The Mark & Bridgett Miller Team

09/21/2026

Beware of those predicting gloom and doom!

09/15/2026

🏠 Builders are cutting prices again, and the shift from July to August is pretty significant.
A new BTIG/HomeSphere survey of 59 small and mid-sized homebuilders shows just how quickly conditions softened in August:
📉 30% cut base prices, double July’s 15%
💰 36% increased buyer incentives, up from 19%
📊 44% said sales came in below expectations, up from 29%
🏡 42% reported fewer sales than a year ago, the highest percentage since November 2023
🚶 37% reported declining buyer traffic, up from 23%
⬆️ Only 13% raised prices, down from 21%
Affordability and weaker demand were among the biggest concerns builders reported.
Why does this matter?
Builders often react to changing market conditions faster than individual homeowners because every completed home sitting unsold costs them money. When inventory starts stacking up, they have several levers they can pull: price reductions, closing-cost assistance, mortgage-rate buydowns, upgrades, or combinations of all four.
👀 For buyers: Don’t assume the advertised price or incentive is the best deal available. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines because of affordability, it may be worth revisiting new construction. Depending on the builder and community, there may be considerably more negotiating room than there was even a month ago.
🏠 For resale sellers: Pay attention. Your competition isn’t limited to the house down the street. If nearby builders are offering lower prices, rate buydowns, and thousands toward closing costs, buyers are comparing that entire package against your home. Pricing and positioning correctly matters even more in communities competing heavily with new construction.
And remember, this is a national survey of 59 builders, so it doesn’t mean every builder or every Houston-area community is experiencing the same thing. But the month-over-month movement is absolutely worth watching.

09/14/2026

If you’ve been waiting for mortgage rates to come down, this is something to pay attention to.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly crossed 5% today, hitting its highest level since 2007. And one of the biggest forces pushing it higher right now isn’t the housing market. It’s oil.
Rising geopolitical tensions have sent oil prices surging, with Brent crude approaching $110 a barrel. Higher energy costs don’t just mean more at the gas pump. They raise transportation and production costs throughout the economy, which creates additional inflation pressure.
And inflation changes the outlook for interest rates.
Mortgage rates tend to move closely with the bond market, particularly the 10-year Treasury. When investors expect inflation to remain elevated, Treasury yields generally rise, and mortgage rates face upward pressure with them.
That’s why waiting for mortgage rates to simply “come back down” may not be the strategy people think it is.
What’s happening with rates right now is much bigger than housing inventory, buyer demand, or the normal seasonal real estate cycle. Oil, inflation, geopolitical risk, and the Federal Reserve are all feeding into the cost of borrowing.
For buyers and sellers, this is exactly why I keep saying we have to make decisions based on the market we actually have, not the market we hope is coming six months from now.
If you’re selling, higher mortgage rates can shrink buyer purchasing power quickly, which makes pricing and positioning even more important.
If you’re buying, waiting for rates to drop is a gamble. If the right home fits your budget today, focus on the payment you can comfortably afford now and keep the option to refinance later if rates improve.

08/27/2026

08/26/2026

Ava Miller says "Happy National Dog Day"!
But that is just to get your attention!
We’ve sold millions of dollars in real estate, which brings us to one of the most important lessons we’ve learned in this business:
Nobody cares how many millions of dollars you’ve sold. 😂
Seriously.
Be good at your job.
Answer your phone. (We promise if we don’t answer we’ll call u back)
Know your market.
Take care of people.
Your reputation will tell people how successful you are so you don’t have to.

05/04/2026

Experience matters! Call or Text 270.300.6718 for Bridgett and Mark at Network Real Estate Services. Over 45 years of combined real estate sales experience. NO gimmicks!