2026 Housing Market Mood: Buyers Are Cautious, Sellers Are Showing Up, and Agents See Signs of Busier Spring Ahead
The typical U.S. home that sold in January spent 64 days on the market before going under contract, the longest span in six years and roughly a week longer than a year earlier. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. But while 2026 is off to a sluggish start, there are signs the Great Housing Reset predicted by Redfin economists could be on the horizon. In Addition to Homes Selling at Their Slowest Pace in 6 Years, Pending Sales Are Down Pendi...
Black Gen Zers and Millennials Are Half As Likely to Own Their Home As White Counterparts
One in seven (14.2%) Black Gen Zers own their home nationwide, compared to nearly one in three (31.6%) white Gen Zers. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. The gap is similar for millennials: 32% of Black millennials own their home, compared to 66.6% of white millennials. Homeownership Rate Has Declined For Black Gen Zers and Millennials, Risen For White Gen Zers and Millennials Black Gen Zers’ homeownership rate was 16.3% in 2023, compar...
No Agent Left Behind
America Answers: No Agent Left Behind Marketing and Personal Branding There are two ways to market yourself as a real estate agent, and they're fundamentally different approaches built on entirely different philosophies. Sotheby's International Realty understands something most brokerages miss the brand comes first. Sotheby's is Sotheby's. You are an agent at Sotheby's. The company's prestige, history, and reputation precede you into every room. Buyers and sellers know what Sotheby's m...
Homebuyers Are Scoring the Biggest Discounts in 13 Years
The typical homebuyer who purchased a home for below the list price in 2025 got a 7.9% discount—the largest since 2012, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. This is based on a Redfin analysis of annual MLS data comparing original list prices with final sale prices. In dollar terms, the typical homebuyer who paid less than the list price in 2025 got a $31,592 discount, which we calculated by applying the 7.9% average discount to last y...
Unwrapping the NAR Settlement
August 2024 feels like a lifetime ago. The National Association of Realtors' antitrust settlement agreement snuck in like a thief, and we, agents, scrambled to understand buyer-broker agreements, compensation disclosure, and off-MLS coordination. Seventeen months in, most of us have figured out how to keep on doing our jobs in spite of the changes but without really figuring out why we needed to in the first place. It doesn't feel as if anything has really changed besides some additional paperwo...
New Listings Rise For First Time in 2 Months As Lower Mortgage Rates Perk Up Homebuyers
New listings of U.S. homes for sale rose about 1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending January 25, the first increase in more than two months. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. There are a few key reasons new listings are starting to improve: Homebuying demand is improving, too. U.S. pending home sales fell 1.6% year over year, the smallest decline in nearly two months, and mortgage-purchase applications are sitting near the...
Hosting Properties
America Answers: No Agent Left Behind Hosting Properties Sotheby’s (and me too…on my residential landing pages) uses a fantastic motto, “Every Home is a Masterpiece”, in their marketing. This means a lot of things (and when one is hosting an open house you better remember most of them) but the main thing to remember is that EVERY home is an OPPORTUNITY. Be it a claptrap ticky-tacky rancher in an ancient subdivision or $20M estate property, baby this is our chance to shine because real es...
Nearly 44% of U.S. Homes for Sale Now Carry HOA Fees as Dues Continue to Climb, Realtor.com® Finds
Homeowners associations (HOAs) continued their steady growth across the U.S. housing market in 2025, with nearly 44% of homes for sale now subject to a monthly HOA fee, according to the newly released Homeowners Association Report from Realtor.com®. That share, which has climbed from 34.3% in 2019 to 43.6% in 2025, underscores how HOA obligations have become an increasingly common part of the total cost of buying a home. “HOAs are no longer confined to condos or brand-new developments,” sai...
Homebuyers Are Canceling Deals at the Highest Rate on Record
Roughly 40,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in December, equal to 16.3% of homes that went under contract that month, according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. That’s up from 14.9% a year earlier and marks the highest December rate in records dating back to 2017. This is based on a Redfin analysis of MLS pending-sales data. The data is seasonal, which is why this December is compared to past Decembers. “High housing costs and rising in...