Real Estate Roundup | Eye-Opening Jobs Report

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Let’s make your week a little easier. The Empire Weekly Real Estate Roundup newsletter brings you real estate tips, market know-how, and CE updates—all in one quick email.

🗣️ Quote of the Week

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

– Alan Watts (Philosopher)

🚀 Featured Article

Eye-Opening August 2025 Jobs Report

August’s employment report confirms what many in the industry have felt since spring... the job market is pumping the brakes. The U.S. added only 22,000 jobs in August, a tiny increase that shows how hiring has stalled since April. For context, monthly job gains were 142,000 in August 2024, so this is a significant downshift. At the same time, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% (from 4.2% in July), marking the highest jobless rate since late 2021. In other words, more people are looking for work now than in recent months. In this week's article, let's break down the recent jobs report and what it could mean for the near future.

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🏟️ Fall Means Football Sale!

Nothing says Fall like FOOTBALL! Take 20% off all real estate continuing education courses at Empire Learning this week. Use code FALL at checkout and experience the savings while earning those credit hours.

🏈 Browse CE Courses

Offer valid through September 14. Use promo code FALL at checkout.

🏆 Trending on Empire Learning

🆓 Builder Freebies Are Back (Quietly)

Where incentives are hiding and how to package them for your buyers.

Remember when the market was so hot that builders didn’t need to throw in any sweeteners? Those days are over. Lately, builders are quietly bringing back incentives like price reductions, closing cost assistance, and free upgrades to entice hesitant buyers. With more unsold new homes sitting on the market, these perks are making a comeback (66% of builders were offering incentives as of late summer, a five-year high), and it’s up to you as the agent to sniff them out and present them in the best light to your buyers.

• Spot the hidden deals. Builders often won’t advertise these incentives loudly, so ask sales reps about any current promotions. If a new development has unsold “spec” homes (finished houses with no buyer yet), that’s a clue the builder may be willing to offer something extra (perhaps a price cut or a free appliance package) to move that inventory.
• Know what’s on the table. Common builder incentives today include covering some of the buyer’s closing costs, temporarily buying down the mortgage rate, or giving a credit for design upgrades. Some builders are even dropping their base prices. Nearly 40% have done price cuts (around 5% off, which is considerable savings to the tune of about $25,000 on a $500k house).
• Use builder financing offers wisely. Many incentives hide in the builder’s preferred lender deals. For instance, a builder might offer to pay 2–3% of the home’s price in closing costs or upgrades if the buyer uses their affiliated lender. This can be great, but help your client compare the overall loan package. Sometimes the builder’s lender charges a higher interest rate or extra fees that dilute the savings.
• Run the numbers. When incentives are on the table, your role is to help clients understand their real value. Builders’ marketing might make every upgrade sound priceless, but you can run the numbers to see what each incentive is truly worth and which “perks” might just be fluff.

🧳 Short-Term Rental Reality

What to say when clients plan to “Airbnb it” but the city says no.

Your client might dream of offsetting their mortgage by renting out a home on Airbnb, but local laws can quickly throw cold water on that idea. Many cities have cracked down on short-term rentals in recent years, imposing strict rules or outright bans on non-owner-occupied rentals. As the agent, you may need to gently educate buyers about these regulations and help them find a Plan B if the city says “no” to their Airbnb ambitions.

• Research local laws first. Before your client falls in love with a “perfect Airbnb” property, make sure they understand the area’s short-term rental ordinances. Many cities (and even suburban towns) ban or tightly restrict rentals for less than 30 days in residential zones, often only allowing owner-occupied home-sharing or requiring special permits and registration for vacation rentals.
• Explain the crackdowns. It’s not 2015 anymore... many municipalities now aggressively enforce these rules because of housing and neighborhood concerns. For example, New York City’s new law effectively wiped out most Airbnb listings that aren’t owner-occupied (hosts must register and be present, a “de facto ban” on whole apartments), and Honolulu imposes fines up to $10,000 per day for illegal short-term rentals in residential areas.
• Have a Plan B. If the city won’t allow short-term renting, guide your client toward other options. One approach is longer-term furnished rentals (30+ day stays), which often bypass short-term rental rules. For instance, Honolulu raised the minimum rental period to 90 days in most neighborhoods, effectively pushing owners to seek monthly renters unless they’re in a resort zone. Or if they’re absolutely set on an Airbnb-style investment, you might refocus the search to areas with more lenient regulations or properties already approved for vacation rental use, so they don’t end up buying a home they legally can’t rent out as intended.

🏫 Mid-Year School Change

What to say when parents want to move when the school year has started.

Some homebuyers have school districts at the very top of their wish list, even if it means moving early into the school year. By October, you might meet clients scrambling to buy a home in a coveted school zone so their child can switch into a better school as soon as possible. It’s a delicate situation, because switching schools mid-year is tougher on kids (they miss out on the usual September adjustment period), which means you’ll need to guide these parents with both practical advice and empathy.

• Verify mid-year enrollment. Encourage your clients to contact the target school district and ask about the transfer process. In most cases, if they move into the school’s attendance zone, the public school must enroll their child without delay (schools generally can’t make a resident student wait until next year). Still, it’s wise to confirm any paperwork requirements and timing. Knowing when and how their child can start will give everyone peace of mind.
• Time the move (if possible). If they have any flexibility, suggest timing the move around a natural break in the school calendar (for example, over winter break) to make for a smoother transition. If an October move is unavoidable, help prepare the family for a few bumpy weeks. Educators note it’s harder on a child to join a class mid-stream since routines and friendships are already in place, so having some tutoring or counseling support lined up can ease the adjustment.
• Double-check the address. Remind buyers that they must purchase a home within the exact school boundaries if they want their child to attend that particular school. School zoning can be hyper-specific, so use official district maps or call the district to verify the address. You don’t want them moving only to find out they’re just outside the desired school’s zone. Also, keep an ear out for any talk of upcoming boundary changes that could affect the home’s assigned school.
• Prepare for academic differences. Advise your clients that curricula and pacing can vary from one school to another. They should ask the new school what material has been covered so far. Sometimes an individualized plan or a bit of extra tutoring might be needed to help their child catch up to the class’s current lessons. Of course, coordinating with teachers means parents can smooth out any learning gaps and help their child feel more confident after the move.

🎯 Quick CE Tip of the Week

📲 CE to Social in 60
After a module, try to write a two-sentence social media post you could share with your sphere in under 60 seconds. Make it educational and friendly, rather than salesy. Have Chat GPT or another LLM help you write it if that helps, but always add your own voice to the final product.

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📈 Market Highlight: Wake Me Up When September Ends

🔥 Did You Know? Market highlights are updated at the beginning of each month, so if you've read through it at least once in any given month, you're good to go! This month, the national real estate and mortgage market is navigating a tricky balancing act. Both real estate agents and mortgage loan originators (MLOs) are finding that 2025’s housing scene feels very different from previous years. High mortgage rates have defined the summer, creating a bit of a “cruel summer” standoff between cautious buyers and stubborn sellers. Yet there are also bright spots, like stabilizing home prices and hints of relief on the rate front, that provide reasons for optimism as we head into the fall.

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💡 Feedback Welcome!

We'd love your feedback. The lifeblood of any good business is figuring out what their customers truly care about — the best agents also learn this about their clients.

If you have any thoughts, ranging from what topic should be discussed in next week's newsletter to more in-depth ideas on how the CE experience can be the best it can be, please reach out via the email link below — we're truly all ears.

Happy Learning,

— The Empire Learning Team
www.empirelearning.com