Why Real Estate Feels So Weird Right Now

You're not imagining it, things are strange. But weird doesn’t have to mean bad… if you know where to look and when to breathe.

It’s weird out there. I was sitting in my office the other day, just feeling worn out. Not exhausted, just tired. The kind of tired that doesn’t come from one hard day, but from the weight of holding up a heavy rock for a long time. Like a modern-day Sisyphus (Greek mythology, the guy had to push a rock up a hill forever).

Naturally, in that perfect headspace, I decided to check some numbers. Horrible idea. Here are some not-so-fun facts:

• 2009, there were 4.34 million existing homes (our business) sold. In 2024, there were 4.06 million. Yeah, so if it has felt worse than 2009, it’s because it is.

• On Dec 23, 2021, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.05%. By Nov of 2023, they peaked at 7.6% and have bounced around that number since. That is an unprecedented change in affordability for the US home buyer in a two-year period.

Yeah… yuck. No wonder it feels weird.

But I’m cursed (or blessed) with being a card-carrying optimist. I shook off those Sisyphus feelings (first time I’ve ever typed that lol) and got to really thinking about it. For better or worse, I can almost always find silver linings. In boxing, we used to say you’re either winning or learning, never losing. If I can find the upside of getting hit in the head, we can probably find some silver linings in this phase of real estate as well. So let me give you a couple of those before we talk about some ways to push through the weird.

Here are a few:

We've Found the Floor

You know that whole “you’ve got to hit bottom before you can rise” thing? Well, we’re at the bottom. And here’s what we’ve learned: no matter the rates, the headlines, or the chaos in the world, about 4 million people will still buy a home each year. That’s a baseline. Structure your business to work in this environment, and you’ll be perfectly positioned for the slingshot effect when the market turns. And markets always turn. Eventually.

You’ve Gotten Stronger

It takes resistance to build muscle. Over the last three years, you’ve had to look at your business through a harsh lens. You’ve probably canceled a few subscription tools, you’ve probably evaluated your lead sources and changed how you approach things, and you’ve maybe even had to make some hard staff decisions for your group or team. We tend to only really analyze our business deeply in the hard times. That is when we get our business lean and strong. Positioning you well and making you stronger for when the market provides you with tailwinds instead of headwinds.

What to Look For

Transactions Are Happening

4 million is a lot of people. That is a big number when we think about it. So when you try to tell yourself “no one is buying houses right now,” just know you’re wrong. Some people are, they just aren’t with you. And I don’t mean that harshly. I just mean you have to change your mindset and know that transactions are going to happen, it’s just a question of whether you're going to do what it takes to get some of them.

Motivation is King AND Queen

The number one characteristic you should be looking for in a client is motivation. The 4+ million folks who transacted in 2024 either NEEDED a house or wanted one real, real bad. Sometimes in our desire to “feel busy,” we’ll promote clients before they are ready. We want to say “I’m working with 5 buyers right now,” but the reality is maybe only one or two are far enough through the process that they’re ready now. But you’re pouring all this energy into the other three or four who are not ready to receive it yet. They’re not ready. Start screening for the most ready clients. And love on the ones who aren’t yet, but they don’t get the same energy the hyper-motivated do.

Stay Ready

I’ve written a fair bit about this already this year, so I won’t go on and on about it again here. But this might be a year where there are windows of opportunity to help clients. We’re in a rate-sensitive environment, and there could be a 90-day period where, if you’re ready, you can help your clients get advantages. If you want to read more on this, here is the link to the “Stay Ready” article.

Look Inward

Set It Down (and Pick It Back Up)

First off, let me give you permission to set it down for a bit. Sometimes we think taking a break is quitting. It’s not. It’s only quitting if you don’t pick it back up. I even wrote about a version of this in my Strategic Retreat post. In there, I talk about how hustle culture may not being telling us the right story or at least not the whole story.

Let me make this super simple: if something feels really heavy and like you might drop it uncontrollably, you might want to just set it down for a bit. Then pick it back up when you feel ready. You’re not a failure if you decide “ya know what, I’ve had enough of this s**t today, I am just going to go golf, or look at birds, or go to Target (I’m talking to you Kayla Matlick) or play video games or whatever mindless escape you have for yourself. THEN come back to it in the morning, recharged, refreshed, and ready to tackle the problem.

Remember Who You Are

This last point is pretty simple. I know every time I have felt that low power mode or burnt out, it’s usually because I’ve lost sight of the human being in the process. I don’t wake up every day for one more Zoom meeting, one more marathon email sesh, one more long flight with a connection at 11 pm… I do what I do because of the people I get to do it with and for.

For me, it's the owners, agents, loan officers, and corporate staff. They’re my why. For agents, it's your clients.

Sometimes we lose sight of what the hell we’re doing and who the eff you actually are. You’re a damn superhero who shepherds people through one of the most stressful processes of their life.

Something they do every 10 years, it usually involves all or most of their available cash, and it's our (your) job to help them navigate that. What an honor. What a privilege we get to do that.

Usually, you’ve lost sight of that, so reconnect with a human in the business. Don’t call the “lead” call the “person” who filled out a form or who reached out to you six months ago, but you’ve drifted away.

Think about what it feels like to hand that first-time homebuyer their keys or the widow to find closure or any of the other thousands of things you’ve done to make people’s lives better. Anchor into that and watch how quickly that fog of negativity burns off.

-k

If this hit home or even gave you a little perspective, subscribe and stick around. I write like this every week, from the heart and from the trenches. Let’s navigate the weird together.