Pending home sales fall to lowest level since 2014

😅 Happy Tuesday! Monday was out of office.

Today's newsletter is 743 words — a 2.5-minute read. Let’s dive in…

1. Pending home sales fall to lowest level since 2014

Pending home sales fell 4% in September from August to a seasonally adjusted 316,652, the lowest level since spring 2014 outside of April 2020, according to a Redfin report. Mortgage rates climbed above 7% during the month, reaching 7.28% by the end.

Here are other key takeaways:

• Pending sales fell year over year in all 50 of the largest metros, the first time since September 2023. Texas declines ranged from 14.5% in Dallas and 12.2% in Fort Worth to 4.4% in Austin.

• About 14.5% of deals that went under contract in September were canceled, the highest share since spring 2020.

• The national median sale price rose 1.3% year over year, the smallest gain since February, while 60.5% of homes sold below their original asking price.

• Inventory rose to 1.51 million homes, its highest level since March 2020.

2. Nearly 7 in 10 buyers cut spending to afford a home

About 69% of homebuyers would cut lifestyle spending to afford a home, and 59% would buy a smaller home, according to Cotality’s Consumer Sentiment report.

Gen Z would bend the most: 78% would cut lifestyle spending, 74% would buy a smaller home and 82% would take a smaller mortgage. By comparison, just 50% of Baby Boomers would cut lifestyle spending, as many are downsizing or paying cash.

Affordability is also reshaping where buyers live. 28% of recent buyers moved to a different area to find cheaper housing. U.S. buyers say a median mortgage rate of 4.6% would bring them back to the market, well below current rates.

A MESSAGE FROM DAVE YOUR MORTGAGE GUY

They Owe the IRS. So What?
That doesn't automatically kill their mortgage approval.
Conventional: Payment plan works with one documented payment.
FHA: requires three months of payments.
Even tax liens may have options depending on the loan program.
Don't lose a buyer over an IRS bill. Send them my way and let's see what we can do.

3. Catch up quick

🚚 Texas was the top landing spot for Gen Z leaving California. (LendingTree)

💸 eXp rolls out a showing-coverage tool and up to $50K in pre-listing funds. (BAM)

🤝 FirstClose, Cotality team up to cut home equity closings to as little as seven days. (FirstClose)

🏆 D.R. Horton led 2025 homebuilder closings followed by Lennar. (ResiClub)

🚨 Trump forms panel to investigate Fed’s Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations. (CBS)

4. Leo Pareja named AGNT CEO as Glenn Sanford moves to chairman

AGNT Inc., formerly eXp World Holdings, has named Leo Pareja CEO, effective immediately, succeeding founder Glenn Sanford. The board unanimously approved the appointment as part of a planned leadership transition.

Sanford, who founded the company in 2009, steps down as CEO but will remain board chairman to guide its long-term strategy.

Pareja has led eXp Realty since 2024 and joined the company in 2022. In May, he led the acquisition of NextHome, the company’s first expansion into franchising. AGNT’s portfolio includes eXp Realty, NextHome, FrameVR.io and SUCCESS Enterprises.

5. Starter homes shrink as prices climb to $340K

Starter-priced homes made up 36.2% of active listings in August, down from 38.1% in 2019, while the national starter-home price threshold climbed 30.8% to $340,000, according to a Realtor.com report. Had the 2019 share held, buyers would have more than 21,000 additional starter-priced listings today.

Most of the drop came during the pandemic. The share fell to 36.3% by August 2022 and has held flat since, while condos and townhomes have filled the gap, rising to 27.1% of starter inventory from 18% in 2019.

Across roughly 8,300 ZIP codes, only 18.3% are starter-dominant, meaning at least 60% of listings are starter-priced. Another 61.4% are mixed, so most starter-priced homes sit in neighborhoods with a blend of price points.

A MESSAGE FROM SUPERHUMAN AI

1,000+ Claude Prompts Top Professionals Actually Use at Work

Claude can be your analyst, editor, and strategist.

But most professionals are using it to fix grammar.

These 1,000+ Claude prompts take it from grammar tool to your most powerful AI work assistant.

Sign up for Superhuman AI and get:

• 1,000+ ready-to-use Claude prompts to get real work done in minutes — researched, tested, and used by professionals at Google, Microsoft, and NASA

• Superhuman AI newsletter (4 min daily) so you keep learning new AI tools and skills to stay ahead in your career — the prompts are just the beginning

Claim your free prompts

☀️ Thank you for starting your day with us!

If you like this newsletter, your friends may too. Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.

Interested in advertising to 35k+ Texas Realtors? Email Us