Listing prices post the sharpest drop in 9 years

Build your repertoire

Too many agents treat prospecting like a debate. Cold calling is dead. Social media is a waste of time. Door knocking is beneath them.

Don't fall into that trap.

The agents who win aren't loyal to one method; they build a repertoire and know when to deploy each tool. Sometimes, business comes from picking up the phone. Sometimes it comes from creating content that pulls clients toward you.

Today, in Part 3 of our "Keep Your Eye on the Ball" series, we're focusing on one of the most effective attraction-based tools available: webinars. 

Done right, they position you as an expert, generate warm leads, and keep your pipeline full — without ever feeling like a sales pitch.

- David

Home sellers are cutting prices at the fastest pace in nearly a decade

In May, the median list price in the U.S. dropped 2.4% year-over-year to $429,500. That’s the biggest percentage decline since Realtor.com first began tracking the data in 2017. 

Here are the other key takeaways from its May report:

• Inventory tops 1 million homes: Active listings climbed 31.5% from a year ago, pushing inventory above 1 million homes for the first time since winter 2019. 

• New listings are still growing: Sellers brought 7.2% more homes to market than a year ago.

• Homes are taking longer to sell: The typical home spent 51 days on the market, four days longer than last May.

• Price reductions are becoming more common: Nearly one in five listings (19.1%) had a price cut in May, the highest share for any May since at least 2016.

• The South leads the inventory recovery: Active listings in the South are now 33.2% above pre-pandemic levels, while the West is nearly back to normal at just 0.5% below 2017-2019 averages.

My take

The biggest takeaway isn't that home prices are falling. It's that sellers have less room for error. With homes sitting longer and price reductions becoming more common, buyers are gaining leverage in many markets. Sellers who price right from day one will be fine. Those who don't will spend weeks chasing the market down.

Housing inventory is still growing, but the pace is slowing

The housing market has been flooded with new listings this year, but the weekly numbers suggest that wave may be cresting. Active inventory edged up by just 1,635 homes at the end of May — a fraction of the 16,452-home gain recorded the same week last year.

In fact, weekly inventory has now dipped about 1% below year-ago levels, according to HousingWire — the first time in four years that inventory fell behind the prior year’s pace.

Here are the other important trends to know:

• Weekly inventory just turned negative year over year: There were 795,921 homes on the market last week, down slightly from 803,479 during the same week in 2025.

• Rates are still stuck above 6.5%: The 30-year mortgage rate ended the week at 6.56%, keeping affordability under pressure.

• Buyers haven't bailed: Mortgage purchase applications were up 5% from a year ago — stronger than most expected given the rate environment.

• Price cuts are everywhere: About 36.9% of active listings have cut their asking price, a sign that sellers are still competing hard for attention.

• Supply is still nothing like the pandemic years: Even with the slowdown, inventory remains near multiyear highs and well above the historic lows of 2020–2023.

My take

There are still far more homes on the market than there were a few years ago, but the rapid inventory build we've seen since 2022 is beginning to lose momentum. Monthly data still shows listings up more than 30% from a year ago, but on a week-to-week basis, the gap is closing fast. If that continues, the balance of power between buyers and sellers could shift sooner than expected — even with rates above 6.5%. For now, sellers are still dealing with real competition, which is exactly why price cuts remain so common.

Sellers are relisting at the highest rate since 2020

In April, 2.5% of homes on the market belonged to sellers who had pulled their listings within the previous 12 months and then relisted them. 

According to Redfin, that's tied with the prior two months for the highest share since mid-2020, when many homeowners returned to the market after temporarily pulling their listings at the start of the pandemic.

The trend suggests that while many sellers are choosing to delist rather than accept lower offers, a significant number are eventually coming back and trying again.

Here are the top markets for relistings and delistings:

My take

The real story isn't that sellers are pulling their homes off the market. It's that many of them are coming back. Relistings are a reminder that a withdrawn listing usually isn't a seller who changed their mind—it's a seller whose first plan didn't work. The desire to move is still there. The challenge for agents is staying in front of those homeowners so that when they're ready to try again, you're the first call they make.

Schematics

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Foundation Plans

Advice from David to win the day

No matter what happens around you, to succeed in our business, protect time for lead generation. Never – never! – let your pipeline go dry.

Most agents think prospecting means cold calls, door knocking, or direct mail. Those tactics still work, and we’re big believers in them.  But if you're looking for a way to attract clients rather than chase them, consider adding webinars to your prospecting toolkit. 

Here's how that works in practice:

1. Teach first, sell later – The best webinars aren't sales presentations. They're educational. Consider hosting sessions on topics like "How to Buy Your First Home," "Understanding Today's Mortgage Market," or "What Sellers Need to Know Before Listing." When people learn something valuable from you, they're far more likely to trust you when it's time to make a real estate decision.

2. One webinar becomes weeks of content – A live webinar reaches more people than any open house. But the real leverage comes after — record it, post clips, drop it in email campaigns, add it to your website. A single well-run session can fuel your marketing for a month.

3. Registrations are warm leads, not cold names – Every person who signs up chose to be there. They're not a purchased list — they're people who raised their hand because the topic mattered to them. That makes every follow-up conversation easier and more natural.

4. Most agents don't do this – Most agents prospect the same way. Few position themselves as educators. Hosting consistent webinars demonstrates professionalism, expertise, and initiative. In a market where consumers have endless choices, that distinction matters.

One agent worth studying here is Bradley Pounds. He's built webinars into the core of his marketing strategy—not as a side experiment—and has generated more than $1 million in annual commission income. Pay attention to how he structures his topics, promotes attendance, and follows up with registrants afterward.

The goal isn't to host a perfect webinar. The goal is to create a scalable way for prospects to experience your expertise before they ever need your services. When that happens, the sales conversation becomes much easier.

Just in Case

Keep the latest industry data in your back pocket with today’s mortgage rates:

“You’ve gotta keep control of your time, and you can’t unless you say no. You can’t let people set your agenda in life.” — Warren Buffett

Don’t let events or other people set your agenda. Stay ruthlessly focused on your goals — your time is limited, and you only get one life. Make the most of it.

Have a wonderful week. We’ll see you back here on Friday!

- David