HUD headquarters up for sale, as Trump administration downsizes federal office space

🌏 Happy Earth Day! We’re back with updates on Texas homebuyers, housing starts, the sale of HUD headquarters, and the former Texas bishop now leading the Vatican.

Today's newsletter is 617 words — a 2.5-minute read.

1. Texas homebuyers had more homes to choose from in Q1 of 2025

According to the 2025 Q1 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released yesterday, the median home sales price in Texas was $331,000, up just 0.3% from the same quarter last year.

Active listings were up 30.7%. Houston had the most active listings among the four largest markets at 33,374, a 38% rise. In smaller markets, only McAllen (38.8%) and San Angelo (38.9%) saw higher increases.

Homes stayed on the market for an average of 72 days, about a week longer than the same period last year. Months of inventory rose to 4.8, an increase of more than a month.

2. Housing starts fell 11.4% in March

New residential construction showed modest year-over-year improvement in March, but the rebound was weaker than expected, according to new data released Thursday by the Census Bureau and HUD.

In March, privately owned housing starts dropped 11.4% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,324,000. While this is 1.9% higher than in March 2024, it isn't enough to indicate a strong recovery.

Single-family starts fell 14.2% to 940,000 units, the lowest level in six months, while multifamily construction totaled 371,000 units.

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3. Catch up quick

🏢 HUD headquarters up for sale, as Trump administration downsizes federal office space. (GSA)

🎁 44% of home sellers are giving concessions to buyers. (Redfin)

⛪ Former Texas bishop, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, leads the Vatican... for now. (CBS)

⛔ 1 in 4 Americans will pause major purchases, like homes, amid tariffs. (Redfin)

📈 Houston HOAs outpace the national average. (Axios)

⚠️ Home value forecast takes a rare negative turn. (Zillow)

 🎣 Fun read: World record fish caught in Texas. (NYPost)

4. Mandatory NAR membership facing a new legal challenge

A new lawsuit was filed last week against the NAR, adding to the growing number of cases filed by agents and brokers challenging the association's mandatory membership rules.

Jerome Milko, a Realtor and broker, filed his antitrust lawsuit against the NAR on April 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Atlanta.

Milko alleges that the trade organization has been 'unjustly enriched' by forcing him to pay 'exorbitant' NAR membership fees, in addition to those required by state and local associations, for the past 37 years. The lawsuit claims Milko has suffered at least $75,000 in damages.

5. Texas leads the nation in job growth

Texas' job market showed the strongest growth of any state in the year ending in March, adding 192,100 nonfarm jobs, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

• The state’s 1.4% job growth rate over the year surpassed the national rate by 0.2%, while the state’s 4.1% unemployment rate beat the national average of 4.2%, with Midland posting the lowest unemployment rate in Texas at 2.9%.

Last month, the number of Texans in the civilian labor force (15,778,500)—and those actively working (15,137,500)—reached all-time highs.

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