Consumer News: Rising grocery prices have spurred a backyard garden boom

Will it create opportunities for buyers?

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Existing-home sales fell 8.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

• Sales declined in every region, both month over month and year over year.

• The median home price rose to $396,800, marking the 31st consecutive month of annual price increases.

Sales of existing homes plunged in January as harsh winter weather and limited inventory weighed on the housing market, even as affordability showed signs of improvement.

Total existing-home sales dropped 8.4% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Compared with January 2025, sales were down 4.4%.

The decrease in sales is disappointing, said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this months numbers are an aberration.

Prices rise despite slower sales

Even as sales cooled, home prices continued to climb. The median existing-home price for all housing types rose 0.9% from a year earlier to $396,800 a new high for the month of January and the 31st straight month of year-over-year gains. That suggests homes that sold were more expensive.

Yun said tight supply continues to support prices.

Due to low supply, the median home price reached a new high for the month of January, he said. Homeowners are in a financially comfortable position as a result. Since January 2020, a typical homeowner would have accumulated $130,500 in housing wealth.

Total housing inventory stood at 1.22 million units at the end of January, down 0.8% from December but up 3.4% from a year earlier. Unsold inventory represented a 3.7-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.5 months in December and one year ago.

Affordability improved for seventh straight month

Despite rising prices, affordability improved for the seventh consecutive month. NARs Housing Affordability Index increased to 116.5 in January, up from 111.6 in December and 102.0 a year ago.

The gains were seen across all regions, with affordability rising 9% in the Northeast, 12.2% in the Midwest, 15.2% in the South and 17.1% in the West.

Yun attributed the improvement to wage growth outpacing home price gains and lower mortgage rates compared with a year ago. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.10% in January, down from 6.19% in December and 6.96% in January 2025, according to Freddie Mac.

Affordability conditions are improving, with housing the most affordable its been since March 2022, Yun said. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low.

Single-family, condo sales decline

Single-family home sales fell 9.0% month over month to a 3.53 million annual rate, down 4.3% from a year ago. The median single-family home price rose 0.6% year over year to $400,300.

Condominium and co-op sales declined 2.6% from December to a 380,000 annual rate, a 5.0% drop from January 2025. The median condo price increased 3.8% from a year ago to $364,600.

All four regions posted monthly and annual declines in sales.

• Northeast: Sales fell 5.9% from December to an annual rate of 480,000, down 4.0% year over year. The median price climbed 5.8% to $505,400.

• Midwest: Sales decreased 7.1% to a 920,000 annual rate, down 7.1% from a year earlier. The median price rose 2.3% to $295,400.

• South: Sales dropped 9.0% to 1.81 million, down 1.6% year over year. The median price edged up 0.1% to $351,200.

• West: Sales slid 10.3% to 700,000, down 7.9% from January 2025. The median price declined 1.4% to $600,400 the only region to see an annual price decrease.

Homes also took longer to sell. Properties remained on the market for a median of 46 days in January, up from 39 days in December and 41 days a year ago.

First-time buyers accounted for 31% of sales, up from 29% in December and 28% a year earlier. Cash sales made up 27% of transactions, slightly below both last month and last year.

The member tricks that turn bulk buying into real savings

• Plan before you go. Bulk only saves money if youll use it and the unit price actually beats your grocery store. Stick to staples and freeze meats right away.

• Use the hidden tools. Scan & Go tracks your total and unlocks extra savings. Look for prices ending in .01 for clearance and a C on the tag for items being phased out.

• Time it right. Shop Instant Savings events and always compare the price per ounce or count to make sure bulk is truly cheaper.

Warehouse clubs like Sams Club have one goal, to get you to buy more than you planned. Giant carts, bulk packaging, and limited-time signs are designed to make spending feel like saving.

The key is knowing where the real value is, where the traps are hiding, and how to use the clubs perks to your advantage. Heres how to make your Sams membership pay for itself and then some.

Start with a plan (smart bulk buying)

The biggest mistake shoppers make at Sams Club is buying in bulk just because it looks like a deal.

Remember that bulk only saves you money if:

• Youll use it before it goes bad.
• You have space to store it.
• The per-unit price is actually lower than your grocery store.

Before your trip, get inthe habit of scanning your pantry, freezer, and bathroom cabinets.

Then make alist of items your household uses consistently every month. Think things like paper towels, trash bags, coffee, cereal, and frozen staples. These are your bulk sweet spots.

Impulse bulk buys like giant condiment bottles, oversized snack packs your kids will burn out on, or industrial-sized produce are where savings go to die.

Pro tip:If you havent already, you need to trytheir Scan & Go feature. Via the Sams Club app, you scan items as you shop, pay for them, and actually skip the checkout line altogether.

Beyond the obvious convenience, it gives you a running total, which helps you keep your spending in-check. And as a bonus, there are items sprinkled around the warehouse that actually qualify for additional Scan & Go Savings. Just look for the yellow shelf tag that tells you what your Scan & Go discount is for that particular item.

