NAR economist breaks down pertinent market stats and trends to help keep brokers up to date.

Every real estate professional understands the value of quality images that highlight existing properties and their features. But what if images could show the possibilities of a property beyond what currently exists?

Setting goals offers the promise of hope, especially in an uncertain economy. But nobody can expect results to materialize simply by wishing. What's needed is a plan, followed by a way to track results for accountability, whether the end game is to expand your sphere of influence, open another office or increase your transaction volume.

Spatial marketing, which merges physical and digital environments and lets users interact with the resulting landscapes, is on the rise with devices like the Apple Vision Pro. GoSpooky co-founder Tim van der Wiel highlights the importance of testing, spatial designers and 3D playbooks for the medium and advises brands to put consumer content front and center.

A major focus is on sustainability, functionality and aesthetics in the latest trends for the central room in the home.

California supports the construction of accessory dwelling units to increase housing density, with homeowners Leslie-Anne Huff and Reggie Panaligan taking advantage of the policy to create this live-work studio space.

Lisa Duffy and Leslie LaForest of Residential Properties were the listing agents for this Rhode Island custom-built home that recently sold for $960,000, the largest closing in the area since January 2023.

Despite a surge in industrial real estate supply, rental rates for U.S. warehouse and distribution space increased 20.6% year over year in 2023 and reached a new high average of $9.72 per square foot, according to real estate firm Colliers. Stephanie Rodriguez, Colliers' national director of industrial services, predicts modest rate increases this year amid cooling demand and a new construction slowdown.

Mike McShane of EdChoice brings the "Housing Theory of Everything" to bear on the U.S. education system, in which teacher salaries have failed to keep up with rising rents in many cities. "On one level, this is a problem that our education system didn't cause and that our education system can't really solve," he writes.

There's not enough evidence to support that inflation is sustainably returning to 2%, said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic, adding the Fed was in no rush to cut rates given the resilience of the U.S. economy. "The evidence from data, our surveys, and our outreach says that victory is not clearly in hand, and leaves me not yet comfortable that inflation is inexorably declining to our 2% objective," Bostic said. "I require more confidence before declaring victory in this fight for price stability."

Average loan loss reserves at the biggest U.S. banks have fallen from $1.60 to 90 cents per dollar of commercial real estate debt, filings to the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation show. Bad CRE loans overtook loss reserves at six banks over the past year after commercial property debt tripled to around $9.3 billion.