In 2025, job creation sputtered, wage growth cooled and the unemployment rate rose. Much of the job creation that took place in 2025 was concentrated in two sectors: education and health services.
Home Prices
Home prices are up more than 50% nationally since 2019, and the median existing-home price in November rose to $409,200. Home buying overall has dwindled over the past three years due to high home prices and the surge in mortgage rates.
Venture Capital Fundraising
Fundraising for U.S. venture-capital firms dropped 35% in 2025, the most anemic stretch in at least six years, with money flowing primarily to the most trusted investment firms as companies stay private longer. The $66 billion raised last year represents a 70% drop from the 2022 record.
Consumer Sentiment
The consumer sentiment index, which started the year at 71.7, ended it at 52.9.
Condo Prices
U.S. condominium prices experienced their largest annual decline since 2012, falling 1.9% from a year ago. Over 10% of condos had a lower estimated value in November than their last sale price, with some metro areas seeing over 25%. Rising homeowner-association fees, higher insurance premiums, and maintenance costs are making condominium purchases less affordable.
Mega Deals
There were a record 68 transactions valued at $10 billion or more announced globally in 2025. That drove the average annual deal size to a new high of nearly $227 million.
Dallas Office
Downtown Dallas recorded a 27.2% office vacancy rate, the second highest of any downtown nationally, with many companies moving to newer suburban campuses. Real-estate investors purchased $51.7 million in downtown Dallas office property in the first three quarters of this year, versus $1.8 billion in Dallas’s suburban markets.
LA Rent Control
Los Angeles will implement new rent-control limits in February, capping annual increases at 1% to 4% for most multifamily apartments. The new policy affects approximately 651,000 apartments, or three-fourths of L.A.’s multifamily housing stock. The average rent for a rent-controlled unit in Los Angeles is about $1,800, compared with $2,700 for market-rate units.
Data Centers
Spending on data-center construction looks poised to surpass office-building construction as soon as next year. Data centers yielded an 11.2% return last year. That was higher than every other sector, other than manufactured housing.
First-time Homebuyers
The share of first-time homebuyers has dropped to 21%, or half from what it was before the pandemic.