Stephen Passaha

There are some exceptions where landlords have more power.

Coastal cities like Boston, New York City, and San Jose still have few vacancies.

But empty apartments across most of the country are pushing rents down.

In the 50 largest metros, the median asking rent in January was a bit under $1,700, down 1.5% from a year earlier.

A big reason for dropping rents and vacancies are new apartments being built, especially in the Sunbelt.

But the National Association of Realtors is expecting apartment construction to slow down this year, in part because of those vacancies.

Stephen Passaha, NPR News.

The bill would not make an immediate dent in home prices.

That would take more homes being built, and that would take time.

The bill is meant to encourage that through a few dozen provisions, like getting rid of some regulations for smaller housing projects.

And the bill also directs federal agencies to develop a national building code and zoning guidelines local governments could adopt.

The vote was bipartisan, with only eight Republicans and one Democrat voting against.

It now heads to the Senate, which has its own similar but competing bipartisan housing bill.

Co-sponsor Senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized the House bill for loosening regulations on banks.

Stephen Passaha, NPR News.

There is a lot of fear these days that AI could be a bubble.

So, Nick, is it?

I don't know.

Right.

It is hard to tell.