🎃 Happy Thursday! The weekend is in sight.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny. Warming up to 76.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Ken Pasiewicz!

Today’s newsletter is 920 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Rising mortgage rates continue to soften demand for homes in the Raleigh area and force homeowners to reduce prices.

Why it matters: With more homes on the market, Raleigh buyers could be getting additional negotiating room, according to data from Homes.com.

• Across the Triangle, more than half of listed homes in September reduced their initial asking prices, Stacey Anfindsen, a local appraiser, wrote in his monthly Triangle Area Residential Realty market report.

Yes, but: That doesn't mean there are buyers able to meet those lowered prices. An uptick in mortgage rates continues to reduce the purchasing power of buyers, Anfindsen added.

• The average monthly payment in September was $3,643, up from $1,390 in September 2020.

By the numbers: In September, the Raleigh market's median home price fell to $425,000, down 3.4% from a year earlier, according to the Homes.com report.

• That was the steepest decline among the 40 largest U.S. markets.
• Price drops were highest for townhomes, which fell 7.1% year over year.
• Overall, the number of home sales fell 2.4% in September, while the amount of homes on the market grew 4.4%.

Zoom in: Anfindsen's monthly report noted that the early signals from the market indicated demand was slowing.

• "The immediate measurable effects [of mortgage rates in early October] are fewer contracts, longer marketing times and greater use of price reductions," he said. Price reductions were up 15% in September compared to last year.
• "Higher borrowing costs increase monthly payments, reduce purchasing power and may delay purchase decisions," he added.

Between the lines: For those who can afford the monthly payments, however, there is far less competition in the market.

• Just 8% of sales in September had competing offers. In September 2023, 25% of sales did.

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Former Biden administration Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warns the U.S. is unprepared for the job disruption AI could bring.

Why it matters: Citing inaction in Congress, Raimondo says she is using her new nonprofit Raise Us to urge state governments to begin experimenting with solutions to their safety nets and workforce training.

• Raimondo spoke to Axios about this issue during a visit to Duke University this week.
• She said she's already held conversations with officials in the state, including Gov. Josh Stein. A spokesperson for Stein confirmed the two have talked.

What they're saying: "The change that AI could bring to workers is going to be way faster than our current workforce and safety net systems," she told Axios. "So, I just thought we got to get on this. We can't sit around and wait for the crisis. Let's start trying things now."

Reality check: It's unclear whether AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates. But anxiety about potential job losses is growing, especially among young people, according to Pew Research.

Driving the news: Raimondo, a former governor of Rhode Island, formed Raise Us with former Indian Gov. Eric Holcomb earlier this year to take on the topic of AI disruption to workers.

• The nonprofit plans to fund state pilot programs focused on unemployment support and workforce training. It is already working with Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland and Utah.

Zoom in: In Maryland, it is helping expand the state's Service Year Option, which pays adults and places them in roles to get real-world job experience.

• But one of its biggest goals is to kick-start conversations around things like reforming unemployment insurance and adding wage insurance to help workers who take lower-paying jobs rather than dropping out of the workforce entirely.

Go deeper

☕️ The Optimist coffee shop in Raleigh filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after falling behind on four years of taxes. Owners plan to keep both locations open. (Triangle Business Journal🔒)

The N.C. State chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity is being investigated for hazing by the university. (WRAL)

🏀 Former UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis will take a television gig with TNT Sports this season. (News & Observer)

💵 North Carolina joined a lawsuit against Dollar General that alleges the retailer advertises incorrect prices. (WUNC)

Durham County won't criminally prosecute a woman who took abortion pills in the seventh month of pregnancy. (CBS17)

Halloween is nearly upon us.

• Here are some weekend ideas in case you've aged out of trick-or-treating.

🎤 See Earl Sweatshirt play The Ritz tomorrow night.

👻 Step into a haunted dreamscape at UNC's Memorial Hall starting at 7pm tomorrow.

💋 Time warp to the Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball at Durham's Carolina Theatre tomorrow and Saturday.

🥳 Head to HollyFest from 10am-4pm Saturday to celebrate the town of Holly Springs' 150th.

🔨 Blow off steam at All Hallow's Smash on Saturday at Durham's Scrap Exchange.

🪩 Party on Glenwood South on Halloween. The street will be closed to cars all evening.

⏰ Turn back your clocks at 2am Sunday and enjoy an extra hour of partying (or sleep).

🏃 Cheer on City of Oaks Marathon runners as they wind their way through Raleigh starting at 7am Sunday.

🔪 Stream the Season 2 premiere of "Dexter: Resurrection," starring Raleigh native Michael C. Hall.

🪅 Check out Durham Fringe Festival, 10 days of arts programming starting tomorrow.

A few more

🐈‍⬛ Mary Helen will be cheering on the Panthers tonight.

🏈 Zachery is just hoping the game isn't over in the first quarter again …

Thanks to Melissa Oyler for editing this newsletter.