The report found that 167 out of 235 metro markets saw price gains during the quarter, while 27% experienced declines. That share of declining markets was up slightly from 25% in the previous quarter. 

Nationally, the median single-family existing-home price rose 0.5% year over year to $404,300, down from 1.2% annual growth in the fourth quarter. 

Of the metros tracked, 7% recorded double-digit price gains, an increase from 5% in the prior quarter. 

Regional trends continued to vary. The Northeast posted a median price of $506,500, up 4.9% year over year. The Midwest came in at $308,100, up 3.6%. The South recorded a smaller gain of 0.2% to $362,300, while the West saw a 2.9% decline to $607,600. 

The report also noted shifting conditions in the condominium market. While the segment weakened sharply last year, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, it is now showing signs of stabilization, with some metro areas even outperforming single-family price gains. 

“Home prices continued to increase in many markets, boosting housing wealth for most homeowners,” said Yun. “Gains were particularly solid across metro areas in the Northeast, where inventory shortages persist, and in the Midwest, where home prices remain relatively affordable. However, the expensive West region did not see an increase in sales.” 

The report also highlighted that even with higher mortgage rates compared to earlier this year, rates remain below last year’s levels. 

The monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment was $1,979, down $78 from the previous quarter and down $140 from a year ago. The average share of income that typical families spent on mortgage payments was 21.5%, down from 22.9% last quarter and 24.3% last year. 

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months, increased three points to 37 in May. The survey asks builders to also rate traffic of prospective buyers and scores are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index. Even with the gain, the index remains below the 50-point mark, which indicates more builders view conditions as poor than good. 

“The housing market remains soft as higher mortgage rates, rising gas prices and economic uncertainty related to the war in Iran continue to dampen buyer demand,” said NAHB Chairman Bill Owens in the release. “However, efforts in the House to modify the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act could increase the nation’s housing supply and help ease builder concerns.” 

NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said affordability remains one of the industry’s biggest obstacles, even as some regions show signs of stability. 

“Although some regional markets, including parts of the Midwest, are showing relative strength, the housing market continues to face significant affordability challenges,” Dietz said.  

The survey found that 32% of builders cut home prices in May, down from 36% in April. At the same time, 61% reported using sales incentives, marking the 14th consecutive month that figure has stayed at or above 60%. The average price reduction increased to 6% from 5% the month before.  

All three major components of the Housing Market Index improved in May. The index measuring current sales conditions rose to 40 from April to May, future sales expectations increased to 45 and traffic from prospective buyers climbed to 25.  

Regionally, the Midwest posted a one-point gain to 43, while the Northeast also rose one point to 42. The South remained flat at 35 and the West slipped one point to 28. 

Anne Hartnett

Hi, I’m Anne Hartnett with Agent Publishing. Since we recorded our 2026 predictions conversation, a lot has changed, and not all of it was expected.

We’re still talking about uncertainty. We’re still watching mortgage rates hover around that 6% threshold. But the question now is — how is all of that actually playing out in the market?

I’m joined again by Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Gardner Economics, to break down what we’re seeing so far in 2026 and how it compares to what was predicted.

Thanks for joining me again, Matthew.

Matthew Gardner

Always welcome, Anne. Good seeing you again.

Hartnett

Matthew, there’s a lot happening outside of housing right now.

Geopolitics, energy prices, inflation pressures — how much of what we’re seeing in the housing market is being driven by those bigger forces versus housing specific dynamics?

Gardner

Well, I think the most direct transmission mechanism from geopolitics to housing runs through energy. Energy, to inflation, to bond yields, then to mortgage rates. Now, geopolitical conflicts obviously have inflated global energy prices significantly — crude hit $115 a barrel following the tax on the energy infrastructure in Iran. Now, the oil shock has effectively neutralized the downward trend that we saw in inflation or consumer prices, which started earlier on in the year.

That means that bond investors, they want higher yields, a higher return, because obviously to offset higher inflation, and therefore, the 10-Year Treasury, which mortgage rates are based on, hit a high of 4.34%, I think it was, because lenders base mortgage pricing on bond market conditions. We saw a massive move in mortgage rates. So even when the housing market itself is essentially unchanged, those geopolitical developments shifted rates through that effect on inflation expectations and Treasury yields.

