News (NWS) Stock News, May-Jun 2025

News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) has appointed Julian Delany as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, effective June 30, 2025. Delany, who succeeds David Kline, joins from News Corp Australia where he served as CTO and Executive Team member since 2020.

During his tenure at News Corp Australia since 2012, Delany has held various leadership positions, including General Manager of news.com.au and Managing Director of digital news, food and lifestyle network. His track record includes pioneering digital-first newsroom operations and implementing data-led insights for product and commercial strategy.

Delany brings extensive experience in technical process alignment, digital operations, and broadcast operations from his previous roles at News Corp Australia and Foxtel. He will relocate to New York City with his family.

Realtor.com (NASDAQ:NWSA) released a comprehensive housing affordability report revealing that the typical U.S. household needs to spend 44.6% of their income to afford a median-priced home as of May 2025, significantly exceeding the recommended 30% threshold.

Only three major metros - Pittsburgh (27.4%), Detroit (29.8%), and St. Louis (30.0%) - remain affordable for median-income earners using a 20% down payment and May's average mortgage rate of 6.82%. In contrast, Los Angeles leads unaffordability, requiring 104.5% of median income for housing costs, followed by San Diego (77.1%) and San Jose (72.4%).

The report suggests that increasing affordable housing supply is crucial for improving affordability, as mortgage rates are expected to remain elevated and income growth alone may not solve the issue.

News Corp has extended CEO Robert Thomson's contract through June 2030, building on his successful 12-year tenure since 2013. Under Thomson's leadership, News Corp achieved significant transformation and its four most profitable years from 2021-2024. Key achievements include increasing digital revenues to 50% of total revenue (up from 20% in 2014), doubling Dow Jones' profitability after its 2020 re-segmentation, selling Foxtel to DAZN, securing intellectual property agreements with tech platforms including OpenAI, achieving Investment Grade Credit rating, acquiring OPIS and Base Chemicals to strengthen Dow Jones' B2B offering, and driving growth in Book Publishing through partnerships like Spotify for audiobooks.

According to Realtor.com's May Rent Report, U.S. rental market shows signs of cooling with median asking rents at $1,705, marking a significant slowdown that could help ease inflation pressures. While rents remain 19.6% higher than 2019 levels, this increase falls below the overall inflation rate of 25.6%. Only nine major metros, including Pittsburgh (43.2%), Tampa (41.6%), and Miami (36.2%), saw rent growth outpacing inflation since 2019. San Francisco experienced the most significant decline (-3.2%) followed by Minneapolis (3.9%). Federal policy changes, including student visa restrictions and employment shifts, are creating divergent rental trends across metros. The market has seen 22 consecutive months of year-over-year declines, with current rents $54 below the August 2022 peak.

Realtor.com's 2025 analysis reveals significant correlations between home architectural styles, pricing, and regional preferences. Colonial/American Traditional homes lead the market with 49.8% of listings, concentrated in Houston, Atlanta, and Dallas. Mediterranean homes command the highest median price at $725,000, while Ranch-style homes offer affordability at $369,000. Colonial homes showed the strongest annual price growth at +5.6%, while Mediterranean homes saw no growth. Craftsman, Ranch, and Modern styles demonstrated impressive 6-year appreciation of over 43%. The analysis also shows clear regional patterns: Colonial homes dominate the South and Northeast, Modern and Mediterranean styles prevail in the West and Southwest, and Craftsman homes are common in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest. English-inspired homes, though representing only 1.5% of listings, are the largest at 2,700 sq. ft. and typically the oldest, with a median build year of 1927.

Realtor.com reports that investor selling reached a record high in 2024, with 10.8% of sellers being investors, up from 10.1% in 2023. While investor buying slightly increased to 13.0% of purchases, it remained below the 2022 peak of 13.3%. Small investors (those purchasing fewer than 10 homes) dominated the market, representing 59.2% of investor purchases, while large investor activity fell to 21.7%. All-cash purchases by investors dropped to their lowest level since 2008. Regionally, Missouri (21.2%), Oklahoma (18.7%), and Kansas (18.4%) had the highest investor buyer shares. The market saw significant variations, with Hawaii, Montana, and Washington D.C. experiencing the largest net-negative impact from investors, while California, Minnesota, and Oregon saw the largest net-positive impact.

The U.S. housing market reached a significant milestone in May 2025 as active listings surpassed 1 million homes for the first time since Winter 2019, marking a 31.5% year-over-year increase. However, the recovery shows a stark regional divide, with only Southern and Western metros returning to pre-pandemic inventory levels. Markets like Denver (+100%), Austin (+69%), and Seattle (+60.9%) lead the inventory recovery due to aggressive post-2020 construction, while Northeast and Midwest metros like Hartford (-77.7%) and Chicago (-59.3%) continue to struggle. The national median listing price remained relatively flat at $440,000 (+0.1% YoY), while homes spent a median of 51 days on market, 6 days longer than last year. Price reductions reached 19.1% of listings, the highest May level since 2016, with Western and Southern markets showing the most significant price cuts.

Realtor.com's Q1 2025 report reveals international home shoppers represented 1.9% of U.S. housing demand, up from 1.7% in Q1 2024. Despite remaining the top source, Canadian interest declined from 40.7% to 34.7%. The UK (5.7%), Mexico (5.4%), Germany (3.8%), and Australia (3.2%) followed as top international sources. Miami led as the most popular U.S. market with 8.7% of international demand, followed by New York and Los Angeles. Texas markets showed significant growth, with Austin and San Antonio entering the top 20 metros for the first time. Canadian buyers showed strong interest in Florida markets, particularly Naples (59.6%) and Cape Coral (59.1%). Mexican buyers primarily focused on border cities due to practical considerations and established networks. The shift in international demand patterns reflects changing trade policies and regional economic factors.

A new Realtor.com survey reveals that Millennials' home buying interest increased to 23% from 15% compared to September 2024, making them the only generation showing heightened purchase intent. However, 69% of Americans are not planning real estate transactions in the next six months. High mortgage rates continue to impact the market, with one-third of respondents delaying purchases due to rates. Only 2% would consider buying with rates above 6%, while 63% prefer rates below 5%. The survey found that 57% of homebuyers use personal savings for purchases, while 15% tap into investments or retirement accounts. The "lock-in effect" persists, particularly affecting first-time buyers, though experts expect this to ease as life factors drive purchases despite rates.