Chuck Barberini Real Estate

09/05/2026

Thinking About Tapping into Your 401(k) To Buy a Home? Read This First.

Affordability is definitely a challenge, but that doesn’t mean tapping your 401(k) is your only way in if you want to buy.

If you're considering using your 401(k) savings for a down payment, weigh all your options and talk with a trusted financial advisor before you make any decisions. They’ll help you make a plan to fit your goals and your budget.

Lately, headlines have floated an eye-catching idea about tapping into your 401(k) to cover a down payment on a home.

09/04/2026

New Home Median Prices are Now $40K Cheaper Than Existing Home Prices

New-home supply sits at 9.6 months in July, with builders pricing below the resale median. Here’s why and two plays for agents to run right now.

New-home sales dropped 10.5% from June to July, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Builders have 488,000 homes on the market, and the median price on those homes fell to $393,800, a number below the median price of an existing home.

Builders are pricing new construction under the resale market, and buyers are noticing. More than a few are wondering, “Why not just focus on new homes?”

Incentives are called that for a reason. And if builders are offering more than existing-home sellers to reduce the cost of a home purchase, cash-strapped buyers are going to lean.

What gets lost in all the incentive talk is what they mean for buyers five years down the road.

We’re breaking down the numbers to explain why builders can price this low, plus two agent plays to put into action this week: one for content, one for client conversations.

What Just Happened in New-Home Sales

New-home sales cooled in July while inventory kept climbing. Sales fell 10.5% month over month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607,000.

That’s down 6.3% year over year from July 2025’s rate of 648,000.

Meanwhile:
• New homes for sale rose to 488,000, up 1.9% from June’s 479,000
• Months’ supply climbed to 9.6, up from 8.5 in June

Anytime months of supply is greater than six, it signals a buyer’s market for that price segment. More supply means more options for active buyers and a greater likelihood of concessions to sweeten the deal.

Builders Are Pricing Below the Resale Market

New-home prices dropped below the resale median in July, giving buyers a clear price advantage on new construction.

• Median new-home price: $393,800, down 2.3% from June’s $403,100, the lowest mark since March 2026
• Median existing-home price: $434,100 (National Association of Realtors, July)

New construction runs $40,300 cheaper than resale at the median. Frame that as monthly savings, with real numbers, and your buyers see the difference even more clearly.

Aside from the price difference between resale and new construction, builders are leaning on incentives to move inventory, according to a new ResiClub report:

• K. Hovnanian: a 10.8% incentive rate, $58,000 off a $539,000 home
• Lennar: a 12.9% incentive rate, $51,600 off a $400,000 home

Builders call 5-6% a normal incentive baseline, and current numbers run close to double that mark.

Yet, while builders offer more tantalizing incentives, NAR chief economist Dr. Lawrence Yun points to resale demand holding steady despite the higher cost of...

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Email from Chuck Barberini Real Estate Weekly update - Bay Area Real Estate Market Chuck Barberini Real Estate - Weekly Newsletter "Just Thinking" “Just Thinking" I was sitting around the other day th

09/04/2026

Why Buyers Shouldn't Overlook a Fall Move

Of course, every market moves a little differently. But here's what doesn't change: Fall consistently buyers. More homes. Lower asking prices. Motivated sellers.

If you’ve been waiting for your search to feel a little more doable, this season may be worth another look.

Let’s have a quick conversation about what's happening in our market and see whether this fall gives you opportunities you may not have had a few months ago.

Confused about the Real Estate market?
If You Don’t Know – “Just Ask Chuck”




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You've been waiting for something to change before you buy. It just might not be the thing you expected…

09/03/2026

Everyone's been watching mortgage rates. But there's another trend buyers shouldn't overlook...

Every fall, the housing market tends to shift.

More homes hit the market. Asking prices often soften. And sellers are usually more willing to negotiate.

Those seasonal changes happen almost every year – and they can make buying a little easier.

Let's talk about whether those same trends are showing up in our local market – and what it means for you.

Confused about the Real Estate market?
If You Don’t Know – “Just Ask Chuck”




https://dot.cards/chuckbarberini


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09/02/2026

Pardon me while I do a little happy dance. Thank you Robert.

09/02/2026

You probably think as a general rule of thumb, brand new homes costs more than existing homes. But right now, that's backwards. This shows just how much.

A newly built home costs about $40k less than an existing one right now. That's because builders are cutting prices and piling on incentives to keep their inventory moving.

