Here’s an amazing stat that Redfin just put out, and that is that 39% of listings coming on the market are selling — going pending — in the first two weeks. Isn’t that amazing?

But there’s always a tale of two markets out there.

So you’ve got 39% that are going pending, but what about everybody else? The other 60% of listings are not.

And those are starting to linger on the market — a lot of listings on the market over 30 days and 60 days.

So when we have these listings that linger, what do we do?

Well, when we’re having conversations with our sellers, of course the first step is we’ve got to get them realistic on price. But there’s another side of that conversation as well.

So we talk about price. We talk about incentives. Definitely we want to have those conversations.
40% of the market right now — people on the market — have included some price reduction or incentive already.

But we also need to do one other thing that a lot of agents miss, and that is when we’re doing our wee...

Brokers, owners, team leaders, office leaders, I’m going to give you a little tip for your next office meeting.

So sometimes we start office meetings… I’m going to give you one really good way to make these meetings come alive, and I’m going to give you a second good way to really make them come alive.

One is to have the “Genesis Conversation.” What is that?

Well, when you’re doing your “haves and wants,” people are talking about new listings, sales, closings, and so forth. I want you to follow that up and say, “Hey, tell me, where did that listing come from? What was the genesis point where the lead came from, in other words?”

And people say, “Well, it came from my sphere of influence,” or “It was an open house,” or “It was a sign call,” or “It was an internet lead.”

Great. And then you move on to the next person: where was the genesis point for you?

And everybody in the office is going to now really get tuned into where all the leads are flowing from.

80% of the time it’s gene...

Did you know that the average buyer in the market right now believes that 20% down is mandatory?

In fact, when you talk to buyers, 80% of them believe that you need 20% down.

The reality is that most buyers are putting, on average right now, about 10% down. And of course, we know as REALTORS there are lots of programs where buyers can put way less than that.

You’ve got FHA at 3.5% down. Via USDA, buyers can get 0% down depending on your market. And of course, you’ve got to be a veteran in some cases for VA programs.

But there are also a lot of down payment assistance programs across the country.

In every state, every county, every city, there are down payment assistance programs, and most buyers are completely unaware that these are available.

80% of buyers will qualify for some kind of down payment assistance, yet a very small percentage take advantage of it.

Here’s one quick tip for you that can really help you reach a lot of buyers in your market and give them a great resourc...

One of the things I'm asked as somebody that specializes in recruiting is how does it impact your recruiting strategy when A) you're going after an office where there's a competing broker, and B) what if you’re the competing broker in your market?

So let's start with a question: what if I'm going after an office where there's a broker that's out there still selling real estate? And that's very, very common. In fact, the vast majority of brokerage owners in the country still sell.

So here's the trick. When you're looking at those companies, when you're looking at the overall agent productivity of that office, you've got to break out the leader, because the leader is inevitably the top producer in the office.

And when I break their production out, it will bring all those other agents' production down. So I'm having a meeting or a conversation with somebody, I can say”

“Hey, I took a minute and I looked at your overall office productivity. Looks like you had a pretty good year. But wh...

Hey guys, I want to talk to you about a unique way of going after for sale by owners and expired listings, and that is cold texting. Today, we’re going to focus on FSBOs.

With for sale by owners, we know that 92% of these folks are eventually going to work with a REALTOR.

The question is:

Will it be you or your competitor?

If you never reach out, never make contact, and never make an effort, you’re never going to have a shot at getting these listings. You never get what we call an “at bat.”

So how do you get an at bat? You make contact. You build a relationship. You’re never going to close them on the first appointment. Usually it takes several appointments and several conversations to get them to come to you.

Remember, FSBOs typically have a four-to-six-week incubation period. From the time they plant the sign in the yard or post on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, within four to six weeks, 92% of them will have worked with or decided to work with a REALTOR.

So what’s our co...

Hey guys, is it better to be a renter or a homeowner in today’s world? Especially with the rise of digital nomads and people wanting maximum flexibility—being able to live anywhere and work from anywhere.

