Real estate market update template

Every market update template you can download arrives empty, and the hard part was never the layout — it was finding the numbers and working out what they mean. Pick your metro below and this one comes out filled in, with current figures and a plain reading of what they describe. Free, no sign-up.

790 US metro areas. Works without JavaScript.

Example — Austin

Austin market update — August 2026

  • Typical home value: $417,977 (-4.7% year over year, as of August 2026)
  • Median sale price: $460,000 (+0.5% year over year, as of July 2026)
  • Days to pending: 82 days (0.0% year over year, as of August 2026)
  • Sold above asking: 14.9% (+1.1 pts year over year, as of July 2026)
  • Homes for sale: 15,167 (-4.9% year over year, as of August 2026)
  • New listings: 2,989 (+1.0% year over year, as of August 2026)
  • Typical asking rent: $1,622 (-0.0% year over year, as of August 2026)

The typical home in the Austin area is valued at $417,977 as of August 2026. That is 4.7% below where it sat a year ago, when the same figure was $438,739.

Homes are taking about 82 days to go under contract, compared with 82 days this time last year. 14.9% of sales are closing above the asking price, up from 13.8% a year ago.

There are 15,167 homes on the market, -4.9% against last year. New listings are +1.0% year over year.

On the rental side, asking rents are around $1,622 a month, -0.0% year over year.

For buyers: the selection is tighter than a year ago. What that means for a specific budget and neighbourhood is worth a conversation — these are metro-wide figures.

For sellers: homes are going under contract faster than a year ago. Pricing against what is actually selling nearby matters more in this kind of market than it does in a fast one.

Source: Zillow Research, metro-level data.

Before you send this, add one thing only you can: what you are seeing on your own street. The paragraph about a listing that drew six offers, or the one that sat, is the part a client cannot get from Zillow — and the part that makes the rest worth reading.

What belongs in a market update

Six numbers at most. Beyond that a client stops reading and starts skimming, and the point of the exercise is that they finish it. The set above is what earns the space: what a typical home is worth, what is actually closing, how long it takes, how much is available, how many sales beat asking, and what rents are doing. Each one carries its year-over-year change, because a figure with no direction attached tells nobody anything.

Then say what the numbers mean

This is the half most agents skip, and it is the half that does the work. Inventory up twelve percent means two opposite things depending on what new listings did: if listings are also up, more owners decided to sell; if listings are down, homes are simply not selling and the pool is accumulating. Same number, different market, and a client cannot tell them apart from the figure alone. The generated text above makes that particular distinction for you.

Do not restate the national headline

The most common failure is a market update that is really a mortgage-rate commentary with a city name at the top. It reads as filler because it is: nothing in it describes the market the reader is actually buying or selling in. National context belongs in a sentence, not a lead — and if the whole update would survive having your city swapped for another, it was never a local update.

Be honest about what a metro figure is

These numbers cover a whole statistical area, which is far wider than a city and much wider than a neighbourhood. A specific ZIP code routinely sits well outside them. That is not a flaw to hide — saying so is what makes the rest credible, and it is the natural opening for the part where you talk about the four streets you actually know.

Monthly, not weekly

These series update monthly, so a weekly update is reporting noise as though it were a trend. Monthly matches the data, it is a cadence you can hold for a year without resenting it, and holding it is the entire benefit — one update a month for twelve months beats six in a fortnight and nothing after.

Browse market update templates by State

Explore state-level directory hubs grouping regional housing markets, MLS trends, and localized agent scripts:

Pre-filled metro templates & scripts (52 metros)

Looking for a complete ready-to-use package? Browse our dedicated city toolkits pre-filled with current Zillow Research data, email newsletter copy, social media captions, 60-second video reels scripts, and SMS texts:

Austin, TXEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Nashville, TNEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Charlotte, NCEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Columbus, OHEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Kansas City, MOEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Portland, OREmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Denver, COEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
San Antonio, TXEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Orlando, FLEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Charleston, SCEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Minneapolis, MNEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
St. Louis, MOEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Oklahoma City, OKEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Grand Rapids, MIEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Milwaukee, WIEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Tucson, AZEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Myrtle Beach, SCEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Raleigh, NCEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Richmond, VAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Boise, IDEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Dallas, TXEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Houston, TXEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
El Paso, TXEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Miami, FLEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Tampa, FLEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Jacksonville, FLEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Atlanta, GAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Phoenix, AZEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Las Vegas, NVEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Seattle, WAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Chicago, ILEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Philadelphia, PAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Pittsburgh, PAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
San Diego, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Los Angeles, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
San Francisco, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Sacramento, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
San Jose, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Fresno, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Bakersfield, CAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Salt Lake City, UTEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Indianapolis, INEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Detroit, MIEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Cincinnati, OHEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Cleveland, OHEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Boston, MAEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Baltimore, MDEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Memphis, TNEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Knoxville, TNEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Colorado Springs, COEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Omaha, NEEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts
Greenville, SCEmail, Social, Video & SMS scripts

Frequently asked questions

Is this free?

Yes, and there is no sign-up. Pick a metro, copy the text. Cogniterra is a paid product that does this every day in your own voice and publishes it for you, but the template itself costs nothing and asks for nothing.

Where do the numbers come from?

Zillow Research metro-level data, ingested directly from their public research files and refreshed when they publish. Nothing is modelled or estimated by us. Each figure carries the month it belongs to, because Zillow releases the series on different schedules — sale prices and the above-asking share settle about a month behind values and inventory.

Can I use this with my clients as-is?

That is what it is for. It deliberately contains no recommendation to buy or sell — it describes what the market is doing and leaves the advice to you, since you are the one who knows the client. Add your own neighbourhood read before you send it; that part is the reason they hired you and no template can supply it.

My market is not in the list. Why?

The list covers 803 US metro areas — every one where at least five of the seven indicators are currently published. Zillow does not publish a full set for very small or very thin markets, and a template with holes in it is worse than none, so those are left out rather than half-filled.

How often should I send a market update?

Monthly suits most markets: it matches how often these figures actually change, and it is a cadence you can hold. Weekly updates tend to report noise as though it were a trend, which is the fastest way to teach people to stop opening them.

Want the full picture for Austin?

Five years of history on all seven indicators, through August 2026.

Browse the market data →

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