Why homeowners struggle to see what their property is worth

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The U.S. housing market is moving through a tense period. The National Association of REALTORS® reported that existing-home sales fell 2.4 percent month over month in June 2026, even as the median existing-home price reached $440,600, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.

The Federal Reserve reported that the median monthly mortgage payment among homeowners with a mortgage rose from $1,500 in 2024 to $1,600 in 2025, while homeowners who moved in 2024 or 2025 reported a median payment of $2,300. For buyers, the financial calculation has become more consequential. Specifically, in New Hampshire, this has risen to $580,000 in a state that only has 1.4 million people. 

Technology has also changed how Americans form opinions about value. Automated valuation models can make a home estimate available almost instantly, creating an impression of precision around an asset whose worth can depend on details that algorithms struggle to capture the vast differences between lake conditions and lifestyles and how that affects valuation. Federal regulators have established quality-control standards for automated valuation models, while research by the National Bureau of Economic Research found evidence that Zillow’s Zestimate can influence listing and selling outcomes, creating a feedback loop between algorithms and human decisions.

For Michael Travis, a REALTOR® specializing in waterfront properties, these forces point to a deeper truth about selling a home: market value and emotional value are separate measurements. After more than three decades in advertising and years working with lake properties, Travis says the hardest part of a transaction can be helping people recognize which number belongs to the market and which belongs to their memories.

“I think real estate is fundamentally psychological,” Travis says. “People do not walk into a home carrying only a spreadsheet. They walk in carrying a lifetime of expectations, images and experiences.”

His advertising career shaped that view. Before entering real estate, Travis spent 35 years in New York City and Boston as an art director, writer, photographer and designer. Travis says he has lived on or near water throughout his life and understands the emotional attachment that develops around a waterfront home.

He sees the challenge when a seller receives an offer and immediately considers it insulting. Travis argues that the reaction can come from comparing today’s buyer with yesterday’s market and today’s property with decades of personal investment. “There is always the deal versus the steal,” he says. “The buyer wants the deal, and the seller wants to know they are not giving their home away for less than what it is worth. My role is to understand what the market is actually saying before emotion turns a negotiation into a personal judgment.”

Waterfront property makes that distinction unusually complicated. A lake house can hold childhood summers, family traditions and milestones. Travis points to his own life on the water, including building a boat with his daughter, who is now preparing to marry there.

That perspective also informs how he works with buyers. Travis says people can arrive with an idealized picture of lake living, imagining sandy beaches, dramatic sunsets, water sports and privacy as though every waterfront property naturally provides all four. In practice, those characteristics can exist in different combinations. He recalls working with buyers focused on finding a particular lake view who ultimately became excited about a mountain property that offered the vista they wanted.

“Lake life is life,” Travis says. “The question is, what makes a waterfront life meaningful for you? If you want water skiing, that points you in one direction. If you want quiet walks on a beach, that may point somewhere else. Once you understand the life someone is trying to create, you can open doors they did not know were available.”

Travis says a homeowner can honor the memories attached to a property while recognizing that buyers are purchasing the physical home and the lifestyle they believe it can provide. He recalls a neighbor’s divorce that intensified the emotional stakes around a sale. Travis believes separating personal associations from the transaction can create room for clearer decisions.

His approach extends beyond property. Travis and his wife also operate a Thai restaurant, which he says reinforces the importance of customer experience and understanding what people value. Much of his real estate business comes through referrals, which he sees as evidence that relationships continue after a transaction.

For Travis, the central lesson is straightforward. A homeowner does not have to surrender the meaning of a place to price it realistically. The goal is to understand the difference between what a home represents to the person who lived there and what the market can support today.

“Your home is worth what the market says it is worth today,” Travis says. “Your memories will always remain. You do not have to confuse the two to move forward.”