So bottom line on this is that tariffs are certainly still hitting, and even though the Supreme Court did make their decision, it still means that prices of raw materials — building materials — are still higher than you’d expect to see. That’s hitting the new construction market. So you’ve got oil shocks leading to inflation, tariffs leading to bigger concerns over new construction, and the crucial point is that these macro forces are landing on a housing market that was already, I believe, kind of structurally impaired. I mean, housing activity? Subdued. We know that’s happened already. But what we’ve seen is that the spring market, normally robust, has been held back. We’ve still got a supply shortage, even though listing activity is high as we’ve seen year on year. Still not normal, largely driven by the mortgage lock in effect that we’re seeing a lot of people have, and mortgage rates higher, weakening affordability. So, in all, think of it this way: macro forces, these broader economic forces, are controlling the pace of the housing market. But housing-specific dynamics, they’re controlling the floor, the bottom part.

So if we see geopolitical tensions easing tomorrow, rates drop back down to 6%, I think we’ll see more of a demand surge. But you still hit an inventory wall. Conversely, if inventory is suddenly normalized, the market will still be constrained by whatever rates geopolitics and inflation have dictated. So, in all, where do I expect to see it? I think that housing demand is still there, but there are more obstacles than we would have expected to have seen at this point in the cycle, and certainly at this point of the year, purely given what’s happening, with the situation between America and Iran.

Hartnett

How much of today’s mortgage rate environment is really tied to global uncertainty versus domestic policy? And what should we be watching more closely?

Oh, wow. Well to me, the honest answer is both. I mean, they’re deeply entangled with each other, but in a way that’s worthwhile unpacking. So the transmission mechanism, well, it all flows through the 10-Year Treasury as we talked about. I mean, the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates at all. Mortgages are based on the yields on 10-year paper. And the Fed has been rather cautious in terms of its stance on rates so far this year, on the short-term of it. But we’ve still got higher yields because of inflation coming into play and global uncertainty. So that’s happening. From the global standpoint, I think that, you know, it’s going to drive people historically, it drives people away from equities and into the security of treasuries.

That should be good for mortgage rates normally, but this time it’s different. I mean, the oil prices mean worries about inflation and therefore bonds hate inflation. And so we’re really not seeing what you would expect to see in terms of mortgage rates, which should be coming down, and they went up. So the Fed is there, I think we’re not sure what they’re going to do, quite frankly, through the course of the year. Let’s see when we get a new Fed chair. They don’t control rates, however. But the potential is we could see them not lower rates, because they would not do so in order to try and tame inflation. So we could see that remaining higher and that obviously does have some impact on mortgages.

But tariffs — they’re still around. That is still important. That’s still really going to see higher respective inflation where you expect to see it. Deficit also comes into play as well. That large budget deficit, that puts upward pressure on long-term treasuries. So what to watch closely. If I was to have my Gardner’s list of things by the quality of what they tell you: One, monthly inflation. CPI and the PC, which is another index which we look at in terms of the direction of inflation and therefore what the Fed and the government are likely to do. Two, the 10-Year Treasury itself. Around auction dates, weak demand in treasuries — well, that could cause mortgage rates to go up. If Japan continues to pull back — China, we know, is pulling back in terms of buying 10-Year paper. That’s gonna have an impact on mortgage rates as well. Third, oil prices in the Straits of Hormuz. I mean, the PPI data, the producer price index, says, you know, inflation is not going to go away any time soon because of the oil shocks. So watch that.

And finally, you know what’s going to happen with the Fed and with Chair Powell? We know that Kevin Warsh likely will be the new Fed chair, but the question is going to be when. So the bottom line right now I’d say is global uncertainty and domestic policy. They’re not competing explanations, they’re actually reinforcing each other at almost every level. And that’s what makes the environment stay kind of stickier than you’d normally expect to see in a rate cycle. Relief, I think, is going to come first from geopolitical de-escalation. Hopefully we get things squared away with Iran, that will help. Again, it’s not going to be very quick. It will take some time, but that would certainly be beneficial to the housing market. If the Fed, again, is looking at the same data that I’m looking at to get a better idea of what they need to do.

So, long-winded answer to a direct question is, a lot of things are playing with each other that are significantly impacting not just housing demand, but also housing supply.

Hartnett

If inflation proves stickier, how does that constrain the Fed’s ability to ease. And what are the downstream implications for housing demand and transaction volume.