And that opens up a window for you to get brand new everything for less than you may expect.

DM me if you want a list of nearby new home communities offering deals like this right now to see if a new build may be in your budget after all.

Confused about the Real Estate market?
If You Don’t Know – “Just Ask Chuck”




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09/01/2026

Sellers Outnumber Buyers Right Now

Buying soon? You’ve got more pull than you might expect. Right now, there are more sellers than buyers on the market. And that means sellers know they’ll have to give a little to get their house sold. Exactly how much negotiating power you have depends on where you’re looking. So, let’s chat about how much power you have here, then turn it into a set of keys. 

Confused about the Real Estate market?
If You Don’t Know – “Just Ask Chuck”




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08/31/2026

Have you seen the headlines about using your 401(k) to cover a down payment?

Tapping it can feel like an easy call, especially if you’ve got a good chunk saved up. But pulling from retirement early can trigger penalties and set back the savings you'll want later on.

But you don’t necessarily have to raid your retirement to buy a home. You’ve got other options, like FHA loans, which let qualified buyers put down as little as 3.5%. And down payment assistance programs can help, too.

So, before you touch your 401(k), talk with a trusted financial advisor. They can help you find the option that fits your goals and your budget.

Confused about the Real Estate market?
If You Don’t Know – “Just Ask Chuck”




https://dot.cards/chuckbarberini


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08/29/2026

Quick question: what's the one word you'd use to describe this year so far?

For a lot of people, it's stressful. And when everything feels shaky, it’s easy to second-guess the move you were ready to make. But the truth is, the housing market is one thing that’s been remarkably stable.

Home prices have been relatively steady for about 4 years now. The number of homes for sale is right about where it was last year (up 2%). And mortgage rates have held in the same general 6-7% range since late 2022.

A steady market comes with a perk. You can actually plan. What works for your budget today probably won’t look all that different in a few months.

You don’t have to wait for things to calm down. The housing market’s already pretty steady. Send me a DM or drop a comment below, and let's compare the market you walked away from to the one that's here now.

Confused about the Real Estate market?
If You Don’t Know – “Just Ask Chuck”




https://dot.cards/chuckbarberini


Follow my Blog
https://ChuckBarberini.org

08/28/2026

Housing Market Realities Agents Should Be Talking About Right Now

Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies issued their 2026 State of the Nation’s Housing report. Here are their 10 takeaways and what agents should do with them.

Existing home sales are stuck near a three-decade low, just over 4 million a year. Back in 2021, that number was 6.1 million. Fewer sales are just one part of the current housing market landscape.

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies’ annual State of the Nation’s Housing report tracks everything from home sales and household formation to construction, affordability, rental burdens, and the policies being introduced to address the country’s housing challenges.

Findings from the 2026 report should come as no surprise to real estate agents:

• High housing costs and economic uncertainty are keeping would-be buyers and renters on the sidelines.
• Household growth is slowing.
• Existing-home sales remain depressed.
• New construction has relieved some supply pressure, but it hasn’t produced the lower-cost housing households need most.

So while the 2026 report is far from an optimistic forecast, this data can help you reset seller expectations, show buyers where they may have negotiating leverage, identify local affordability resources, and spot opportunities created by zoning and housing-policy changes.

It also gives you credible numbers you can use during listing presentations, client conversations, market updates, emails, and social content.

We’ve grouped the report’s 10 takeaways by theme to support five specific conversations, so you have the context and the data to present these realities to local buyers and sellers, either face-to-face or in your marketing content.

Home Sales and Household Growth Are Both Losing Steam

The first thematic grouping covers takeaways 1-3: activity is sluggish, demand is weakening, and the economic backdrop explains why.

First, existing-home sales aren’t the only sign of a slowdown. New-home sales held flat too.

The same pullback appears on the rental side:

• Rental retention rates rose as renters stayed in place rather than moving.
• New occupancies dropped as fewer people signed new leases.

Builders pulled back to match, with construction starts down 1%, driven by a 7% drop in single-family starts.

Household formation is cooling too, on both the owner and renter side:

• Household growth slowed for the third year in a row in 2025
• New homeowner household growth fell by half, and the homeownership rate dropped for the second year running
• Renter growth in the first quarter of 2026 was less than half what it was a year earlier

The reasons trace back to jobs and confidence. Employment growth fell from 1.5 million in 2024 to just 116,000 in 2025.

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