Sellers are leaving commission savings on the table

🌒 It's Thursday! Look up tonight for a view of a partial lunar eclipse.

Today's newsletter is 845 words — a 2.5-minute read. Let’s dive in…

1. Sellers are leaving commission savings on the table

Most sellers who negotiate their commission get a discount — but most never ask, according to a Clever survey.

Key takeaways:

• Of the 33% who negotiated, 93% paid less, and 45% secured a reduction of at least 1 percentage point.

• Just 8% said a total commission of 6% or more was fair. 51% said 3% or less was reasonable, while 13% preferred a flat $1,000–$3,000 fee.

• Among those who didn't negotiate, 35% said they didn't know they could, and 37% believed their rate was already fair. Overall, 26% thought commissions were fixed.

• 65% interviewed only one agent, while just 8% interviewed three or more — limiting their ability to compare rates and proposals.

• Only 41% knew before listing that paying the buyer's agent commission was optional; 59% didn't.

2. Consumer confidence hits seven-month low

Consumer confidence fell in August to 89.4, its lowest level since January, as households grew more concerned about the labor market and inflation. The Conference Board’s index slipped from a downwardly revised 90.2 in July.

The decline was driven by a 7.8% drop in the expectations index, more than offsetting the first improvement in views of current conditions in four months. Consumers’ expectations for inflation over the next year also rose to 5.8% from 5.6% in July.

The jobs differential — the gap between consumers who say jobs are plentiful and those who say jobs are hard to find — improved for the first time in three months, after hitting its lowest level in more than five years in July.

A MESSAGE FROM DAVE YOUR MORTGAGE GUY

The Book That Changed My Business

A few years ago, I read Main Street Millionaire by Codie Sanchez.

It completely changed the way I think about business ownership, recurring revenue, and building systems instead of simply working harder. In many ways, it inspired me to build what has become the #1 Email Newsletter for Texas Realtors — Texas Real Estate News and shape my business to become a Top 1% Loan Officer.

Now Codie is releasing her new book, Own or Be Owned, and she's hosting a FREE live virtual event on September 18th to share the principles behind it.

If you're looking to build a business that helps you close more deals while giving you more freedom, I think you'll get a lot out of this.

You can register for the free event, grab a copy of the book if you'd like, and receive any available launch bonuses.

3. Catch up quick

🏗️ Morgan Stanley eyes Dallas for a $1.3 billion office building. (TRD)

🚀 Stockdale Capital Partners opens a new office in Dallas. (StockdaleCapital)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Uber adds live video for teen rides in 9 markets, including two in Texas. (Uber)

📢 Shell puts Houston headquarters on the market for $325M. (KHOU)

🫡 Austin, Fredericksburg Airbnbs rank among best in the world. (MySA)

💸 AI brokerages are handing homebuyers $33,000 back at closing. (NYP)

4. Homebuying break-even point stretches to nearly 15 years

Buying a typical home can pay off financially in 14.7 years nationwide, according to a new Zillow analysis. That includes 8.5 years to save a 20% down payment, followed by another 6.2 years to break even with renting.

Austin buyers face a 28.9-year timeline, the longest in Texas, including 5.7 years to save and another 23.3 years to break even. Dallas comes in at 16.9 years, while Houston is much shorter at 13.2 years.

Starter homes offer a faster path: the national timeline falls to 7.2 years, less than half the 14.7 years for a typical single-family home. Among Texas metros, Houston has the shortest starter-home timeline at 9.1 years, followed by San Antonio at 9.9 years and Dallas at 10.9 years.

A MESSAGE FROM SUPERHUMAN AI

The AI Work Handbook That Cuts Your Workday in Half

The 8-hour workday is becoming a 4-hour workday for people who know how to use AI.

Everyone else is still catching up.

This AI work playbook shows you exactly how to cut your work hours in half using AI.

Sign up for Superhuman AI and get:

• 50+ step-by-step AI tutorials to cut your workload in half — covering every part of your workday, from emails to strategy, used by 1M+ professionals at Google, Microsoft, and NASA

• Superhuman AI newsletter (4 min daily) so you keep discovering new AI tools and skills to stay ahead in your career — the playbook is just the start

Claim your AI playbook

5. New-home prices hit 5-year low, sales plunge 10.5%

New-home prices fell 2.3% month over month to $393,800 in July, the lowest level since July 2021, as builders faced increasingly cautious buyers, according to the Census Bureau.

Sales also plunged 10.5% from June to a 607,000 annualized pace, down 6.3% from a year earlier. Construction is weakening alongside demand, with single-family housing starts falling 9.9% month over month and 15.7% year over year.

Meanwhile, new-home inventory climbed to 488,000, pushing the supply to 9.6 months, up from 8.5 months in June. The South, which accounts for most new-home sales, saw sales drop 13% month over month, pointing to growing pressure on builders to cut prices and offer incentives.

🏠 Related news: Home prices rise 2.1%, slowest growth in a decade. (FHFA)

☀️ 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 [email protected]