Mike Miedler is optimistic about 2026.
While 2025 wasn’t the standout year industry observers had hoped for, Century 21 CEO Miedler said easing interest rates, rising inventory levels and slowing home price growth set the stage for more stable conditions in 2026. He also said that experienced agents are being given a chance to shine.
“A lot of people have short rearview mirrors, right? For example, people don’t remember what we call a normal market. In 2017, 2018, and even 2019, 5 million units were sold, a market where buyers and sellers were relatively balanced,” he said.
“And I think what the pandemic has probably done for us is that we’ve started to think that the house will sell on its own. You’ll get multiple offers, you’ll pick the one you feel is the best, and you’ll move on to the next deal within 30 days.”
“Those who have been in this business longer and have very strong skill sets are capturing more market share. Agents who stick to the basics and serve consumers at a high level will continue to be successful,” he added. “I think that’s a good thing. I don’t think we win as an industry by having a lot of agents do a few deals. I think we win by having a lot of professionals do the bulk of the business and, frankly, execute it at a very high level.”
Miedler said he is preparing C21 merchants for the year ahead by digging into the basics, tracking demographic trends (Gen Z and minority groups are poised to significantly increase homeownership in the coming years), and helping agents excel in niche skills.
“I think there will be a lot of good stuff coming out from 2026 onwards,” he said. “And a lot of that will be about how we, as professionals and as an industry, respond to the new consumer demands of tomorrow.”
Mr. Inman met with Mr. Miedler just before the end of 2025. The following is the conversation, edited for clarity and brevity.
Inman: Time flies. I think the last time we spoke was in the fall of 2024. So how has this year been for you and C21? How do you define it?
Miedler: I think for consumers, this is like a leveling of the market. In the overall conversation around price and affordability, I feel like we’re starting to see a plateau in interest rates and mortgage rates. We’ve also started to see what consumers should expect when entering the market in terms of availability and pricing.
The good news is that it looks like it will be more affordable in 2025 than it has been in years past. And that’s a positive thing. I think we’ve seen things go back to the halfway point and back again depending on your zip code and the state you’re viewing.
But if you look at the industry, things are a little different. The industry is more distracted and confused, right? I mean, I think a lot of us thought that once the compensation settlement was done, things would level out.
But we’ve seen more division within the industry, more infighting, more litigation… We discussed clear cooperation and then later this year we discussed market transparency.
So from an industry perspective, which is primarily our audience, I think: [2025] I got a little distracted. But I think the great news for consumers is that they don’t see much of that. Because we have amazing professionals on the front lines who are just trying to do their jobs for the people they serve.
Let’s start with the industry disruption. How do you stay focused? Also, how do you keep your agents focused?
I think we’re trying to get people to focus on what we can control. And for brokers and entrepreneurs, hiring the right agents to represent your brand, [brokers] This is so that it can maintain its value.
I mean, we always say to brokers, “Your job is to inspire your agents to achieve their personal goals,” but from a consumer perspective, I think it reflects on the brand by keeping agents focused on what’s important.
And importantly, as a trusted advisor who recognizes and understands the dynamics of the market and what is going on, develops potential customers, interacts with them, and spreads himself to the market, whether through social media or marketing himself through other means.
Because while the market has normalized and leveled out to some extent in many places, it moves quickly and agents need to be able to come to the table well-educated on every street they serve and explain that to their clients.
And to be honest, we’ve spent time focusing on the fundamentals of the business and serving our customers at a very high level.
We had several conversations about business basics, and each time the topic of artificial intelligence came up. We’ve talked a lot about consumer trust over the years, but AI has definitely complicated it. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell what’s real and what’s fake.
How are you coping? How can C21 agents cut through the noise and empower them to build real connections with buyers and sellers?
I don’t know if you can see me, but I have a big smile on my face. Last night I was sitting on the couch watching a football game with some of my daughters. I scrolled through my phone and saw this video. There’s a device in the mall that instantly processes this young girl’s hair. Put her hair into this beautiful tight bun in just a few seconds. And I thought, “Is this true?” And my kids are like, “Wait a minute.” Let’s take a look. Dad, that’s not real. ”
I mean, nowadays you don’t know what to believe, photos, videos, etc.
We’re currently leveraging a really cool AI agent assistant that has a lot of capabilities. But I think one of the features that we’re thinking about is basically allowing the agent to sit in front of the customer and enhance the property video in real time and virtually stage those rooms.
And AI is perfect for that. It helps agents do marketing, lead generation, and, let’s be honest, what I call “operational tasks” more effectively and efficiently.
But to your point, I think all of this needs to create more time for us to really warm up relationships and get real and guide people through the messier, more emotional steps that only humans can do. I hope that this will enable us to do this more quickly and create more sophisticated and highly specialized professionals.
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