There’s a strong attraction for that lifestyle, especially for Gen Z. Some in real estate worry: “Will Gen Z still buy homes like Gen X did?”

The reality is in the numbers, and we need to educate them.

Here’s a stark comparison: the average homeowner has 43 times the net worth of the average renter.

Average renter: ~$10,000 net worth

Average homeowner: ~$430,000 net worth

The reasons are many, but the number one factor is leverage.

Let me give you an example. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article comparing real estate to the stock market. They said if you had invested in the S&P 500 over the last 30 years instead of buying a house, you would have made more money.

That’s misleading, because they ignored leverage. Let’s break it down:

Imagine someone gives you $...

Hey guys, let’s talk about your power base and why it matters. Your power base number is a great way to measure the health of your database. In real estate, our databases generate the majority of our sales—this has been proven time and time again.

Let’s break it down with some math, because the path is in the math:

If you have a database of 200 people, how many transactions should that generate? The ratio is simple: 10 to 1. For every 10 people in your database, you should generate one sale. So, a 200-person database should produce about 20 transactions.

That’s a general guideline. Let’s make it personal. To find your power base number, take the number of transactions you’ve closed in the past 12 months and divide it by the total number of people in your database.

For example, if you have 200 people in your database but only closed 10 transactions, divide 200 by 10. That gives you 20, meaning for every 20 people, you’re averaging one closed transaction. That’s not great because we ...

Here’s a question: Of the three types of real estate companies I’m about to describe, which do you think is the most dangerous to own in terms of survival?

• Type 1: Small boutique company with 1–30 agents, operating in a metro or small town.
• Type 2: Mid-size firm with 30–70 agents, maybe up to 100 in a bigger city.
• Type 3: Large firms with 70–100+ agents, scaling up to hundreds or even thousands.

Which one is the most dangerous?

For brokerage owners watching this, the answer is the mid-size company.

Here’s why: mid-size companies lack the economies of scale that smaller or larger companies enjoy.

• Small boutique companies operate on a lean footprint with minimal staff. They can hit their niche, maintain high profitability, and foster strong loyalty among their agents. They’re easier to manage and highly efficient.
• Large firms benefit from collective contributions. Even small amounts from many agents add up, allowing for investment in larger offices, better technology, more
...

There's a fantastic book I read years ago called "Positioning" by Al Ries and Jack Trout. It delves into the concept that our brains, like a whiteboard, need a space. As marketers, our goal is to occupy that space in the consumer's mind. However, with numerous competitors in the market, the challenge is stiff.

I appreciate the idea that it's not about what we want to say; it's about what consumers want to hear and learn from us. Consider the top four things consumers seek from a realtor: finding the right home, assistance with paperwork (part of negotiation), negotiating price, and negotiating terms.

Reflect on these four aspects—finding the right home, negotiations on price and terms, and paperwork. Are we addressing these in our marketing and branding? Shift from what we want to say to what clients want to learn. This transforms marketing into something people want to pay attention to.

Now, let's consider what sellers want. The top four things a seller desires: an expert in pricin...

Hey everyone, what are the top reasons buyers want to hire REALTORS? What do buyers value most? Well, here are the top three reasons according to an NAR study.

The primary one, unsurprisingly, is assistance in finding the right home. It's consistently at the top.

What might catch you off guard are the next two reasons, both tied to negotiations. Second is aiding buyers in negotiating sale terms, and third is assisting with price negotiations.

Two-thirds of the top reasons revolve around negotiation.

When engaging with buyers initially, agents often overlook discussing negotiation. How can I prompt buyers to choose me, armed with this data? Well, one effective strategy is to showcase successes on social media. For instance, if I help buyers secure $10,000 in closing costs or credits from the seller, why not share that after closing? Highlight the journey—viewing 10 homes, narrowing down to two, making an offer, and negotiating not just for a great price but also sec...