Business
Real estate agents say the housing market is starting to balance out
The U.S. housing market has yet to pick up steam into 2026, but real estate agents say there’s been a real shift toward a more balanced market, according to the quarterly CNBC Housing Market Survey.
Mortgage rates didn’t move much at all in the last quarter of 2025, but home prices are steadily easing. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped sharply in the third quarter but then stabilized between 6.2% and 6.4% during the fourth quarter, leaving some buyers on the sidelines with no incentive to jump in.
Now, there are early signs of what could be more activity ahead.
“The buyers I have seen have been buying because of life circumstances, whether it’s having a baby or moving for a job or retiring or downsizing,” said Ashley Rummage, a real estate agent in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Of the real estate agents surveyed by CNBC in the fourth quarter, 37.5% said it was a balanced market, rather than the buyer’s market they reported seeing in the third quarter. That is up from 30% as of the third quarter and is likely because consumers became less confident in the economy as job losses grew.
“The people who had been moving and the momentum that we had were definitely slowed down, far, far less by interest rates than the intrinsic factors, the cost of living,” said Heather Dell, a real estate agent in Detroit. “Homeowners insurance, car insurance and utilities and medical insurance are the top objections that I hear when a buyer talks about buying.”
The CNBC Housing Market Survey is a national inquiry of real estate agents selected randomly across the United States. Responses for the fourth-quarter survey were collected between Dec. 10 and Dec. 17. This quarter, 72 agents shared their insights.
While the majority of agents said it is still a buyer’s market due to easing prices and more inventory for sale, some agents noted that their buyers and sellers still have very different expectations.
“Buyers tend to think that the market is like 2008 and sellers tend to think that the market is closer to 2021, 2022, and those are diametrically opposed markets and diametrically opposed mindsets,” said John Fragola, a real estate agent in Charleston, South Carolina.
Of course, 2008 was the start of the subprime mortgage crisis, which led to the Great Recession and housing crash, when the market was flooded with distressed homes, giving buyers all the power. Meanwhile, 2021 came shortly after the start of the Covid pandemic, when there was a buying frenzy and inventory dropped to record lows, giving sellers all the power.
The balance in the market now is likely coming due to easing prices.
More agents, 92%, reported having at least one seller cut their price in the fourth quarter, compared with 89% in the previous quarter, according to CNBC’s survey. Nearly half of respondents said the majority of their sellers cut prices.
“Concessions have gotten bigger, especially in my market,” Rummage said. “At the beginning of the year, unfortunately, a lot of sellers were still stuck in the 2021 mindset, but as the year has gone by and their listings sat, they had to get more comfortable with understanding the fact that they were probably going to have to offer some concessions to get the transaction done.”
While prices are easing, they are still historically high, but buyers appear to be getting used to that as the new normal.
When asked how affordability is impacting their buyers, agents said fewer buyers left the market in the fourth quarter than in the prior period, and fewer delayed purchases. They also compromised less on things like home size, features and location.
Cutting prices, however, is not all that palatable to sellers, and more agents reported they had to delist properties than during the third quarter.
“I personally had some clients who said, ‘Let’s just pause, pump the brakes here and we’ll come back on in the spring market when there’s more buyers out,”‘ said Fragola.
As for the new year, despite the slow end to 2025, 67.8% of agents said they expected sales to improve in the first quarter. Fully 77% of agents said they expect the full year 2026 to be better than last year.
There is more inventory on the market now, and some agents said they think consumers are getting used to current economic conditions.
“I think a lot of people are feeling a little bit more comfortable with the unknown,” Rummage said. “Sentiment has shifted from anxiety to cautious optimism.”
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Angel One sets Feb 26 as record date for 1:10 stock split. Shareholders will get 10 shares for each held.
Angel One Stock Split 2026
Angel One Stock Split Record Date: Domestic brokerage firm Angel One has fixed February 26 as the record date for its previously approved 1:10 stock split, moving ahead with a proposal cleared by its Board last month.
The company had earlier informed stock exchanges on Jan. 15 that its Board of Directors approved the sub-division of equity shares in a 1:10 ratio.
Board Approval For Share Sub-Division
Under the approved proposal, each fully paid-up equity share with a face value of Rs 10 will be split into 10 fully paid-up equity shares with a face value of Re 1 each.
In its Jan. 15 stock exchange filing, the company stated that the Board had approved the sub-division of one existing equity share of face value Rs 10, fully paid-up, into 10 equity shares of face value Re 1 each, fully paid-up. The move is aimed at increasing the number of outstanding shares and improving liquidity in the counter.
Stock splits typically make shares more affordable for retail investors by reducing the market price per share, although the overall market capitalization of the company remains unchanged.
Feb 26 Fixed As Record Date
In a subsequent filing dated Feb. 18, Angel One confirmed that its executive committee has fixed Thursday, Feb. 26, as the record date to determine eligible shareholders for the stock split.
The record date serves as the cut-off to identify shareholders who will be entitled to receive the additional shares. Investors holding the stock on or before Feb. 26 will qualify for the sub-division benefit.
What The Stock Split Means For Investors
Shareholders will receive 10 equity shares for every one share currently held. While the face value per share will reduce from Rs 10 to Re 1, the total value of an investor’s holdings will remain unchanged, as the split does not alter ownership percentage or overall wealth.
Angel One Q3 FY26: Profit Dips Amid Higher Costs
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Angel One reported a 4.5% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 269 crore, compared with Rs 281.5 crore in the same quarter last year.
