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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. When assessing home price momentum, it’s important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate pricing softness or weakness. Conversely, a rapid decline in active listings could suggest a market that is heating up. Generally speaking, local housing markets where active inventory has returned to pre-pandemic levels have experienced softer home price growth (or outright price declines) over the past 30 months. Conversely, local housing markets where active inventory remains far below pre-pandemic levels have, generally speaking, experienced stronger home price growth over the past 30 months. How does inventory look in 2025? It looks likeassuming nothing dramatic changesmost states will see rising active housing inventory this year. National active listings are on the rise (up 27.6% between February 2024 and February 2025). This indicates that homebuyers have gained some leverage in many parts of the country over the past year. Some sellers markets have turned into balanced markets, and more balanced markets have turned into buyers markets. Nationally, were still below pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels (23.1% below February 2019) and some resale markets, in particular big chunks of Midwest and Northeast, still remain tight. Here are the recent historic totals for inventory/active listings in February, according to Realtor.com: February 2017: 1,151,120 February 2018: 1,045,153 February 2019: 1,102,660 February 2020: 928,343 February 2021: 464,919 (overheating during the pandemic housing boom) February 2022: 346,511 (overheating during the pandemic housing boom) February 2023: 579,264 (mortgage rate shock) February 2024: 664,716 February 2025: 847,825 The map below shows the year-over-year percentage change in active housing inventory by state. !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=0;r
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Arthur Johnson has lived in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward for nearly three decades, long enough to appreciate the trees that filter pollution from the big ships traveling the nearby Mississippi River and that offer shade on sweltering summer days. When Hurricane Katrina roared through two decades ago, it wiped out 200,000 trees across the city, including many in Johnson’s neighborhood and several in his own yard. The city has struggled ever since to restore its tree canopy. Those efforts will be set back by the U.S. Forest Service’s decision in mid-February to terminate a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, which was working to plant trees in neighborhoods that might not otherwise be able to afford them. The program is the latest victim of a drive by President Donald Trump‘s administration against environmental justice initiatives. In New Orleans, part of the money was going to the environmental group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has planted more than 1,600 trees in the historically Black community but has now paused plans for another 900. Those are trees that largely low-income residents otherwise couldnt afford to plant or maintain, said the 71-year-old Johnson, who runs a local nonprofit, the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, that has helped SOUL with its work and done some tree plantings of its own in the area. You’re not just cutting out the tree, the environment with such cuts, said Johnson. If those trees arent replaced and more arent continually added, it really takes a toll on the sustainability of the Lower 9th Ward and its community. The benefits of trees are vast. They capture stormwater and replenish groundwater. They help clean the air in polluted areas, improve mental health, and cool air and surfaces of the built environment, especially during heat waves that are growing more intense and frequent with climate change. One study by the UCLA Luskin Center found that shade can reduce heat stress on the human body from 25% to 35% throughout the day. And much research shows that low-income and communities of color have fewer treesand are hotterthan better-off neighborhoods. The Arbor Day Fund’s grant was part of former President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, which sent $1.5 billion to the forest services Urban and Community Forestry program. In a February 14 email canceling the grant, the Forest Service wrote that the award “no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities. But Dan Lambe, the Arbor Day Foundation’s chief executive, said the projects weren’t just going to serve disadvantaged people. They were going to benefit every member of the community, he said. In total, 105 nonprofits, municipalities, and Indigenous organizationsfrom Alaska to Florida to Mainehave lost funding for critical environmental projects, the foundation said. This was an opportunity to make a really meaningful impact on peoples lives, so its been disappointing,” Lambe said. The Forest Service didn’t say if other recipients of the $1.5 billion forestry investment also had grants terminated. In a statement, its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the agency was following directions to comply with Trump’s executive orders. Protecting the people and communities we serve, as well as the infrastructure, businesses, and resources they depend on to grow and thrive, remains a top priority for the USDA and the Forest Service, the agency said. For SOUL in New Orleans, losing the grant means they don’t have the money to water trees already planted, and they’ve had to drop plans to hire three people. Another $2.5 million grant is on hold due to the federal funding freeze, and founder and executive director Susannah Burley said the nonprofit’s survival is uncertain. Its annual budget is a little more than $1 million. We kind of are lost because we dont know if we should be planning to close our doors or if we should