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Prices, mortgages, inventory and more. While we wrote about a lot this year, from social media to murder mysteries, these are the 10 words that came up again and again.

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While many publications choose a word of the year each December, there’s no way we could encompass the complexities of the real estate industry with just one word. So, here are the 10 words that popped up over and over throughout the year, impacting agents and the buyers and sellers they serve.

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Along with each entry, you’ll also find a recent Inman story to add even more context and insight to your lexical review.

Prices

Home prices began to skyrocket during the pandemic and, while the trajectory has softened in 2025, they’re still holding strong. Although the past couple of years have seen plenty of talk about bubbles and affordability, prices are still on the upswing in many markets across the country.

Mortgage

While mortgage rates are nowhere near the historic highs of the late 20th century, they still seem elevated when compared to the lows of the early 2020s. Potential buyers’ hopes lived and died with the movements of the mortgage market, and President Trump’s ongoing beef with the Federal Reserve this year stemmed largely from the institution’s handling of short-term interest rates, which influence mortgage rates.

Inventory

The combination of high levels of home equity and low interest rates kept many sellers locked in over the past couple of years, but more homeowners started to explore the market in 2025. However, many of them were looking for top dollar for their homes, even when their local market didn’t support aggressive pricing — so inventory took repeated hits from delistings.

Affordability

Affordability concerns have pushed first-time buyers to delay their purchases, and their median age is now 40. In addition, first-timers as a share of the market have fallen to nearly half the level we saw in 2008, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Economy

This year was a tough one for the economy, with the impact of tariffs driving inflation and job losses causing uncertainty. For potential buyers, that was enough to stay sidelined, especially when combined with the one-two punch of high prices and high interest rates.

Mergers and acquisitions

The announcement of Compass’ proposed merger with Anywhere was the latest and largest salvo in an ever-escalating brokerage consolidation trend. How will it impact the agents involved and what will it do to smaller, indie brokerages? Only time will tell.

Data

This year, Inman leaned into the importance of data with the rollout of Market View and Market Trends, tools designed to help you visualize your market and track its movements over time. Drill down to the ZIP code level, and see how your micro-market stacks up to the country at large and to other micro-markets in your area.

AI

We’ve been talking about artificial intelligence for years at this point, but this year we began to see the potential of agentic AI for the real estate industry. Whether you believe AI is a tool or a replacement for agents, understanding its development and using it to add leverage to your business is a must, even if you don’t consider yourself a “tech person.”

Commissions

Ever since the buyer commission lawsuit settlement that kicked in last year, there has been speculation about the impact on agent pay. While industry watchdogs still think agents are paid too much, the data shows that commissions are holding steady after those big industry practice changes.

Agents

Of course, whether you’re talking about the market, clients or brokerage movements, it all comes down to agents. What’s best for you, what helps you succeed as you build your business and serve your clients — that’s what we’re all about. We’ve loved bringing you our best in 2025, and we look forward to adding value to your professional life every day in 2026.