Market News July 31

Market Updates

Today's Market News:

New Listings Increase, Pending Home Sales Fall


The summer real estate market continues to be a mixture of positive and negative data. New listings inched up week-over-week, but they're near their lowest level since the start of 2026. Still, there are many more sellers than buyers in the market, giving buyers negotiating power.

Pending home sales fell 1.3% week-over-week to their lowest level in three months during the four weeks ending July 19th.

The decline in homebuying demand comes as weekly average mortgage rates rise to an 11-month high. Additionally, home prices are stubbornly high, sitting just about $900 shy of their all-time peak. The resurgence of the Iran war and rising oil prices are two more reasons for would-be home buyers to postpone their plans.

On the selling side, new listings rose by 0.4% week-over-week, though still at their second-lowest level since the start of 2026. Some would-be sellers are holding out, waiting for a calmer market to trigger more buyer demand.1

More Agents Employ AI When Preparing CMAs


A recent survey of real estate professionals found that almost 90% of respondents are more confident than ever in the value of a well-prepared comparative market analysis (CMA).

This percentage is especially remarkable because it's risen by 22 points since 2020. While the industry has seen major changes during the past six years, the arrival of AI-powered tools is especially notable. However, agents aren't letting it take over preparation of CMAs.

Over 80% say they are open to AI-assisted CMA tools as they expect AI to assist them by automating adjustment calculations, locating comps, and helping write the market narrative. But they aren't planning to let the AI tools make judgment or pricing calls.

Other survey findings:

  • While 44.3% of agents have now conducted a virtual listing presentation, the in-person presentation is still strongly preferred.
  • Average comp counts dropped roughly 26% as more agents are opting for precision over volume. This results in more defensible comps.
Greg Robertson, author of The Art of the CMA, commented: "I think agents are telling us something important. An algorithm can spit out a number, but pricing a home is a human act. It's local knowledge, judgment, and a conversation at the kitchen table."2

Does Reddit Belong Within Your Social Media?


While you may consider Reddit as only suitable for niche discussions, the site is currently one of the Top Ten most visited websites in the world. It's home to thousands of different groups known as subreddits, including several where agents and consumers discuss buying, selling and renovating homes.

While subreddits are moderated, this doesn't mean they're boring. One agent posted about a would-be buyer who decided to check out a property's attic and fell through the ceiling. Buyers of fixer-uppers post about their encounters with everything from bat infestations to garage door systems installed backwards.

If you're not already familiar with Reddit's style, it's best to be a lurker for a week or two before you decide to begin posting. This is because the key to success is to understand how users (Redditors) engage with real estate topics. Before you post, you need to learn Reddit lingo, review what other agents are saying, and how others respond to them.

If you do, you'll want to sign up for Reddit Pro. It's free and provides access to analytics tools like keyword tracking and post-performance insights. These can help you increase response and engagement by monitoring your posts' performance and learning what consumers want to know.3

New Research Finds Fewer Homeowners Than We Thought


According to recent data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, only about 53% of adults own homes. This is considerably below the commonly cited 65% home ownership rate.

The main reason for this disparity is that the Census Bureau and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis calculate home ownership rates differently.

  • The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis uses a measure called the homeowners-to-population ratio, or HPOP. This calculates the share of adults who own a home.
  • The traditional home ownership rate, tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, measures the share of occupied homes in which the owner lives.
Here's an example of how these two sources calculate home ownership numbers differently. Take a married couple who own a house and whose adult son still lives with them. The Census measure classifies the household as owner-occupied, even though the son does not own the property. This creates the impression that everyone living in this household is a homeowner.

According to Minneapolis Fed researchers, about 14% of U.S. adults live in owner-occupied homes without owning the property. These can include adult children living with their parents, parents living with adult relatives, or people living with a roommate who owns the property.

HPOP data also found that home ownership is lower in every U.S. state than previously thought, with the lowest rates in states with high housing prices. Increasing the accuracy of this type of data is important, as it enables us to better-serve our mutual clients.4

New Construction Sales Beat June Forecast

According to data released by the Census Bureau and HUD, new home sales grew 1.6% during June, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000 units. This was a slight increase over the month's sales forecast.

The median sales price of new houses sold in June fell 3.3% from the previous month, coming in at $398,300.

According to NAHB Chairman Bill Owens, one reason for the slight improvement in sales was that NAHB data showed that 62% of builders offered some form of incentive to buyers during June.

If you have any builder partnerships or would like to be introduced to mine, let's connect soon.5

Sources: 1redfin.com, 2theartofthecma.com, 3socialmediatoday.com;, 4cbsnews.com, 5nahb.org.