The hottest (and coldest) US housing markets

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Just like you when you tan poolside, housing markets often take a dip after getting scorching hot. Many of the regions that enjoyed soaring demand and booming home values during the Covid-19 pandemic are now yelling “cannonball!” Regions cooling down: The Southeast and Southwest (aka the Sun Belt)—where remote workers and other Covid adapters previously flocked en masse—is now swamped. Some of those markets, especially in Texas and Florida, now have the highest rates of underwater properties, which means an owner owes more on their mortgage than the home is worth. This rate is growing overall, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange: About 2.1% of US homeowners with a mortgage were underwater by the end of 2025, equalling 1.1 million people. That’s the largest underwater portion of borrowers since 2018, and it represents a 60% increase from the beginning of 2025. How the pendulum swings: Hot housing markets are dominated by sellers who face overwhelming demand for limited inventory, leading their properties to sell quickly and at a premium. Booming post-pandemic growth started leveling off in 2022, when sky-high inflation triggered higher interest rates (and, by extension, mortgage rates), while construction ramped up to give homebuyers more options—all of which tends to cool a hot market. Now, many people who bought their homes after 2022 are grappling with the one-two punch of high mortgage rates and falling demand for homes in their areas, potentially leading swaths of underwater sellers to wait on listing their homes rather than selling them for a loss. On the flip side, underwater mortgages are now less common on the West Coast and in the Northeast and Midwest. Demand is rising, and homes are moving quickly in the latter two areas. The two hottest housing markets in the US last month were Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Hartford, Connecticut, according to Realtor.com.

Neil Sedaka dies at 86

 

Neil Sedaka, Legendary Singer-Songwriter Behind ‘Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,’ ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Love Will Keep Us Together,’ Dies at 86

By 

Jem Aswad, Payton Turkeltaub

Neil Sedaka, legendary singer-songwriter behind hits like “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Bad Blood,” “Laughter in the Rain” and “Calendar Girl,” has died, a rep confirms to Variety. He was 86.

“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,” a statement from the family reads. “A true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed.”

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A Brooklyn native and a veteran of the legendary “Brill Building” hit factory of the early ’60s, Sedaka scored three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and nine in the Top 10, primarily during his peak years in the early 1960s and a mid-’70s comeback assisted by Elton John (who performed with him on the 1975 No. 1 “Bad Blood”).

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Sedaka also wrote many songs that were hits for other artists, most notably Connie Francis’ hits “Stupid Cupid” and “Where the Boys Are” and, nearly 15 years later, the Captain and Tennille’s 1975 breakthrough chart-topper “Love Will Keep Us Together.” He continued to tour and record for many years after his commercial peak.

Over the course of his six-decade-plus career, Sedaka was nominated for five Grammy awards (including one at the second-ever edition of the show in 1959). In 1983, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 1978 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

“This is a gift I was born with,” Sedaka wrote on his website. “My main objective is to always top the last collection, raise the bar and reinvent Neil Sedaka.”