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It’s been a rough few years for brokerages in densely packed employment centers.

As if it’s not enough that urban housing markets missed out on some of the windfall from the early pandemic housing boom, their suburbs have continued to outperform them in sales, new supply and price support amid the ensuing transaction downturn, an Intel data analysis of thousands of ZIP codes suggests.

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This analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of how the U.S. housing market’s replenishing supply of inventory, long hoped-for by real estate agents, has been a mixed bag for the brokerage world.

It also highlights how a split in buyer-seller dynamics is more than just a regional story — it’s an in-market divide that’s deeply felt within the nation’s most prominent metro areas.

The full list of insights is available to Intel subscribers.

Intel’s approach

For this analysis, Intel analyzed ZIP-code-level data from Realtor.com for each of the nation’s largest metropolitan population centers. The ZIP codes were then placed in buckets according to government definitions of the rural and suburban areas that surround a metro’s urban core, and the urban core itself.

This exercise might not match everyone’s definition of suburb. 

By the government’s definition, municipalities like Beverly Hills, Pasadena and Long Beach, for example, are not treated as suburbs but are instead considered part of the Los Angeles urban core.

You have to reach as far out as Santa Clarita — which has a significant share of residents who brave an hour-plus southeast commute into L.A. — to see a significant population center categorized as a high-commute suburb by this government definition.

Still, the suburbs that are considered part of a metro’s “urban core” likely share some of the dynamics of the outer suburbs and exurbs, in addition to some dynamics of more densely packed downtowns and neighborhoods further in.

An urban-driven rebalancing

A couple weeks ago, Intel explored the stark regional split that has divided the country as its housing markets rebalance in favor of buyers. 

Markets throughout much of the South and West of the country have rapidly reached a point where they are more buyer-friendly than they had been before the pandemic. Markets in the Northeast and Midwest, on the other hand, are rebalancing more slowly, and remain more seller-leaning than they were before the pandemic.

This week’s analysis reveals that another split is occurring within individual markets. 

• The urban cores of major metro areas have seen activity levels on the typical listing drop by 21 percent year-over-year, outpacing the 17 percent decline in metro suburbs over the same period. 
• This leaves outflow activity in urban cores 15 percent lower as a percentage of total listings than it was before the pandemic, compared to a 5 percent decline in suburbs. 

At first glance, we might expect this to mean that this fast-paced rebalancing of urban-center markets implies that big cities are also leading the way in new-listing inflow. But interestingly, that’s not the case.

• Urban core ZIP codes have notched 8 percent growth year-over-year in the number of new listings coming online, but that only brings them just within 19 percent of their prepandemic new-listing levels.
• Meanwhile, commuting suburbs have seen new-listing inflow that’s 10 percent higher year over year. And because their new-listing activity had already weathered the pandemic years better than urban cores, these suburbs are now just outside of 7 percent below where they stood before the pandemic.

So what does this all mean?

For dense urban population centers constituting a great bulk of real estate activity in the U.S., the Great Rebalancing has been caused by an unhealthy combination of depressed sales activity that’s been outpaced by a still-tepid boost in new inventory.

This has allowed big-city markets to rebalance in favor of buyers without experiencing a particularly robust recovery in new-listing opportunities for brokerages.

The suburban boom, revisited

There’s no doubt that urban and suburban markets alike have cooled.

But if dense urban employment centers have undergone a more passive rebalancing in the last few years, their in-commuting suburbs have done so in a way that’s allowed them to remain hotter for longer, and produce more returns for the real estate industry.

• Total listing outflow — a metric that tracks closely with pending-sales trends — is up 6 percent year-over-year in suburbs, compared to only up 4 percent in the major urban centers they feed into. 

But this understates just how much better off suburban housing markets are in terms of transaction levels.

• Even in this down market, listing outflow in suburbs is now back within 15 percent of pre-pandemic norms for the group of markets Intel reviewed.
• Urban cores, on the other hand, still lag their pre-pandemic outflow levels by 25 percent.

New construction has doubtless been part of the picture.

Far-out suburbs tend to have more undeveloped land to build out, and often come with fewer local hurdles to clear on zoning and permitting. This ensures a steadier access to one key source of new supply.

But that’s not the only reason why the suburbs are still faring better than their urban counterparts.

• List prices in high-commuting suburbs remain 52 percent higher than where they stood before the pandemic housing era reshaped the real estate market. Low-commuting exurbs remain on an even higher perch, at 61 percent above normal price levels.
• But the fact that urban pandemic price gains of 39 percent have failed to keep up with their outlying communities despite weaker new-inventory trends suggests that suburbs simply remain hotter in the eyes of buyers and sellers.

