Agents are banking on stronger spring sales
Recent surveys suggest agents are cautiously optimistic about the market as affordability improves, but rising economic uncertainty could be a spoiler.
Key points:
- Agents surveyed by Zillow and Real predict a better spring market compared to 2025, and nearly two-thirds expect higher transaction volumes over the next 12 months.
- Affordability remains the top hurdle for buyers, according to agents, but it's improving. Economic concerns, however, are on the rise.
- More than three-quarters of agents in Real's survey have seen clients delay buying or selling decisions due to anxiety about the economy or job security.
After two years of home sales at 35-year lows, agents are anticipating brighter days ahead as the spring selling season begins.
Recent surveys from Zillow and The Real Brokerage paint a similar picture: Buyers are gaining negotiating power, sellers are adjusting expectations and industry professionals expect activity to pick up in 2026.
The market still tilts toward buyers
According to Zillow's latest sentiment survey, agents continue to see market conditions favoring buyers. By the fourth quarter of 2025, 51% of agents surveyed said they were experiencing a buyers market, compared with 35% who said their market favored sellers. That marks a reversal from earlier in 2025, when sellers still had the upper hand.
Real's monthly agent survey showed a similar shift. Although more respondents in that survey (34%) reported balanced conditions in their local markets, 45% said buyers had an advantage, while only 21% said it was a sellers market.
But if Zillow's forecast is correct, there should be more balance in the months ahead. "The housing market should settle into a healthier state in 2026, with buyers seeing a bit more breathing room and sellers benefiting from price stability and more consistent demand," according to Zillow economists.
Agents expect a stronger spring
For the typical American household, affordability has improved, increasing their homebuying power by roughly $30,000 to $37,000 compared to a year ago, analysts say — and that could spur sales.
In Real's survey, 73% of agents said they expect the spring selling season to be stronger than it was in 2025, including 36% who anticipate a significantly stronger market.
That optimism comes despite mixed current conditions. Real's Transaction Growth Index, a measure of agent-reported market activity, came in at 48.1 in February, slightly below the 50-point threshold that signals expansion. Still, 71% of agents surveyed said they felt more optimistic than the previous month.
The agents in Zillow's survey were also "cautiously optimistic" about the market. About 61% think transaction volume will increase over the next 12 months, up from 53% in the third quarter of 2025. About 51% think home prices will rise in the same time frame, while 26% expect prices to hold steady.
Affordability and uncertainty remain hurdles
As agents hope for stronger sales, economic and geopolitical factors could shift the market. Concerns about the impact of the war in Iran have caused economic anxiety among consumers, with the future of oil prices and overall inflation in flux.
Affordability is still the biggest obstacle for buyers, cited by 41% of agents in Real's survey, but that was down from 45% in January, perhaps reflecting consumers' increased buying power. Economic uncertainty ranked as the second-largest concern, mentioned by 28% of agents — up from 22% the previous month — while inventory shortages came in at No. 3.
More than three-quarters of agents (76%) said they have seen clients delay buying or selling decisions due to economic or job-security concerns, with nearly one-third seeing consistent delays.
Disruption concerns spur increased AI use among agents
As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in real estate, agents are stepping up their AI game. The vast majority of agents in Real's survey (86%) said they use AI tools, consistent with other studies showing near-ubiquitous AI use among agents, and 59% reported "actively increasing usage" in response to headlines about AI disruption.
Although agents are paying attention to the AI landscape, concerns about AI-related job losses and stock market volatility don't seem to be affecting many clients, according to agents. Half of the agents surveyed said those issues have not been part of their conversations with buyers and sellers, though 40% have either seen clients asking more questions about AI or becoming more cautious due to AI concerns.