IT'S SO CONFUSING

WELCOME

Hello! I hope y’all had a wonderful Halloween! The Diamond Squad and I had an awful lot of fun with our Tacos & Tequila Trick or Treat. I want to extend a special thank you to everyone who came out!

Now, I’m currently packing my bags for Miami, and yes, I’m already mentally on that beach. But before I head out, I want to talk about something that’s been showing up in every conversation I’m having with clients lately. Because the big story in real estate right now is confusion, and that confusion is costing people homes.

Buyers and sellers today are not lacking information. If anything, they’re just drowning in it. And bless their hearts, none of this comes with any context. The result isn’t insight; it’s hesitation. And hesitation is the very thing that kills deals, so let’s get into how we cut through that confusion with them.

STORYTIME WITH GLENNDA

Dazed and Confused?

Listen, we need to talk about what’s shaping the entire real estate market right now. What’s shaping the market is not what most people assume. It’s not about rates. It’s not about inventory. And it’s not that agents are competing with each other.

No, ma’am.

It’s that we agents are locked in competition with consumer confusion.

Here’s what we have to understand in the year 2025. Buyers and sellers today are not uninformed. In fact, they are literally drowning in information. When I meet them, they have a whole fistful of documents they’ve printed off the internet. Oh, my stars, they have the Zillow estimates. They have the TikTok market tips. They have the headlines about interest rates, market swings, affordability, and everything else under the sun. (Of course, they also have Cousin Larry, who bought a foreclosure in 2008 and now believes he’s Warren Buffett.)

What’s so damaging is that none of this information comes with context, okay? So, the result is not knowledge, but confusion.

Confusion leads to hesitation. Hesitation kills deals. Believe it.

What gets me is that people are looking at homes online and making decisions before they ever set foot in the door. I hear it all the time. “Oh, Glennda, we’re not looking at that one. It’s priced too high.” Let me tell y’all something: the list price is not the sale price. Buyers have no idea what the seller is willing to accept. Buyers could be walking right past the best opportunity in the market because they’re scared off by a number on the screen.

Buyers today aren’t just confused about price. They’re confused about value, about what they should expect, and about where compromise belongs in the process. They think they’re evaluating houses. Instead, they’re evaluating assumptions, and those assumptions are often wrong. I swear, I see this every damn day.

Then there’s the group that says, “We’re going to wait until interest rates drop.”

Heavy sigh.

I need everyone to understand something very clearly. The highest price and the highest interest rate a buyer will ever pay for a house is the day they buy it. What I mean by that is, once they’ve bought, they gain options. They can refinance. They can take advantage of appreciation. They can adjust the property to build value.

But if they wait, they are betting on a future they cannot predict. Prices can go up. Rates can go up. And when both go up, they can expect to pay far more for the same house they could have owned today.

Now, if prices go down, but they waited and missed the house that was exactly right for them, what did they gain? Waiting is not a strategy. Waiting is indecision disguised as logic. The road is paved with dead squirrels who could not make a decision. Personally, I just closed on an investment property, where I paid $12,500 more than I wanted to pay. But that house was coming on the market right next door to another property I own, so when that agent approached me, I jumped. Had I waited, that house would have been in a multiple offer situation.

Of course, there’s an entirely separate layer of confusion happening now with insurance. (Heck, that’s probably even its own post.) Insurance premiums are not what they used to be. People think that once they close, the mortgage payment stays the same. Think again. Because taxes get reassessed and insurance rates change. In some areas, they do not just rise; they skyrocket. There are homeowners in places like Florida who have paid off their houses in full and are still being forced out because they can’t manage the insurance premiums. This is the storm most people never see coming. And yet, it remains one of the most significant realities shaping affordability today. This is precisely why buyers need an experienced agent, because it’s our job to anticipate it and get ahead of it.

The job of a real estate agent has never been more complex. The market isn’t simple anymore. Values, inspections, appraisals, insurance structures, renovation estimates, and repair timelines are all so much more complicated now. I have never seen layers of confusion like this in my entire career. The role of the agent is no longer to open doors or to post pretty photos. (Of course, I’d argue that it never was.) Our role is to translate. We take all that chaos and noise, and we boil it down to what’s actually happening and what decisions will actually move someone forward.

In my purview, I don’t see a ton of agents competing with each other. For instance, if the other agent on the deal fails to fulfill their responsibilities, our deal will not close. Doesn’t matter who technically “was supposed” to do what. We all close or we all fail. There’s no partial credit here. The agents who understand this are the ones you want to work with. The deal and the client are our mutual priorities. And our relationship is the vehicle.

If I could tell every overwhelmed buyer one thing right now, it would be this: When you find the house that fits your needs, buy it. Don’t talk yourself out of it while trying to time the market like a roulette wheel. Don’t let confusion make you roadkill. The market is not your opponent. The opponent is confusion. The way to overcome confusion is with clarity, confidence, and a willingness to take action.

When you clear away the noise for the buyers, the path forward becomes simple. We find the house that serves your life. Then you buy it, live in it, and build equity. You control your stability. That is how you overcome confusion and come out on top.

@glenndabaker

Three phrases and three words that kill almost any and every real estate transaction… #GlenndaBaker #RealEstate #AtlantaRealEstate #Google... See more

GLENNDA’S GURU

Meet Kamini Lane!

I’m so excited to introduce Kamini Rangappan Lane, the President and CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty… and one of the most influential leaders in real estate today.

Kamini oversees more than 55,000 agents nationwide. She’s known for being that rare kind of executive who combines sharp business strategy with genuine heart. Before leading Coldwell Banker Realty, she shaped growth and brand strategy at top companies across real estate and retail, and she holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (OMS!).

Kamini is thoughtful, strategic, and most of all, she gets it. I feel like y’all are going to want to hear every word!

Thanks so much, Kamini!

GLENNDAISM

Today’s Words of Wisdom

GLENNDA BAKER & ASSOCIATES

Anything But Typical

If y’all think you’ve seen a traditional four-bedroom suburban home, I promise you have not seen this one. 88 Water Oak Drive in Acworth, GA, has been upgraded and reimagined with intention in every square inch. What was once a standard floor plan is now a curated, custom living experience where every room has purpose, personality, and polish.

The main floor alone tells the story. The former formal living room has been transformed into a true designer home office. The dining room? Forget formal. It’s now a fully realized home gym with barn doors and space to move. The kitchen, dining room, and family room flow together in one open, beautifully finished heart of the home space. And that’s before we even get upstairs, where the primary suite feels more like a boutique hotel than a bedroom.

This is not a house that looks like every other house on the street. Instead, it’s thoughtful, elevated, deeply livable, and finished with loving care. If you want a lifestyle and not just a layout, look no further!