September | 2026

Welcome September

As we head into September, the housing market is showing a few signs of life as summer winds down, but overall demand remains subdued. Mortgage rates remain elevated, while buyers are facing more choices and greater negotiating power as demand softens.



In a slower market, targeted prospecting matters more than ever. As Labor Day approaches, it’s a great time to reach out, reconnect with your network, and focus on homeowners and neighborhoods most likely to move.

Are you in an international buyer hotspot? Don’t overlook these communities. They may offer another opportunity to make a cultural connection, build relationships, and uncover new business.

Watch the video below to learn how to use Title Toolbox Ethnicity Searches to uncover communities and expand your prospecting opportunities.

Wishing you a Wonderful Labor Day!

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Building Relationships Through Cultural Connections

Your cultural background can be a valuable connection when building your real estate business. Shared language, traditions, heritage, and community connections can help build trust, strengthen relationships, and open doors to referrals and new opportunities.

"International buyers often find their Realtors through relationships. According to NAR, 72% of leads and referrals from international clients come through former clients, personal contacts, and business relationships." (Exhibit A)  

More>

Exhibit A: Source- National Association of Realtors

Are You in an International Buyer Hotspot?

International buyers are slightly down, but they continue to represent an important part of the U.S. housing market.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, international buyers purchased $45.3 billion in U.S. existing homes from April 2025 through March 2026. They purchased approximately 67,100 homes, with Florida, California, and Texas ranking as the top three U.S. destinations (Exhibit B). More>

Exhibit B: Source- National Association of Realtors

A Buyer’s Market Creates Opportunity for International Buyers

For international buyers considering a U.S. home purchase, current market conditions may favor them.

According to Redfin, there were 51.3% more sellers than buyers in July, while 41.4% of active listings had reduced their asking price.

With more homes to choose from and less demand, buyers may have more negotiating power and more opportunities to find value. More >

Title Toolbox in Action: Exploring Mexican Home Shopper Interest

For our Title Toolbox example, we’ll take a closer look at Mexican home shoppers in the U.S. According to Realtor.com’s Q1 2025 International Demand Report, Mexican home shoppers showed strong interest in several U.S. markets, particularly those clustered near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Markets attracting significant interest included San Diego, CA; San Antonio, TX; Dallas, TX; El Paso, TX; and Houston, TX.

Border markets can be particularly appealing because of their proximity to Mexico, strong cultural and language connections, established family and business networks, and access to education, health care, and cross-border travel.

These connections can make nearby U.S. markets both familiar and attractive for living and investment.



Among the top 20 U.S. markets for international home-shopping activity, Mexican shoppers accounted for 18.8% of San Antonio’s international demand, followed by Riverside, CA, at 10.5% and Chicago, IL, at 8.2%. More>

How to Conduct an Ethnicity Search in San Antonio, TX

1. Create a List of Common Mexican Surnames (Google search: “Top List of Mexican Surnames”)

2. Format Your Search List

• Create a list formatted like this: Hernández, García, Martínez, López, Pérez, González, Sánchez, Ramírez, Torres, Flores, Rivera, Morales, Gómez, Díaz, Mendoza, Jiménez, Ruiz, Castro, Ortega, Delgado, Ramos, Vargas, Peña, Silva, Romero, Cruz, Soto, Salazar, Cordero (You can add additional surnames or specific names of your choosing.)

3. Conduct an Area Search and Select

• State: TX
• County: Bexar County
• City: San Antonio

4. Select “1st Owner Name Contains”

• Paste your formatted list of surnames into the 1st Owner Name Contains search field.

5. Get Count

Results: 24,795 properties with those surnames are identified as homeowners in San Antonio (Exhibit C).

Exhibit C: Source- Title Toolbox

Turn Cultural Connections Into Prospecting Opportunities

The opportunity doesn’t stop at traditional listings. Once you’ve identified a cultural community or area where you have an established connection, take a closer look at the properties within that market. Title Toolbox can help you identify homeowners who may have experienced recent life events or other indicators that could lead to a sale. Combining community connections with property intelligence can help you uncover potential opportunities and build meaningful relationships.

Try This:

Using the results from your San Antonio surname search, look for New Possible Leads that have experienced life events within the last 12 months that may give homeowners more reason to consider selling.

1. Download the 24,795 Records from your Ethnicity Search.
2. Select the “New Possible Leads” Tab.
3. Review the life events that have occurred within the last 12 months.

