Mortgage rates held at 7.40% this week, after seven straight increases. A year ago they were 6.27%. On a $2,500 monthly payment, that's the difference between borrowing about $405,000 and about $361,000. So when a seller says, "The house down the street got $480,000 last fall," try: "It did. That buyer could borrow about $44,000 more on the same payment than today's buyer can. Let's price for the buyer who's out there now."

Inventory is up 6.7% from a year ago. Homes are still selling a day faster than last year. Economists read that as sellers pricing to sell. Use both numbers with your next seller: buyers have more choices than they did a year ago, and the homes priced for this market are still going quickly.

Agents' outlook on listings and on buyers just split about as far apart as Inman has seen in three years of surveying. 37% expect more listings a year from now. Only 24% expect more buyers. The opportunity: your seller is usually a buyer, too. Ask at every listing appointment: Where are you moving next? Who's helping you buy there? Local answer: that's two deals. Out of town: that's a referral.

Your Google Business Profile description gets 750 characters. Don't spend them on "dedicated" and "passionate." Paste this into any AI assistant: "Write a Google Business Profile description, under 750 characters, using only these facts: [neighborhoods you work, your specialties, years in business, homes sold, languages]. Name the neighborhoods and specialties plainly. No words like dedicated, passionate, or seamless. Give me two versions." Pick one, then make your website's About page say the same thing.

A study ran 240 buyer and seller questions through ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity in 10 markets. About 1.3% of the licensed agents there got named, and most of those showed up on just one of the three. Try it on yourself. Ask each one: "Who's the best agent in [your city] for [first-time buyers, condos, relocation]?" Specialty questions named an agent 87% of the time, versus 73% for generic ones. So say your specialty plainly on your website, Google Business Profile, and Zillow profile, with the same name and phone everywhere.

Mortgage rates rose for a seventh straight week, to 7.40%. That's the highest since November 2023. So your next price-cut conversation needs a second option on the table. On a $360,000 loan at 7.40%, a $10,000 price cut lowers the buyer's payment about $62 a month. The same $10,000 toward buying down the rate can lower it well over $100 a month, depending on how the lender prices it. Have a lender run both numbers before you call the seller.