Company: MMI
Filing Date: 2025-11-07
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001628280-25-050707
Chunk: 154

Company: Marcus & Millichap, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-11-07
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 2
Chunk 154
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 business is dependent on economic conditions within the markets in which we operate. Changes in the economy on a global, national, regional, or local basis can have a positive or negative impact on our business. Economic indicators and projections related to job growth, unemployment, interest rates, retail spending and consumer confidence trends can have a positive or negative impact on our business. Overall market conditions, including global trade, interest rate changes, inflation, job creation, and global events can affect investor sentiment and, ultimately, the demand for our services from investors in real estate.

The fluidity of U.S. trade and tariff policies since April has sustained elevated economic uncertainty, restraining some investor and business leader decision making and impacting job creation. The policy-driven uncertainty has been exacerbated by the government shutdown which has stalled government data releases. Broad-based expectations of an inflation surge have not flowed through to the market, and though inflation has increased to 3.0% as of September, interest rates have remained range-bound with the 10-year treasury rate, remaining near 4%. Year-to-date hiring through August, the most recent reading available, totaled 598,000 new jobs with a downward trend in monthly job creation over the course of the year. Unemployment in August had ticked up to 4.3%, which is still low by historical standards, but the upward trend has raised some concerns. To mitigate the slackening employment market, the Federal Reserve lowered the overnight rate by 25 basis points at their meetings in September and October, taking the rate to the 3.75% - 4.0% range, its lowest levels since November 2022. As of the last available data in August, retail sales were up 5.4% year-over-year, suggesting that tariffs had yet to weigh on consumption. Nonetheless, the growth in retail sales appears to be bifurcated, with high 

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earning households contributing nearly 50% of the total. This suggests that lower income households may be facing greater economic headwinds which could ultimately weigh on household formations and spending in some retail categories.

Although the economy remains generally sound, the lack of clarity from the U.S. presidential administration regarding tariffs and trade policy together with the limited economic data available due to the government shutdown has made it increasingly difficult to predict the economic outlook. Recession risk remains modestly elevated, and inflation risk continues to be a top concern. The Federal Reserve has remained cautious, but a third 25 basis point rate reduction in December is expected. The U.S. presidential administration