In Case You Missed It:

Mobility continues to evolve alongside shifting market conditions and global trends. Catch up on our latest insights on interest rates, housing inventory, and the future of relocation.

• Relocation in a High-Rate Era: What the Mortgage Landscape Means for Mobility Professionals
• The Rise in Unsold Housing Inventory: What It Means for Relocating Employees
• 5 Relocating Trends to Watch in 2026

Growing Careers and Community: Inside CapRelo’s Internship Experience

From Arrival to Belonging: The CapRelo Intern Experience

When their summer internship ended, a group of interns supported by CapRelo chose to stay connected. First, as Airbnb roommates, and when they became new hires, three of them decided to rent a house together while settling into their new positions. Internship program experiences can foster strong bonds among participants by providing a platform for individuals to connect in a professional environment. These interactions build trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging, all of which are key to lasting relationships. Meaningful connections like this are what drive CapRelo Intern Services Program Manager Kissondra Kelly’s passion for her work. “Every intern deserves to come away not only with more knowledge but with the feeling that they’ve had a fantastic experience.”

Program Overview: Getting Interns There – and Settled

CapRelo supports internship programs for many of its clients, addressing two key questions:

How do we get interns where they need to be, and how best do we support them to ensure all their needs are met throughout their placement?

That support begins far in advance of the intern’s arrival. CapRelo works with clients year-round to plan and prepare for their summer placements, with intern communication beginning as early as 3 to 4 months prior to their arrival to build connections and trust.

Understanding that internship programs are critical for recruiting future employees for our clients’ organizations, Intern Services Program Manager Kissondra Kelly curates high-quality experiences across client programs, ensuring every intern settles into their role quickly and with minimal stress. CapRelo’s Program Managers are often the first point of contact for interns, setting the tone by introducing them to the client culture and supporting the client’s message of welcoming interns and cultivating an experience that motivates them to join the organization.

Meet Kissondra Kelly: From Summer Intern to Program Manager

Growing up, Kissondra Kelly always felt a personal connection to CapRelo’s internship program. Having been an intern with the company for several summers during high school, Kissondra knows firsthand the impact of personal connections and life-long bonds these programs can foster. With parents working in corporate environments, Kissondra has had the unique opportunity to experience culture from different perspectives, enhancing her ability to connect with summer interns. Those early experiences paved the way for Kissondra’s career in relocation.

When the opportunity to join and support a major group move came up, Kissondra quickly came on board with CapRelo. This experience ignited something in Kissondra, and after working as a Relocation Consultant for 18 months, she successfully pursued a Program Manager position. “This role is better suited to my personality because I get to work with a wide range of people and ensure our clients’ needs are met. I get the best of both worlds.”

Kissondra is thriving in her new role, one she was drawn to. “I grew up hearing about the activities and the bonds these college students form, bonds that last long after the internship ends.”

Support That Starts Immediately

As a former intern herself, Kissondra knows the importance of ensuring interns feel supported from day one. “Every intern is contacted within 24 hours of us receiving their information”, Kissondra says. “They get a call from me or a teammate to explain their benefits and answer questions. Later this week, I’ll even be on the phone with the parents of one of our interns to answer their questions. We want everyone to be as comfortable as possible because it’s a big step.” Each intern is assigned a relocation consultant for policy counseling, needs assessment, and proactive check-ins across key milestones. To support their day-to-day experience even further, CapRelo arranges individual or group transportation options to and from work, including shuttle service, ride sharing, public transportation, or rental vehicles for qualifying age groups, if appropriate.

Lasting Impact: From Intern to New Hire

At the conclusion of the program, many interns leave with a job offer, full authorization to relocate with CapRelo, and, most importantly, fond memories and lasting relationship bonds. “We have so many former interns who will specifically ask for the consultant they worked with during their internship,” Kissondra says. “Clients have also come to our onboarding and networking events a year later, see our CapRelo booth, and say, ’Oh my gosh, you helped me with this!’ It’s really encouraging that a year later, they still remember the name of the person who supported them.”

Excitement for What’s To Come

Looking ahead, Kissondra is thrilled about the long-term technological enhancements CapRelo is implementing to support the interns. This year, CapRelo completely relaunched the intern experience, featuring a brand-new Companion portal and questionnaire, customized for each internship. “Interns answer all their benefit questions, and the system will calculate their stipends for them. Their summary is dynamic and fills in with flights and housing information as it enters the system, so it is centrally located.” All of this is paired with CapRelo’s AI chatbot Moxie, which doesn’t replace a human touch but helps accommodate students’ busy schedules.

In the short term, Kissondra is looking forward to kicking off Welcome Week and meeting the interns. “I’m just excited for them to arrive! These students are so incredibly thankful and enthusiastic. Since I’m local to some of these programs, I get to put faces to names and make sure they have a great summer.”

