He looked me in the eye and told me, “No, thank you.” In this post, you will learn things about the current real market and how to prepare for it NOW.

I was walking early in this Texas heat, passing out flyers door to door—one hundred of them to be exact. As I saw an older gentleman working on something with his garage open, I walked up and handed him the flyer. He immediately asked, “What is this for?” without even reading it. I told him this is information, just in case he is looking to sell in the near future. He gently handed me the flyer back, saying he didn’t need it. Then he proceeded to tell me why he didn’t need it.

He said that interest rates are too high and homes are too expensive. Even if he wanted to sell, he couldn’t afford it. This is the new reality I’m living in. Many people want to sell, especially the older community. But with the tariffs, Medicaid getting cut, and property taxes and property insurance skyrocketing, the once golden era spawned by COVID—where real estate homes could get fifty thousand over and homes sold within two weeks—is officially over.

Many homeowners are just staying put. Listings are steadily declining, as the graph below shows. Foreclosures are starting to rise. Current listings are looking at 90–120 days on the market. New homebuyers are having to shop around for property insurance diligently to be able to qualify for the mortgage. Real estate agents are looking around, wondering if this will get better soon. Mr. Powell isn’t dropping interest rates, while President Trump urges him to drop them. But will the current market even rebound if they do drop interest rates? I don’t think so, because everything else is rising in cost, and homes are becoming more unaffordable every day.

What are some things you can do right now to better prepare for the market as a current homeowner?

First, write the outcome you are looking for—downsize, relocate, or stay put. Once you have your outcome, you can then come up with a flexible plan to get what you want. You may have to be flexible and understand you may not get everything you want, but the outcome is the prize—not getting everything you want.

Second, know your house’s value, fixed-up or as-is. Knowing the value is important, and it helps guide your decisions better.

Lastly, understand real estate is a cycle. It may look bad now, but if you need to wait, the market will come back. It always does.

Remember, with all you do, get understanding. The one who understands finds success.