How Top Real Estate Agents Are Moving Listings In Slow Housing Markets

When the going gets tough, the tough get going and that is exactly what top producing agents across the country say they are doing as they navigate their way through slower housing markets.

“You’ve got to be ready for it and a lot of agents aren’t,” Kim Erwin, a Corpus Christi, Texas-based Keller Williams Coastal Bend broker associate, said. “When the market slows, I think it is always important to go back to the basics.” 

In Erwin’s home market, pending home sales are down to a 90-day average of 608 single-family homes per week as of late July 2025, from a high of 1,043 homes per week in July 2023. Additionally, the Altos Market Action Index score for the Corpus Christi metro area was 29 as of July 31, 2025, down from a high of 58 in June of 2021. Altos considers anything over 30 to be a seller’s market.

Going back to basics

For Erwin, a large part of going back to the basics means focusing on how she advertises a property. 

“A lot of people will overspend on advertising and not spend it where it actually benefits getting the house sold,” she said. 

In her market, which encompasses Padre Island, she said there is a mix of buyers looking for vacation homes, those looking for a home that is within a commutable distance to downtown Corpus Christi, oil refinery workers looking for something by the coast, and military personnel needing housing near the Naval Air Station or the Army Depot. Due to this, Erwin said it is important to understand which segment or segments of market you are targeting. 

The right pricing moves homes

While marketing efforts are important to generate interest, top agents agree that the biggest key to driving buyer interest is properly pricing a property. 

“If the home is priced right, it still moves quickly,” said Lauren Huffman, an EXIT Realty agent who serves the Sulphur and Lake Charles areas of Louisiana.

In a housing market greatly impacted by rising homeowners and flood insurance costs, pricing is one part of a prospective homebuyer’s financial equation that the seller and their listing agent can control. Due to this, Huffman said she makes sure to consider all factors when working with sellers to price a property.

“When I talk about pricing a home, I look at location, quality and condition. The location might be in a flood zone and a comp might not be,” Huffman said. “So, what someone is going to pay for the same house across the street that isn’t in the flood zone is not the same. I need to consider that in pricing. Also, if there are any projects or repairs, we have to factor that in, to try and come to an appealing number that incentivizes people to take on the project.” 

Focus on marketing

Although pricing is key, Huffman said she also pays close attention to how a property is being presented to buyers. 

“If it has that right price, good curb appeal and is a quality house in a good area, we are still seeing multiple offers on some of those [homes]. If it isn’t priced correctly, needs a lot of updates and carries high insurance costs, those homes are sitting longer,” Huffman said. “You have to win the buyer three times, first online when they are scrolling through listing, then you have to win them when they pull up to the house with curb appeal, and then you have to make them fall in love when they come inside.”

Altos data shows that single-family homes in the Lake Charles area have a 90-day average median days on market of 105 days. The metro area also has a fairly cool Market Action Index score of 31.

Creative photography sells; renovations don’t

In order to achieve a strong first impression, Huffman said she pays close attention to photography.

“I always have professional photography. We do videos, drone footage, 3-D tours, and we have interactive floor plans where you can take a 3-D walk through tour of the home,” she said. “My goal is that if a buyer from halfway across the country called me, I would have all the tools and resources available for them to truly envision the home.”

Additionally, after two major hurricanes — Delta and Laura — went through the area in 2020 and 2021, respectively, Huffman said most buyers are not looking for a project, so she encourages her sellers to do as many updates as they can to help their home sell faster by appealing to more buyers.

“Before 2020 and the hurricanes, everybody wanted to be like Chip and Joanna Gaines — find a house and do their own renovations and remodel it to their style,” she said. “But after the hurricanes hit everyone was exhausted from constantly doing repairs and fighting with insurance and contractors — it really was survival mode — and now nobody wants to take on a project.” 

In San Angelo, Texas, Janet Ridgway, an ERA Newlin & Company agent, takes a similar approach with her sellers. However, when a seller is unable or unwilling to undertake major renovations, as long as the property is in good condition, she leans into and emphasizes the quirky aspects of the property.

“My husband had a house listed recently that wasn’t getting any showings. It was really stuck in the ‘70s’s — brown bathtub, orange deep pile carpeting, avocado tiles, but all in really good condition — so we decided to lean into it doing some mid-century vintage staging. We got three offers on it in three days,” Ridgway said. “We played up its quirkiness, so it wasn’t a negative, but something that made the property groovy. Suddenly, it was the best property listed in its price range.”

Staging is key

To facilitate staging efforts like this one, Ridgway owns a moving van and has a warehouse full of furniture allowing her to help clients stage their properties for sale.

“We are constantly adding to our repertoire so we can help our clients,” Ridgway said. “I’m working with a seller right now who has a unique style and it is cool, but not everyone’s taste, so we’ve worked to remove some items. Then, [I went to] the warehouse to find some things that complement her existing color scheme [to] enhance what she has rather than take away from it.” 

Ridgway said these efforts have helped her keep inventory moving despite hesitant buyers and a weaker overall housing market environment.

In today’s market, homes might take a bit longer to sell, but some creative marketing and good photography, along with an attractive price, can shorten that time considerably.