Gardner

Now, sticky inflation. I mean, the Fed issue, it’s more acute than in a typical cycle because of the source of the inflation. Normally the Fed faces demand shocks. The economy is overheating, you tighten. You raise rates. If it’s contracting, you loosen. The math is pretty straightforward. But we’re seeing supply-side shocks and they do the opposite. GDP growth decelerates. Inflation accelerates. That puts the Fed in a genuinely difficult position when cutting rates risks inflaming inflation. But holding rates where they are or dropping them — that could deepen the economic slowdown.

Now, back in January, the market surprised two cuts in for the Fed this year, now down to one edging towards possibly zero as both the bond market and the Fed officials have actually looked at, in essence a hold-steady, do-nothing path. But the downstream problem for housing demand is not just at the rate level. It’s coming from uncertainty more than anything else.

Now, even mortgage rate stability, rather than any kind of dramatic declines, that may be a positive outcome for housing because stability reduces uncertainty, helps buyers and sellers make those long-term decisions with more confidence. But the corollary is that volatile rates in a sticky inflation environment actually are worse than high rates if they make it impossible to underwrite a purchase, so, meaning that we can’t make that decision to buy or sell a home. And that’s the biggest dimension that’s not really being talked about right now. It is just that level of uncertainty we see in the marketplace, certainly from buyers. When you think about it, for almost 98% of them, home buyers, buying a home is the most expensive thing they’ll ever buy in their lives. And when we’re not sure about things, what do we do? We do nothing. And so that I think is really was what is the biggest thing I would suggest is holding the market back right now.

Hartnett

How much of what we’re seeing right now is driven by affordability versus hesitation in overall consumer confidence?

Gardner

Yes, it’s one of the most important diagnostic questions in the housing market right now, as far as I’m concerned. The data keeps telling a story. It’s very nuanced. And I hate to say, it’s actually more troubling than most market commentators are sharing. Short answer is, both are real, but they’re hitting different populations. Affordability is a structural barrier — the hard, mathematical constraint that qualifies or disqualifies buyers regardless as to whether they want to buy or not.

The confidence — confidence is a behavioral barrier. I mean, the hesitation that sidelines buyers who could qualify, but they won’t pull the trigger. And right now, both are operating simultaneously, but they’re not hitting the same people. And that makes the cycle very difficult to read. Now, what I mean by this is affordability — the math is bad, actually getting a little bit better. We are seeing incomes continuing to rise. But look at the demographics beneath it. Gen-Z, younger buyers, they’re enthusiastic about homeownership, constrained by affordability. High student loan debt, these kinds of things. Millennials, roughly half of which are homeowners today, they’re weighing whether it’s more cost effective to buy or whether they should rent. Gen X, well, wealthy, many who’ve got very low mortgage rates, they’re reluctant to surrender those. Boomers have got wealth but don’t need to move. Highly discretionary.

So it is that stratification because it means that affordability is not a uniform force. It’s a total barrier for younger buyers, rather, while being nearly irrelevant for asset-rich, older cohorts. So aggregating housing demand that masks the split or almost entirely.

Confidence. Well, the problem, as we talked about the math, is improving enough. So we’ve seen actually affordability improve a little bit, from the almost-7% mortgage rates we had a while ago. But there’s a sense that lower rates may not be enough to entice hesitant buyers to get them off the sidelines. Now, lower rates coupled with better confidence, improved consumer confidence, that could re-accelerate the market. So decoupling those two things, actually relatively new. Prior cycles, rate relief and demand recovery were essentially the same lever, right? Now they’re separate. Now the mechanism driving that gap is really urgency, or rather the absence of urgency. Most housing cycles turn into action when the cost of waiting becomes obvious. Prices climb, options shrink. Multiple bidding wars occur. Now that dynamic, whether you call it urgency or FOMO, fear of missing out, has historically been one of the strongest drivers of housing demand.

Today, that force is largely absent. Prices have softened, inventory not where it was but it has grown, incentives, certainly new construction, very plentiful. And that all conveys one message: There’s time. And when buyers think they have time, they tend to use it.

So you really are getting to a point of we’re just going to wait and see. What’s going to break that stalemate? Well, I mean, I think that as long as people are confident in their jobs and employment, again, there’s some uncertainty there, if they see that they’re not gonna lose their job, that they’re okay with it, that’s going to help stability and interest rates for these massive fluctuations that will help. And stability and home prices. And so when you see it as an asset which is steadily appreciating, well, then I think you’re going to find a lot more interest in the marketplace from would-be buyers.