Know what Sams Club does best

Not everything at Sams Club is the cheapest option. But some categories are consistently strong values and they include the following.

• Household Essentials: Paper goods, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and trash bags are often significantly cheaper per unit than supermarkets and even many big-box stores.
• Meat and Protein: Sams Club is known for good-quality meat at competitive prices, especially chicken breasts, ground beef, and pork. Buying larger packs and freezing portions can cut your cost per meal noticeably.
• Pantry Staples: Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cooking oils, and canned goods often shine here. This is especially true for families who cook at home frequently.
• Over-the-Counter Medications: Pain relievers, allergy meds, and vitamins under the Members Mark label can be dramatically cheaper than drugstores.
• Where Sams is often not the best deal: Think small households buying fresh produce, trendy seasonal items, and name-brand snacks that rotate frequently at lower prices in grocery store sales.

Pro tip:Freeze like a pro. Consider buying large packs of meat, bread, and cheese then portion and freeze immediately.

Use a food saver or freezer bags and label with the date and flatten portions for easy stacking. This turns their bulk pricing into long-term savings and is the only way to go especially for largefamilies.

Learn to decode Sam's Club price tags

Shoutout to several Sams employees whove shown me how toread their price tags over the years. It's a great way to know exactly what type of deal you'regetting.

Heres how to look at the tag andquickly spot the deals without having to guess:

Prices that end in .01 (like $21.71)

When you see a price ending in 1, that signifies a clearance markdown.

These are final-sale type prices and often the lowest youll see. If its something youve been watching, and the price ends in 1, thats your cue to grab it.

Decode the letters on the shelf tag

For this tip, youll want to check the upper right corner of the price tag for a singleletter.

That little letter tells you quite a bit:

• A = Active (A regularly stocked item.)
• N = Never-Out (They try to always keep it in stock.)
• C = Canceled (Its leaving soon. Often means a price markdown is likely coming or has already happened.)
• S = Seasonal (A limited-time item that may rotate back in.)
• O = One-Time Buy (Once its gone, its gone.)

Ask about display models

If an item is marked C for Canceled and the floor model is the last one left, dont be shy ask about a potential discount.

Managers want these items gone and will often give you an extra 10-20% discount to have you take it away.

Check the print date on the sign too

At the bottom of the price tag, theres usually a small print date. That tells you when the sign was created.

If its a recent date, the markdown has just happened.

If its older, then another price drop should be coming soon. If theres a lot of inventory, youd be smart to wait a few days (even up to a week) to grab it after the price drops.

Compare price per unitevery time

Big packages are great at creating the illusion of value. But sometimes the regular grocery store sale still wins on price, especially when they have promos or coupons available.

For this reason, be sure to use the price per ounce, pound, or count listed on the shelf tag. If its not posted, do the quick math on your phone.

This is especially important for:

• Cereal
• Snacks
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Condiments
• Paper products

Pro tip: Always shop the perimeter of the store first, as this is where your essential buys live. Then you can wander down seasonal or center aisles.

By filling your cart with planned items first, you leave less room (and budget) for those impulse buys towards the front of the store.

Time your big purchases around instant savings

Sams Club runs regular Instant Savings events that may shoppers still arent aware of.

Think of them as built-in coupons that come off automatically at checkout. They rotate them throughout the month and you tend to see them the most often with:

• Snacks and beverages
• Frozen foods
• Paper goods
• Health and beauty items
• Seasonal merchandise

If you know youll need a household item like paper towels or detergent soon, waiting for it to land in an Instant Savings event can shave several extra dollars off a purchase you were already planning to make.

Also, once you get familiar with these Instant Savings deals, you'll start to notice thatmany of them cycle through every four to six weeks.

And the discounts aren'talways the same. For example, Tide Pods might be $4 off this month, then drop to $6 offthe next cycle.

Take note of the savings on the stuff you buy all the time. Then when an item you need hits its max discount, stock up. Now youre not just waiting for a sale, youre actually timing the best version of the sale.

A large clinical trial reports significant reductions in LDL

• An experimental pill called enlicitide was found to dramatically lower LDL (bad) cholesterol by ~60% in a large phase 3 clinical trial.

• The study enrolled nearly 2,900 adults already on statins who still had elevated LDL levels despite treatment.

• Beyond LDL, the pill improved other heart-disease-linked lipids, with safety similar to placebo.

High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol often called bad cholesterol build up in artery walls and can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Lowering LDL is a cornerstone of heart disease prevention, especially for people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or those at elevated risk. Statins, the most common cholesterol pills, do this well for many people, but not all patients reach recommended LDL goals even when taking them.

Enter enlicitide, an experimental oral medication that targets a protein called PCSK9 in the bloodstream. PCSK9 normally makes it harder for the liver to clear LDL cholesterol; by blocking it, the body can remove more LDL from circulation.

Fewer than half of patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease currently reach LDL cholesterol goal, researcher Ann Marie Navar, M.D., Ph.D. said in a news release.

