Don’t break out the confetti just yet. A cooler-than-expected inflation report has mortgage rates moving in the right direction, giving buyers a reason to celebrate. But before anyone starts calling the housing market “fixed”, there’s a little more to the story. |
While buyers continue watching mortgage rates, they shouldn’t lose sight of another opportunity hiding in today’s market: negotiating power. As inventory improves and competition normalizes, the ability to negotiate may be just as valuable as a slightly lower interest rate. |
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Mortgage rates are expected to ease after June’s inflation report came in much cooler than economists anticipated. Annual inflation fell to 3.5%, down from 4.2% in May, while core inflation, which excludes food and energy, slowed to 2.6%. Much of the improvement was driven by falling energy prices, which helped calm financial markets and lowered expectations that the Federal Reserve would tighten monetary policy further in the near term. As a result, Treasury yields declined, creating room for mortgage rates to move lower.
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While that’s welcome news for buyers, one inflation report doesn’t change the bigger picture. Mortgage rates have hovered around the mid-6% range for months, and future movements will continue to depend on inflation, employment data, and global events. Energy prices remain unpredictable, and economists caution that sustained improvements across multiple months, not a single report, will ultimately determine the long-term direction of borrowing costs.
For buyers, even modest rate relief can improve affordability and increase purchasing power. But for agents, the biggest opportunity is helping clients understand that market timing is rarely the winning strategy. As rates fluctuate, buyers who are financially prepared and focused on the total cost of homeownership are often better positioned than those waiting for the “perfect” mortgage rate.
💡Agent Tip: Inflation and mortgage rate headlines are the perfect excuse to reconnect with past clients and active buyers. A quick market update can restart conversations that have been on hold for months. I personally recommend Pipedrive CRM for managing these follow-ups. Features like automated reminders and customizable pipelines help ensure no opportunity slips through the cracks.
What this means for the market: 😁 Confidence matters as much as rates: Buyers often respond to stability more than a specific mortgage rate. A predictable rate environment can encourage more transactions even if rates remain in the mid-6% range.
📉 Mortgage rates may be entering a more stable phase: Softer inflation lowers the likelihood of another near-term spike in borrowing costs, giving buyers more confidence than they had just a few weeks ago. ⬆️ Affordability is improving from multiple directions: Slower price growth, higher inventory, and potential mortgage rate relief are working together to make today’s market more favorable than it was a year ago. |
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Do you hire a professional photographer for your listings? |
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When deciding where to move, which community features are you seeing buyers prioritize the most? |
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For much of the country, apartment construction has slowed dramatically as higher interest rates, rising construction costs, and tighter financing have made new multifamily projects harder to justify. But a growing number of cities are taking a different approach. Instead of waiting for market conditions to improve, they’re rewriting zoning rules to encourage more housing.
Columbus is one of the biggest examples, where a major zoning overhaul helped push multifamily permitting to a seven-year high, while cities including Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, Las Vegas, San Jose, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, Providence, and Cleveland are also seeing permitting activity accelerate. |
This is an important signal for investors to watch, as today’s permits become tomorrow’s housing supply. Markets that actively encourage development often create new opportunities for multifamily developers, land investors, and value-add investors, while also influencing future rent growth. At the same time, cities where permitting continues to fall, including New York and Boston, may face even tighter housing shortages, creating a very different investment environment. Increasingly, local zoning policy is becoming just as important as mortgage rates when evaluating a market.
The bigger takeaway is that investors should pay close attention to cities that are modernizing decades-old zoning codes. Columbus removed parking minimums, expanded higher-density zoning, and streamlined development along transit corridors. Other municipalities facing housing shortages are likely to consider similar reforms over the coming years. For investors, understanding where local governments are making it easier to build can provide an early indication of where future development opportunities, land values, and rental supply are likely to emerge.
What investors are prioritizing now: |
- Development-friendly cities: Investors are increasingly targeting markets where local governments are actively reducing construction barriers through zoning reform, faster approvals, and higher-density development.
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Permitting activity as a leading indicator: Multifamily permits provide an early look at where future housing supply is headed, helping investors anticipate changes in competition, rental inventory, and long-term pricing.
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Markets with long-term population and job growth: Cities that add residents and employers while expanding housing supply often create more sustainable investment opportunities than markets that rely solely on appreciation.
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👀 Review the zoning policies in one market on your investment watchlist.
