Don’t Let the Headlines Derail You
- Liana Pomeroy
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Have you been wanting to buy a home but scared because the headlines make you feel like that’s the last thing you should be doing?
I’m licensed in a handful of states and do business-purpose loans all over the U.S. In particular, I do business every month in two markets: the Colorado Front Range and the Florida Gulf.
And the reason I’m sharing the breadth of my experience is simple: what I’m seeing on the ground often looks very different from what the headlines suggest.
If you only read the headlines, you’d think real estate was a risky play right now. That markets are crashing. That the Front Range of Colorado and parts of Florida are among the softest markets in the country. And if you lived through the 2008–2010 downturn, you may still feel understandably cautious.
Yes, prices have softened in some areas. Yes, homes are sitting longer in certain price ranges and neighborhoods. But it’s never as simple as the headlines make it sound.
And if you let the media scare you into freezing completely, you may be missing what’s actually happening underneath the surface.
The Part Most Headlines Leave Out
One of the biggest things the headlines miss is why this market still feels competitive in many areas despite higher rates. A lot of people assume higher mortgage rates should have caused buyer demand to disappear completely. But structurally, we’ve actually been sitting on years of pent-up housing demand.
After the 2008–2010 financial meltdown, builders dramatically slowed construction because financing dried up and development projects stalled. For years afterward, the U.S. simply did not build enough homes to keep up with population growth and household formation.
That shortage never fully got corrected.
Then layer on top of that:
Millennials entering prime homebuying years
Gen Z beginning to enter the market
Baby boomers competing for downsizing options
And millions of homeowners locked into ultra-low mortgage rates who have been reluctant to sell
The result is a market where inventory has stayed tighter than many people expected for years. So even with higher rates, demand didn’t disappear. In many cases, it was simply delayed.
That’s why many economists and housing analysts believe there’s still a meaningful backlog of buyers waiting on the sidelines for affordability to improve, even modestly.
And there’s growing discussion that if mortgage rates move meaningfully closer to the mid–5% range, many of those paused buyers could re-enter the market quickly. Not because homes suddenly become “cheap,” but because monthly payments start feeling workable again for a much larger segment of buyers.
This is very different from the last housing cycle. This isn’t primarily a market driven by speculation. A large part of today’s demand is demographic and structural.
What the Headlines Suggest
If you only read the headlines, you’d think these markets are among the worst in the country full of distressed sellers, falling prices, and easy deals.
That’s not what’s actually happening. Yes, the market has softened. But that doesn’t mean prices have reset or that every seller is negotiable.
And if you’re a buyer or seller right now, the difference between a good outcome and a missed opportunity comes down to understanding how this market is actually behaving... not just how it’s being described.
What the Data Shows
Across markets like metro Denver and Boulder County in Colorado:
Prices rose roughly 35–45% from 2020 through peak 2022 levels
Recent pullbacks have been modest in many segments
Values remain well above 2019 levels
In Lee and Collier counties on the Florida Gulf Coast:
Pandemic-era appreciation was similarly strong
Some areas have seen more noticeable short-term declines
Inventory has increased more meaningfully
But across both regions, the same truth holds: Prices are still elevated compared to where they were a few years ago.
What That Looks Like in Real Numbers
Here’s the simple math.
A home that was worth $500,000 before COVID and appreciated 40% would have reached about $700,000.
If that home softens by 5%, it comes down to roughly $665,000.
That is a real adjustment, but it is not a reset. It's still dramatically above where it started.
The same pattern shows up in markets with larger pullbacks.
A $600,000 home that rose 45% would reach about $870,000. Even after a 10% decline, it would still sit around $783,000.
That’s why the headlines can feel misleading.
Prices may be softer than the peak, but they are still substantially higher than pre-COVID levels in many areas.
Why It Still Feels Competitive
This is where the headlines fall short. A “softer” market doesn’t mean every part of the market slows down equally.
Across the Front Range (metro Denver, Boulder County, and Weld County) I’m still seeing homes move quickly in specific pockets.
Particularly homes that are:
Priced correctly
Well-presented
Move-in ready
Clean from a financing standpoint
Or difficult to replicate
And often, those homes still receive competing offers. I’ve personally had buyers lose out in those situations this year, across multiple price points. That tells you something important: Buyers are still active; they’re just selective.
We finally have more inventory coming to market this year after several years of extremely constrained supply. That’s healthy. It gives buyers more options and creates more balance.
But more inventory does not automatically eliminate competition.
Because underneath it all, we still have multiple generations of buyers competing for many of the same homes at the same time.
The market doesn’t need 2021-level frenzy to remain competitive. It simply needs enough buyers competing for limited inventory; and in many areas, that’s still exactly what’s happening.
Where the Opportunity Is
If you’re looking for a deal, opportunities still exist, just not everywhere.
They will show up in:
Homes with longer days on market
Listings that have gone in and out of contract
Properties that need repositioning
Sellers who are carrying pressure or uncertainty
That’s where negotiation lives right now.
But if you’re pursuing the best home on the block: the one that shows well, is priced correctly, and checks all the boxes, you’re probably not the only one looking at it.
And waiting for a massive discount in that situation often means losing the house to someone willing to move decisively.
What This Means for You
This is a far more nuanced market than it appears from the headlines. You can have more inventory overall and still face real competition on the homes that make the most sense.
That’s why it helps to work with local market experts, people who can help you distinguish between:
Homes likely to sit
Homes likely to move quickly
And opportunities that actually align with your financial goals
It also helps to pressure-test your decision with:
Your lender
Your real estate agent
Your financial advisor
And people you trust
The goal isn’t to perfectly time the market. The goal is to make a sound decision that works for your life and your finances within the market we actually have.
Bottom Line
Don’t let the headlines derail you. They describe the market in broad strokes; they don't tell you, specifically, what decision to make.
This isn’t a reset; it’s a shift. And in markets like these, the difference between getting the home you want and missing it often comes down to understanding what’s actually happening, not just what’s being said about it.
I’ve worked through different market cycles, both up and down, and one thing stays consistent: The headlines change faster than the fundamentals. The market will keep adjusting.
The goal is simply to make decisions that position you well within it.
And if you’re trying to make sense of where you fit right now, I’m always happy to be a sounding board and help you think through the financing side of the decision. Let's have a conversation.
Warmest regards,
Liana Pomeroy
Senior Mortgage Loan Advisor
Equal Housing Lender | Licensed in CO, FL, CA, TN & TX
All loans subject to approval. Conditions apply.