Anyone who has seen Brian Buffini in action knows he might very well have been a stand-up comedian, what with his vibrant personality and ability to engage an audience, instead of choosing to make his career as a real estate coach.
His most recent Bold Predictions Mid-Year Update, in front of both a live audience and a virtual one, offered much more serious real estate ideas, projections and advice.
“I said 24 months ago that there’d be more change in the real estate business in the next 24 months than in the last 24 years,” he said. “And I will tell you there’s been more change in the real estate business in the last six months than the last 24 years.”
Generally he related that despite pervasive doom-scrolling, misinformation and exaggerated crash narratives, long-term housing appreciation remains solid, with recent price changes around 1% and a projected 0.9% increase this year, while wages are expected to rise 3–3.5%, gradually improving affordability.
Buffini made a variety of points and predictions in the presentation, crediting his research team for providing facts and figures, while utilizing slides to show graphs and projections. His offerings included:
Boomers will continue to dominate the real estate market, making up 42% of all buyers and 55% of all sellers. “I created a bit of a firestorm on social media because I said that boomers may be in history considered the greediest generation,” he said. “They are hanging onto assets at a level that no group ever has before. They are right now in possession of $90 trillion in assets and are passing on their assets at a slower percentage than any generation.”
Millennials, the largest demographic group, represent only 26% of the real estate market in 2026, down from 29% in 2025. “And I can give you a little tip,” he said. “It’ll be less in 2027. Nothing new here, but again, something to be aware of. I’ve been talking about this for about three years. In 1991 the average first-time buyer was 27. In 2008, 30. It stayed between that and 32 for a long time. 2019 was 33. And now here we are post-COVID and 41 is the projected average first-time buyer age for this year.”
Core inflation is going down. “Rents and used cars are really having a huge impact,” he said. “And the Fed will not raise rates this year. You can take that one to the bank.”
Existing home sales will finish at about 4.02 million this year. “The last time I gave bold predictions I thought we’d be at 4.3 (million),” he said. “And then we had a little altercation with Iran apparently. And so that changes things, changes the price of things. So we’re going to finish the year at four million transactions. And I don’t expect more than that next year either.”
The typical Realtor® had 13 years of experience last year, up from 12. They are getting older and more experienced. “Fewer young people are joining the business,” he said. “The ones who are joining are joining at sober-minded times. Hallelujah. The shirkers are leaving and the pros are staying and saying, ‘This is my profession and I plan to be around.’ I love that.”
46% of agents earn under $40,000 while 20% earn $150,000 or more. “Unless you’re a rookie agent, it is not that hard to get in the top 20%,” he said. “You have to do a basic application of the fundamentals. The problem is the industry is so screwed up right now that people can’t even agree on any aspect of what the fundamentals are. So agents are confused, directed or they want to sit at home and have the business come to them because it’s supposed to be easy. And it’s just never that.”
66% of all agents are female, up from 63% a year ago. “And I’m going to tell you why,” he said. “I think women dominate this business because they love it, and women tend to love harder. You’ve got to love this business. And if you don’t love this business, go find something you do love. Look your customer in the eye and let them know you love this stuff. When the transaction’s sideways, this is what they need you.”