➕ Add multifamily permitting data to your market research. 📍Identify one area actively expanding multifamily development. |
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Scroll through Instagram, and you’ll notice a pattern. Listing videos often feature the same trendy music, identical fonts, quick-cut transitions, and polished cinematic shots. Realtor Emily McAllister decided to have some fun with that formula. In a satirical video, she jokes that “Instagram told me to market the listing this way” before unveiling her newest “listing”: a weathered Fisher-Price playhouse that’s clearly falling apart. She then proceeds to market it as though it were a luxury home, highlighting its “features” and encouraging buyers to schedule a showing.
The humor works because it pokes fun at two things audiences immediately recognize. On one hand, it exaggerates how similar many real estate listing videos have become. On the other hand, it taps into the ongoing conversation around housing affordability and inventory by treating a tiny plastic playhouse like a serious property listing. The comments quickly joined the joke, with viewers suggesting it would be listed at $1 million, receive multiple offers, and sell well over the asking price. Rather than simply watching the content, the audience became part of it.
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The post generated more than 1,000 comments, demonstrating that engagement often comes from creating something people want to respond to rather than simply consume. Instead of another polished property tour, McAllister created a piece of content that entertained viewers, sparked conversation, and showcased her personality. While there wasn’t a real home for sale, the video still accomplished one of social media’s biggest goals: getting people to stop scrolling and remember the agent behind the post.
The broader lesson is that not every piece of real estate content needs to directly promote a listing. Sometimes the most effective, clever marketing comes from showing personality, participating in conversations your audience already understands, and not taking yourself too seriously. In a sea of nearly identical listing videos, McAllister proved that a little self-awareness and humor can be just as powerful as the perfect drone shot.
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For the past few years, many agents have built their businesses in a market where negotiation often meant presenting the strongest offer and hoping it would be accepted. That’s changing. According to Redfin, 46% of recent home sellers offered buyer concessions, the highest share on record for this time of year, while the National Association of Home Builders reports that 62% of builders are currently offering incentives. Negotiation is becoming a much larger part of the transaction again, and brokerages need to make sure their agents are ready.
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Graphic via Keeping Current Matters |
Whether an agent represents the buyer or the seller, knowing how to negotiate has become a critical skill. Buyers need agents who know when to ask for closing cost credits, repairs, rate buydowns, or price reductions. Sellers need agents who can explain when holding firm makes sense and when a strategic concession is the better financial decision. As an agent myself, I’ve found that negotiation is not a skill you want to learn in the middle of a live transaction.
That’s why I recommend brokerages bring negotiation training back into regular office meetings. One of the most effective ways to build confidence is through role-playing real-world scenarios. Have agents practice handling inspection objections, multiple-offer situations, appraisal gaps, repair requests, and concession negotiations with one another. Never practice on the real thing. The brokerages that consistently coach negotiation skills will give their agents a significant advantage as today’s more balanced market creates more opportunities for deals to be won or lost at the negotiating table.
What’s working right now: |
- Run monthly negotiation role-plays: Practice common scenarios such as inspection requests, appraisal gaps, closing cost credits, multiple offers, and builder incentives.
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Review recent brokerage deals: Use real negotiations from your own office as training examples, discussing what worked, what didn’t, and how different approaches may have changed the outcome.
- Build negotiation playbooks: Give agents scripts and strategies for both buyer and seller conversations so they enter every negotiation with confidence, rather than improvising.
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🏖️ Buyers are purchasing a second home before their first: The New York Times highlights a growing trend of city renters buying more affordable vacation homes first, using them as short-term rentals to build equity before eventually moving full-time.
🏔️ Luxury buyers are prioritizing lifestyle over extravagance: The Salt Lake Tribune explores how today’s high-end buyers are seeking move-in-ready homes with privacy, wellness, and access to outdoor amenities, while Utah’s luxury market continues to outperform the broader housing market.
🏢 Kevin O’Leary sees opportunity in commercial real estate: TheStreet shares O’Leary’s outlook that the office market correction has opened the door for investors willing to keep debt levels conservative. |
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Sophia Doyle is a staff writer at The Close and a licensed New Jersey real estate agent with hands-on experience in residential real estate. Sophia brings real-world insight into today’s housing market, combining on-the-ground agent experience with a strong background in communications. She understands the full transaction lifecycle, from lead generation and client relationships to marketing strategy and deal execution. Through her writing, Sophia delivers clear, practical guidance to help agents navigate an evolving industry with confidence and creativity.
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