Scott Zocco, a Walker-based realtor with the Zocco Team at 5 Star Real Estate, told the Made in Walker podcast that Walker remains a seller’s market but is showing signs of normalization.

"If I look at our month's supply for September 2025, we're 1.76 months," Zocco said, noting a normal market is about six months of supply. He added that homes averaged about 19 days on the market recently compared with roughly seven days in March, and sellers were receiving about 99.8% of asking price.

Zocco traced the shift to the near-zero interest rates that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said generated bidding wars and extreme seller advantages. He said interest rates rose significantly in the intervening years, have eased from their highs and — in his view — may continue toward the mid-to-low 5% range by the end of next year. "We do think that trend will continue into the mid fives to maybe low fives by the end of next year," he said, framing that as a market expectation rather than a certainty.

Those moves, Zocco said, could draw some sellers back into the market who have been "trapped" by low mortgage rates — a phenomenon he called "golden handcuffs" — and lead to increased inventory. At the same time, he warned buyers and sellers to temper expectations after four years of unusually intense activity: "You can't just price it wherever you want and it's gonna sell," he said.

Zocco recommended that potential buyers and sellers make decisions based on each household’s finances and timelines, stressing that ownership brings maintenance costs beyond mortgage payments. He encouraged would-be buyers who are not ready for upkeep to continue renting until they can afford both the mortgage and likely repairs.

The conversation did not include third-party verification of the market metrics Zocco cited; they are presented as his local-market observations and guidance. The City of Walker podcast episode is available through Made in Walker.