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A new software application that promises to fully digitize the residential home sale has announced its rollout in the United States, Inman has learned.

The product is called “Anyone,” and it’s also being made available in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, according to an April 29 statement.

“While traditional platforms focus only on listings, Anyone.com connects the full transaction journey: buyers, sellers, agents, home inspectors, mortgage advisors and notaries can now collaborate digitally in a single, integrated space,” the release stated.

Anyone has access to more than 31 million For Sale properties and 300 million property data points, according to the release, as well as profile data on 4.6 million agents.

Standout features of the product include the ability to drive deals from tour scheduling to offer submission and escrow management, an agent matching feature that uses artificial intelligence and 12+ billion data points to connect consumers with the best-suited sales professional.

It also boasts a centralized communication hub that keeps all individuals, documents and deal steps on track across an international buying and selling environment that can support overseas transactions.

“We’ve basically built the Uber of real estate,” Reza Sardeha, founder of Anyone.com, said in the statement. “The entire transaction — from finding the right home and agent to submitting offers and signing — is now handled in one digital workflow.”

The company states it has use cases in a wide range of nations, including Germany, France, Canada, Australia, India, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, Ireland and Austria.

Anyone is expanding its listing coverage in those markets, which stands at 84 percent. The goal is “near-complete coverage, 99.99 percent, of all active listings.”

A mortgage arm is in development, too, slated to launch in 2026 and focus on first-time buyers and underserved segments, “helping lower the financial barrier to entry by 50 percent,” Anyone said.

The team behind Anyone founded a web domain platform called Dan.com, which was sold to GoDaddy in 2022.

Email Craig Rowe

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Inventory is up. Rates are down. Fewer buyers face multiple offer situations. 

By several key metrics, the mid-Atlantic region is still a seller’s market. But signs suggest conditions are gradually changing in favor of homebuyers, according to a survey of thousands of Bright MLS members released Wednesday.

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“While it’s not officially a buyer’s market yet, the pendulum is clearly swinging away from the intensely competitive conditions of recent years,” said Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant in a statement. “Buyers are seeing more options and facing fewer obstacles compared to this time last year.”

Homebuyers are starting to gain the upper hand in the region, comprised of Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

For the week ending April 27, new listings were up 12.2 percent in Bright’s 6-state market compared to a year ago. The number of active listings rose 31.8 percent compared to a year earlier, the highest level in more than three years, according to responses from approximately 3,000 BrightMLS members in the first quarter.

Nine percent of active listings had a price decrease, which was up a percentage point from a year before, according to BrightMLS data. 

The number of buyers in the first quarter who spent less than a month searching for a home was twice as high as it was a year ago, with 40 percent of homebuyers landing a home in less than 30 days.

Half of all buyers made just one offer, with odds slightly favoring repeat buyers over first-timers.

“The housing market in 2025 feels different — less frenzied and more balanced,” Sturtevant said. “If these trends continue, we could see the most buyer-friendly conditions in years this spring.”

BrightMLS members reported fewer buyers halting their searches as a result of high mortgage rates, the latest indication that consumers have grown accustomed to rates above 6 percent.

BrightMLS agents indicated they were still optimistic that buyer activity would pick up in the months ahead. The Buyer Index Activity was 60.1 in the first quarter, indicating high optimism. That was down slightly from April 2024, when the index was near a record high of 68.1, Bright said.

Meanwhile, the Seller Activity Index was at 47.2 in April, up from 35.4 a year ago.

“Sellers aren’t as aggressive as last year, but they’re also not giving away major concessions,” Sturtevant said. “Closing cost help and repair credits are still less common than buyers might hope for.”

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In April, we’ll go deep on money and finance for a special theme month, by talking to leaders about where the mortgage market is heading and how technology and business strategies are evolving to suit the needs of buyers now. Inman’s Best of Finance returns for 2025, celebrating the leaders in this space. And subscribe to Mortgage Brief for weekly updates all year long.

Incoming economic data has Fannie Mae economists expecting higher inflation and slower growth this year than they’d previously forecast in March.

The latest forecast envisions economic growth slowing to 0.5 percent this year, down from March’s forecast for 1.7 percent growth, and that annual inflation will rise to 3.5 percent by the fourth quarter.

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The commentary accompanying April’s forecast lacked the in-depth analysis Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group provided in March and previous months.

But other economists and many consumers expect tariffs imposed or threatened by the Trump administration will push prices up and slow the economy down this year, heightening the probability of a recession.

Signs of a slowing economy could also help bring mortgage rates down to Earth more rapidly. Fannie Mae forecasters now expect mortgage rates to come down to 6.2 percent by the end of this year and 6.0 percent next year.

Mortgage rates expected to ease

Source: Fannie Mae and Mortgage Bankers Association forecasts, April 2025.

In March, forecasters at the mortgage giant weren’t expecting mortgage rates to hit 6.2 percent until the end of next year.

Economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association in an April 11 forecast projected mortgage rates will still be averaging 6.7 percent in Q4 2025 and 6.4 percent during Q4 2026.

Home sales forecast revised down

Source: Fannie Mae housing forecast, April 2025.

