The pandemic-era vacation-home boom appears to be unraveling. A new analysis found that U.S. vacation-home purchases financed with a mortgage fell 65.8% between 2021 and 2025, dropping from 257,549 purchases to just 88,158 nationwide. Because vacation homes are typically discretionary purchases, the category can also act as a leading indicator for broader economic conditions. Sharp declines in second-home buying may reflect changing consumer confidence, affordability pressures, and reduced financial flexibility—even among higher-income households that traditionally drive resort and leisure real estate markets. The report examines where second-home demand has declined the most across the country, ranking states and metro areas based on the change in vacation-home mortgage originations since the height of the pandemic housing boom.

A new analysis from Manifest Law found that pending family-based green card applications reached 543,486 in 2025—the highest level on record and up 180% since 2015. The timing is notable. Recent USCIS policy changes signal a major shift in how many family-based green card cases may be processed moving forward, raising questions about what happens to the hundreds of thousands of applicants currently waiting in the system. Under the new USCIS guidance, many family green card applicants may be required to leave the U.S. and complete processing through a consulate overseas. Researchers analyzed USCIS family-based immigration data to identify the states and field office regions with the most pending family green card cases. The report ranks locations by total pending Form I-485 family-based applications, and highlights the communities that could be most affected by changes to family green card processing.