Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Buying a home in the United States has become so expensive that most Americans now view it as a bad financial move, and federal data shows the gap between housing costs and wages is widening at an alarming rate. Median home prices have climbed 54% over the past five years while wages rose just 29%,…
The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest county-level property tax data exposes a sharp geographic divide in what American homeowners actually pay each year, with bills in some coastal and suburban counties running several times higher than those in rural areas. The data, drawn from the American Community Survey’s most recent five-year estimates, allows researchers and homeowners…
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is trimming his sprawling $132 million Xanadu 2.0 compound in Medina, Washington, selling off an adjacent buffer home just days after pulling out of a high-profile keynote at India’s AI summit. The twin moves, a real estate divestiture and a sudden retreat from the global stage, land at a moment of…
The National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales in the United States fell again in January, dropping 0.8% to an index reading of 70.9. The decline caught economists off guard and added to growing concern that the spring buying season, typically the strongest stretch of the year for residential real estate, may disappoint….
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published a proposed rule on February 20, 2026, that would bar noncitizens from occupying federally subsidized housing, a move that could displace not only undocumented residents but also U.S. citizen family members who share their households. The proposal revives and expands a similar effort first floated during…
Young Americans trying to buy their first home are hitting a wall of rising costs, scarce inventory, and mortgage rates that remain stubbornly above six percent. The share of first-time buyers in the market has dropped to a record low, and the typical age of a new homeowner keeps climbing. For a generation that watched…
Wealthy buyers, including high-profile celebrities, are pushing property values sharply higher in mountain resort communities across Montana and Wyoming, and the ripple effects are landing squarely on long-time residents’ tax bills. County-level data from Montana shows median home values climbing steeply in amenity-rich areas, while assessor offices in places like Teton County, Wyoming, confirm that…
President Donald Trump told his Cabinet on January 29, 2026, that he does not want housing prices to fall because, in his view, falling prices would hurt the wealth of American homeowners. The statement reframes the national affordability debate: rather than promising cheaper homes, the administration is betting that lower mortgage rates and tighter restrictions…
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management raised its stake in Wendy’s to approximately 16.3%, declaring the stock undervalued and signaling it may pursue strategic transactions that could include a bid for control. The amended SEC filing landed the same day Wendy’s reported its weakest quarterly sales in years, and the combination sent shares surging roughly 19%….
Federal housing and income data show wide gaps in affordability and monthly owner costs across states, with income-to-housing ratios varying dramatically from one end of the country to the other. This article explains how analysts use the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to compare property-ownership conditions across states ahead of 2026. For families weighing…