Kissondra Kelly is more than a Program Manager; she cares deeply about the experience of interns in CapRelo’s summer program. She thrives on solving problems, creating a welcoming, supportive environment, and ensuring interns feel seen, prepared, and heard. From the welcome call to the offer letter, she is on the front lines, fostering community and helping to shape futures.

Feature Stories

The stories and insights highlighted in this month’s Insider reflect a snapshot of the current news cycle. Because these developments are rapidly evolving, the articles and analyses included here capture where things stand today and may continue to shift in the weeks ahead.

Global Conflicts Quick Update:

• Transit risk remains elevated around the Strait of Hormuz as maritime enforcement activity and diplomatic uncertainty continue.
• Costs remain sensitive to fuel and insurance conditions, with carriers and parcel networks using temporary surcharges to offset volatility.
• Secondary chokepoint risk persists in the broader region (including potential pressure near Bab al-Mandeb), which could further disrupt routing and confidence.

The Impact: CapRelo is closely monitoring the evolving security environment affecting household goods (HHG) shipments moving into and around the Gulf region. While we have not experienced direct disruptions to HHG shipments to date, secondary impacts (including carrier schedule changes, last-minute routing adjustments, tighter insurance coverage, and elevated war-risk or emergency surcharges) may affect transit time and delivery planning with limited notice.

From a duty-of-care perspective, we are also watching for spillover effects that can pressure temporary and longer-term housing availability in surrounding countries as mobility patterns shift and travel routes change. For clients supporting relocating employees and families, the most practical near-term risk is timing variability: shipments may arrive later than planned, and housing plans may need more flexibility to bridge gaps.

CapRelo will continue to update clients as conditions evolve and will recommend timing, routing, and mode adjustments (including shipping essentials separately when appropriate) to reduce risk and support continuity of housing and settlement needs.

Housing Headwinds: An Update on the Buyer-Seller Gap

BusinessWire reports there are more than 630,000 home sellers on the U.S. housing market, far exceeding the number of available buyers – the largest gap on record to date – with regional variations accounted for. This disparity is the result of a combination of factors: a decline in mortgage applications and high rates (Realtor.com), as well as how sellers have priced their homes (Redfin). Additionally, according to the Redfin Home Price Index, U.S. home prices have seen their slowest growth in seven months, but are still up 1.9% year over year. The shortfall of available homes within buyers’ price ranges persists, estimated at over 4.03 million homes, according to the 2026 U.S. Housing Supply Gap. This signals a gap between homes that are available and homes that buyers can actually afford to purchase.

Meanwhile, starter homes are gaining more attention. Recent data from Realtor.com show that more people are purchasing starter homes, even as prices are at their highest since the Great Recession. Affordability remains a challenge for buyers, particularly for duplexes and townhomes, but starter homes are finally becoming an easier entry point again.

The Impact: With more homes sitting on the market longer, transferees with second homes or complex sales may need second-sale support and assistance navigating additional staging or even price reductions. To support transferees experiencing the housing shortfall, CapRelo leverages our strong Preferred Supplier Agreements with more than 30 regional, national, and global temporary housing companies to accommodate short-term/temporary housing needs. CapRelo is also upended by our independent network of local real estate brokers to meet the unique needs of clients and employees.

Mobility, Made Intelligent: Inside CapRelo’s 2026 Companion^® Client Portal

CapRelo’s Companion® Client Portal continues to evolve, with new AI-powered capabilities designed to help mobility and HR teams access, understand, and act on relocation data more efficiently.

The latest technology delivers a faster, more intuitive experience, making it easier to get from login to insight. Alongside it, Client AI Summaries, powered by CapRelo’s CoreTech™ platform, provide instant, plain-language snapshots of transferee activity. This reduces time spent compiling updates while improving overall program visibility.

Looking ahead, SmartSights™ launching in Q2 will introduce dynamic, program-level intelligence that highlights trends, risks, and performance in real time. Together, these innovations signal a shift from static reporting to actionable insight, helping teams make faster, more informed decisions.

Read more: Discover how Companion® is transforming relocation program intelligence.

Global Radar

CapRelo’s Mobility Radar provides valuable insights into trends worth monitoring. This month, we have detected important global mobility updates in the Persian Gulf, Mexico, Iran, and the United States.

• The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary said the U.S. could stop processing international travelers at major airports in “sanctuary cities” that do not cooperate with Federal immigration enforcement, citing a broader DHS/CBP funding deadlock. The move could effectively halt international air travel and commerce at airports in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, with potentially significant consequences for trade, tourism, and the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
• Atlasmex reports that the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico’s busiest Pacific port, is operating at a significantly reduced pace due to customs delays and poor road conditions, leading to bottlenecks along major corridors. These conditions have led to extended inspections and congestion lasting over 72 hours, resulting in delays and increased financial exposure for carriers and clients.
• The Canadian government is proposing major changes to its Express Entry program and plans to replace it with a new, streamlined program. The changes were outlined in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s Forward Regulatory Plan: 2026-2028, which sets out the plans the department expects to propose or finalize over the next two years.