Weekly Roundup | Psychology of Color

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🗣️ Quote of the Week

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions."

― Pablo Picasso (Spanish Painter)

🚀 Featured Article

The Psychology of Color in Home Sales

Selling a home is about location and price, and also about feeling. From the moment a buyer sees a listing photo or steps through the front door, colors set the mood. A cheerful yellow flower bed or a soothing blue wall can spark an emotional connection, while a wild paint choice or dull photo might send buyers running. In recent years, real estate experts have paid close attention to how paint colors, staging choices, and even photo filters can sway buyer perception and even impact the final sale price. The findings are both fascinating and fun, showing that a fresh coat of paint or a well-placed throw pillow can be an advantage in home sales.

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🌥️ Summer is Fading!

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Offer valid through August 27. Use promo code FADE at checkout.

🏆 Trending on Empire Learning

🏠 The “Silent Showing” Trend

Some homebuyers today prefer a quieter, self-guided tour experience rather than having an agent narrate every detail. They like to stroll through a listing in silence, absorbing the home’s atmosphere and imagining life there without interruption. Agents are adapting by dialing back the sales chatter and "reading the room" to match each buyer’s style. The key is letting buyers feel the home’s vibe first, then discussing features and questions afterward in a relaxed conversation. It’s a balancing act. Staying helpful and attentive without crowding the buyer’s experience or breaking the spell of a great house.

• Buyers appreciate space. Many buyers feel more comfortable exploring a home at their own pace, without an agent hovering. In fact, some real estate experts note that buyers often prefer to look around on their own, after an initial greeting or brief intro from the agent. This freedom allows them to open closets, linger in each room, and form an honest first impression without pressure.
• It’s about the vibe. Shoppers often say they’re looking for a home that “just feels right.” The truth is that most buyers know within minutes of walking in whether a home could work for them, based on its feel and flow. Detailed facts (like crown moldings or brand-new appliances) won’t register if the buyers can’t quietly picture themselves living there. A chatty agent can actually distract from that gut feeling, squeezing the air out of the room if they talk nonstop about every feature.
• Agents learn to read the room. Smart agents are adjusting their approach for these “quiet” clients. They might offer a few highlights at the start, like pointing out a recently renovated kitchen or unique feature, then step back and let the buyer lead the tour. Observing body language and letting silence happen means the agent gives buyers breathing room to explore. This doesn’t mean the agent is disengaged. Instead, they’re creating a comfortable environment for buyers to discover the home on their own terms.
• Silence with support. Even during a silent showing, a good agent stays present and available. They may hang back but remain ready to answer a question or provide a detail at the appropriate moment (for instance, if the buyer pauses in a room and looks curious). The idea is to be a resource without overwhelming, meaning responding when needed but not over-talking or “filling” every quiet moment with sales pitches. This approach builds trust, as buyers don’t feel rushed or “sold to” during their visit.
• Debriefing afterward. The “connection” with the buyer isn’t lost just because the tour itself is quiet. Many agents now save the in-depth conversation for after the walk-through. Once the buyers have soaked in the atmosphere, the agent will sit down with them to discuss thoughts, likes/dislikes, and answer questions in detail. Buyers often open up more once they’ve had time to reflect, and agents can address any concerns or highlight features they noticed the buyer appreciated.

🌳 Climate-Proof Closings

In an era of wild weather and rising seas, climate risk is becoming a deal-breaker in real estate. Home insurance costs are skyrocketing in flood-prone, wildfire, and hurricane zones, and that’s making both buyers and lenders nervous. It’s a matter of being prepared for Mother Nature and about making sure a home can be insured at all. Nothing is worse for a buyer than falling in love with a house, only to have an insurance company balk at covering it (or quote an eye-watering premium) right before closing. To avoid these eleventh-hour shocks, agents are getting proactive, meaning checking up on insurance and climate factors early so closings don’t collapse due to an “uninsurable” surprise.

• Insurance costs are surging. Homeowners’ insurance premiums have been rising dramatically, largely due to more severe storms, fires, and floods. Nationwide, insurance costs jumped about 24% from 2021 to 2024, far outpacing inflation. In high-risk states like California, Florida, and Louisiana, some insurers have even pulled out of the market or stopped offering new policies because the disaster losses are so high. This means buyers in those areas face not only higher prices but sometimes fewer (or zero) companies willing to insure their future home.
• Deals in jeopardy. The spike in premiums is a budget issue that's also derailing transactions. Lenders require a home to be insured, but buyers are discovering that securing insurance in certain areas is getting harder and costlier. There have been instances where a sale fell through because, during escrow, the buyer learned no insurer would cover the property (or that the policy would blow up their budget). In fact, experts warn that some home sales are collapsing when buyers cannot secure insurance, since insurance is a must-have to get a mortgage. It’s a terrible “gotcha” to discover days before closing.
• Hard questions about climate. Today’s buyers are asking pointed questions about a property’s climate risks, and rightly so. They want to know if a home is in a flood zone, has a history of wildfire evacuations, or carries a sky-high homeowners' premium. An increasing number of buyers are factoring in future climate exposure (like projected flood maps or wildfire risk scores) when deciding on a home. They’ve seen news of insurance companies leaving states or policies being non-renewed, so they’re wary. Real estate agents have to be ready not just to sell the granite countertops, but also to discuss flood elevation certificates, hurricane windows, and fire-resistant landscaping, the less glamorous climate-proofing side of homeownership.
• Agents prep insurance early. To keep closings on track, agents and brokers are changing their workflow. Many now encourage buyers to get homeowners insurance quotes very early, even at the offer stage. For example, in storm-prone Florida, some Realtors will, during the inspection period, have their client obtain multiple insurance quotes. This way, if the premiums come back astronomically high (or an insurer refuses coverage), the buyer can negotiate repairs or credits with the seller, or, if necessary, walk away before they’re out of contract.

