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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Heading into the year, Zillow economists forecasted that U.S. home prices were likely to rise 2.6% in 2025. However, this year, the housing marketin particular in the Sun Beltwas softer than expected and Zillow has made several downgrades to its forecast for national home prices. This week, newly released data from Zillow shows that U.S. home prices have decelerated to a year-over-year increase of just 0.4%. Zillow economists now expect U.S. home prices to decline by 0.7% between May 2025 and May 2026. With inventory up nearly 20% over the previous year, buyers had more options in May than at any time since July 2020. Despite higher sales, sellers still outnumber buyers, wrote Zillow economists. This gives buyers more time to decide and more power in negotiations. Zillows market heat index shows a balanced market nationwide, one thats a lot more buyer-friendly than in recent years. Competition among buyers declined to the lowest level seen in May in Zillow records, reaching back through 2018. Not only do Zillow economists predict soft national home price growth this year, but theyre also predicting that the housing market will only see 4.1 million U.S. existing home sales in 2025. That would mark the third-straight year of suppressed existing home sales. For comparison, in pre-pandemic 2019, there were 5.3 million existing home sales in the U.S. Zillow economists added: Home values have fallen in 22 of the 50 largest metro areas over the past year, and sellers cut prices on almost 26% of listings nationwideanother May high in Zillow records. Homes that sell typically do so in 17 days, about four more than last year and only two days fewer than pre-pandemic averages. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Among the 300 largest U.S. housing markets, Zillow expects the strongest home price appreciation between May 2025 and May 2026 to occur in these 10 areas: Atlantic City, New Jersey 3.4% Kingston, New York 2.7% Knoxville, Tennessee 2.6% Pottsville, Pennsylvania 2.5% Torrington, Connecticut 2.4% Rochester, New York 2.2% Syracuse, New York 2.1% Fayetteville, Arkansas 2.1% Rockford, Illinois 2.1% Yuma, Arizona 2.0% Among the 300 largest U.S. housing markets, Zillow expects the weakest home price appreciation between May 2025 and May 2026 to occur in these 10 areas: Houma, Louisiana -9.4% Lake Charles, Louisiana -8.9% New Orleans -7.2% Alexandria, Louisiana -6.7% Lafayette, Louisiana -6.6% Shreveport, Louisiana -6.4% Beaumont, Texas -6.2% San Francisco -5.5% Midland, Texas -5.3% Odessa, Texas -5.3% While Zillow expects home prices across most of Florida to be flat over the coming year, ResiClub remains skeptical. After all, Florida has experienced a significant increase in active inventory and months of supply over the past year, which could signal potential pricing weakness. Indeed, prices of single-family homes and condos are currently declining in most Florida housing markets.
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E-Commerce
Getting the hiring process right is one of the most critical and challenging aspects of building a startup. Early hires shape your companys culture, operational efficiency, and future growth, yet many founders face this task without prior hiring experience or a clear sense of what their evolving business truly needs. Without being thoughtful about hiringfrom crafting compelling job descriptions to setting consistent compensation and onboarding practicesstartups risk bringing in team members who are misaligned with the companys needs or culture, creating friction and slowing momentum. Over the course of my three decades as a startup operator, executive coach and educator of entrepreneurs, Ive observed that investing the time upfront to build strong hiring practices not only helps attract the right talent but also lays a foundation for a healthy, scalable organization. While you cant prevent occasional mis-hires, you can try to minimize the possibility by including a project phase in your hiring process or even considering a project as a paid consulting engagement (try before you buy) for both you and the candidate. This allows the candidate to demonstrate what they are capable of and what it might be like to work with themand them with youonce they are on board full time. Projects can give you a higher degree of confidence that this is the one, which can be super hard in the early stages of your startup when you are not sure what the one even is. If this is not a try-before-you-buy situation, I recommend that projects are performed just before you are ready to do reference checks and make an offer. This can be an especially helpful step if you are down to two finalists you really like so you can compare how each one approaches a project. Unless you plan to do a trial engagement with them, try not to choose a project that takes more than one to two hours to do unless you pay them for the work. A startup Ive worked with offers to pay for the time taken to do a project, and if the candidate declines payment, the startup makes a donation to a charity of the candidates choice as compensation for their time. Below are some projects that can be effective at startups. Keep in mind that these projects test the candidates approach more than whether they do the work perfectly. Build alignment with your team on what good looks like for each project and plan to debrief once the assignment is complete and/or presented. Here are a few examples of what good might look like. The First 90 Days This is a good general test for any new hire, especially an executive, but also for a people manager or technical leader. Have the candidate explain what their first ninety days on the job will look like. Either leave it wide open or offer a few prompts like, Who will you spend time with? or How will you get to know the business? or What accomplishments do you hope to make by the end of the first ninety days? Engineering and Design Projects While there are some nifty tools out there that can test coding skills for engineers, I am a strong advocate for testing the softer skills. Those who design and/or build your product should be able to demonstrate their work beyond coding or portfolio samples. The best type of project here is a brief scenario about building a new feature or capability for your product that will allow the candidate to demonstrate not just depth of syntax knowledge or design best practices, but also how they will work on a problem with your team. These projects can be done as homework, although its nice if it can be done in person or as part of a video interview. Present a scenario and ask the candidate how they will approach it. You could give them some alone time to think about it and then ask them to talk through it. Ask them to cite how they thought about it and to explain the direction they took and why. Prepare to have another approach or idea for the scenario when they walk through their work. This can help gauge how the candidate handles feedback and if they are willing to collaborate on ideas. Scenarios for Non-Engineering Teams (Marketing, Sales, Product) I prefer scenario tests over presentations of a non-engineering candidates past work because such tests will show you how they use their experience to approach something new. Scenarios you may ask them to work through can be actual challenges you are facing, or they can be hypothetical. Here are some quick examples of scenario tests for a few functional areas: