HelenTheRealtor

Realtor. Seniors Real Estate Specialist. Housing, people, money & the craft of real estate. My brokerage is eXp Realty. Nerds: I have a PhD from Georgetown.

[Cori Arnold @iamcoriarnold]

If this resembles your budget, it's time for change:

Income = 5,000

Rent = 1,500
Food = 1,200
Insurance/utilities = 500
Phone/streaming/net = 300
Car loan = 400
Student loans = 300
Credit cards = 250
Day care = 1,000
Total expenses = 5,450

Here's what to do:

[Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600]

Between 1960 and 2019, the number of nesting pairs of Bald Eagles in the contiguous US grew from a few hundred to over 70,000. What a success story!

[Daniel Ahmad @ZhugeEX]

Surprising (not really) stat from the new UBS Global Wealth Report 2026.

The US ranks #2 when you look at average (mean) wealth per adult, but drops to #28 when you look at the median.

https://t.co/W0SNWwTQi4

[Interesting things @awkwardgoogle]

The guy who created Fortnite (Tim Sweeney) has been quietly buying up U.S. forests to save them from developers.

He has spent over $200M to buy 50,000+ acres of wilderness in North Carolina, using permanent legal protections to block any future logging or building.

[NAR Research @NAR_Research]

Baby Boomers often cite downsizing, but patterns differ: Younger Boomers typically buy similar-sized homes, while Older Boomers downsize by about 200 sq ft, prioritizing layout and lower maintenance.
https://t.co/S44oMJgBH0

[NAR Research @NAR_Research]

Many buyers think a 20% down payment is required, but the median for first-time buyers was just 10%. Misconceptions about upfront costs may be holding potential buyers back.
Find more misconceptions: https://t.co/S44oMJgBH0

[NAR Research @NAR_Research]

As we celebrate Independence Day, let's take a look at the typical American home.

[Nick Perkins @NickyPerkss]

I mean this is automatically in the top 3 goals I’ve ever seen, and I’d have to think about 1 and 2 honestly

Best. World. Cup. Ever

[Lance Lambert @NewsLambert]

TABLE: 25 metro area housing markets with the biggest jump in single-family home prices over the past 40 years

via @ResidentialClub

[AB⚕ @AbsoluteBruno]

Those 8 minutes after that Cape Verde second goal, was genuinely one of the best moments of this World Cup

[Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 @ScooterCasterNY]

WATCH: Eiffel Tower Blazes "USA 250" as Paris Kicks Off America's Semiquincentennial

Tonight the Eiffel Tower is lighting up with a "USA 250" display beginning Friday, July 3rd at 11:00 PM local time, marking the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.

The illumination shows "USA 250" in red, white, and blue lettering across the tower's first-level facade.

The lighting is part of a wider summer program organized by the City of Paris celebrating the historic friendship between France and the United States

Video by @CLPRESSFR | Licensing @FreedomNTV [email protected]

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

The #WordOfTheDay is ‘semiquincentennial.’
https://t.co/rHmHTEpr7q

[Out of Context Human Race @NoContextHumans]

This July 4th clip will live on in infamy:

[7News DC @7NewsDC]

Starting July 1, new laws will be in effect across the DMV. Among the biggest changes:
- Maryland's gas tax increases.
- Minimum wage rises in D.C. and Montgomery County
- Virginia's statewide Styrofoam ban
- Virginia judges can require speed-limiting technology for certain repeat reckless drivers

MORE: https://t.co/0Un9v0sm1m

[Jon Brooks @jonbrooks]

We want builders to build starter homes at $200–250k so the next generation can actually... start.

Instead, they sell $400–500k+ homes and call them “starter homes.”

$3,190/month is NOT a starter home.

[Retire Sensei @tigerroarrs]

My bill for Trash removal has gone up 92% in 5 years. And water bill 110%. My salary did not catch up to these increases. So net net I am poorer.

[Lance Lambert @NewsLambert]

The housing market is healing—slowly

We're currently amid a 13-month streak where year-over-year U.S. worker earnings growth exceeds year-over-year U.S. home price growth

Chart via @ResidentialClub

[Nick Gerli @nickgerli1]

U.S. homebuyers are more financially stretched than at the peak of the 2007 housing bubble.

According to Fannie Mae, the Debt-to-Income Ratio for U.S. mortgage originations hit 40% in 2025.

That's the highest level on record.

Even eclipsing the peak of the 2007 housing bubble.

The skyrocketing DTI over the last several years is leaving more Americans house poor, and starting to lead to an increase in foreclosures.

Watch this DTI metric going forward.

As more of the existing homeowner population turns over to 6% rates, we could eventually see more mortgage distress in the market.

[India Infographics Guy @Deshpacito661]

Another "hidden" area where the United States absolutely dominates the rest of the world, including Western Europe:

wastewater/sewage treatment

Waste water treatment infrastructure is pervasive in the United States. Even a low income area in rural Georgia has a state of the art waste water treatment facility. Western Europe has good coverage, but on a per capita basis, their treatment plants serve a larger population. This indicates they aren't as pervasive as they are in the US.

In contrast, China (even Japan) has sparse coverage despite its large dense population. India's coverage is even lower.

A lot of accounts on twitter incorrectly use examples of impressive skylines (ie Dubai, Shanghai, and now recently Mumbai/Gurgaon/Hyderabad) to show that their region is "developed". However, this is the real indicator of development.

Sewage treatment plants don't make for mediagenic ribbon cutting ceremonies. They don't win you votes. But the long term population health benefits are immense: lower rates of childhood diseases, longer healthief life spans, less stunting (and the associated cognitive and physical deficits associated with it).

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

Road diets protect cars and protect car owners. Don't let the anti-car crowd block your road diet.

The results of rearranging street space in Oakwood, OH:

🥳 total crashes DOWN 70%
🥳 injury crashes DOWN 87%

Put your streets on a diet!