Hartnett

With all of these external factors, from rates to geopolitics, how should real estate professionals be talking to their clients without sounding reactive or uncertain?

This is where the craft of the profession really shows. Because the temptation in a volatile environment is to either over-explain the macro or avoid it entirely. Both approaches, I think, fail their clients.

So, here’s how I would think about it: Lead with the client’s timeline, not the market’s timeline. The single best way to frame it is to shift the conversation from what the market’s doing now to “what is your client’s life doing now?” Market timeline and the client’s timeline are almost never the same. And conflating them is where most of the anxiety in these conversations originates.

So a buyer who needs to be in a, I don’t know, a specific school district in four months? Well, they don’t have the luxury of waiting for the 10-Year Treasury to normalize. Obviously. Now, a seller whose family situation has changed isn’t really making a market timing decision, they’re making a life decision that happens to involve real estate. Now grounding the conversations there first I think gives a foundation that, no Fed meeting can destabilize that. So that’s the first place I would go.

Secondly, I’d be the person who explains, not the person who reacts. What do I mean by that? Clients are swimming in reactive commentary. Every headline, every rate move, every geopolitical development. There is so much data coming in. But what they’re not getting is someone who can calmly explain why things are happening and what actually matters versus what’s noise. And there’s a lot of noise out there now.

Now, you don’t need to be an economist. But knowing that mortgage rates track the yield on the 10-Year treasuries, not the Fed funds rate, and be able to explain that clearly when a client asks why rates went up after the Fed held steady, for example. That positions you as someone who understands the environment rather than someone who’s surprised by it. That distinction is everything, I believe, for client confidence. The goal is to be the calmest, most informed voice in the room. Not falsely optimistic. Not anxious. Just grounded.

Two, the lock-in effect means inventory will remain constrained for the foreseeable future. Three, home prices in most markets — they’re not in freefall. They’re actually rather sticky. And finally, the rent versus own math in many markets still favors ownership over a five-to-seven year time horizon.

So, when you can say, here’s what we don’t know and here’s what we do know, well, then you sound like a trusted advisor rather than somebody who’s reading the same anxious headlines as your client. So, give your client a framework, not a forecast. Forecasting rates or prices now — believe me when I tell you it’s not easy. And anyone who says “with confidence, mortgage rates will be at X in six months time,” they’re either quite frankly, guessing, or they’re misleading.

Hartnett

NAR projected a very strong rebound in sales around 14%. Based on what you’re seeing so far. Does that still feel achievable, or does the current pace suggest something more moderate?

Gardner

Well the timing of this question is kind of notable. March Existing-Home Sales came out, tells a very interesting story. But the 14% forecast actually is no longer operative. I believe that NAR itself has now cut its sales outlook back down from 14 to just 4% growth. New home sales are flat, revised from 5% on the upside.

Now, what makes this revision very significant? Not just the magnitude, but it’s what a lot of the economists are saying. I mean, you’re saying that sales are still sluggish, lower consumer confidence, softer job growth, all holding buyers back. And that’s the confidence problem we’ve been discussing through this conversation, and it’s showing up in the hard data.

So there’s a few things worth unpacking about why that original forecast was always optimistic — and you know, Anne, I thought it was from the day one — and what the revised picture really looks like. It was based on assumptions that didn’t hold up. And so, the November 2025 projection, when they put it out they assumed easing mortgage rates, more job gains, better market stability. None of these three things happened. And of course, the geopolitical tensions, no one saw those coming as well. Two, the spring selling season, the make-or-break window. Not making it. And again, based on the war with Iran, really holding that spring market back. And so when you see that situation arise, it’s going to be very hard to get to that 14%.

Inventory? Getting better, not really unlocking that much in demand. Inventory is about, what, 3% month on month? 4.1 months of supply, I believe? Now, that’s a four-month high, but still pretty much not where it should be, not normal. More supply without more willing buyers just means homes sit longer, not that a market clears. The one genuinely, in my opinion, stabilizing signal? Prices, up 1.4% year on year, 33rd consecutive month of year on year price increases.