However, total income rose 5.8% to Rs 1,338 crore from Rs 1,264 crore in Q3 FY25. Total expenses increased to Rs 964.2 crore from Rs 876.5 crore, primarily due to higher employee benefit costs, elevated ESOP expenses, and increased operating expenditure.
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Households are set to learn their energy bills will fall by around 7% from April in a shake-up of costs after the Government promised they will receive an average £150 cut.
Latest predictions suggest Ofgem will reduce the energy price cap by £117 to £1,641 a year for a typical dual fuel household from April 1 when it makes its announcement on Wednesday.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in November that £150 would be cut from the average household bill from April by scrapping the Energy Company Obligation scheme introduced by the Tories in government.
Customers have been warned not to expect a straight £150 discount on their bills, and that the cut will depend on the size and type of household and how much energy it uses.
The reduction is expected to be primarily applied through a lower price per unit of electricity used, with households advised to look out for information from their supplier explaining this after the price cap announcement.
Cornwall Insight said the changes will reduce the cap by about £145 a year once VAT and pricing allowances within the cap methodology are taken into account.
It added that increases in charges associated with the operation and maintenance of Britain’s energy networks have offset part of the savings.
Wholesale prices had also risen slightly since its last forecast in December, with the cost of gas particularly volatile due to “geopolitical factors”.
Looking further ahead, Cornwall said wholesale costs were still lower than when Ofgem set the January cap level and it expected the cap to remain “relatively steady” throughout 2026, “with only a small rise forecast in July”.
Ned Hammond, deputy director of customer policy at Energy UK, which represents firms, said: “At a time when many households are struggling with their bills, action taken by the Government to provide a considerable discount on energy bills is hugely welcome.
“While the saving will be £150 for the average household, it is important to note that the discount is applied to the unit rate.
“Therefore, households will experience significantly different savings depending on their energy consumption, some much higher and others substantially lower than £150.
“In addition, other moving parts, such as network charges and wholesale costs, mean energy bills will not necessarily fall in line with the saving provided.
“Indeed, the price cap is projected to drop by around £115 from April 1.”
Which? energy editor Emily Seymour said: “Households can expect a significant cut to their energy bills in April, which will come as a relief to millions of people struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
“The bulk of this change is expected to be applied to your electricity price per unit, so your exact savings will depend on your usage; look out for communications from your energy provider in the coming weeks to see how it will affect your bills.”
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, urged households to note the changes in unit costs and standing charges, rather than focus on the headline “average energy bill”.
He said: “We know that energy bills can be confusing and trying to decide when to switch tariffs or change supplier is a big decision which can overwhelm people.
“As well as setting the price cap, Ofgem should play a greater role in ensuring that the tariffs reaching the market are fair and don’t discriminate against specific customer groups.
“Sadly the responsibility currently falls to households to pay careful attention to any changes in their unit costs and standing charges.”
A Lucid Gravity coming off the line at the company’s factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Lucid Group reported mixed fourth-quarter results Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker continues to face challenging market conditions and internal struggles.
The company widely missed Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations, while beating average revenue estimates by roughly 12%. It also revised its 2025 production results due to internal validation issues, but guided for a notable increase in vehicle production this year.
Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Loss per share: $3.62 vs. a loss of $2.62 cents expected
- Revenue: $523 million vs. $468 million expected
Lucid’s results come days after the company laid off 12% of its U.S. salaried workforce in an effort to streamline operations and “operate with greater efficiency and deliver on our commitments to gross margin improvement and long term growth,” according to a statement from the company.
Interim Lucid CEO Marc Winterhoff described the cuts Tuesday to CNBC as a needed realignment of the company’s workforce amid broader market and economic concerns as well as needed gains in efficiency.
“We are adjusting and going to a level where we think we want to be and need to be,” he said. “But it’s nothing that will continue in the future.”
For 2026, the company announced a vehicle production target of between 25,000 and 27,000 units. That would mark an increase of roughly 40% to 51% compared with the year-end figures the company released Tuesday.
Lucid said the revision for the year — from 18,378 units to 17,840 units — came as “538 vehicles had not completed certain internal procedures required under its final validation process to be classified as produced.”
The company said the vehicles are expected to be completed this year, with the change not affecting its previously reported financial results.
Winterhoff described the expected growth as “healthy,” but not “outrageous” given the current slowdown in overall vehicle sales, including EVs.
“Our initial plans were higher, but we wanted to really be conservative and make sure that we are hitting the numbers that we are projecting,” he told CNBC.
Lucid is expected to begin production of a new, less expensive midsize vehicle at the end of this year, but Winterhoff said it will not be material to its 2026 production plans. He said the automaker’s Gravity SUV is expected to account for the majority of its production and sales this year, followed by the Air sedan. The company also plans to launch its first Lucid robotaxis with previously announced partners.
Winterhoff said the company’s main priorities this year are achieving its production target, growing sales, continuing efficiency gains and preparing for production of the midsize vehicle and robotaxis.
“We really want to make sure that we [are] on our path to profitability, make sure that we’re not spending money that we don’t have to. That’s very, very important,” he told CNBC.
Lucid has yet to say when the company expects to be profitable. It is scheduled to host an investor day on March 12 in New York.
Lucid said it ended last year with approximately $4.6 billion in total liquidity, which Lucid CFO Taoufiq Boussaid said was “strong” and would provide flexibility “to execute near-term objectives while investing in future growth.”
Lucid reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2025, in line with a $2.71 billion loss a year earlier. That includes more than doubling its year-over-year losses during the fourth quarter to $814 million. It reported a loss of $12.09 per share for the year.
The company’s 2025 revenue was up 68% to $1.35 billion, including more than doubling year-over-year results during the fourth quarter.
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