Results: Within the last 12 months, the search identified the following life events (Exhibit D):

• 278 Cash Buyers
• 165 Liens
• 160 Notices of Trustee Sale
• 88 Bankruptcies
• 80 HOA Liens
• 70 Affidavits of Death
• 51 Lis Pendens
• 49 Notices of Default (NOD)
• 12 Divorces

These life events don’t guarantee that a homeowner is ready to sell, but they can help you identify properties where there may be a reason to make a connection.

Exhibit D: Source- Title Toolbox

Final Takeaway- Put the Data to Work

Your cultural connections can be a powerful way to grow your business. Shared language, heritage, family ties, and community relationships can help you identify markets where you already have a natural foundation for building trust.

Use Title Toolbox to turn those connections into a more targeted prospecting strategy. Explore communities where you have an established connection, identify homeowners who may have a reason to sell, and match potential sellers with buyers looking for value in today’s market.

The data can point you in the right direction. Your connections can help open the door.

With a few clicks, Title Toolbox makes it easy to share your data and research with clients and prospects.

If you need assistance with Title Toolbox to help expedite your marketing efforts, please contact ttbhelp@benutech.com for questions and Jim DuBois at jdubois@benutech.com for one-on-one training.

August News Highlights and Life Event Trends

National:

• ‘The Game is Over’: Sellers are Facing Reality on Pricing and Backing off Unrealistic Demands. After a year of high interest rates and slow sales, home sellers are finally facing the music this summer—and getting real about home prices. (REALTOR.COM) More>

Mortgage:

• Interest rates may Stay Higher for Longer. What That Means for Consumers. Even as Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh implements measures to curtail so-called forward guidance — or how the Fed signals its future rate moves — investors are largely expecting an increase in interest rates in the months ahead. (CNBC) More>

Rent:

• U.S. Rents Continue to Rise… and Here’s Why. A primary factor contributing to the rapid increase in rental prices this July, the highest in over a year, is the rising cost of purchasing a home. This escalation has led many potential buyers to remain in rental properties. The heightened competition for available apartments is consequently driving up rental costs. (MORTGAGEPOINT) More>

Trending:

• Home Insurance Costs Surge, Deepening Housing Affordability Strain. Consumers experienced an increase in their average premiums of 18% in the Northeast, 25% in the Midwest, 27% in the Southeast, and 43% in the West during that seven-year span, even when adjusted for inflation, as stated in the report that detailed data across four regional areas. (MORTGAGEPOINT) More>

• Realtor.com®'s 2026 Hottest ZIP Codes in America: Peabody, Mass. Claims the Top Spot as Buyers Chase Space, Character Near Major Metros. This year's hottest ZIP codes tell us that buyers aren't simply chasing the lowest price tag anymore — they're chasing space, character and a manageable commute to a major job center, and they're willing to pay a premium to get it. (REALTOR.COM) More>

• Homeownership Coming Later in Life for Californians. A milestone that once arrived for half of Californians by age 39 now occurs at age 47—compressing the years in which owners can build equity before retirement. Increases have been less pronounced in the rest of the nation. (MORTGAGEPOINT) More>

• Gen Z Homebuyers Focused More on Cost Than Location. Aspiring Gen Z homeowners would rather change ZIP codes than increase their budgets, and finding the “right” home trumps buying one quickly, a new survey finds. (REAL ESTATE NEWS) More>

• Housing Investors say This is Their Worst Market in at Least 3 Years. Investors in the single-family housing market are increasingly concerned about interest rates, rising insurance and home costs, and the ongoing war with Iran. As a result, they are less confident in their businesses than they have been in at least three years. (CNBC) More>

• Child-Raising Costs in Some Cities Becoming too High for Many U.S. Families. According to a new Zillow report, New York City currently has the lowest number of families with young children in the past two decades. The reality is that raising a family in the most expensive cities in America has become financially unfeasible for numerous families. In cities like San Francisco, Boston, and San Jose, CA, the annual expense for a single child now exceeds $40,000, with the majority allocated to child care. (MORTGAGEPOINT) More>

• Cash Home Sales are in Decline in Most Cities, but a Handful Show a Surprising Bump. Fewer and fewer homebuyers are throwing cash on the table, but a new generation of tech-minted millionaires is bucking the trend. (REALTOR.COM) More>

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Some material contained here may not apply to your company.

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