So that’s what we’re certain of — the positive part. But, you know, sellers aren’t capitulating. They’re not slashing prices, at least not nationally. Enough of an equity cushion there. So where does it leave the revised annual outlook? A 4% gain over 2025 baseline. Yeah, I think that that is very reasonable. And that’s roughly in line with what I’d been saying was going to be the case last year anyway. But it is going to require the second half of the year to do most of the heavy lifting. Now, that’s going to require either a meaningful rate decline or confidence recovery or both.

So, honestly, 14%, I never saw it. I think most people thought the same way. I think it was a best-case scenario. But the conditions that required it, none of which, were met. And so because of that, the market right now is tracking closer to, again, my forecast, which was actually around 4 to 5%, about 5%. So I think we’ll see that, but even that could be wrong depending on how long the Iranian conflict goes. If we get through into the summer and things aren’t addressed then, then I think it’s going to be hard to even get to that point in terms of sales growth in the second half of 2026.

So, unfortunately for Lawrence, all the things he was hoping would happen in order to allow that 14%. None of which have, other than the fact that we haven’t seen prices being slashed. So, I think coming back down to that 4%, certainly closer to reality now than they were back in November.

Hartnett

Alright. Thank you so much for joining us today, Matthew. I look forward to chatting about Q2 with you soon.

Gardner

You are always welcome, Anne. It’s always great fun visiting with you.

Cottage Grove will bring 349 homesites to the intersection of Quail Roost Drive and Krome Avenue in unincorporated Redland. The community, which is being developed by RHP Properties, will offer multi-section, single-family homes starting at $129,900 for a four-bedroom floorplan.  

The new development comes as a forest of ultra-luxury condo towers grows over Miami and the median-sales price for a single-family home in the county tops $670,000 — pricing out most would-be middle- and working-class homeowners. In the past year, over 1,100 manufactured housing sites have been removed or are slated for removal, RHP said. 

“This new housing supply is coming at a time when it is most needed,” RHP CEO Ross Partrich said. “Cottage Grove provides a path to homeownership in Miami-Dade County at a price point that is otherwise difficult to achieve, while replacing capacity that has been lost to redevelopment.” 

Community amenities include a pool with sun deck, clubhouse, fitness center, yoga and lounge rooms, biking and walking trails and gazebos. There’s also a playground, numerous green spaces and a gated entrance. 

A model home is expected to open for tours in June, with the first group of homes expected to be available for sale beginning mid-summer. 

Community amenities include a pool with sun deck and clubhouse. Via RHP Properties.

The complaint, which was filed in federal court in Chicago on May 12, outlines how MRED and Compass worked together to “threaten Zillow’s Chicagoland listing data feed,” according to Zillow. 

Zillow claims the arrangement allows Compass agents across the country to enter listings into MRED in a way that extends leverage beyond Chicago and forces “competitors nationwide to abandon consumer protections.” 

The complaint also alleges that in early May, MRED demanded Zillow reinstate Compass’ private listings from outside of its territory and threatened to terminate Zillow’s access if it did not comply. 

Matt Kreamer, a communications director with Zillow, said that Compass reportedly holds 23% of MRED’s board seats and controls 35% of sales in the Chicago market. He said that Zillow believes MRED used that influence to “reshape its own rules” in ways that would benefit Compass at the expense of everyone else.  

As part of the agreement, Compass agreed to subsidize part of the cost for the first 100,000 Compass agents who join MRED as full members, a move that Zillow claims could triple MRED’s size and “dramatically expand its power to impose its rules on the rest of the industry.” In return, Zillow argues that MRED agreed to use its control over Chicago-area listing data to pressure any platform that adopted stricter transparency rules. 

Zillow says the lawsuit is based on alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. 

Zillow Chief Industry Officer Errol Samuelson provided the following statement to Chicago Agent: 

“Fundamentally this lawsuit is about consumers and competition and fairness in the real estate industry. The MLS in Chicagoland, which is meant to be a marketplace where all the brokers share their listings for the benefit of their sellers and their buyers, instead decided to work with the area’s largest broker and skew the rules to actually hurt consumers and hurt competition. 

What MRED has done with this Compass scheme is use its monopoly power to undermine what makes MLS so great: the fair, level playing field. What’s more, they are threatening to cut off buyers and sellers’ access to Chicago listings on Zillow, to protect Compass listings in places like Florida, California and Georgia. It’s egregious.” 