Product: Our CTO just came back from a listening tour with some of our customers and wants to explore a new set of features to expand our product offerings. These offerings are not on the product roadmap. What steps would you take to understand these new features and how would you approach the prioritization process? Marketing: Were about to launch a new product for our customers. What steps would you take to plan for this product launch and how will you measure its success? Sales: We are building a product to attract new customers in a new segment. What information do you need to prepare your team to sell this new product and how will you set sales goals for the team? You could imagine similar scenarios for finance, customer sup- port, or other functional roles. Remember, these candidates dont know how your business functions day-to-day, so this isnt about whether they have a perfect plan but more about how they approach the problem. With all the interviews and projects, you still may not get it right every time. Again, hiring is hard. Thats why the try-before-you-buy approach is often the best way to go for both the candidate and your startup. One way to ease that process, if a trial candidate can work full time before converting to a permanent employee, is to offer them equity in your startup that will be granted when they convert, but with a backdated vesting schedule to when they started their trial. If youre hiring for a role for the first time and no one on your team has experience with that roleso no one knows what good looks likeask an experienced advisor, investor, or friend with experience to be part of the interview process. They should be able to interview the candidate and help you formulate the projects you may assign. Excerpted with permission from After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup. Copyright 2025 by Julia Austin. Available from Basic Venture, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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E-Commerce
Whats the quickest way to get attention on LinkedIn? Some users think theyve cracked the code by flaunting elite schools and prestigious firms at the very top of their profile where job titles typically go. Alums from the likes of consulting giant McKinsey, Harvard Business School, and investment bank Goldman Sachs are now shouting about their networks from the digital rooftops. But does name-dropping on your LinkedIn profile work? What about if you did a short stint at a company? Some people, like my husband, swear by this strategy, others think its pretentious. Ultimately, it depends on who is looking. The benefits Leslie Danford, founder of Vitaminis, a vitamin juice shot brand sold nationally, says adding Bain, the consulting firm, and HBS to her LinkedIn headline has opened doors, especially since she had to fundraise for her company. Bain and HBS are standardized experiencesits almost shorthand, says Danford. Danford says that cluttering the top of her LinkedIn with something more detailed risks people skipping over her profile, whereas elite brand names can make a profile stand out. (LinkedIn caps headlines at 220 characters.) Its almost like a marketing headline, she says. Its quick and delivers a message. Unsurprisingly, the people who could benefit the most from this strategy are the ones who are not part of these elite networks to begin with, says Eric Lin, an associate professor at Oberlin College and Conservatory and chair of the business program. Lin has studied whether more detailed LinkedIn profiles boost pay. He found that people with more detailed LinkedIn profiles had higher pay and access to better opportunities, but this did not hold true for individuals with elite educational or work backgrounds. They have less to gain because they already have these networks, he says. For those outside these circles, showcasing prestigious brands on a public platform like LinkedIn could help them reach people and opportunities they otherwise wouldnt. The Drawbacks However, there can be downsides to name-dropping. For one, insiders may notice when someone is inflating their résumé such as listing a short course at HBS instead of a full MBA or an administrative role rather than client-facing work. If some people dont understand the differences, then the signal kind of works, for others it doesnt hold as much weight and maybe it backfires, says Lin. In addition, Lin, who has researched scandal firms and halo firms, says perceptions can change at any moment. At one point, working for Enron, the energy giant, or Arthur Anderson, a top-tier accounting firm, was considered prestigious. In his research, Lin found that even when former employees mentioned those firms but had nothing to do with the period or position that caused the reputational fallout, they were more likely to take a hit on future pay just by association. Yet, its not always clear how someone will feel about a company. Despite McKinseys enormous brand value, some feel less warmly about the consulting firm due to its role in the opioid crisis. As things do or dont fall into favor, theres a loose association of stigma, Lin says. (Lin has experience with both McKinsey and Harvard Business School, but does not name-drop them on this LinkedIn headline.) Many of those firms signal access to top-flight networks, not present-day experience, adds Megan Van Buiten, cofounder of People Conduit, a coaching firm. While its likely the candidate had to endure a rigorous selection process to get into these elite companies, these brands dont tell recruiters much about an individuals skill set. Its kind of a networking magnet, but it can definitely raise red flags, she adds. Some hiring managers may be suspicious about workers relying too heavily on gaining credibility from the elite institution versus showcasing skills like leadership or adaptability. Van Buiten recommends creating a LinkedIn headline that speaks to your current role and what impact youve had at your prior companies rather than tossing out names. Those interested in learning more about your experience can scroll your profile to find additional detail, she adds. It should not be used as a crutch, she says. You want to convey more how you are as a person rather than a brand. For instance, instead of saying ex-McKinsey, you might mention that youre a global strategy and transformation leader or have built high performing teams, she explains. John Peters, founder of shoe company Amberjack, recalls changing his LinkedIn headline roughly six years ago from listing his job as a management consultant to listing his elite affiliations. He needed to do cold reach outs on LinkedIn for his new company, which did not yet have a name, and he wanted to increase his chances of a reply. His LinkedIn now says: Founder | Ex-McKinsey | Cornell, which he feels is a testament to his credibility as an entrepreneur. Still, he admits to being on the fence about adding an Ivy League school and a top consulting firm to the headline. I really dont like that it feels braggadocio, but I felt inclined to do it, says Peters. Im trying to increase any chance of a reply. Peters says he will never have empirical evidence of whether this is working, but since his current company does not have the name recognition, hes willing to risk it. Even when someone looks up his name outside of LinkedIn, they can see the elite education and work background without clicking on his profile. Every inch counts, he says.
Category:
E-Commerce
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