REAL ESTATE NEWS

Redfin Report Says We’re In Buyer’s Market

National housing data is confirming what many agents have sensed on the ground: the seller’s market is softening. Supply is rising, prices are cooling, and buyers now have more leverage. This change is reshaping negotiations across the country.

What’s Happening:

• Supply Is Normalizing: According to Redfin, there are now 34% more homes listed than active buyers—about 1.94 million homes on the market. In places like Miami, sellers outnumber buyers nearly 3 to 1.

• Prices Are Stabilizing: 42 of the top 300 metro areas are seeing year-over-year price declines. In others, growth has slowed enough to stall bidding wars.

• Buyer Psychology Is Changing: With more inventory but still challenging affordability, buyers are taking their time. Many are negotiating harder or waiting for better mortgage rates before acting.

• Sellers Are Reacting: Concessions, price cuts, and extended days-on-market are all trending upward. In many metros, this is the first sustained buyer’s leverage we’ve seen since 2012.

Why This Matters for Agents:
The shift changes how you price, prep, and position a listing. It also changes how you write offers, structure timelines, and manage client expectations on both sides. It also affects how you speak to hesitation because while buyers have more choice, many still feel unsure.

Bottom Line:
The market isn’t crashing. It’s correcting. There are great opportunities now available for buyers. This is where great agents earn their edge.

FROM CALM AGENT DESK

Steady Conversations for an Unsteady Market

How to Talk to Buyers about the Current Market

Today’s buyers are entering a very different market than the one they backed away from last year. They have more choices, more leverage, and more uncertainty. Some are waiting for rates to drop, while others are trying to time the bottom. Many simply don’t trust that now is the right moment.

As an agent, your job isn’t to talk them into anything. It’s to talk with them. To name their hesitation before it hardens into inaction. And to offer a path that feels strategic, not emotional.

6 Talking Points That Build Confidence and Clarity

1. Anchor Them in Long-Term Vision
Ask: “What does life in this home look like five years from now?”
Most buyers are thinking in short-term loops — rate, price, payment. Bring them back to the bigger picture: equity, stability, life milestones. Homeownership rarely makes perfect sense in the moment. It makes sense over time.

2. Use the Market Shift to Their Advantage
Say: “You have more choice now than buyers have had in years — and you can actually negotiate.”
Highlight rising inventory in your local market. Buyers can afford to be selective, and in many areas, sellers are more open to concessions, repairs, or flexible timelines. This is leverage that a good agent can work with.

3. Expand the Price Band
Say: “Because so many properties are being reduced, you might be able to afford more house than you could six months ago. Want to see what that opens up?”
In some areas, 30 to 40 percent of homes have dropped in price. This creates a rare window where buyers can explore a higher tier without increasing budget.

4. Break Down the Real Cost, Not Just the Rate
Partner with a good lender!
Say: “Let’s look at your monthly payment across a few rate scenarios.”
Be honest about the rate environment, but don’t stop there. Show buyers what different payments look like at 15-year and 30-year terms. Translate rates into lifestyle, not fear.

5. Identify Motivation Without Pressure
Ask: “What’s changed in your life that makes you want to move now?”
Motivated buyers often need help articulating what’s driving them, whether it’s job shifts, growing families, or downsizing. When you help them hear their own reasons, their fear of the market subsides.

6. Use Regret as a Gentle Mirror
Ask: “How would you feel if someone else bought this house next week while you were still deciding?”
This isn’t urgency for urgency’s sake. It’s about naming the emotional cost of hesitation. Many buyers feel safer when they’re reminded that waiting is also a choice, with its own risks.

PROMPT

Enter this PROMPT to ChatGPT’s Voice Mode for a role-playing practice.

AI PRODUCTIVITY

The 5 Smartest Notetaking Tools for Agents

Information isn’t useful unless you can actually use it.

And in real estate, details vanish fast. You leave one listing appointment only to jump straight into a group call with your stager, then get hit with a follow-up text about the termite report.

Most agents rely on memory, which means they often forget something and stay up in the middle of the night wondering about it.

AI notetakers exist to change that.

These tools do more than transcribe. They capture the conversation while you stay fully present, then deliver structured notes that help you remember what was said, what was promised, and what comes next.

With automation and AI agents, you can have your notes act as a trigger for workflows to further streamline your business.

These tools (there are many more out there!) are suited to capturing and organizing the kinds of conversations real estate agents have every day. Each one has a specific strength, depending on how and where you work.

Quick Summaries

• Otter.ai
  Great for team calls, walkthroughs, or client updates. Offers fast voice-to-text transcription with speaker labeling and smart summaries. Simple interface and reliable results.

• Wave AI
  With Wave, you can record calls, generate clear AI summaries, and sync across devices.

• Lindy
  More than just a notetaker. With Lindy, you can build AI agents and automation. It automatically extracts action items, connects with your CRM, and reminds you what to do next. It’s like adding an assistant to your tech stack.

• Shilo
  Shilo is how top performers in real estate future-proof their business with artificial intelligence that is innovative, beautiful, and most of all, easy to use.

• Gong
  Built for sales teams that want more than notes. Gong provides call analysis, objection tracking, and performance trends that help with coaching and conversion.

Coming Soon: ChatGPT Record Mode

ChatGPT just launched a new feature called Record mode, which turns your AI chatbot into a live notetaker. Due to limited availability, it didn’t make our top five list yet, but it’s one to watch.

If you’re on a ChatGPT Team plan and using the macOS desktop app, you may already see the recording button in your interface. With one click, you can record a live conversation, watch real-time transcription, and receive a summary with time-stamped quotes, bullet-point action items, and a clean outline you can edit before saving.

The rollout began the first week of June and is still in progress, so some users won’t see the feature just yet. It’s expected to arrive next for Enterprise, Education, Pro, and Plus users, as well as on Windows and the web version.

ChatGPT also added integrations with Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and SharePoint, making it easier to store and reference your meeting notes alongside other business documents.

Before You Record, Remember This:

• Get consent. Every time. Especially with clients.

• Keep recordings secure. Store them with your files.

• Review and edit summaries before relying on them. AI tools are fast but imperfect.

• Think of the transcript as a sketch. Your job is to refine it.

Try This Today:

Pick one tool and use it during your next listing consult or buyer briefing. Then take five minutes to review the transcript. You’ll notice what you usually miss.