MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 12/1/2025 – 12/8/2025

Did You Know?

DID YOU KNOW?

* I would personally like to thank ZILLOW for their own consumer survey conducted earlier this year that concluded the following:
1. 52% of respondents said one of the most important factors when choosing an agent is that agent’s ability to get their home in front of the largest pool of interested buyers – meaning that broad exposure was not among the most important factors for 48% of people.
2. In the same survey, 45% of respondents said one of the most important factors was the promise of getting the highest sale price – with the inverse suggesting that 55% of people did not consider getting the best price as one of the most important factors when choosing an agent.
3. 21% of respondents said one of the most important factors is access to an exclusive buyer network.
The above certainly makes a great case that sellers should have the option of listing privately. (ZILLOW/Mike DelPrete)

* A report released in February from Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis firm, estimated that up to $25 billion in illicit transactions involved stablecoins last year.

* 5 of the country’s 10 largest cities have shrunk since the Covid pandemic began. New York’s contraction—more than 3% between April 2020 and July 2024—is twice that of the next-fastest-shrinking city, Philadelphia. Los Angeles, New York’s closest peer, lost only half a percent of its population over the same period. Although New York has recently returned to growth on the back of surging international in-migration, about half of this is asylum seekers and humanitarian flows—these are different in nature than highly skilled immigrants, in terms of contribution to growth and tax base. Moreover, in the most recent data, these international migration flows are collapsing. The largest group of people leaving NYC are younger and without children. (Home-econoics.org)

* Real income – the purchasing power of most Americans – is actually higher today than it was before the pandemic. Affordability is often discussed in terms of a VIBEcession, not REcession:  How do these concepts help explain Americans’ economic dissatisfaction:
1. Life does not feel affordable when people aren’t able to buy those goods and services that make them feel that they are full members of society.
2. Life doesn’t feel affordable unless people feel assured that a stretch of bad luck won’t lead to financial disaster.
3. Do prices reflect people’s sense of fair play? Do they see themselves being taken advantage of by those in positions of privilege and power?

Mortgage Rate Updates:

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage decreased to 6.23% as of December 4th, 2025, the lowest in a month according to a survey of lenders by mortgage giant Freddie Mac. “Mortgage rates decreased for the second straight week, emerging from the Thanksgiving holiday. Compared to this time last year, mortgage rates are half a percent lower, creating a more favorable environment for homebuyers and homeowners,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Source: Freddie Mac