be planning for next season, she said. For others who were set to get Arbor Day Foundation money, the loss is not existential but still devastating. In the city-county of Butte-Silver Bow in southwest Montana, forester Trevor Peterson was going to use a $745,250 grant to buy chain saws, rigging gear, and other essential tools, remove up to 200 dead or dying cottonwoods, and plant as many as 1,000 trees as part of a decades-long effort to replenish trees cut to make way for copper mining. He wanted to help organize large community events focused on education, hoping to impart the knowledge necessary for future stewardship of the urban forest. We will now have to go back to the drawing board to determine where to go from here, he said. Jackson County, Oregon, was awarded a $600,000 grant to replant trees after wildfires in 2020 destroyed thousands of homes and charred more than 60,000 trees. The town of Talent lost two-thirds of its trees. The nonprofit Oregon Urban Rural and Community Forestry, founded in the fires’ aftermath, fought for years to get a single dollar, recalled Mike Oxendine, the group’s founder and director. The grant money from the Arbor Day Foundation was being used to help low-income and disadvantaged mobile home park residentsamong the hardest-hit by the firesidentify and remove hazardous trees badly burned or killed, and replant trees for shade and cooling. This is a rural red area that needs it badly, said Oxendine. We hit temperatures that exceed 110 degrees every summer now. We go through massive droughts and were always prone to wildfire here. The loss of funding will create a tremendous burden for the organization, he said. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. Dorany Pineda, Associated Press
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Hollywood is waking up to the power of influencers. That starts with MrBeast. Amazons Beast Games cost hundreds of millions to produce. Some of that came from the streamer, but much of it came from the pockets of MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. On the Diary of a CEO podcast, he estimated tens of millions in losses from the show, admitting that he was an idiot for spending so much. But it was all for one goal: To knock down the Hollywood door so other creators could score their own production deals. But MrBeast misunderstands the power balance. In the attention economy, influencers have the eyeballs right now. Amazons acquisition of Beast Games was massively successful; the show garnered 50 million viewers in just 25 days, Amazons second largest series debut in 2024. Did MrBeast get any new fans? Likely not, given how critically panned the show was. MrBeast got fleeced by Amazon, and is setting up more creators to do the same. The streamer gets the viewers, while the influencers are left in the red. Who has the power: MrBeast or Amazon? MrBeast dug into his own pockets to produce Beast Games. His deal with Amazon was reportedly worth around $100 million. But, on Diary of a CEO, he acknowledged that spending for the show went far beyond thatand the excess came from his own funds. Even just the first two episodes sets cost around $15 and $14 million, respectively. I would have more money if I didnt film it, he said. A deal between Amazon and MrBeast has the promise of being mutually beneficial. Amazon gets the eyeballs of every 10-year-old munching on their Feastables. MrBeast gets some cash to produce the show, plus the possibility to expand beyond his cloistered YouTube presence. But MrBeast seems to have faltered on both of these gains. Spending tens of millions out of pocket, the Amazon investment didnt save him from going into the red. (Plus, hes likely racking up legal fees after contestants sued him and Amazon for sexual harassment and chronic mistreatment.) In terms of audience expansion, the results look dismal, too. Reviews panned Beast Games, calling it an undignified spectacle and surprisingly dull. His follower count has grown modestly throughout the shows release, but there was no noticeable spike. Its hard to imagine anyone watching Beast Games that wasnt already watching his YouTube content. For Amazon, amassing 50 million viewers in 25 days is a feat. The only show to grow quicker on the streamer in 2024 was Fallout, and that had the benefit of video game IP. But, for MrBeast, 50 million viewers is chump change. His videos frequently reach that threshold within days, if not hours. Ultimately, Amazon needed MrBeast more than MrBeast needed Amazon. While the shine of a streamer is enticing, it didnt benefit his business. The failures of influencers in Hollywood Creators dont have a good rep when it comes to doing stuff on streaming platforms, MrBeast explained on e Diary of a CEO. His goal was to break down barriers, to open up these Hollywood studios to online celebrities. Per his account, it worked: He could think of two creators who had shows lined up based on Beast Gamess success. But theres a reason why influencer shows dont work. They sever the stars from the form theyre famous for. TikToks Hype House could film themselves dancing for hours and hours, but failed when it came to reality television. The Netflix show was repeatedly called depressing by critics, and some cast members say the show fabricated storylines. James Charles is best when hes reviewing makeup; hosting a reality competition show, he flails. Still, these shows do well. Over a year after its release, Hype House was still gaining hundreds of thousands of eyes, per Netflixs 2023 data dump. Hes All That, the ill-fated remake starring TikToker Addison Rae, soared even higher, catching 15 million viewers two years after release. Thats because these creators have name brand. The streamers rake in all those rabid fans, while the influencers brand is diluted. Hollywood is alluring. Everyone wants to be on TV. But, for these online superstars, they seem to give more than they get.
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