🛏️ The Guest Room Glow-Down

That dusty spare bedroom with a bed for “someday” guests? It’s losing its luster in modern home design. Today’s buyers are all about flexible, usable space. They’d rather see a home office, workout room, or potential rental suite than a rarely-used guest chamber kept like a shrine for Aunt Linda’s occasional visit. This doesn’t mean people never host guests anymore. Instead, it means homeowners want rooms that serve a purpose the other 360 days a year as well. The era of the dedicated guest room is “glowing down,” making way for creative dual-purpose setups that adapt to a buyer’s day-to-day lifestyle.

• Underused no more. Traditional guest rooms often sit empty most of the time. Many folks realize they only use a guest bedroom a few times per year, which is a lot of square footage lying idle. Today’s buyers are increasingly viewing that extra room as an opportunity for something they’ll enjoy every day, rather than a static space for hypothetical visitors.
• Home office heaven. One of the biggest drivers of this trend is remote and hybrid work. A dedicated home office has shot to the top of wish lists. In fact, 64% of buyers say having an extra room for a home office is “very or extremely important” in their home search. People would rather have a functional workspace (or study area) than a never-used bedroom. During the pandemic, we saw makeshift offices pop up in dining rooms and closets. Now buyers actively seek homes that have a proper office or flex area instead of a pure guest room.
• Sweat > spare bed. Likewise, the home fitness boom has turned spare bedrooms into mini-gyms and wellness retreats. Pelotons, yoga mats, and weight benches have replaced frilly guest linens in many homes. The popularity of home gyms has risen notably in recent years. For those who can’t get to the gym (or simply prefer the convenience of exercising at home), a spare room is the perfect spot for a treadmill and some free weights. Buyers walk into an empty extra room and imagine a Peloton by the window and a wall-mounted TV for workout classes, not necessarily a bed that’s slept in twice a year.
• Staging for versatility. Real estate agents and sellers have caught on, and they’re now staging spare rooms as multi-purpose “flex” spaces. This might mean putting a desk and bookshelf in one corner and a fold-out sofa or Murphy bed in another. Showing a room that can easily convert from office to guest quarters signals to buyers that they get the best of both worlds. For example, designers recommend swapping a traditional bed for a pull-out couch or daybed to make a guest room double as an office. It instantly makes the space more functional for daily use. The message is this room can handle your Zoom calls and accommodate a friend from out of town, without feeling like it’s wasted space.
• Income and multi-gen potential. Beyond personal use, buyers also see dollar signs and family needs in flex spaces. An extra bedroom that can be rented out or used for multi-generational living adds value. Some younger buyers plan to house-hack by renting a spare room to help with the mortgage, and many families are looking for space for an aging parent or boomerang adult child instead of a formal guest suite. In fact, 14% of recent homebuyers purchased their home specifically to accommodate multiple generations of family. So a “guest” room might actually become grandma’s room or a source of rental income. Highlighting a room’s ensuite bath, separate entrance, or kitchenette hookups can immediately get buyers thinking of it as an in-law suite or Airbnb space instead of a little-used guest bedroom.

🎯 Quick CE Tip of the Week

💆 “Buzzword Detox” Instead of taking the same old “ethics” or “agency” course (except the ones you have to take per state requirements), find the one CE module with a catchy title that actually gets your brain buzzing. The class you least expect might spark a new niche or marketing slogan. Find the CE title that makes you pause and go, “Huh, that sounds different.” That curiosity will turn into energy, and a marketing tagline like “Agent who took ‘Navigating the New Normal’… so you don’t have to” might just stick with your clients.

→ Start Today! (And Turn Curiosity Into Energy)

📈 Market Highlight: The Great Wait-and-See

🔥 Did You Know? Not much has changed since last week. If you missed the last few weeks' market highlight, we're keeping it in this week's newsletter. If you already skimmed it last week or the week before, you're good to go! As we continue into August, the housing market is showing signs of settling into a more balanced groove. Residential agents across the country are seeing a shift... More homes are available for sale than we've seen in recent years, but buyers remain cautious. Let's dive into the key trends happening nationally with inventory, buyer and seller behavior, mortgage rates, and prices, and what they mean for you and your clients in this evolving "normal."

→ View Full Market Highlight

💡 Feedback Welcome!

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Happy Learning,

— The Empire Learning Team
www.empirelearning.com