Author: Victor Blackwell

New apartment construction hit a record high last year, but all that new supply is apparently not enough to cool the competition in the market. Getting a rental is actually becoming even more difficult, according to a new report from RentCafe, an apartment search site.Last year, developers completed close to 600,000 multifamily units, according to the U.S. Census. That is the highest level since 1974 and a 34% increase from 2023. New York City, Dallas and Austin, Texas, led in the number of new rentals.Despite that, on a national level, rental competitiveness rose at the start of this year, according…

Rep.-elect Sylvester Turner (D-TX) poses for a photograph after joining other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress for a group photograph on the steps of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on November 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty ImagesFirst-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died after suffering a medical emergency following President Donald Trump’s address to Congress, according to two House Democratic lawmakers who were informed of his death.He was 70 years old and had just taken the oath of office in January. Turner previously faced bone cancer. His office later confirmed in a statement that he had…

A sign is posted in front of a One Medical office on July 21, 2022 in San Rafael, California.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesOne Medical CEO Trent Green will step down from the Amazon-owned primary care provider after less than two years in the role.Green is leaving One Medical to become CEO of National Research Corp., or NRC Health, a provider of health-care analytics and other services, the company said in a release Tuesday. He’ll start there on June 1.Under Green, One Medical expanded into new geographic markets and opened more offices. It also integrated further into Amazon, with the company…

A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to let President Donald Trump’s administration withhold payment to foreign aid organizations for work they already performed for the government as the Republican president moves to pull the plug on American humanitarian projects around the world.Handing a setback to Trump, the court in a 5-4 decision upheld Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s order that had called on the administration to promptly release funding to contractors and recipients of grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department for their past work.Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch…

Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang testifies before a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technology, and Innovation hearing about battlefield AI on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2023.Jonathan Ernst | ReutersScale AI on Wednesday announced a deal with the Department of Defense for a flagship AI agent program, a significant move in the controversial military use of artificial intelligence.The AI giant, which provides training data to key AI players like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Meta, has been awarded a prototype contract from the Defense Department for “Thunderforge,” the DOD’s “flagship program” to use AI agents for U.S. military planning and operations, according…

Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight loss drug has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. Nurphoto | Getty ImagesNovo Nordisk on Wednesday said it will offer its weight loss drug Wegovy for less than half of its usual price per month through a new direct-to-consumer online pharmacy.The cash-pay offering is available to millions of patients without insurance coverage for the blockbuster injection. It aims to make Wegovy available to more people, while also ensuring that patients use the branded medication instead of cheaper compounded copycats that exploded in popularity during a recently resolved U.S. shortage of Novo Nordisk’s drug.The pharmacy, called NovoCare, will…

Ryan Ratliff, center, real estate sales associate with Re/Max Advance Realty, shows Ryan Paredes, left, and Ariadna Paredes a home for sale in Cutler Bay, Florida, on April 20, 2023.Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesA sharp drop in mortgage interest rates finally lit a fire under loan demand. Both current homeowners and potential homebuyers jumped back into the market, after a lackluster showing for this year so far.Total mortgage application volume jumped 20.4% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. This was not only the first increase in three weeks, but it…

If you’re in the market to buy a house, don’t expect mortgage rates to drop anytime soon.”In the near term, rates are going to be stuck near 7%,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants. “If they fall, we’re talking about straddling 6% — not the 3% or 4% we saw during the pandemic.”Waiting to buy could cost you more in the long run, Miller told CNBC Select, since the persistent housing inventory shortage is just pushing up prices.”There is an obsession with interest rates right now. People are throwing salt over their shoulder in…