A press release from Boston Agent Magazine in Massachusetts. "The start of a new calendar year is welcomed with parties, well-wishing and an eye toward new beginnings. But in the business and finance world, most people rang in 2019 fixated on endings. The business cycle, the bull market, home sales, price growth — so many economic indicators and financial models ended 2018 on a sour note. 'We are going to see a very good market in 2019 because sellers have been humbled,' broker Anthony Lamacchia told Boston Agent Magazine."

"From Joshua Stephens’ perspective, a sense of change was in the air as soon as July. 'By then, buyers were realizing they had the upper hand,' he said. More listings were staying on the market for longer periods, eventually facing price cuts. Within a few months, 'unless you have a pristine property, you’re not going to get a lot of offers,' said Stephens, vice president at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Warren Residential, describing the state of things by late fall."

From Atlanta Agent Magazine in Georgia. "Though it may feel remote from the day-to-day pressures of running a real estate business, it’s vital that agents and brokers watch the economy carefully. Slowing sales indicate to Compass agent Chrissie Kallio that the housing market in the Atlanta area and across the country is evening out after several years of rapid growth."

"'While we may see some shifts in the economy bringing change in some of the more outlying areas, I think the heart of Atlanta and in-town Atlanta markets will continue to have a good year,' Kallio says. 'It’s just going to be more realistic here in the sense that everything has been elevated over the last four to five years. Actually, you reach point where you can’t continue to go up any further. I feel like we reached that point; it’s just a natural stabilization of the market.'"

"Kellios expects a slower market may force builders to focus on quality rather than volume. 'The market has been so skewed in one direction for so long and buyers are tiring of it,' she says. 'Sellers don’t think they have to do any work and investors are building crappy products.'"

From Chicago Agent Magazine in Illinois. "Though it may feel remote from the day-to-day pressures of running a real estate business, the overall economy plays a vital role in the local residential market. To Geoff Smith, executive director of the Institute of Housing Studies at DePaul University, the bifurcation of the economy into high- and low-income households is a problem for the real estate industry."

"'The way the market has been functioning lately, there has been a lot of new development at the high end of the market' he says. 'That’s produced perhaps an oversupply of really expensive housing and a shortage of housing at the lower and middle tiers of the market.'"

From Miami Agent Magazine in Florida. "The start of a new calendar year is welcomed with parties, well-wishing and an eye toward new beginnings. 'When you look at the numbers, you might conclude it’s a buyer’s market, but Miami really has micro-markets,' said Sladja Stantic, luxury broker for ONE Sotheby’s International Realty in Miami Beach. 'In 2019, I’m hoping to be more direct with buyers but especially sellers. A lot of them think appreciation will keep going up and up, but that’s not guaranteed. You have to set expectations.'"

"'[In 2018] buyers were in waiting mode, there was no sense of urgency,' Stantic said. 'Even with a property that is priced well, people were overly cautious. I’m hoping buyers are more confident to move faster. That comes as a result of sellers being more in line on pricing.'"

From Houston Agent Magazine in Texas. "Though it may feel removed from the day-to-day pressures of running a real estate business, you can’t ignore the economy. James Gaines, chief economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, does not expect a slower national economy to translate into a full-blown recession."

"'Nobody’s anticipating a national recession,' Gaines says."

"Sherry Campbell of Energy Realty has seen the recent downturn in oil prices affect her business in Houston’s Energy Corridor. 'I think that our buyers have become spoiled, because at 3 percent they can afford a lot more house,' Campbell says. 'At 4 percent or 5 percent their affordability rate drops. They’re going to have to get used to that. Maybe they can’t qualify for the $500,000 house and have to buy the $400,000 house because payments are higher. We have to see some adjustments with that, because I think it’s kept some buyers away his year since they’re not able to get what they were expecting to buy.'"

"Wendy Cline of Wendy Cline Properties, suspects that a higher cost of borrowing may cause some buyers to put off making a purchase. 'It will give some of the buyers who are on the fence a reason to stay on the fence and not go ahead and consummate a purchase,' Cline says of the higher cost of borrowing. 'We’re also seeing that the higher priced properties like $700,000 and up stand to see some extended shelf life and days on market.'"