MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 8/4/2025 – 8/11/2025

Did You Know?

* The rest of the world has loaded up massively on US equities for many, many years based on their belief in US exceptionalism. (Never bet against the US!) People were anticipating the stock markets to go up, the dollar to go up, etc. As a result, the US market cap, the total market cap, was more than 70% of the world….yet the US is only around 25% of GDP globally.

* By looking at tissues taken from organs throughout the body, including the heart, liver, pancreas, spleen, lung, skin and muscles, researchers determined that aging starts to accelerate from 45 to 55. Have you had your annual physical? If not, why not book one today? (USA TODAY)

* Kevin Sneddon of COMPASS Greenwich, CT informs us that there have been 28 closed/pending sales above $10M so far this year…..in all of 2024 there were 17 sales above $10M.  So the $10M+ market in Greenwich is on pace to be up over 100% in FY 2025 (vs FY 2024). Compass has been involved in 5 of these 28 sales above $10M so far this year. Greenwich is being mentioned as the Northeast’s alternative to Aspen and Palm Beach. (COMPASSinsights)

* What is an EMILLI? The EVERYDAY Millionaire! The most populous segment wealth quotient is Level 3—those with $100,000 to $1 million in wealth—but Level 4 (the millionaire), the so-called “upper middle class,” is notable for its rapid growth and unique challenges. This group comprised 7% of the US in 1989, but as of 2022/23, its shot all the way up to 18%. Inflation means that a millionaire in the late ’90s would now have a net worth of around $2 million, as of 2022/23. This economic class is much bigger than it used to be, especially since the pandemic and is starting to have multiple impacts throughout the rest of the economy. At the dawn of the millennium, there were just over 13 million EMILLIs worldwide (UBS) but that number had shot up to nearly 52 million,  more than a 400% increase in less than 25 years. Even after adjusting for inflation, the number of EMILLIs has more than doubled in real terms since 2000…..and a good portion don’t feel like they  have enough.

Mortgage Rate Updates:

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage backed by Freddie Mac fell by 9 bps from the previous week to 6.63% as of August 7th. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to its lowest level since April. The decline in rates increases prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and Freddie Mac research shows that buyers can save thousands by getting quotes from a few different lenders,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Source: Freddie Mac