An oral therapy this effective has the potential to dramatically improve our ability to prevent heart attacks and strokes on a population level.

The study

The Phase 3 CORALreef Lipids trial was designed to test whether enlicitide could safely and effectively lower LDL cholesterol compared with a dummy pill (placebo).

• Who participated: 2,909 adults aged roughly 63 on average, with either a history of a major cardiovascular event or a high risk of one, despite being on statins.

• What happened: Participants were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to take once-daily enlicitide (20 mg) or placebo, with background lipid-lowering therapy maintained.

• Primary goal: Measure how much LDL cholesterol changed after 24 weeks. Secondary measures included other lipid markers and results at 52 weeks.

Importantly, neither the participants nor the clinicians knew who was getting the real drug vs. placebo during the trial a setup that helps keep the results unbiased.

What the results showed

After 24 weeks, the people taking enlicitide saw their LDL levels fall by an average of about 57%, compared with a slight rise in the placebo group a striking difference.

Beyond LDL cholesterol, enlicitide also significantly reduced other lipids linked with heart disease risk:

• Non-HDL cholesterol dropped by over 50%.

• Apolipoprotein B (a marker of bad cholesterol particles) fell by about 50%.

• Lipoprotein(a) declined by roughly 28%.

A large proportion of people taking enlicitide reached guideline-recommended LDL goals that are associated with lower cardiovascular risk.

Importantly, rates of side effects were similar between the drug and placebo groups during the yearlong study, suggesting that the pill was generally well tolerated.

These reductions in LDL cholesterol are the most we have ever achieved with an oral drug by far since the development of statins, Dr. Navar said.

From lunches to commutes, workers are paying for more than they may realize

• Returning to the office can cost workers thousands per year, with commuting and daily meals alone adding up to $2,500$7,000 or more annually depending on where you live.

• For some employees, return-to-office expenses can eat up nearly 20% of discretionary income, making the financial strain heavier in lower-wage states.

• While in-office work may boost visibility and long-term earning potential, the upfront costs are immediate and measurable though strategic changes like packing lunch or using pre-tax commuter benefits can help offset the hit.

These days, asking someone what they really spend to go into the office isnt just about gas and parking its about an invisible tax on everyday life.

From food and coffee runs to transit fees and wardrobe upgrades, workers across the U.S. are quietly shelling out more money per year just to show up at a desk.

ConsumerAffairs spoke with representatives from SensaPay, the fintech behind a new cost-analysis of U.S. office returns, to explore what these figures really mean for everyday workers. Their research, which broke down commute costs, meal spending and state-by-state differences, showed that office attendance isnt just inconvenient its expensive in ways many of us dont think about until we see the numbers on a spreadsheet.

Whats driving up return-to-office costs?

Experts explained the main drivers that contribute to higher costs when consumers return to the office.

• Commuting structure matters. In states with high single-occupancy vehicle reliance, workers absorb full fuel, insurance, depreciation, and parking costs. In higher gas price states, that burden compounds quickly. In transit-heavy states, workers may substitute fuel costs for monthly rail passes and parking, but annual commuting expenses still commonly range between $2,500 and $5,000.

• Food-away-from-home pricing. In higher-cost states, daily lunch and coffee purchases can exceed $7,000 annually. Even in moderate-cost states, five purchased lunches per week often translates to $4,000 to $6,000 per year.

• Wage alignment. This is often the most overlooked factor. In states where median wages are lower relative to urban consumer prices, required RTO spending consumes a larger percentage of take-home income. In several cases, commuting and meal costs approach 18% to 21% of discretionary post-tax income for early-career workers.

The pros and cons for employees

So, what are the pros and cons for employees returning to the office and more than likely taking on additional expenses?

Physical proximity can increase informal visibility, mentorship access, and promotion probability, SensaPay representatives said. In organizations where leadership advancement correlates with physical presence, long-run income trajectories may be higher for in-office employees.

This ultimately means that the financial trade-off is temporary.

Workers incur immediate annual costs in exchange for potential future earnings acceleration, SensaPay explained. The challenge is that the future upside is uncertain, while the present cost is fixed and measurable. There may also be minor reductions in home utility expenses, but those savings are typically modest relative to commuting and food expenditures.

Are there ways to save?

If youve recently returned to the office, or you have plans in place to soon return to the office, all hope isnt lost. SensaPay explained that the largest savings come from altering high-frequency spending.

Here are some of their best tips:

• Eliminating daily purchased lunches. This can reduce annual expenses by $4,000 to $6,000 in higher-cost states. That single behavioral change can cut total RTO cost exposure nearly in half.

• Pre-tax commuter benefits. These are often underutilized. Paying transit or parking costs with pre-tax income can reduce effective expenses by 20% to 30% depending on tax bracket.

• Carpooling. Even two days per week of carpooling can materially reduce annual fuel costs. However, cost mitigation has limits. Structural price levels and distance to employment centers ultimately determine the ceiling of savings.