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After several years of a lean and pricey housing market, real estate agents are starting to see more balance.

In the second quarter of the year, 44% of real estate agents surveyed in CNBC's Housing Market Survey said they were seeing a balanced market between buyer and seller. That share is up from 30% in the third quarter of last year, when CNBC began its quarterly survey.

"It certainly feels like, depending on the home, depending on the neighborhood, depending on the condition and the price point, that both the buyer and the seller do have a little bit of leverage," said Jeremy Kane, a real estate agent with EXP Realty in Denver. 

The CNBC Housing Market Survey is a national inquiry of real estate agents selected randomly across the United States. Responses for the second-quarter survey were collected between June 23 and June 30. This quarter, 53 agents shared their insights.

Home sales in May were up slightly, 3% higher than the same month last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was the result of more supply on the market and easing prices. 

Sellers appear to be getting more realistic when pricing their homes, not expecting the huge jumps seen in the first two years of the pandemic.

"No one really seems to be fighting me much on price like they used to," said Bruce Jones, an agent with Compass in Nashville, Tennessee. "We're not really seeing huge decreases in prices. We've kind of plateaued, but I don't see people arguing too much about that. If it's priced correctly, it is moving."

Agents who reported at least one price cut to active listings dropped dramatically in CNBC's second-quarter survey, at 57% compared with 89% during the third quarter of 2025. 

Home prices are still slightly higher than they were a year ago, up just under 1%, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller national home price index. Sellers, however, seem to be pricing more to the market, resulting in fewer cuts. 

Asking prices in June were down 2.5% year over year, according to Realtor.com. That is the largest annual drop since the company began tracking this in 2017 and the eighth straight month of declines.

"I always tell sellers that I'm in the business of selling homes, not storing them, and so you really need to put a property at the right price in order to get it sold," said Martha Thorn, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Tampa, Florida.

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With asking prices more in line with the current market, agents also reported fewer contract cancellations. Just 40% of respondents to CNBC's survey said they had at least one contract fall through in the second quarter, compared with 51% in the first quarter of this year.

As for buyer worries, mortgage rates and prices have overtaken the economy as the biggest concerns reported by agents during the second quarter. Respondents said concerns over inventory have dramatically decreased. The Iran war sparked big worry in March, but that seems to have abated. 

At the end of last year, 26% of agents said their buyers' biggest concern was mortgage rates. That jumped to 37% in this quarter's survey. 

Mortgage rates had been falling after last summer, hitting a low of 5.99% on the 30-year fixed at the end of February, according to Mortgage News Daily. They then spiked higher at the start of March after the war began. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage last peaked at 6.75% on May 19 and has since hovered right around the 6.6% range.

Inventory in June was up just under 2% from the year before, according to Realtor.com, and new listings rose 2.4%. The market is still considered quite lean, but not nearly as bad as it was just a few years ago. There are currently 1.1 million homes listed for sale, according to Realtor.com. At this time in 2023, just after the massive pandemic-driven housing boom, there were around 614,000.

Overall, however, agents have become much less optimistic about sales, according to CNBC's survey. 

In the second-quarter findings, just 19% of respondents said they expect sales to improve in the near future, down from 48% in the third quarter of last year. In Q2, the majority of agents, 67%, said they think sales will stay about the same. 

Stagnantly high mortgage rates are largely to blame for that. While the market is shifting into balance nationally, there is wide divergence locally. 

"The challenge isn't a lack of buyers, it's a psychology gap," said Joel Eronko with Nicholas Joel Realty Group in Houston. "My focus this quarter is keeping clients focused on real-time, hyper-local data rather than national economic headlines."  %!s()

Preorder New Pokémon LEGO Sets

Of these new sets, Arcanine, Munchlax, and Rayquaza all release on August 1, so you don't have too long to wait for them. The Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball and up-scaled Red minifigure, on the other hand, are set to be released just a couple months later on October 1.

Most of the sets in this new drop are recommended for adults as well - mainly Arcanine, Munchlax, Rayquaza, and the Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball - but the up-scaled Red minifigure is actually geared towards kids that are 10 and up.

Now, if you know a younger person who wants to take on one of the adult sets, don't worry, just give them a hand with the build since these are usually a bit more complex to tackle.

There's quite a range in piece counts here as well. The Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball is the largest of the bunch, coming in with 2,386 pieces. These create quite a cool Poké Ball display that opens up to reveal a battle scene and even Professor Oak’s laboratory. What's even better is it comes with minifigures of Professor Oak, Picnicker, and Red, plus little figures of Pikachu and Eevee.

