "we can take our time to look at what's coming in, both on the economy and any policy changes."