Residential Brokers & Property Managers NAICS 531311, 531210

Feb 20, 2026 - Advantage Shifts to Home Buyers

• The Wall Street Journal reports that the cooling US housing market is shifting power back to buyers as discounts and concessions become increasingly common. About 62% of buyers last year purchased homes below the original listing price, the highest share since 2019, according to Redfin. The average discount reached roughly 8%, the largest since 2012. Redfin data shows the market had more than 600,000 more sellers than buyers in December, giving active shoppers more leverage to negotiate, walk away after inspections, and avoid overpriced or renovation-heavy listings. Redfin expects modest sales growth this year as buyers and sellers align on pricing.
• Multifamily developer confidence declined in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) latest Multifamily Market Survey. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) fell three points in Q4 2025 to 45 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. The Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) decreased by seven points to 74 over the same period. An MPI or MOI reading of 50 or more indicates that multifamily production or occupancy, respectively, is growing. Multifamily developers’ headwinds include elevated construction costs and local regulatory difficulties. While interest rates have eased somewhat, they need to fall further to stimulate stronger multifamily construction activity. One bright spot in the MPI was garden/low-rise apartments, which, with a Q4 2025 reading of 54, was the only component of the MPI to see an increase in developer confidence. The 2025 gains for garden and low-rise apartments are expected to continue in 2026.

• Sales of existing US homes decreased by 8.4% in January 2026 from December and were down 4.4% year-over-year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said, "The decrease in sales is disappointing. The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration. Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022. This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low."
• Apartment REITs are bracing for another challenging year as operating expenses continue to outpace revenue growth, pressuring net operating income despite expectations for stronger conditions later in 2026, according to Multifamily Dive. Mid-America Apartment Communities reported a 1.4% net operating income (NOI) decline in 2025 and projects a 0.75% drop this year, while Equity Residential and AvalonBay also posted slowing growth and rising costs tied to weak job gains, elevated supply in some markets, and softer rent momentum. Multifamily REIT returns fell 7.8% over the past year, trailing the broader REIT sector. Companies expect relief from sharply lower deliveries of new apartment supply and strong renewal rates, and some, including Camden, are shifting portfolios toward the Sun Belt. Essex, which outperformed peers, expects expense growth to ease as insurance costs improve, and executives across several REITs cited better rent-to-income ratios as a supportive demand trend.