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Why homebuyers have more room to negotiate now

Plus: Atlanta's data center surge, medical office's remote-work shield, and the states set to grow fastest through 2040.

Author

Vidit Saxena
August 28, 2026

Sponsored by

ZERO FLUX28 AUG 2026 / 5 MIN
TODAY'S MAIN SIGNALS
1More listings and fewer pending sales give homebuyers leverage, though tight supply still limits their bargaining power.
2Weak new-home demand leaves builders squeezed between rising material costs and falling sale prices.
3Lenders are returning to retail real estate as limited construction and low distress reduce risk.
4Medical office is bucking the broader office slump and attracting more development and investment.
RATES
30-YR FIXED
6.75%
CHANGE FROM PRIOR IN BIPS
1D 0   1W -1   1M -1   1Y +24
10-YR UST
4.686%
CHANGE FROM PRIOR IN BIPS
1D +3   1W -5   1M +2   1Y +47
SOFR
3.64%
CHANGE FROM PRIOR IN BIPS
1D 0   1W +1   1M -1   1Y -72
MARKET SIGNALSFREE
LINK
The economic signals Deloitte is watching this week
-Deloitte is watching rising long-term government yields, climate-related disruptions in Europe and another property-led slowdown in China. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.33%, its highest level since 2007.
-Stubborn benchmark rates are the most immediate concern for real estate because they keep financing pressure high. A Treasury effort to lower long-term yields worked only briefly.
RESIDENTIALLINK
Listings hit a four-month high. Are buyers gaining leverage?
-New listings hit a four-month high of 376,235 while pending sales fell to a six-month low. Buyers had more room to negotiate on homes that had been sitting for several weeks.
-National supply was 3.8 months, still below Redfin's balanced range, so buyers gained only limited leverage from the rise in listings.
RESIDENTIALLINK
Homebuilding material costs jumped 6.7% as margins tightened
-Homebuilding material costs rose 6.7%, squeezing margins. Small builders saw a 9.1% increase, compared with 1.8% for builders producing at least 100 homes.
-Weak demand made those costs harder to pass on. July's median new-home price fell to its lowest level since July 2021, while sales dropped 10.5% from June.
COMMERCIALLINK
How much industrial demand is now coming from data centers?
-Industries tied to data centers now account for more than 6% of nearby logistics leasing, up from less than 3% in 2020.
-Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, leads with roughly 10 million square feet leased by data center-adjacent industries since 2025. Houston, TX, ranks second, followed by Atlanta, GA.

The Physical AI Boom Reaches The Farm

Most AI lives on a screen. This kind drives itself through a soybean field at 2 a.m. and cuts weeds to the centimeter, with no herbicide. Greenfield Robotics has 82 machines running across 16 states. This year's fleet sold out, and every robot was delivered. 

The platform keeps adding jobs: weeding now, feeding, spraying, and cover-crop planting on the way. Farmers are done with chemicals linked to Parkinson's and tied to the price of oil. 

The pull is real, and the machines work. Greenfield's Regulation A+ offering lets everyday investors own a stake ahead of the scale-up the company is building toward.

Greenfield Robotics is Testing The Waters under tier 2 of Regulation A. No money or other consideration is being solicited, and if sent in response will not be accepted. No offer to buy the securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the offering statement filed by the company with the SEC has been qualified by the SEC. Any such offer may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time before notice of acceptance given after the date of qualification. An indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind. “Reserving” shares is simply an indication of interest. There is no binding commitment for investors that reserve shares in this manner to ultimately invest and purchase the shares reserved of the company, or to purchase any shares of the company whatsoever.

LINK
Where America will grow and shrink through 2040
Map of projected U.S. population change by state through 2040
-Population growth through 2040 is projected to favor the Sun Belt and Mountain West. Idaho leads at 24.1%, followed by Utah at 21.9% and Texas at 20.7%.
-Population is projected to fall most in West Virginia at 8.4%, Mississippi at 4.7% and Louisiana at 3.3%. These are scenarios, not precise forecasts.
THE AI LAYERAI + REAL ESTATE
New tools promise to help agents appear in AI searchLINK
-Roomvu's free Found tool scores agents' visibility on Google and AI assistants. Lofty Front builds IDX sites and adjusts neighborhood content to attract AI citations.
TOOLS TO KNOW
Roomvu Found   Scores real estate agents’ visibility across Google and AI assistants to help improve discoverability in AI-driven search.
THE EDGEPREMIUM
COMMERCIALLINK
Which North American data center markets are pulling ahead?
-Atlanta, GA, has passed Northern Virginia in data center construction, with 2,882 MW underway versus 2,420.2 MW. Northern Virginia still leads in inventory and net absorption, and its 0.2% vacancy leaves little space available.
-Power availability is shaping where occupiers can grow. For leases above 10 MW, asking rents rose fastest in New York Tri-State at 19%, Atlanta, GA, at 14.5%, and Chicago, IL, at 9.7%.
COMMERCIALLINK
Retail mortgage lending jumped 148%. Why are lenders coming back?
-Retail mortgage originations jumped 148% year over year in the first quarter. Stable performance, limited construction and less distress than in offices and apartments brought lenders back.
-Local banks and investor-driven lenders may offer 65% to 75% leverage on deals below $10 million. Rate volatility remains a risk after the 10-year Treasury reached 4.7% in late July.
COMMERCIALLINK
Self-storage construction is set to fall 19% in one year
-New self-storage supply is projected to fall 19% in 2026 to 52.93 million net rentable square feet. Construction starts are also down 19.6%, which points to fewer deliveries ahead.
-The pullback may ease supply pressure, but demand is still weak and rent growth is negative in most tracked markets.
COMMERCIALLINK
Which office segment is sidestepping the remote-work slump?
-Medical office has largely avoided the remote-work slump, helped by health care job growth and limited exposure to remote work. Education and health care employment rose 2.4% year over year, while office-using employment fell 0.3%.
-That strength is drawing development and investment. Medical office accounted for 26.2% of office starts in 2025, and 67% of repeat-sale assets gained value.
UNREAL REAL ESTATE
A Little Rock Castle With a Hidden Bar
A Little Rock Castle With a Hidden Bar
This castle-style home in Little Rock, Arkansas, has a hidden bar. LINK

 

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