The Agent’s Weekly Market Brief Week of November 3, 2025
Intro: Is the Market Showing Signs of Life?
The U.S. housing market entered November with a curious mix of optimism and complexity. National home prices continued to inch upward—up 2.3% year-over-year through August according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (Reuters, Oct 28, 2025)—but that growth came alongside a striking 14% jump in existing-home inventory. Sellers are returning, listings are lingering longer, and affordability remains tight. In other words, the market is rebalancing, not rebounding.
Layered on top are regulatory and operational pressures: a federal shutdown that has delayed flood-insurance policies and USDA/FHA/VA loan endorsements (Mainebiz, Nov 1, 2025), and a quietly important IRS revision to the 2026 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit multiplier, injecting more capital into affordable rental development (HousingOnline, Oct 29, 2025).
Meanwhile, the technology ecosystem is flashing yellow: Zillow’s latest earnings miss highlights the strain on agent-lead businesses (FinancialContent, Oct 30, 2025), and a new Kaplan survey found nearly half of real estate professionals still aren’t using AI tools effectively (RealEstateNews.com, Oct 8, 2025).
Add in luxury-market realignments—like Simon Property Group’s consolidation of Taubman Realty Group (PR Newswire, Nov 3, 2025)—and you have a market that’s not standing still. It’s shifting on multiple axes: supply, affordability, technology, and capital. This week’s brief explores how those shifts affect pricing power, client conversations, and agent strategy.
Headline Spotlight: When Supply Finally Picks Up—and What It Means
The standout story this week is the long-awaited expansion in supply. According to the FHFA (Reuters, Oct 28, 2025), U.S. single-family house prices increased 0.4% month-over-month in August and 2.3% over the prior 12 months. Yet, in the same period, existing-home inventory jumped 14% year-over-year.
After several years defined by scarcity, this is a meaningful shift. The increased availability of listings suggests that either homeowners are regaining confidence to sell—or that properties are staying on the market longer. Either way, the balance between buyers and sellers is moving toward neutral.
What’s Driving It
More listings: Owners who delayed selling during high-rate periods are now accepting “new normal” pricing and entering the market.
Lingering listings: As demand cools slightly, homes remain available longer, contributing to the inventory uptick.
Steady demand: Despite affordability headwinds, buyers are still active—but selective.
Why It Matters for Agents
The landscape of negotiation is changing. Sellers can no longer assume multiple offers within days, and buyers finally have options—but they remain cost-conscious.
For agents, this shift means recalibrating strategy:
For sellers, emphasize timing, presentation, and realistic pricing. With more listings competing for attention, value narrative and condition matter more than ever.
For buyers, preparation is key—strong pre-approval, flexibility, and decisiveness separate successful bids from lost opportunities.
In practical terms, agents should:
Review active listings older than 30 days—reassess pricing, refresh staging, and update marketing.
Coach buyers on readiness: financing lined up, contingencies minimized, and decision criteria defined.
Set expectations early—this is a slower, more deliberate market, not a dead one.
Bottom line: Agents who adapt quickly will capture business while others wait for conditions that may never return.
Market Snapshot: More Listings, Steadier Prices
Fresh data from the FHFA (Reuters, Oct 28, 2025) show U.S. single-family home prices rising 2.3% year-over-year through August, marking modest appreciation compared to the double-digit surges of prior years. At the same time, NAR data referenced by Reuters point to a 14% increase in existing-home inventory for September—a clear signal of improved supply conditions.
On the policy side, the IRS’s revision to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) per-capita multiplier—from $3.05 to $3.416 for 2026—could inject new life into affordable rental development and mixed-use projects (HousingOnline, Oct 29, 2025).
What It Means on the Ground
Balanced—but uneven: The national picture may look stable, but local markets will vary. Some metros will swing to buyer-friendly conditions faster than others.
Longer time-to-sale: Expect a moderate increase in days on market. Adjust pricing and staging timelines accordingly.
Renewed rental momentum: LIHTC expansion could open new development activity, creating rental competition in some markets but also opportunities for collaboration.
Agents who frame these shifts as opportunities—more listings, more leverage, more nuanced client advising—will gain trust and business in what’s becoming a more transparent market cycle.
Regulatory & Legal Watch: Shutdown Strains and Tax-Credit Tailwinds
1. Federal Shutdown Impacts Housing Operations
The Maine Association of REALTORS® (Mainebiz, Nov 1, 2025) reports that the ongoing federal government shutdown has paused new flood-insurance policies, delayed USDA rural housing loans, and created backlogs for FHA and VA endorsements.
Why this matters: These are not abstract policy issues—they directly affect closings. Agents working with government-backed loans or in flood-prone areas should expect financing delays and factor in buffer periods for contracts and escrow.
Agent tip:
Proactively communicate with lenders and clients about potential delays.
Build contingency language into contracts.
Keep inspection and appraisal windows flexible.
2. IRS Raises the Affordable-Housing Tax Credit Multiplier
The IRS update (HousingOnline, Oct 29, 2025) raising the 2026 LIHTC per-capita multiplier from $3.05 to $3.416 increases the funding capacity for affordable projects by roughly 12%.