Next in the piece count line is Arcanine and Rayquaza, which come with 1,190 and 1,083 pieces, respectively. Then the up-scaled Red Minifigure comes with 930 pieces, and Munchlax comes with 757 pieces. No matter which one you choose to go with, you're sure to be in for a nice challenge with piecing them together.

If you're hoping to pick up these new Pokémon LEGO sets for your collection, now is the time to make a move on them. Preorders like these can go quickly, so grab your favorites fast before they're out. For more, check out the release dates for all upcoming LEGO sets.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN. %!s()

Bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam title, having been tied with Margaret Court since the 2023 US Open, it seemed like Djokovic's latest bid was on the brink when he pulled up with a leg injury in the first set.

But a medical time-out and a massage appeared to solve the problem and the 39-year-old was still fighting hard four sets later against third seed Auger-Aliassime.

After entertaining a packed Centre Court for five hours and 15 minutes, it was Djokovic who stood with his arms aloft in triumph after a 7-6 (12-10) 3-6 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (10-4) victory.

"I won that match with a racquet and a lot of heart," an exhausted Djokovic said.

"What can I say? These are the kind of moments I still play tennis for.

"I wish it was the final so I don't need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow, but I'm happy that I won."

Djokovic is now, once again, two wins away from claiming the standalone record for the most Grand Slam singles titles in history.

World number one Sinner, who defeated Jan-Lennard Struff earlier on Tuesday, will be hoping to derail the Serb's efforts in a repeat of last year's semi-final.

The Italian dismissed Djokovic effortlessly on Centre Court 12 months ago - a defeat that left the seven-time Wimbledon champion lamenting his age.

"I don't think it's bad fortune. It's just age, the wear and tear of the body," he said at the time.

But Djokovic, who claimed revenge on Sinner in the semi-finals of January's Australian Open, showed on Tuesday why he remains a Grand Slam contender by overcoming a man 14-years his junior in the toughest of durability tests.

After coming through the longest match of his career at Wimbledon, Djokovic stood with his arms aloft, soaking in the applause, before doing a dance routine in tribute to his daughter.

There were concerns for Djokovic when he pulled up and immediately called for the trainer after injuring his lower left leg at 4-4 in the first set.

He had to see his service game through before he could receive treatment and, after holding to love, grimaced through a massage before returning to play.

After missing two set points at 5-4 on the Canadian's serve, Djokovic started moving freely again and the pair engaged in a thrilling 22-point tie-break that saw them take turns at missing multiple set points, until Auger-Aliassime gifted his opponent the opener with a skewed volley.

A lapse in concentration saw Djokovic drop serve towards the end of the second set and Auger-Aliassime levelled the tie - at which point the roof was closed, despite both players protesting against it.

"You are so proud of your rules and you're not sticking to any kind of rule. We have no idea what the rule is," Djokovic said as he argued with tournament referee Denise Parnell.

"We can play a whole other set outdoors. We're an outdoor tournament."

There was little to separate the pair in third set as Auger-Aliassime made it through a marathon 13-minute service game that contained seven deuces, but Djokovic broke to love for a 4-2 lead and maintained that advantage to wrap up the set.

Djokovic won eight straight points to claim the opening two games of the fourth - causing Auger-Aliassime to smash his racquet on his chair - but momentum suddenly shifted and the Canadian replied with a run of three games.

Auger-Aliassime clinched the resulting tie-break to force a decider- to the delight of the crowd on a rowdy Centre Court.

With both players staying strong on serve in the fifth, a match tie-break became inevitable. When it arrived, Djokovic whipped up support, pointing to his ear as he asserted his dominance to seal his place in a record-extending 15th Wimbledon semi-final.

The stats behind Djokovic's quarter-final triumph

• At five hours and 15 minutes, Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime played the longest Wimbledon quarter-final in history

• Djokovic (39 years and 38 days) is the oldest player to reach a men's singles semi-final at Wimbledon since Ken Rosewall (39 years and 234 days) in 1974

• Djokovic played his 50th five-setter in men's singles Grand Slams, surpassing Stan Wawrinka for the most of any player in the Open era

• He is the third player in the Open era to reach 15 men's singles semi-finals at a single Grand Slam event, after Roger Federer (Australian Open) and Rafael Nadal (Roland Garros)

• Djokovic extended his all-time record for most Wimbledon men's singles match-wins to 107

• Djokovic reached his 55th Grand Slam semi-final, extending his all-time record

Sinner's title defence continues with Struff win

Sinner, meanwhile, moved a step closer to defending his Wimbledon title with a composed 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over Germany's 74th-ranked Struff.

The Italian showed no signs of being affected by the 30C temperatures, following his struggles with the heat in his shock second-round exit at this year's French Open.

