6 most googled real estate questions in 2025
Unless you study the housing markets 24/7, it can be hard to know what’s actually going on in real estate. Is the market going to crash? Is 2008 going to be repeating itself? There are so many questions that remain a mystery for the majority of buyers & sellers in today’s market. As a qualified and local realtor in the San Gabriel Valley, I’m going to debunk the 6 most googled questions real estate questions in 2025
1) Will Home prices drop in 2026?
Homes prices are predicted to either stabilize or drop in 2026. There is not many economist who predict that overall home prices will ever increase very much in 2026. This is primarily due to affordability issues that many first time home buyers face. Although there are record breaking inventory levels at the moment, there simply just aren’t enough buyers to keep up with supply. However it’s important to know which homes are going to drop in price, and which homes will stabilize or stay the same.
Location & property type are the primary factors deciding whether or not a home’s price will drop or not in 2026. For a general rule of thumb, most condos below $1M are susceptible to losing value in 2026. That is because these first time buyer homes lack the actual first time home buyers in the market to actually purchase them. Most townhouses will stabilize in value and not go into the negative. This is because townhouses are closer to Single Family Homes, and condos are seen more as buyable apartment rooms.
Single family homes on the other hand are the most likely to either stabilize in pricing or slightly increase. They are by far the most in demand property type for all types of buyers, first time or upsizers. Because of this the buyer pool or demand for these homes are much higher than condos/townhouses, allowing Single Family homes to still appreciate during a rather slow market.
Finally homes in a good location, regardless of the property type, will typically stabilize or increase in value. This is for the simple reason that the location is just desirable. So the homes that will drop the most in value are condos in undesirable locations, and the homes that will actually increase drastically in value are the single family homes in highly desirable areas.
2) Is 2026 a good time to buy a house?
For the past 4 years many homebuyers have been on the fence to purchase. There has been worldwide pandemics, tariffs, and increasing interest rates that constantly stops most buyers from taking the initiative. However, 2025 has proved otherwise. Despite high prices and high rates, we have seen home prices drop more than ever. The prediction for 2026 is the market will continue in this trajectory. So while realtors may be notorious for always saying it’s a good time to buy, 2026 is poised to actually be a good market to purchase a home.
Buyers definitely have most of the leverage in the current market. Inventory has been higher than ever and is predicted to stay like this. However it is important to note that this buyers market will most likely go away once rates drop. This is because most buyers are waiting on the sidelines for interest rates to drop, without considering what it will do to inventory, demand, and competition. For all of these reasons, 2026 looks to be a great time to buy a house, so long as interest rates do not take a steep fall.
3) Will mortgage rates drop in 2026?
The short answer is yes, mortgage rates are highly likely to drop in 2026. Most economist predict that 2026 will have between 1-3 rate cuts. However this isn’t the only factor affecting mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates are actually highly affected by the bond market, as well as other government decisions. So while overall we definitely don’t see mortgage rates increasing in 2026, it’s hard to say exactly how much mortgage rates will fall. I would say it’s safe to bet that mortgage rates will not fall 2% or more, and we are definitely not going to see 2-3% mortgage rates for a very long time, or ever.
This makes it even more important to be aware that when mortgage rates drop, home prices typically go up. So while you may see prices going down and get excited when rates go down, it may actually work against you. Typically mortgage rate drops are okay for buyers but more beneficial for sellers as more buyers get into the market.
4) How much do I need for a down payment?
As of now, the lowest down payment for a non-veteran is 3% conventional loan! FHA loans will have 3.5% as the lowest down. The lowest down payment of all is a VA loan, requiring a whopping 0% down.
Bonus Tip : You will also need money for closing costs. Closing costs are typically 1-1.25% of the purchase price of a home. But don’t worry, most of the closing costs will actually be your first month’s mortgage payment if you are the buyer. So in truth, with a conventional loan it is best to have 4.5% of the actual home price just to be safe and have enough for closing costs.
5) Should I sell my house in 2026?
The housing market is actually going to be slightly better for sellers in 2026 than it was in 2025. The reason for this is because rates have been going down and might continue to go down in 2026. This inevitably causes more buyers to get into the market and increase demand, thus making it easier to sell a home.
Buyers are also starting to have FOMO, meaning many buyers are watching the market pass by and are contemplating at the next best time to get in. As a seller, if you position yourself correctly in this market, selling your home is an easy task. So yes, but only if your realtor truly understand the market and knows how to aggressively price your home for a quick & fast sale.
6) Is the housing market going to crash?
The sad truth is…. no. The housing market just isn’t going to crash, at least, not anytime soon. In fact the housing market has a very long history of always going up in value and having very little crashes, which is why many investors consider it a generally safe investment.
If there were ever to be a crash, it would be like 2008, no one would be able to predict it anyway.
📍 Final Thoughts from a Local Realtor
Believe it or not, these really are the 6 most googled real estate questions in 2025.
If you have more questions that you’d like answered, leave a comment or reach out to me directly!
Real estate can be extremely difficult to comprehend, especially when most of the information online can be incorrect.
If you have questions about specific neighborhoods, I’d love to help.
