New home sales rise in June on lower prices

Plus: Fannie Mae hit with discrimination lawsuit

July 25, 2025

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Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of July 24, 2025. © MND Daily Rate Index.

1. Fannie Mae hit with discrimination lawsuit

A group of 60+ Indian-American employees has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Fannie Mae of discriminatory firings based on nationality and age.

The plaintiffs, all U.S. citizens, claim they were abruptly terminated on April 3 during a Microsoft Teams call, allegedly over fraudulent charitable donations.

The donations were made to Fannie-approved organizations, many tied to Telugu-speaking Indian communities. Most plaintiffs are over 40, with some employed for decades.

The lawsuit argues Fannie Mae provided no evidence of fraud and refused to reconsider. Fannie Mae has not yet responded to the suit.

2. Trump floats ‘no tax on capital gains’ for home sales

President Trump on Tuesday floated the possibility of eliminating the federal capital gains tax on home sales — a move that would alter how real estate profits are taxed for the first time in 30 years.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he’s considering supporting legislation introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia that would eliminate the capital gains tax on home sales.

Greene called the tax “an outdated and unfair burden — especially in today’s housing market, where values have skyrocketed.”

"We're thinking about that," Mr. Trump responded to a reporter, when asked how important it is that the capital gains tax be eliminated in order to "unleash" the housing market. "It would also unleash it just by lowering the interest rates," the president said, adding, "If the fed would lower the rates we wouldn't even have to do that. But we are thinking about no tax on capital gains on houses."

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3. More Nuggets

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📉 Opendoor stock plummets after Reddit-fueled surge. (HousingWire)

🏘️ HUD planning to take over Atlantic City Housing Authority, citing failures to carry out improvement plan. (CBS)

4. New home sales rise in June on lower prices

New home sales rose in June amid lower prices and higher supply. Data released yesterday by the Census Bureau showed that sales of new family homes rose 0.60% month-on-month to 627,000 in June.

However, sales remained 6.6% below the same level a year earlier, according to the data. The Census Bureau estimated the number of new homes for sale at the end of June at 511,000 units, up 1.2% MoM and 8.5% YoY.

The median price of homes sold in June amounted to $501,000, down 2% from the May average but 1.1% higher than the same month in 2024.

5. Zillow: Inventory hits 5-year high, price cuts surge

According to new research from Zillow, housing inventory has reached its highest level in more than five years.

As of June 2025, 1.36 million homes were listed for sale — a 2.3% increase from May and a 17.2% jump compared to June 2024. It’s the highest number of active listings since November 2019.

Additionally, in June, 26.6% of active listings had a price reduction — the highest share for any June since Zillow began tracking the metric in 2018, and just shy of the all-time record of 27% set in September 2022.

"The shift to a 'neutral' market is significant, but it shouldn't be mistaken for a universally cool or easy market for buyers," said Kara Ng, Zillow senior economist. "While negotiating power is more balanced, the affordability crisis remains a high barrier to entry, especially for first-time buyers. Until we see a more meaningful improvement in purchasing power, this newfound balance will primarily benefit more well-off buyers."

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