Asked about struggling in the scorching conditions at Roland Garros, Sinner dryly responded: "Thanks for reminding me!

"We worked a lot after Paris trying to understand what went wrong and prepared in the best possible way.

"It was a huge test today. I felt comfortable on the physical side, a good step forwards."

Alexander Zverev was also victorious on Tuesday as he returned for his fourth-round tie against Czech Jiri Lehecka after the match was stopped on Monday night because of the Wimbledon curfew.

Zverev led by two sets to love when play was suspended, but Lehecka forced a fourth set on the resumption.

German second seed Zverev ultimately came through 6-4 7-5 3-6 7-6 (8-6) to reach his first Wimbledon quarter-final, where he will face American sixth seed Taylor Fritz. %!s()

The “Street of Dreams” video was shot when the band were in Mexico City to attend the Street Child World Cup Finals Tournament at Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco. They filmed near the Plaza Santo Domingo in the middle of a rainstorm, and were invited onto an apartment balcony by a family after the band’s generator failed in the rain.

U2 have yet to announce the title for their new album, but it’ll be their first proper LP of new songs since 2017’s Songs of Experience. In the years that followed, U2 played arenas across North America and Europe, brought their Joshua Tree 30 tour to overseas markets, cut stripped-down versions of their classic songs on the 2023 LP Songs of Surrender, and became the first band to perform at Sphere in Las Vegas. Earlier this year, they also shared two six-song EPs, Days of Ash and Easter Lily, that dealt with weighty matters of politics and spiritual renewal. 

When they released Easter Lily in April, Bono told fans that the upcoming album would strike a different tone. “We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colorful’ album to play LIVE … which is where U2 lives,” he said. “We still look to vivid rock & roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens.”

U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. sat out the Sphere residency as he recovered from neck surgery. But he returned for the sessions that produced the two EPs, and the upcoming album. “I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy missing the Sphere residency through injury,” Mullen said in February. “But I ignored my symptoms over a few years and just pushed through. Turns out I’m not invincible, and when you don’t listen to your body the consequences are inevitable.”

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There has been no talk in public of a tour, but U2 have never once released an album they didn’t support with shows all across the planet. They would mark Larry Mullen Jr.’s first time playing live with the band since 2019.

In late September, U2 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their formation. They’re essentially the only major band from that time that’s kept its original lineup completely intact.  %!s()

I confess, I've not paid much attention to The Mound, hitherto – there are a lot of Lovecraft adaptations, many of them pretty abysmal – but that was before I realised that it's the work of Ace Team, developers of Zeno Clash, The Eternal Cylinder and Clash: Artefacts of Chaos. Aside from being a terrific studio, Ace Team are based in Chile, a culture that has seen more than its fair share of Spanish conquistadors. I'm interested to see what they do with this particular setting. I'm also interested to see what they do with Lovecraft, whose presentation of people and spaces beyond North America and Europe could charitably be described as "a wee bit biggoty".

The Mound is actually the name of a Lovecraft novella. The original book is set in 1920s Oklahoma, so copious liberties are evident even before you get to all the sexy chat of mission tiers and XP. Here is how it works: you start on a galleon owned by an avaricious Captain, whom I suspect of harbouring tentacles somewhere about his person. Each mission sees you rowing to the mainland and searching for treasure, while running errands such as rescuing stranded sailors and gathering Dihuene mushrooms for the evening repast.

Then it all goes wrong. People start puking up centipedes. The dead walk. Giant bats get all up in your grill. Worse, your senses begin to betray you. You'll take a swing at a lunging horror and realise you've just murdered the expedition's priest. The sky rains blood. Layouts glitch, with some players seeing spike pits where others detect solid ground. The gaps between certain trees become somewhat... detached from the rest of the environment. Dreadful wrigglebeasts appear from behind one trunk and disappear behind the next, like Cheshire Cats decked in demon spaghetti.

The jungle broadly consists of open-ended areas and trashed colonial forts that serve as spawn points, once you've acquired their logbooks. Somewhere at the heart of it all lies the Mound, source of the greatest plunder. Fark me, I'm not going in there. I'm just here to pick mushrooms. The vibe and handling at large put me in mind of Left 4 Dead – in place of Valve's auld AI director, the jungle itself is framed as a sleeping presence. Sooner or later, all your blundering and thrashing is going to wake it up.

You can find a demo for The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu on Steam – the full game launches on 15th July. If absolutely nothing else, this should give good munster. Ace Team have created some amazing grotesques. One big question is whether the project can weather the decline of publishers Nacon, who filed for bankruptcy in February. %!s()