Devin Daly Huerta, senior corporate communications lead with Compass, provided the following statement to Chicago Agent:

“Zillow is punishing agents for merely following their clients’ lawful instructions on how they want their homes marketed. Compass believes homeowners should have the right to decide how to market their homes. The industry is evolving to give consumers more choice and we support that progress. We remain committed to advocating for homeowner choice and an open, competitive marketplace.”

MRED did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

This is a developing story. 

The association’s proposed new name will be Miami and South Florida REALTORS®, pending approval by National Association of REALTORS®. The name of the combined MLS has not been determined yet, according to a spokesperson. The merger brings together about 93,000 members, making it the largest local Realtor association in the world.

Members will soon receive a host of tools, data, services and educational opportunities, including: 

• A complete South Florida MLS dataset. 

• The third-largest MLS in the nation. 

• Free IDX feeds including listings of both MLSs – MIAMI MLS and BeachesMLS. 

• The choice between two powerful platforms: Flexmls and Matrix. 

• Over 2,800 educational seminars. 

• Over 300 products and services. 

• Over 300 signed global partnerships. 

• Free Supras for all Realtors to improve home showings. 

• Over 11 data exchanges to expand the reach of listings. 

“Your real estate association now reflects what we have always known about the Miami and South Florida marketplace. We are one,” Co-CEO Teresa King Kinney said. “This is not about county lines. This is about providing the most data, tools and education to South Florida real estate professionals so they can deliver the highest level of professional service to their clients.” 

Kinney will share leadership and Dionna Hall, the CEO of RWorld and BeachesMLS, as co-CEOs until the end of the year, when she will retire after a 33-year career leading MIAMI. Hall will become CEO of Miami and South Florida REALTORS® in 2027 and beyond. 

“Data is power and this historic merger means South Florida Realtors will finally have one complete MLS dataset to power their business,” Hall said. “Realtors in South Florida have dealt with fragmented data for years. But now there will be no more buying IDX feeds from multiple organizations. Your IDX data feeds will soon include all the listings of both MLSs – MIAMI MLS and BeachesMLS – and that means more business for you and your clients.”

MIAMI Chairman Alfredo Pujol will serve as the first chairman, while RWorld President Jonathan Dolphus will be the 2026 chair-elect and 2027 chairman, and Katherine Arteta will be the 2027 chair-elect. 

Cotality BLX is designed to help brokerages manage premarket activity and control how their listings are distributed across MLSs, real estate portals and partners. 

“We heard clearly from agents and franchise owners that managing listings across multiple platforms creates unnecessary friction in an already fast-moving business and a rapidly evolving industry,” KW President and CEO Chris Czarnecki said. “By reducing duplicate entry across platforms and creating a more centralized experience, we’re helping our affiliated agents save time and gain greater control over their listings while creating maximum exposure opportunities for their clients.” 

For example, HomeServices of America currently operates across more than 250 MLS relationships nationwide, where listings are typically entered into local systems before being redistributed. Cotality BLX will invert that model, establishing a controlled, brokerage-level environment for entering new listings while preserving MLSs as a foundational component of the broader ecosystem. 

The unveiling of the platform comes amid upheaval in the way listings are managed between platforms. Numerous brokerages have signed on to Zillow Preview, which will share the listings with Realtor.com. Midwest Real Estate Data recently announced the nationwide expansion of its Private Listing Network, while Compass has agreed to share its listings, including Private Exclusive and Coming Soon listings with MRED’s PLN. 

“Importantly, this is not about bypassing MLSs … it’s about improving the way data moves through the system while strengthening its integrity at the source,” HomeServices CEO Chris Kelly said. 

“Our MLS partners remain central to how the industry functions, and that will not change,” HomeServices Senior Vice President Lacey Conway said. “BLX is about streamlining the entry and flow of listing data so it is more consistent and more usable across platforms.” 

At the operational level, agents will have a single-entry point for new listings, which will then be distributed across MLSs, consumer platforms and other approved destinations. The platform is intended to integrate with existing brokerage workflows, allowing agents to continue entering listing data in a familiar way, with minimal disruption or additional training. It is also expected to provide agents with more real-time insights into pricing trends, market changes and listing performance. 

The initial rollout of Cotality BLX is expected to begin in the next three to six months, with broader expansion planned in coordination with MLS partners nationwide. 

