When the Numbers Finally Line Up
A Behind the Sign Story About Locks, Kids, and the Buyer’s Market We’ve Been Waiting For
Combination Lock
Here’s how my Sunday went: I took my boys to Dollar General with $10 in their pockets and exactly zero plans, except “let’s see what kind of nonsense we can get into on the cheap.” They’d helped me stuff mailers that morning — future Art House interns in training — so a little reward felt appropriate.
We were technically there for Christmas cards, but if you’ve ever taken children into a Dollar General, you know the mission always derails. Fast. My oldest made a beeline for a shiny school-locker combination lock and suddenly acted like he’d discovered the Holy Grail. He didn’t even have anything to lock up, but the thrill of denying someone else access? Oh, he felt that power in his soul.
Into the basket it went.
Then came the fun part — watching him try to open it.
If you remember those old combination locks, the process is painfully specific:
Right… then left… all the way around… pass the number… come back to it… then right again… and for the love of all things holy do NOT bump the dial or you’re starting from scratch.
He got so frustrated he nearly locked himself out of his own imaginary locker kingdom. But eventually, after I talked him through it like he was dismantling a bomb, he cracked it. Triumphant. Off he went to lock up whatever childhood treasures required national-security clearance.
I’m sure this will bite me later. Probably involving a closet, a sibling, or the dog. Stay tuned.
A Realtor’s Relationship with Locks: Complicated at Best
Watching him wrestle that thing took me straight back to my early days in real estate — before the Supra app, before Bluetooth boxes, before we knew what “ShowingTime” would even be.
Back then, we had these tiny metal combination boxes that looked like something a burglar would pick in a 1970s movie. Half the time you had to shield the code with your hand because the neighbor walking his dog was absolutely trying to peek.
Then came the control box era — remember that little brick we had to carry around? The one that communicated with the lockbox like two robots trying to shake hands? I swear, if you forgot to charge it, your entire showing day was toast.
Then! The glorious day we could download the app and use our phones. We were free! We were modern! We were… still occasionally screwed because:
The box is broken.
The showing window hasn’t opened.
A key got stuck inside (ask me about the firefighter I had to call to bust one open — yes really).
Or worst of all, you lock your phone inside the house and stand outside like someone who should not be allowed to supervise children, pets, or major life decisions.
Locks and I have history.
But here’s the thing — that sense of frustration? That helpless, “why won’t this thing just WORK?” moment? Buyers have been feeling that for years now.
Locked Out of Homeownership
The past few years have been a weird time to be a buyer. Prices climbed, inventory shrank, cash buyers multiplied like gremlins after midnight, and interest rates felt like they were actively trying to break spirits. Buyers wrote offers with:
No inspections
No appraisal protections
No contingencies
Offers that looked more like marriage proposals
And still lost
They were basically twisting the dial, turning left, turning right, starting over, doing everything “right”… and that lock just wouldn’t open.
But, I can feel it in the air.
This market is shifting.
The Numbers Are Lining Up Again
For the first time in a long time, buyers are getting their moment:
Rates are drifting down.
Inventory is creeping up.
Price pressure is real (sellers know it).
Buyers have options.
And best of all — buyers can finally put their protections back in offers without immediately getting laughed out of the room.
Inspection? Reasonable.
Appraisal? Back on the table.
Contingencies? You may speak of them again.
Negotiation? Welcome home, old friend.
It feels like that satisfying click when the lock finally gives and the clasp pops open. After years of wrestling with a system that felt designed to shut them out, buyers are about to have leverage again.
So What’s the Moral of the Story?
Just like teaching my son to crack that Dollar General lock without hurling it across the room, navigating this new buyer-friendly market is all about timing, guidance, and knowing how the numbers work together.
Right now, the numbers are aligning.
Right now, the lock is loosening.
Right now, buyers have a window they haven’t had in years.
If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines feeling shut out, this is your sign — your behind-the-sign, if you will — to try again.
Because this time?
The odds are finally on your side.
