• Mortgage rates inched down this week to 6.64% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Rates have stayed under 7% for 11 weeks straight, and since the Federal Reserve seems in no rush to cut rates, this could encourage homebuyers to ditch their wait-and-see paralysis and hit some open houses already.
• Listing prices stayed level in comparison to last year at $424,900, continuing a 44-week streak of holding steady or declining slightly. Plus, 17.5% of home sellers have slashed their asking price in an effort to reel in bargain hunters. That’s the highest share of price cuts in March since 2016.
• The number of homes for sale ballooned by 32.3% compared to last year and has been expanding for 73 straight weeks. Plus, fresh new listings (versus the stale clunkers buyers have already picked over) are up by 31.2%, the 12th week of gains. Clearly scores of sellers are sick of their digs and ready to move on.
• Homes clocked two more days on the market than this same week last year, with the typical listing lingering for 53 days before closing the deal. The pace of sales hasn’t sped up in over a year, which means homebuyers can take their sweet time shopping around.

Park your Lexus, throw your keys up—because Beyoncé is back on tour this spring, which means short-term rentals in cities where she’s performing are filling up fast and stand to rake in serious dough.

The Grammy winner’s “Cowboy Carter” Tour kicks off on April 28 in Inglewood, CA, then trots across the world for three months and 32 shows in Chicago, New York City, Houston, DC, Atlanta, Las Vegas, London, and Paris. The instant tour dates were announced, the Beyhive got busy booking suitable crash pads.

“Excitement is building for the Cowboy Carter Tour, as evidenced by the demand spikes in the forward booking data for short-term rentals,” says Bram Gallagher, director of Economics and Forecasting at short-term rental data site AirDNA.

In particular, Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston saw a 230% year-over-year spike in bookings during the concert window of June 28–29 (as seen in the chart below).

Meanwhile, searches for rooms in Atlanta during tour dates July 9–13 shot up over 80% since last year. Chicago saw about a 45% boost for its dates (May 14–18).

Peggy Orenstein, who runs a four-bedroom Airbnb called The Rokker House steps from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, capitalized on the upcoming Bey-day payday by adjusting her nightly rate from the usual $400 to $550. She also beckoned fans via social media: “Did you get your tickets to Beyoncé? Book this Airbnb to roll VIP with your squad in Inglewood! Literally steps from SoFi. Hot tub, grill, and memories to be made!”

“Our listing was booked within days of the ticket release,” says Orenstein. “We have had similar experiences for other concerts, but Beyoncé was the quickest.”

Why entire economies brace for the Beyhive

Concertgoers don’t just pack short-term rentals but also pour money into local economies, with one survey estimating that Airbnb guests throw down around $205 per day. In 2023, Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” Tour stop in Stockholm jacked up hotel and restaurant prices so much that Danske Bank blamed the superstar’s visit for a temporary spike in inflation.

“That’s when the conversation changed,” notes travel industry analyst Lisa Monroe. “People started seeing pop culture—especially the kind Beyoncé creates—not just as entertainment, but as a market-moving force.”

This boost isn’t just Beyoncé-based, either. AirDNA found that Taylor Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour triggered a tsunami of short-term rental reservations, raising hosts’ revenue by $27.3 million.

Alas, Orenstein’s Airbnb was under renovation and not yet open for business during Swift’s tour, but the host was at her property as waves of concertgoers washed in and out of the stadium. That’s when she knew her latest investment would be “life-changing.”

“People were walking by and asking, ‘Can I use your restroom? I’ll give you $20,’” she recalls. “We could have rented out the restroom. People were desperate. Having gone to concerts myself, I know the feeling.”

Tariffs could hit real estate hard, too. Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have housing experts worried they could further inflate the already astronomical price of homes. The National Association of Home Builders estimates that one-tenth of residential construction materials are currently imported. Analysts from global financial services company UBS note that Trump’s tariff announcement yesterday could raise the average cost of building a house by about $6,400, with the increased cost spread among builders, manufacturers, and distributors. As Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner points out, “Homebuyers are already stretched thin by high listing prices and mortgage rates. So even this relatively small increase in cost will keep many on the sideline who may have otherwise become buyers in 2025.”

Rocket is taking off. Rocket, the country’s third-largest mortgage lender, just got even bigger with the $9.4 billion acquisition of Mr. Cooper Group, the nation’s top home loan servicer (which processes the paperwork). Combined, this company will now service about one in every six US home loans. Rocket has been on quite the buying spree, having acquired Redfin just weeks earlier. It’s also the latest sign of consolidation in the mortgage industry, which has been shrinking as interest rates have nearly doubled from the bargain-basement lows seen during the pandemic.