In the 12th edition, you will find industry standouts who go above and beyond for their clients. They are the agents, loan officers and affiliates who gracefully guide clients through an evolving and sometimes challenging home buying or selling process, which is exactly when the expertise of a trustworthy professional is most essential.

The profiles online showcase the motivations that make these industry leaders shine. Here, you will learn about their unique backgrounds, what drives them to excel and why their clients remain loyal to their work. They are the agents who go above and beyond. They are the lenders who problem-solve. They are precisely who you want in your corner during a housing transaction, because they are Who’s Who in South Florida Residential Real Estate.

Each person featured in this issue has been vetted by trusted industry sources and our team here at South Florida Agent magazine. If you’d like to find out how to be nominated — or want to nominate someone else — please feel free to reach out. We love to connect with South Florida’s top talents and rising stars.

Read on to see Who’s Who in South Florida Residential Real Estate>>>

Photography by: Ryan Jackson

Special thanks to the beautiful photoshoot location: St. Regis Residences, Sunny Isles Beach 18801 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach.

Existing-home sales for all types of residences were roughly flat in April, rising just 0.2% month over month to a rate of 4.02 million transactions, the National Association of REALTORS® said. Year over year, sales were flat. 

The median-existing sales price for all housing types rose 0.9% year over year to $417,700, its 34th consecutive increase. 

“Despite mixed macroeconomic signals — including a record-high stock market and historically low consumer confidence — home sales were modestly boosted by the continued improvement in housing affordability,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rates are lower from a year ago, and average income growth is outpacing home price gains.” 

Single-family sales, meanwhile, were unchanged month over month at 3.64 million, which represented a 0.3% dip from April 2025. The median single-family sales price was up 1% annually to $422,300. 

Condominium and co-op sales were up 2.7% both month over month and year over year to an annual rate of 380,000. The median price rose 1.1% from April 2025. 

Regionally, month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest and the South, were flat in the Northeast and declined in the West. Year-over-year sales rose in the South, were unchanged in the West and fell in the Northeast and Midwest. 

Inventory rose 5.8% month over month and 1.4% year over year to 1.47 million homes, which equals a 4.4-month supply of unsold inventory, up from 4.2 months in March and 4.3 months in April 2025. 

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in April was 6.33%, up from 6.18% in March and down from 6.73% a year earlier. 

“Inventory still remains tight,” Yun said. “Multiple offers, though not as intense as a few years ago, are still occurring. At the same time, days on market are lengthening on average, implying that consumers are taking their time before making decisions.”

The soon-to-be supertall, tulip-shaped structure is growing at one floor a week. The top-off of the Hilton Hotel-anchored residential high-rise is expected to take place in August. 

Designed by Behar Font & Partners, the tower’s “curtain wall has already advanced dozens of floors up the structure, while a series of stepped floor plates are creating the layered exterior inspired by the form of a Turkish tulip,” according to an announcement. 

With an ultimate height of 902 feet, Okan Tower will be the second-largest tower in downtown Miami, according to its developers, Okan Group. Located at 555 North Miami Ave., the building will have hospitality, residential, wellness and office components.  

The project will be anchored by a 316-key Hilton Miami Bayfront Hotel, with 236 condo-hotel units managed by Hilton Hotels & Resorts. The tower will also have 163 Sky Residences and approximately 64,000 square feet of class A office space.   

“Reaching this stage of construction is a significant achievement for the project,” Okan Group Chairman Bekir Okan said. “Okan Tower represents years of planning, design and coordination. Seeing the building take its place on the Miami skyline is both rewarding and a clear reflection of the team’s disciplined execution.”  

So far, residential buyers are hailing from Argentina, Mexico, the United States, Colombia, Turkey, Spain and Denmark. Fortune Development Sales is leading sales and marketing efforts. 

“The project’s steady construction progress reflects the consistency of buyer interest we’ve seen since launch,” Sales Director Michael Sadov said. “Purchasers increasingly view downtown Miami condos as an asset class of their own with all the lifestyle benefits that come with living in the epicenter of the most exciting city on the planet.”   

Designed by Behar Font & Partners, the tower’s “curtain wall has already advanced dozens of floors up the structure, while a series of stepped floor plates are creating the layered exterior inspired by the form of a Turkish tulip.” Via Okan Tower.