08/18/2026
Real estate is HARD right now. ❤️
And I don’t think people outside of this industry always see just how hard it has become.
I’m having more and more difficult conversations with homeowners who simply can’t sell their homes for what they need to sell them for.
The market is not 2020–2021 anymore. Those years created an expectation that you could buy a home, own it for a couple of years, and automatically walk away with a big profit. That isn’t a normal real estate market.
Historically, real estate is a long-term investment. In many cases, you need to own a home for 5–7 years before you really start seeing the benefits of appreciation and building enough equity to overcome the costs of buying and selling.
Then comes the next conversation:
“If I can’t sell it, I’ll just rent it.”
But so many homeowners are in that exact same position right now that more homes are hitting the rental market. More inventory means more competition, which puts downward pressure on rent.
So now I’m sitting across from homeowners explaining that their home may rent for less than their mortgage payment.
They may lose $200, $300, $500+ every single month just to hold onto the house.
Could keeping it eventually pay off? Absolutely. Over time, the mortgage gets paid down, rents can increase, and the property may appreciate.
But that doesn’t change the fact that right now, it can hurt.
These are tough conversations.
Telling someone their home isn’t worth what they hoped.
Telling a seller another price reduction may be necessary after months on the market.
Telling an owner that renting their home may mean coming out of pocket every month.
And then there is the other side of this market…
BUYERS — there are some incredible opportunities right now.
More inventory.
More negotiating power.
Seller concessions.
Rate buydowns.
Price reductions.
And sellers who are much more willing to make a deal.
Real estate has always been a balancing act.
When the market is incredibly difficult for buyers, it tends to favor sellers.
And when the market is incredibly difficult for sellers, opportunity shifts to the buyers.
And finally, to my Realtor friends…
I see you. ❤️
I see the endless days and nights.
I see the showings that go nowhere.
The open houses with no offers.
The listings you've marketed for months.
The phone calls, videos, social media posts, price discussions, negotiations and problem solving.
I see the hours and hours of work you're doing that you may never get paid for.
And I see you having conversations with sellers that you wish you didn't have to have because sometimes our job isn't telling people what they want to hear. It's telling them what the market is actually telling us.
This market is humbling.
It's exhausting.
And it's requiring Realtors to work harder than I have seen in a very long time.
So if you're in the trenches right now trying to keep deals together, help your sellers make difficult decisions, and find opportunities for your buyers…
I see you. Keep going. ❤️🏡
