Sheila Nielsen, Real Estate

05/26/2026

Looking to become a home owner, let me walk you through the process from finding a lender to your dream home

An uptick in the number of homes for sale isn’t yet translating into a significant jump in sales activity. Here’s why.

05/26/2026

With NAR Research – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

05/21/2026

NAR’s chief economist says “cautious optimism” is emerging as the real estate market shakes off some economic headwinds.

05/21/2026

Get a free evaluation on your home

This report is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estate practitioners.

05/14/2026

In many supply constrained markets, the issue isn’t just how many homes exist, it’s how old they are. In Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, the typical home predates 1960, while in Austin and Raleigh it’s post‑2000. How does your market compare?

04/26/2026

March pending home sales rose by 1.5% from the month prior, but declined 1.1% year over year. Month over month gains occurred in the Northeast and South, but declined in the Midwest and West. Pending contracts climbed slightly, despite higher mortgage rates and continued pent-up housing demand.

04/26/2026

In 2020 you needed $52,000 a year to afford the average American home. Today you need $93,000. Wages didn't go up 79%. The dream did.

Here's exactly what happened.

In January 2020 the income required to afford a median-priced home was $52,041. Mortgage rates were around 3.5%. Home prices were elevated but manageable for a dual-income household.

Then everything changed at once.

Home prices surged 54% between 2020 and 2025 as low rates, remote work, and limited inventory collided. Then rates jumped from historic lows near 2.7% to over 6.5% in less than two years. Both forces hit the monthly payment simultaneously and the required income to qualify exploded.

By early 2026 that number sits at $93,061. A 79% increase in six years.

The median household income in America is around $86,000.

That means the average American household now earns LESS than what it takes to afford the average American home. That's not a temporary affordability problem. That's a structural shift in who gets to build wealth through homeownership and who gets left out.

And the consequences compound over time.

The people who bought before 2022 locked in low rates on appreciating assets and are building equity every month. The people who couldn't buy are paying rent that keeps rising with no equity, no appreciation, and no wealth building attached to it.

Every year that gap widens. The owners get wealthier. The renters stay where they are.

This is bigger than rising home prices. It changes who gets to participate in the single greatest wealth-building tool in American history.

Wages didn't go up 79%. Productivity didn't go up 79%. The cost of entry into the American Dream did.

04/25/2026

Real estate fuels local economies. Each home sale sparks about two jobs and over $130,000 in activity, and in some states the sector tops 20% of GDP. Where does your state stand?
https://www.nar.realtor/reports/state-by-state-economic-impact-of-real-estate-activity

04/24/2026

Call me for a free market evaluation

This chart is brutal.

Reventure’s homebuyer demand index just registered a 9 out of 100.

Normal demand is 50.

So when people say the housing market feels weird, this is what they mean. We are not looking at a healthy market that is just “cooling off.” We are looking at a market where buyer demand is scraping along near record lows, even below the housing crash years.

Yes, mortgage applications ticked up a little from last week.

Who cares.

A tiny bounce off the floor does not change the bigger story. Demand is still deeply broken, and when buyer demand stays this low, closed sales usually follow.

That matters because a lot of people are still talking like housing is operating in some normal cycle. It’s not. This is a market stuck between sellers who still want yesterday’s prices and buyers who cannot or will not make the math work.

Something eventually gives.

04/23/2026

Mortgage rates fell to 6.23% for the week ending April 23, the lowest level in three spring homebuying seasons, following President Trump's announcement of an indefinite U.S.-Iran ceasefire, according to Freddie Mac. Rates are well below the 6.81% average from the same period last year. "This improvement, coupled with a pickup in purchase applications and refinance activity, underscores signs of improving momentum in the market," said Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater.

Read: https://rltor.cm/COQnaP