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To conduct our first-ever real estate agent survey, ResiClub partnered with Zoodealio, a cash-offer platform and iBuyer-management software designed for real estate agents. Among the 238 agents who took the survey, half (50%) have been real estate agents for 15 years or more.

The Zoodealio-ResiClub Real Estate Agent Survey was fielded between July 28 and August 24, 2025. Respondents included real estate agents spanning all regions of the U.S., giving us a ground-level view of buyer urgency, seller motivation, leverage shifts, commission structures, and expectations for the next 12 months.

Here’s what the results revealed.

Buyers are gaining power

Agents report that buyer urgency in their local market has cooled off compared with a year ago, while sellers have become more urgent. In the Southeast, Southwest, and West, agents say seller urgency is picking up the most, while Midwest and Northeast sellers are steadier.

Many agents describe their local markets as more balanced, with leverage tilting back toward buyers as inventory builds. Buyer power is particularly strong across markets in the Southwest, with 96% of agents surveyed in the region reporting buyers gaining leverage in their local market over the past 12 months.

Looking ahead: Agent expectations for clients and home prices

When asked who they expect to drive business growth over the next 12 months, agents pointed to sellers seeking downsizing options. This growth is possibly downstream of today’s strained housing affordability and aging demographics. 

Agents also expect the move-up buyer category to grow.

On a relative basis, agents in the Midwest are slightly more bullish about local home prices over the next 12 months. In contrast, many agents in the Southeast, Southwest, and West anticipate slight home price declines—or even notable drops—over the next 12 months as affordability pressures continue to squeeze.

National perspective on mortgage rates and NAR

On mortgage rates, nearly half of our surveyed agents (49%) anticipate the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate will finish 2025 in the 6% to 6.5% range—lower than today but still well above the pandemic lows. More than a third of respondents (38%) still think the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate will be in the 6.5% to 7% range. 

When it comes to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sentiment skews negative: 31% describe their view as very unfavorable, another 31% somewhat unfavorable, and 28% neutral. Only a small minority of surveyed agents expressed a favorable opinion of the organization.

Bluntly put, NAR has an image problem.

Commissions

After the March 2024 National Association of Realtors settlement, many expected commissions to drop sharply. Our survey shows some change on that front—but not a major one.

On the sell-side, a dominant 92% of agents say their most recent commission was a fixed percentage, compared with 78% on the buy-side. Nearly 1 in 5 buy-side deals now involve either a flat fee, client-negotiated model, or other form of commission. 

Additionally, the majority of agents remain in the traditional 2% to 3% commission ballpark: 87% of sell-side agents and 78% of buy-side agents report their typical commissions fall within that band.

Big Picture

The Zoodealio-ResiClub survey results show a housing market in which buyer urgency is cooling, sellers are growing more motivated, and leverage is shifting back toward buyers. In the next 12 months, agents expect the most client segment growth from downsizers and move-up buyers. They also predict modest home price gains in the Northeast and Midwest; softer trends in the Southeast, Southwest, and West; and mortgage rates ending 2025 between 6% and 7%.

Post-2024 settlement, sentiment toward NAR is largely unfavorable, while commissions remain fairly stable.