We were trending lower and flirting with the high 5% range before global tensions escalated over the weekend. Whenever geopolitical conflict hits the headlines, markets react quickly.

In the early stages of conflict, especially when oil supply becomes part of the conversation, rates often move higher first. That’s exactly what we’re seeing.

The Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane where roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply moves, has been disrupted. When oil prices spike, markets worry about inflation. When inflation fears rise, mortgage rates tend to follow.

So while some quotes still have a 5 in front, most conventional scenarios are showing low 6’s unless points or seller concessions are involved.

The Silver Lining

The housing market itself is actually improving:

• Home sales are up
• Listings are up
• Contracts are up

In other words, activity is picking up even with the recent rate volatility. If global tensions settle down and energy markets stabilize, mortgage rates could easily resume the downward trend we were seeing.

The Bottom Line

The real estate market is moving in the right direction. We just need the global headlines to cooperate for a minute.

And in the meantime, a little patience and a little perspective goes a long way. Also maybe a small prayer for the people dealing with the real consequences of these conflict and, selfishly, for our fragile little interest rates.

— Brooks

For years the playbook was simple.

Consumers Googled things like “best realtor near me.”

Now more people are asking AI instead.

Tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are becoming the first stop for people looking for trusted professionals. Instead of digging through websites, they simply ask:

• “Who is the best realtor in my area?”
• “Who should I use to sell my home?”
• “Who are the most trusted agents in Dallas?”

And AI gives them recommendations.

The real question is this:

Does your name show up when someone asks?

Traditional search engines mostly ranked websites and SEO.

AI works differently.

It scans information across the internet and looks for signals of credibility such as:

• Reviews
• Online reputation
• Content and expertise
• Mentions across multiple platforms

Then it recommends professionals who appear to have the strongest authority and trust signals.

In simple terms:

AI summarizes the internet and recommends who it trusts most.

Agents with strong digital footprints start appearing in answers.

Agents without one often don’t appear at all.

If you want to understand how this works and how agents can position themselves to show up in AI recommendations, you can watch the full webinar here:

Click Here to Watch the Webinar.

We built ELLA to help real estate professionals elevate their online presence with content, information, and photo editors.

If you’re curious how it works, you can schedule a demo below.

Schedule an ELLA Demo