The housing market has a tortoise-and-hare problem. Analysis by Realtor.com found that the divide between the fastest and slowest housing markets has widened to its biggest gap since 2020. The state with the speediest sales is Rhode Island, where homes typically sit for a mere 37.5 days. The slowest is Montana, where listings are stuck for a median of 108.25 days.

Property tax breaks may be coming to a state near you. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a $1,000 tax rebate for homeowners in the Sunshine State to make up for sky-high home prices and insurance rates. In fact, a handful of states (Wyoming, Kansas, and Montana) are exploring property tax cuts. North Dakota tried to do it back in November, but the ballot measure was rejected.

“Sandwich” households are expanding. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that 17% of property purchases last year were for “multigenerational properties”—the highest share on record dating back to 2012. Among these homebuyers, 36% were motivated by the need to save money since it’s cheaper to have aging parents and adult children all under one roof.

Listen in for more real estate news and advice. If podcasts are your jam, there are plentiful pickings this week. Real Estate Today from the NAR devoted its latest episode to guiding investors through the spring market. Meanwhile, Real Estate Rockstars explains all the ways investors can leverage AI. Lastly, the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast chats with an investor who makes $60K per month in a refreshingly low-risk, old-school way.

Buying a vineyard is fantasy real estate investing at its finest. But what’s the reality of running one really like? To find out, we talked to Janette and Ben Cade, who bought Christine’s Vineyard in Webb City, MO, in 2022, even though they knew nada about wine (other than that it tastes fantastic). Janette recounts how they got where they are today and what they’ve learned along the way.

How did you get started in this venture? “Ben and I bought the vineyard in 2022 with absolutely no prior experience in wine—and, to be honest, owning a winery had never even crossed our minds. But we’ve always been adventurous, and when I stumbled across a listing for a vineyard for sale, something about it just stuck with me. I turned to my husband and asked, ‘How would we even go about buying this?’ At the time, Ben was ready for a career change after many years in construction, including running his own business, and I was working as a billing manager, though I’d always loved planning and hosting events for friends and family.”

How much did the vineyard cost, and how did you finance this purchase? “A little over $800,000, which included a tasting room, two-story house with a full basement, shop with a one-bedroom apartment, and a pond—all situated on just under 10 acres, with approximately 3.5 acres of vineyard. We weren’t investors, and we definitely didn’t have the funds saved to make such a big purchase. But we started building a business plan, reaching out to banks, and trying to figure out how to make this dream work. We were told ‘no’ nine times before we finally found someone who said ‘yes.’ Securing an SBA loan through OakStar Bank was a pivotal moment, thanks to the expertise and support of our loan officer and their team—they were incredibly flexible and creative. What could’ve been a daunting process was made smooth and manageable by their dedication.”

How much income does this property generate? “Since purchasing the winery in 2022, our gross income has steadily increased each year as we’ve continued to grow the business and build our customer base. Last year, we reached around $280,000 in sales. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and are focused on continuing that momentum by boosting brand awareness and expanding our reach through the second location, a wine bar we recently opened in our local downtown.”

What advice do you have for others who want to buy a vineyard with no prior experience? “We’ve learned that passion and a willingness to learn go a long way. You don’t need to know everything. You just need to be committed, ask questions, and keep showing up. There’s a lot of hard work behind the scenes, way more than we realized, but if you love building something meaningful and enjoy connecting with people, it’s incredibly fulfilling. Stay flexible, find good mentors, and don’t be afraid to mess up—it’s part of the process. Also, take care of yourself. Owning a business like this can easily consume all your time if you let it.”

This is just a sip—read the rest of the interview here.

Short for “comparables,” comps help you estimate the value of a property you own (or hope to buy) by comparing it to similar properties that have sold recently in the same area. So, if you’re eyeing a three-bedroom, two-bath condo listed at $400K, and another three-bedroom, two-bath condo with similar square footage and features down the block just sold for $350K, that comp suggests you’d be an idiot to offer full asking price, and might want to try lowballing instead.

Comps also come in handy when you sell, helping you pinpoint an accurate asking price so your property doesn’t sit on the market untouched like a wallflower at the high school dance. Here’s more on how investors can use real estate comps.