For brokerages, the bottom line is clear: The suburban and exurban growth patterns that were so game-changing in the early pandemic — as remote work reshaped people’s choices of how to work and where to live — remain partly intact, even as the market has cooled.

To examine this, Intel used a rough estimate of the potential commission pool available to brokerages. The estimate used listing outflow levels as a rough proxy for sales, then multiplied that value by the typical list price for each area.

• Brokerages only had about 4 percent more potential commission revenue to earn this spring from deals in urban areas than they did in pre-pandemic years. That wasn’t even close to making up for the value lost to inflation in that time.
• But even after their own substantial dip in sales activity, high-commuting suburban communities produce 29 percent more in potential revenue for brokerages than they did before the pandemic struck, roughly double the rate of inflation in that time. 

Email Daniel Houston

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Selling a home in 2025 isn’t as simple as staking a red “For Sale” sign in the front yard. It’s accompanied by stress surrounding home preparation, client communication, and pricing — and all while coordinating the move-out.

These usual stressors that come with selling a home are compounded by the noise of multiple generations of family members providing input. Whether the family lives in a multi-generational family dynamic or you’re selling a house that has sentimental value to the family, it can be overwhelming to hear contradicting opinions and orders being presented to you.

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Each generation has a distinct lived experience in terms of what they consider the most effective approach to selling a home.

For example, Grandma Lucy may think that displaying her best doilies and ornate ceramic birds will make the house appear classy and attract buyers. At the same time, Dad Mitch might believe that keeping the space clean and hiding evidence that children have lived there will make it the most marketable.

The point is that selling a home and filtering through multitudes of family opinions can be draining, so we’ve compiled a list of tips and simple adjustments to make to allow the process of selling your client’s home to be as pain-free as possible. 

Establish a leader

Assigning a person from the start who will have the final say in decisions is crucial to ensure consensual decisions about the home and to make this a well-organized effort. This assigned leader will communicate primarily with you and maintain clear communication to ensure the process is organized and efficient. When it comes to assigning the leader, it doesn’t always have to be the person who is financially bound.

It can be the family member you see as the most coordinated, or the grandmother who is most attached to the home. Regardless of who is assigned as the leader, it is essential to establish this at the beginning of the process to maintain streamlined communication among the leader, you and the buyers.

The leader needs to be someone who takes into account family opinion, but filters it through and makes the best decision overall for the home’s successful sale. It’s not your responsibility to decide who the leader is, but rather to express to the family that having a leader would be very helpful.

Why selling a vacant home saves stress

Circumstances vary for why families decide to sell their homes, whether that be to immediately move into a new home or for financial investment reasons. With this being said, because situations differ, it’s not always feasible to show a vacant house, but it can be fruitful. It can assist in sales by allowing the buyer to envision their own space when touring the home and prevent deterring specific generational audiences with outdated furniture, decor, etc.

When buyers decide to embark on the journey of buying a home, they are looking for a house to turn into their own, and that’s important to keep in mind. Overall, making the home a clean and empty space creates a blank canvas that attracts any buyer to the physical layout of your client’s home.

On a different subject, familial issues tend to be lessened when there isn’t a conversation about how to present the home to potential buyers. Each generation has a distinct creative approach to decorating the home, and debating which furniture, pictures and decor to hide is an argument that could be avoided by selling the home vacant. 

Invest in profitable home improvements

When putting a home on the market, it’s natural for clients to want their home to look its best. Often, families begin to go manic with renovating their homes, redoing bathrooms, kitchens and changing light fixtures, etc. While these all contribute to making the house more modern structurally, these renovations can be costly and don’t directly ensure profit.

When investing money in a home you’re selling, you want to confirm that if the family puts $1 into the house, they will receive a $2 return. Renovations such as painting are cost-effective but can still dramatically change a space. So, you can tell your client it’s okay to listen to their Gen Z child talking about aesthetic home renovations, but keep in mind the cost, so they don’t break the bank.

Renovations such as updating hardware, painting and maintaining the lawn are low-cost and low-energy updates that revamp the home and make it a more marketable space. Additionally, these changes are all minor enough that each generation can input their unique design changes, ensuring everyone is included.

Intentionality and organization

Selling a home, regardless of the circumstances, is stressful for most Americans, and a house is the most significant investment most families will ever make. There are high stakes when putting a home on the market, and it can be especially overwhelming when considering family opinion.

