Contract signings hit a record October low

🗳️ Welcome to the post-midterm Thursday.

Today’s newsletter is 617 words — a 2.5-minute read. Let’s dive in!

1. Houston leads growth in millionaire renters

The number of households earning at least $1 million annually and renting their homes jumped 229% between 2020 and 2024, outpacing the 193% growth in millionaire homeowner households, according to RentCafe.

Houston led the nation in growth, with millionaire renter households rising from 18 in 2020 to 232 in 2024, an increase of 1,189%. Dallas ranked eighth, with the number growing 450%, from 30 to 165.

Nearly half of millionaire renters are Millennials, while Gen Z recorded the fastest growth, with its numbers increasing 46-fold over the period.

Among millionaire homeowners, Gen X overtook Baby Boomers to become the largest generation in 2024, accounting for 45% of the total.

2. Three brokerages join Google Listings Program

REMAX Advantage, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Properties Group and ENRG Realty have joined HouseCanary’s Google Listings Program, bringing listings from more than 1,000 agents to Google mobile search in participating markets.

The program displays active listings in a carousel at the top of Google mobile search results, with brokerage and listing-agent attribution. Buyers can view property details and contact listing agents directly. Participating agents also receive complimentary access to HouseCanary’s agentic AI platform.

The latest additions follow partnerships with Side, The Keyes Company and several multiple listing services, including Bright MLS, Arizona Regional MLS and CRMLS. Despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, HouseCanary continues to expand the program.

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3. Catch up quick

🎉 James Talarico becomes the first Democrat elected to a Texas Senate seat since 1988. (Axios)

🏠 Beaumont-Port Arthur ranks among metros with the largest home price gains in Q3. (NAR)

👋 Jeff Glover’s Glover Agency goes independent after 17 years with Keller Williams. (DBusiness)

🔻 Immigration slowdown could reduce U.S. household growth by 2 million through 2027. (Harvard)

4. Zillow Preferred to handle all buyer connections

Zillow plans to route all buyer connections through its Preferred agent program by the first half of 2027, moving away from its traditional Premier Agent advertising model. Preferred currently handles about two-thirds of buyer connections, and Zillow expects that share to exceed 75% by the end of 2026.

Under Preferred, agents pay Zillow a referral fee when a transaction closes rather than purchasing advertising upfront.

CEO Jeremy Wacksman said the program generates 35% more revenue per connection than the legacy model and converts more connections into closed transactions. He added that Zillow will continue supporting agents through products such as Follow Up Boss, Zillow Showcase, Zillow Preview and dotloop.

Zillow also reported $724 million in Q3 revenue, up 7% year over year but below its guidance. Rentals revenue rose 26% to $220 million, while residential revenue fell 4%.

5. Contract signings hit record October low

Contract signings fell 17% year over year in October, the lowest level for the month on record, according to a Realtor.com report. It was the steepest decline since March 2023 and the fourth straight monthly drop.

• Active listings rose 7.4% to nearly 1.18 million homes, while the median asking price fell 2.2% to $415,000.

• New listings dropped 7.5%, the sharpest annual decline of 2026, and the number of homes under contract fell 10.5%, the largest drop since October 2023.

• Only 20.5% of active listings had price cuts, little changed from a year ago.

• Cancellations were 7.8% versus 7.5% a year earlier, and 4.4% of listings were delisted, down from 4.6%.

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