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Realtor.com has released its 2025 Top Rental Markets for Recent College Grads, with Austin, Texas claiming the top spot. The rankings highlight cities offering affordable living and strong career prospects for new graduates. Austin leads with the lowest rent-to-income ratio of 18.9%, followed by Raleigh, N.C. and Overland Park, Kan. in the top three. The analysis of 312 cities considered factors like rent affordability, job availability, commute time, and social amenities. Key findings show the top 10 markets average just 21.5% rent-to-income ratio, with cities like Richmond and Scottsdale showing 26% more job opportunities than pre-pandemic levels. High rental vacancy rates in Atlanta and Overland Park (>9%) offer graduates more housing choices and negotiating power.

A new Realtor.com® analysis reveals that homes with pools continue to command significant price premiums in 2025, though lower than pandemic peaks. The typical home with a pool in April 2025 was priced at $599,000 with 2,450 square feet, compared to $389,000 and 1,850 square feet for homes without pools, representing a 54% premium. Pool listings reached an all-time high of 24.4% in April 2025, with 333,000 homes featuring pools. While this premium has decreased from the January 2022 peak of 61%, pools remain valuable assets. Miami leads with the highest share of pool listings at 61.8%, followed by Phoenix (58.4%) and Orlando (55.3%). Las Vegas showed the largest increase in pool listings since 2019, jumping from 16.2% to 43.1%.

A new Realtor.com survey reveals that while 63.4% of home shoppers expect a recession within 12 months, 29.8% view it as an opportunity to buy, nearly double those who'd be less likely to purchase (15.8%). 54.4% say a recession wouldn't impact their buying decision. The survey identifies key market challenges: 44.3% cite limited inventory as the main obstacle, while 36% face budget constraints. The market shows signs of cooling, with overbidding concerns dropping to 7.7% from 10.4% last year. Housing inventory remains 16.3% below historical norms, while credit-related challenges affect 13.5% of buyers. The findings suggest a shifting market dynamic where economic uncertainty meets potential opportunity for well-prepared buyers.

According to Realtor.com's April Rent Report, U.S. renters are experiencing improved affordability, spending 23.4% of their income on rent, down from 24.7% in April 2024. The national median asking rent was $1,699, showing a slight $5 increase from March but remaining $60 below its August 2022 peak. Only five of the top 50 metros exceeded the 30% affordability threshold.

Miami emerged as the least affordable market, with rent 1.3 times above the affordable threshold, followed by New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Diego. Conversely, Oklahoma City ranked as the most affordable, with rent at just 55.6% of the maximum affordable level, followed by Austin, Columbus, Raleigh, and Minneapolis.

The rental market shows continued cooling, with rents down 1.7% year-over-year. While still 20.8% above pre-pandemic levels, this aligns with overall consumer price increases. An influx of new multifamily units has helped ease pricing pressure, with the national rental vacancy rate reaching 7.1% in Q1 2025.

Workhuman and The WSJ Leadership Institute have launched the first-ever WSJ Chief People Officer (CPO) Council, announced at Workhuman Live 2025. This invitation-only executive leadership community aims to elevate human capital leadership to the same strategic level as CEOs and CFOs in corporate decision-making.

The Council will be led by Alan Murray, founding president of The WSJ Leadership Institute, and Gwendolyn Bounds, SVP & Head of Content. It will facilitate gatherings of executives from billion-dollar enterprises, including a flagship summit and presence at global events like Davos. The initiative focuses on addressing critical challenges such as AI ethics, workforce transformation, DEI, and well-being.

The Council's formation comes at a crucial time when businesses face unprecedented challenges from AI integration, geopolitical shifts, generational change, and social polarization, positioning CPOs as essential voices in shaping corporate strategy.

News Corp reported strong Q3 fiscal 2025 results with revenues reaching $2.01 billion, a 1% increase from the prior year. Net income from continuing operations rose significantly by 67% to $107 million, while Total Segment EBITDA grew 12% to $290 million. The company's EPS from continuing operations doubled to $0.14. Key highlights include Dow Jones achieving $575 million in revenues with over 6 million total subscriptions, REA Group posting a 6% revenue increase to $271 million, and Book Publishing showing strong performance. The company also completed the sale of Foxtel Group to DAZN, receiving a 6% equity stake in DAZN. Digital transformation remains strong with Dow Jones digital revenues representing 82% of total revenues and The Wall Street Journal reaching over 3.9 million digital-only subscriptions.

According to Realtor.com's New Construction Quarterly Report, new homes are becoming more affordable in Q1 2025. The median list price for newly built homes decreased to $448,393, marking a 1.3% decline since Q1 2023. New home buyers are benefiting from mortgage rates approximately 0.5 percentage points lower than existing home buyers (6.1% vs 6.6%), resulting in monthly savings of over $160. The premium on newly built homes has dropped to 13.5%, the lowest first-quarter level since 2020. Among the top 100 U.S. metros, 26 markets showed decreases in both median listing prices and square footage of new homes. However, proposed tariff increases on Canadian lumber (from 14% to 34%) and other construction materials could threaten these affordability gains.

Realtor.com launches its largest brand campaign "Nearly Home" featuring country music star Reba McEntire to bring optimism to the challenging housing market. The sitcom-inspired ad series addresses real homebuyers' experiences with humor and practical solutions. The campaign highlights Realtor.com's tools like RealListings, RealCommute, RealChoice Selling, and RealView Maps. The first episode, "The One without the Break-Up," shows McEntire helping a couple navigate common home-buying challenges. According to a 2024 survey, 75% of Americans view homeownership as essential to the American dream, with 64% considering it a top life goal. The cross-channel campaign is expected to reach 50% of Americans and includes sponsorship of the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards.

A new Realtor.com report reveals that Americans now need to earn $114,000 annually to afford a median-priced home, marking a dramatic 70.1% increase from $67,000 six years ago. The April Housing Trends Report shows the median listing price at $431,250, with active listings up 30.6% YoY. Pending home sales declined 3.2%, marking the fourth consecutive month of annual declines. The market shows signs of rebalancing with 18.0% of listings seeing price reductions. The West (+41.7%) and South (+33.3%) led in active listings growth. San Jose requires the highest income ($370,069) to afford a median home, followed by Los Angeles ($315,892) and San Francisco ($263,023). Despite inventory improvements, levels remain 16.3% below 2017-2019 norms.