For agents working multifamily or development deals: expect potential upticks in new affordable or mixed-income projects in late 2026 and beyond. That means new leasing inventory, construction sales, or referral opportunities—especially in markets with strong public-private housing partnerships.
Together, these developments underscore a key operational truth: policy shapes transaction flow. Understanding and communicating these dynamics differentiates agents who simply react from those who lead.
Consumer & Buyer Trends: Affordability’s Long Road
Even with supply climbing, affordability remains the market’s stubborn constraint. According to Reuters (Oct 28, 2025), price gains have moderated to just 2.3% annually, yet buyers continue to struggle with financing costs, insurance premiums, and broader cost-of-living pressures.
The Emerging Buyer Mindset
More choice, less rush: A 14% increase in listings gives buyers breathing room—but also invites hesitation.
Affordability fatigue: Buyers are selective and strategic, often stretching location or feature preferences to fit budgets.
Process anxiety: With government-backed loan delays and insurance uncertainty, confidence in closing timelines has become as important as price.
How Agents Can Lead
Set expectations early: Explain that “more inventory” doesn’t automatically mean “easier buying.”
Emphasize readiness: Ensure clients have updated pre-approvals and verified funds—especially vital when financing systems are strained.
Market to motivation: Buyers moving for job, family, or lifestyle reasons are still transacting; keep outreach focused on those with compelling triggers.
Educate through empathy: Walk buyers through scenarios—what changes if rates drop 0.25%, or if a preferred property faces flood-insurance delays.
Why this matters: The agent’s role is now more about interpretation than transaction. Translating macroeconomic shifts into personalized, local guidance builds the trust that keeps pipelines moving.
The Business of Being an Agent: Revenue, Expenses, and Strategy
The real estate business model is shifting as much as the market itself. The numbers are clear: 46% of agents are not using AI tools in their practice, and 17% don’t plan to in the next three years (Kaplan via RealEstateNews.com, Oct 8, 2025). Meanwhile, Zillow’s Q3 earnings reveal declining agent-lead revenue (FinancialContent, Oct 30, 2025). The message: automation and lead diversification are no longer “nice-to-haves.”
Revenue Pressures
Fewer quick closings: Slower market turnover extends pipeline timelines and cashflow cycles.
Lead-cost inflation: As portals face slower growth, lead prices may rise, forcing agents to reconsider ROI.
Commission compression: More competition for listings and buyers means tighter margins.
Expense Considerations
Tech stack scrutiny: Don’t pay for tools you don’t measure. Track lead conversion and productivity impact for every subscription.
Marketing shift: Organic, AI-assisted content creation can replace some paid-ad spend if done consistently.
Compliance vigilance: Federal disruptions and new data rules (like UAD 3.6) mean extra admin—budget for it.
Tactical Recommendations
Audit your pipeline math: Estimate monthly expenses vs. probable closings; maintain at least 3–4 months’ runway.
Automate one new workflow: Use AI to streamline lead nurturing, email marketing, or transaction tracking.
Diversify lead sources: Mix community engagement, social content, and referral marketing alongside portal leads.
Reinvest selectively: Allocate freed-up marketing dollars toward data tools or professional development.
Protect your margins: Review every expense line quarterly—trim low-return subscriptions and vendors.
Agents who operationalize efficiency now will enter 2026 leaner, sharper, and better equipped for a market defined by precision, not volume.
Luxury & Niche Markets: Capital Meets Creativity
In the upper tiers of the market, institutional capital is reshaping the landscape. Simon Property Group’s acquisition of the remaining 12% interest in Taubman Realty Group (PR Newswire, Nov 3, 2025) signals a continued blending of retail, hospitality, and residential real estate.
Implications for Agents
Cross-sector capital flow: Expect more investors looking to reposition or diversify holdings into residential assets, including branded luxury developments and short-term rental portfolios.
Portfolio thinking: High-net-worth clients are evaluating homes as part of broader investment strategies. Agents fluent in cash flow, depreciation, and asset allocation will stand out.
Collaborative advantage: Building relationships with commercial brokers, wealth managers, and developers opens referral channels beyond the traditional luxury listing base.
Strategic Opportunity
Luxury and niche markets thrive on differentiation. Even as general inventory rises, premium and unique properties—trophy homes, waterfront estates, branded residences—retain scarcity value. Craft marketing narratives that emphasize exclusivity, experience, and financial logic, not just square footage.
Closing Thoughts & Call to Action
The theme of the week: complexity is the new normal.
Inventory is climbing, policy uncertainty lingers, technology adoption is uneven, and buyers are cautious but not absent. Real estate agents who approach this moment with clarity—anchoring every decision in data, client education, and operational efficiency—will not just survive the shift; they’ll define it.
That’s where we come in.
The Agent’s Accountant helps real estate agents turn market changes into opportunities:
Build financial systems that scale with your pipeline
Optimize taxes so you keep more of what you earn
Stabilize cash flow in a commission-driven business
Treat your career like the business it is