Despite stronger than expected first quarter home sales, Fannie Mae economists revised their forecast for 2025 home sales to 4.86 million, down from 4.95 million in March.

While sales of existing homes are still expected to grow by 3 percent this year, to 4.186 million, Fannie Mae economists now expect sales of new homes will decline by 1 percent, to 677,0000.

A stronger rebound is still expected in 2026, with sales of new and existing homes expected to grow by 7 percent to 5.18 million and surpassing the 5 million mark for the first time since 2022.

Hotter home price appreciation

Fannie Mae economists are also expecting hotter home price appreciation than in January, the last update of the quarterly forecast for that metric.

In January, Fannie Mae economists were expecting annual home price appreciation to cool to 3.5 percent by Q4 2025. The latest forecast is that home prices will be up 4.1 percent from a year ago in Q4 2025, before appreciation cools to 2 percent by Q4 2025.

Higher prices spur mortgage originations

Higher home prices mean mortgage lenders could see 17 percent growth in 2025 lending by dollar volume, with refinancing expected to surge 36 percent to $529 billion, and purchase loans projected to hit $1.453 trillion, up 12 percent from 2024.

If mortgage rates keep trending down next year as projected, Fannie Mae economists expect refinancing to surge by 42 percent next year, to $753 billion, and purchase loan fundings to grow by 9 percent, to $1.582 trillion.

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Email Matt Carter

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Standing out as an agent is more complex than ever before, and there’s competition to be seen and heard. In a competitive field like real estate, it isn’t just about having the most listings or sales — it’s about having the most exposure.

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As a former magazine publisher and TV host turned real estate broker, I’ve seen firsthand how the use of media can provide you with a competitive edge. In an industry where trust, visibility and reputation drive business, those who use media can establish themselves as market leaders. If you want to set yourself apart, here’s how applying media-driven techniques can help. 

Branding like a media mogul 

The most successful media brands — from magazines to digital influencers — thrive by focusing on three main components: consistency, clarity and connection. Here’s how you can apply these principles to help build your brand. 

• Define your niche: Consider diving into a niche that reflects either your expertise or your personality. Whether you’re the go-to condo expert, a first-time homebuyer advocate, or the local neighborhood specialist, a strong identity builds trust and helps potential new clients see you as an authority figure. 
• The way you show up online matters: Consider how you perceive most brands today. Their colors, fonts and logos are pretty consistent across all platforms. These attributes help you spot and recognize them immediately. To establish a professional presence, agents should also ensure consistency in their headshots, logos, marketing materials and social media graphics. 
• Omnipresence is key: We don’t own social media. Therefore, you should leverage as many different platforms as possible. Utilize email marketing, video content and even print materials to stay visible to your audience. When using social media, consider where your audience is located and how they present themselves on each platform. You may want to tailor content that goes on LinkedIn differently from how you post it on TikTok. 

Storytelling is how you sell 

One of the most impactful things I learned while in the TV and magazine production business was the power of storytelling. When you are working as an agent, think about your client’s needs above all else. They aren’t just buying homes; they are buying into a lifestyle or a vision they see for themselves. By utilizing storytelling, agents can elevate marketing and create connections with their audience. 

• Create a story around a listing: Instead of listing the facts around a home, tell its story. Is the home located near an iconic landmark? What’s the history behind the property? What new restaurants are popping up across the street? A well-crafted story sets you apart from all the agents saying “Just Listed.”
• Leverage your past clients’ experiences: Just like a magazine shares human-interest stories, showcase your past clients’ stories and how you made the deal work. A story about how you helped a first-time home buyer by getting them closing cost assistance from a seller, allowing them to see their dreams come to fruition, is a story that resonates with just about anyone. 

The power of PR 

Becoming a recognized authority in real estate doesn’t happen overnight. This is where putting your “PR hat” on can help you out. Public relations (PR) is one of the most underutilized tools among agents, as many don’t realize it is attainable. Here are some simple PR hacks you can use to gain media exposure: 

• Position yourself as a local expert: Reporters are constantly seeking real estate professionals to share their thoughts on the market. By proactively reaching out to local reporters and online publications with data-driven insights and expert commentary, agents can establish themselves as go-to sources for media content. 
• Write thought leadership articles: Agents with expertise in a niche market can write opinion pieces for real estate blogs, lifestyle magazines and business outlets. A great example of this is using LinkedIn to write articles. LinkedIn hosts content, such as articles, similar to a blog, which you can share with your audience and repurpose for email marketing. 
• Leverage social media for press: Journalists are scouring the internet for everyday experts. A good practice is to engage your audience with trending topics. Create valuable insights and tag or share them with journalists. 

In this day and age, thinking like a journalist is easier than ever before. By embracing branding principles, storytelling techniques, PR strategies and leveraging AI, real estate agents can establish a competitive edge that extends far beyond transactions. In today’s market, being seen as a trusted expert is just as crucial as selling homes, and media expertise is the key to achieving that.

Angela Yungk is a managing broker and lead mentor with Arterra Realty Florida. You can connect with Angela on Instagram and LinkedIn.