Is spring still the best time to buy or sell a home? 🏠

Spring traditionally is considered the buying and selling season for the housing market. But there has been a bit of a vibe shift. U.S. homeowners and prospective buyers are feeling uneasy, a new Bank of America survey shows, as rising mortgage rates deter buyers.

Of the 2,000 respondents to BofA's poll, 60% said they could not tell whether it was a good time to buy a home, according to the report published by the nation's second-largest lender. That is up from 57% last year and 48% in 2023.

Economic uncertainty is not stopping everyone from buying new homes: Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to more than a three-year high in April, as builders lowered prices to attract buyers. But new housing inventory is still near levels last seen in 2007. 

New homes are not exactly cheap, either. The median new house price was $407,200 in April.

Another interesting tidbit is that new homes are getting smaller. So why aren't they more affordable?

If you're buying a home, selling a home or wondering what to do now, I want to hear from you! Tell me about your experience. Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

I've been especially interested in tax legislation working its way through Congress, especially because the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would allow a deduction of up to $40,000 on federal returns for state and local taxes, known as SALT. A previous version of the bill had a cap of $30,000.

If passed by the Senate, the new expanded SALT cap would benefit millions of big earners in high-tax states, including New York (where I live), New Jersey, Pennsylvania (where my parents live), Maryland, Oregon and California. 

Of course, bills tend to morph and change in the legislative process. As Donald Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill" winds its way through the Senate, it could end up looking very different. 

Follow the latest news here. And let me know if you stand to benefit from an expanded SALT deduction. Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

ECB President Lagarde suggested that the U.S. trade uncertainty could create opportunities for Europe. Economist Carsten Brzeski of ING told Reuters that Europe should perhaps be careful what it wishes for, since a stronger euro could weigh heavily on the continent's exporters. Watch here.

The average sale price of used Teslas fell 7.6% during the last year. REUTERS/Yves Herman

1) According to LSEG, S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase 8.4% in 2025 compared with 12.1% in 2024. But the 2025 estimate is down sharply from 14% growth estimated on January 1.

2) In 2019, TikTok consumed, on average, over 2 minutes of each U.S. adult's day. Five years later, that number increased to almost 18 minutes, according to an analysis by advisory firm Epyllion. 

3) As Tesla models age and face rising competition from other electric vehicle makers, the cars now lose value faster than almost any other vehicle.

An analysis by CarGurus, a used-car sales and data service, found that the average sale price of used Teslas fell 7.6% during the last year, compared to a decline of 0.8% for a composite index of all brands.

Prices for Tesla's Cybertruck plunged 46% during the last year, while Model Y prices fell 14.1%.

4) The extended Line 14 of the Paris Metro now reaches Orly Airport, bringing the journey from the airport to the city center to under 20 minutes.

5) There were 5.5 working-age Americans for every over-65 in 1990. By 2023 that number had fallen below 4, according to World Bank data. 

 An arctic view as the sun sets near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Reuters is surveying readers like you to find out how you get your news about climate change, and what your concerns are around the topic.

It took me less than two minutes to take the survey, and you can do so here.

Do you need last-minute tax help? Are you looking for cheaper homeowners insurance? Send questions to onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com, and I'll tap my extensive source network and braintrust for expert advice.

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