The playbook for selling a home has changed fast. Buyers have more options, more leverage, and they are using it. Active housing inventory rose more than 16% year-over-year in 2025 — one of the largest annual increases since the pandemic-era crunch.

When most homebuyers calculate whether they can afford a new home, they focus almost exclusively on one number: the monthly mortgage payment. It's the figure lenders qualify them for, the number discussed during showings, and the benchmark used to determine budgets.

Will 2026 be the year buyers stop waiting? Forecasters are split, predicting anywhere from 1.7% to 14% growth in home sales. That 12-point gap reveals the central question facing the housing market: how much will slightly lower mortgage rates and slowly eroding lock-in effects actually unlock pent-up demand?

Timing isn’t everything in real estate, but it can mean the difference between saving $20,000 or paying a premium, selling in 30 days or waiting three months, and negotiating from a position of strength or uncertainty.

For millions of homeowners, checking their Zillow Zestimate has become as routine as checking a stock portfolio—a quick hit of seeing your home's estimated value, right at your fingertips.

Real estate scams are targeting more victims than ever before, and they're becoming increasingly sophisticated. Nearly 10,000 Americans fell victim to real estate fraud in 2024, losing over $173 million according to FBI reports.