A number that we should be concerned with right now in the market is 16.1%.

So what does 16.1% represent?

It represents the number of transactions that were canceled last month. The last time we saw a number that high was at the beginning of COVID when buyers really didn't know what was gonna happen. March, April, when COVID really went into full effect in our country in 2020. That's when you saw this same level of cancellations. And that's what we're seeing again right now.

So how do we tighten down offers so that sellers have some clarity that they know they're gonna get to closing?

I'm gonna give you several things to think about. You might have a few more. But one of the things is getting the disclosure statement signed as quickly as you can.

Most states require a disclosure statement. This is where we're the seller's gonna disclose everything they know about the house to a buyer. But not waiting around, not delaying getting that...

53% of today's clients that you're dealing with in the real estate industry are actually millennials. They represent the largest group of buyers and sellers in our business today.

And here's what's interesting:

Millennials actually trust referrals from family and friends over all other advertising messages. In fact, they're very distrustful of traditional media marketing.

So what do we do with that information? How do we adjust to that information?

Well, one thing we have to understand is that reviews and recommendations are becoming a really important part of our business. Which means we need to be focused intently on getting reviews and recommendations and endorsements online.

So, I want to ask you: do you have a process? Do you have a plan in place for collecting these reviews and recommendations?

Here's an example:

If we take a brand new agent in this industry, but an agent that's aggressive and doing well, and we...

I had one of my best agents come to me a couple years ago and she said, "Jim, I got a listing that's priced right. And we're getting showings. But we're not selling the property."

And I said okay, let's go take a look at it. So I made an appointment with her and we went up and looked at the property. And immediately when I pulled up, I knew what the problem was. The property had a steep driveway. And I told her I bet a lot of people were commenting on the driveway. And she said, "Yes, true. We're getting a lot of negative comments on the driveway. And I think that's really the biggest reason why people aren't, you know, looking at the house. Or looking at the house, but then rejecting it."

So we went in and explained to the sellers that they can have the best price property in the world. And actually, have the best house in the world, but that driveway could be the stumbling block for getting it sold.

So I'm gonna give you a...

Here's an interesting question that we often get:

If I buy a house and sell a house in the same market, am I gonna give up some equity? Am I gonna make a mistake by doing that?

Well, generally when you're buying and selling a house in the same market, you're not gonna have any equity loss because you're just moving money from one house to the other. And actually in our current market, we have something kind of unique happening in a lot of areas of the country. Really it's a tale of two markets or maybe three markets.

But when you look at your market, it's not just one big market, right? It's broken down by price bands. And there's some price categories that are much hotter. They're much more active. People are much more engaged and that would typically be the lower price categories, right?

The first time home buyer categories. But as you move up that ladder to the second per home purchase, so maybe the starter luxury and the real...

There's a new survey that was done by the National Housing Survey, which was just done in June. So it's fresh data. And it shows a divergence that we haven't seen probably in the last 10 years or more.

It shows how many people think that the economy is on the wrong track:

81% of Americans believe the economy's on the wrong track.

So when you look at that number and we put it in perspective of people that are buying and selling real estate, how do we have that conversation? Where people think, oh my gosh, we're on the wrong track. I don't know that I should be buying.

We call that consumer sentiment. Or I don't know if I should be entering this real estate marketplace.

What can we say?

How can we address that concern where people think it's the wrong time to enter this market?

Well, a good lesson for us is to model successful people. People that are more successful than us, right?

One of the most successful people in our...

New study out from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that ARM demand has reached a 14-year high.

And now what's an ARM?

An ARM is an adjustable rate mortgage.

A lot of you that have entered the business over the last 10 years may have never used an ARM.

They became almost invisible for many, many years. Why? Because we've had the lowest interest rates in history. No one would bother doing an ARM. But over the last quarter, just to here in 2022 ARMs have gone up to a 14-year high.

So an ARM is an adjustable rate mortgage. Generally, it's set interest rate for the first 3, 5, 7 years. And then it resets based on the current rates of that time. There's a cap on it. Every loan's a little bit different, but here's some examples of what that looks like:

Right now, as I'm talking to you today...

The current interest rates are about 5.5% while the ARM rate is about 4.5%. So people are getting about a 1% discount for going into an ARM...

A stat from a Zillow study that came out shows that 30% of Americans have cited climate change as a reason to move in 2022.

Now, I think about that and I reflect on my own market where I live here in Southern Oregon. And I think, well, a lot of people wouldn't consider this being a climate change issue here, but it is.

You see, we've had, and we've been surrounded by fires for the last four or five years in our community. And those fires create smoke. And it creates a situation where people don't love going outside during the summer, one of the best times to be outside. Coupled with the fact that last year we had a fire rage through the entire city and burned down 2,700 homes. I had three duplexes burned down myself.

So when people have that experience, it's very detrimental. They are in fear of it. Of course they might think about moving. And a lot of people did move away because of that.

Or think about your...

Hey guys, can you think of an investment that is safe, stable, and secure in today's environment?

We know the stock market's crashing.

We know the crypto market crashed.

And we know other market assets are crashing right now.

So is there an investment out there that people can really trust?

The answer is yes.

And Americans already know this:

The most recent study shows that for the last eight years straight Americans trust real estate more than any other asset class.

Here's the question mark I have for you:

Are you out there beating this drum? Are you the evangelist about real estate to your own clients and talking to them about the fact fact that they need to diversify their portfolios, you know, rebalance their assets, and get some of that money over into residential real estate?

One of the safest, most stable, secure investments they could possibly make.

Now, how do we know that?

Well, all markets are based on supply and...

Hey guys, I'm seeing something in the market that I've never seen before, which is really interesting.

We're seeing a mass migration of people moving from one state to the next because of political reasons.

Now, we haven't seen that. In my 33 years in the industry, I've never seen a mass migration because of political reasons. People are moving because they don't agree with the local politics or the state politics. And they're going to where they agree more with the politics of that other state.

So you might say, well, that's interesting, Jim, but how in the world do I capitalize on? How do I use that in my real estate business?

It's interesting because we all know some folks around us—family and friends—that have actually made the move. So isn't like way out there. This is like close to almost all of us.

So I'm gonna give you a simple technique today that you can implement right now.

...

One conversation that can come up as you're out there taking listings is, of course, centered on commissions.

And here's a great script to help your sellers look at the commission, not just cost, but as a marketing incentive to encourage showings and to encourage more offers.

So the script kind of goes like this:

"Hey, Mr. And Mrs. Seller, one thing I wanna talk to you about is the commissions that we charge. Now, I charge a listing marketing fee of X [fill in the blank, whatever you're charging]. And all we have to decide now is what we're gonna pay the buyer's agent. Now there's a little secret sauce here that a lot of people don't understand. Which is, that marketing fee that we're paying to the buyer's agent to bring that buyer in can actually incentivize them to show your home.

"Let me show you an example:

"I did a commission survey in your market area where your home is. I went out about a mile two miles, and I looked at every listing that...