Homeowner profits are lower than a year ago
Homeowners made a 50% profit selling single-family homes and condos between April and June of this year, a new report from real estate data firm ATTOM found.
While there is a slight increase from profits made earlier this year, homebuying follows seasonal trends, so it can be more accurate to consider year-over-year comparisons.
That said, profits are down nearly 0.6 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024, even as home prices have increased to new highs.
"We saw historically high home prices last quarter, but even so, we didn't see a big jump in seller profits," Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, said in a statement. "That's a measure of the fact that home prices have been very high for a number of years now."
Despite the recent downward trend in profits, Barber noted that owners are still taking in more than before the pandemic, when the typical seller made about 30% from a single-family home or condo.
Master-planned communities report slower sales
Home sales in master-planned communities are lagging, according to a report from RCLCO Real Estate Consulting.
The advisory firm, which publishes a semiannual update on the master-planned community market, said sales in those neighborhoods have declined 6.6% compared to the pace set in early 2024.
The firm said the shift matches the broader new home market and has been mostly driven by "economic uncertainty, weak consumer sentiment and continued affordability challenges."
The report also estimated that The Villages will end the year as the top-selling master-planned community.
Workforce confidence nears all-time lows, study suggests
New data from a LinkedIn survey suggests that active job seekers are losing confidence.
The social media platform's Workforce Confidence survey scored a 6 in July, according to a post shared Thursday. That's worse than the past three months, and it's just one point higher than March's all-time low score of 5.
It's also lower than in April 2020, near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the survey had a score of 9, the report said.
"Economic uncertainty has been driving this drop — and pushing professionals to rethink their careers," the post said.