These tips won’t make selling your client’s home a suddenly smooth experience, but they can help mitigate unnecessary issues that usually arise. Ultimately, the goal for everyone is to sell the house at the highest market price possible promptly with the least inconvenience.

Assigning a leader, selling a vacant home and investing in cost-effective renovations can help keep the peace between family members and sell your client’s home efficiently.

Lindsey Harn is an agent with Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno and a certified Divorce Real Estate Expert. Connect with her on Instagram and Linkedin.

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One of the most significant aspects of my previous experience in the real estate industry comes from my time working in foreclosures, flips and asset disposition, moving thousands of properties in markets across several states. One thing I’ve learned during that process is that not every home needs a full renovation to find a buyer.

Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint, new lighting, new flooring or even just staging can make a difference in how a home shows. Sometimes, simply cleaning up the yard and refreshing the front door adds the curb appeal that draws attention to a listing and helps move a home on to its next owner.

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Sometimes the house needs to be empty, with no belongings or personalization left in the home. Often, however, sellers don’t have the financial capability to move out ahead of time or pay for storage and movers. Even simple decluttering (after all, they’re already moving, so let’s start packing) requires materials, labor, transportation and, often, storage.

Updates help, whether you’re working with 

• expired listings that need a refresh before being reintroduced to the market,
• elderly homeowners making up for deferred maintenance,
• a property that has been rented out and treated with less than tender loving care or
• a traditional owner who just needs to do some basic repairs and updates before hitting the market.

As the market shifts and more inventory is available for buyers to choose from, your listing needs to stand out from Day 1. Part of my value proposition includes partnering with companies that are set up to offer services that assist in a cohesive pre-listing process, helping seller clients get the best price possible from their sale.

TheQwikFix, for inspection repairs

One such company tackling repairs — specifically those related to the inspection process — is TheQwikFix, a member of the 2025 NAR Reach cohort. The platform pulls from home inspection reports to create detailed repair quotes from local, licensed contractors, simplifying the process of getting a home market- and closing-ready.

In his recent Tech Review of TheQwikFix, Craig Rowe writes:

What helps TheQwikFix earn its value is that it keeps the deal moving forward. The fast turnaround, the simple interface, the easy-to-read pricing — it all contributes to the momentum needed to get to close. You don’t need days between the report’s handover and the listing agent’s handyman deciding how to price it.

He also suggests, and I totally agree, that the play here is to get the home pre-inspected and repairs completed before the first offer comes in. That way, the seller is confident in pricing the property, and the buyer is (or should be) confident in making an offer. It’s an extra layer of protection for both parties, allowing them to enter escrow without having to worry about falling out due to a tense post-inspection negotiation.

Notable, for pay-at-close convenience

Of course, many of your sellers won’t have money just lying around for a renovation or a series of updates. For those who need to smooth the way, Notable is a financing company that specializes in pay-at-close loans for repairs and upgrades that get homes sold. 

Last year, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World announced that it had chosen Notable as a partner for its Solutions Group. As part of its pitch, Notable offers a white-label solution that can be branded through the brokerage, staging company or other vendors (like TheQuikFix) funding up to $50,000 that can be used to pay the contractor or service provider of the seller’s choice.

The flexibility doesn’t stop there. You can also use Notable’s funds for staging, moving expenses, temporary housing — anything and everything connected to the move. For house-poor, cash-strapped clients who need money prior to closing, it’s a godsend.

According to its most recent statistics, Notable has lent more than $1 billion and helped to renovate or improve 30,000 homes with a solid 96 percent client satisfaction rating. 

Making this a powerful 1-2 punch at your listing consultation

Whether you’re working with a graphic artist or DIYing it in Canva, put together a downloadable graphic to promote these services as a seller incentive. Provide information about the value of repairs prior to listing, then provide the logistical and financial path for getting them completed. 

Add your downloadable pdf to the Sellers page on your website and make it part of your listing consultation package. That way, when you do your initial walkthrough, you can point out needed repairs without having to dance around the cost or leave the homeowner searching for a clear next step.

Remember, sellers are coming off a five-year spree where all they had to do was sign on the dotted line, get the home listed, and wait for the offers to roll in. Now that those days are gone in many markets, you’ll have to educate them on the realities of the current market. Coming in with a solution in hand gives you instant credibility, and the white-labeled potential of Notable adds even more brand authority to your pitch.