The Essential Real Estate Toolkit

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Today, we are releasing our master guide to the real estate industry and we are making it available to The Blueprint community FOR FREE!

We call it our "Essential Real Estate Agent Toolkit." It highlights the 20 most important topics that we believe every agent should know. These are the tips we used to sell $3,000,000,000 of real estate in 10 years.

For the next 2 weeks, it is available for just one referral. All you need to do is click the share link right below this message, send this newsletter to someone who would enjoy it, and once they subscribe, our guide will be in your inbox.

If you already have made that one referral, thanks for helping us spread the word. Go ahead and check your inbox right now 🙂

– James and David

Why 85% of homeowners are “locked-in”

The pandemic’s historically-low interest rates have created an interesting phenomena called the “locked-in” effect. As interest rates spike to the highest level since 2008 (with the most recent Fed hike coming just Wednesday, up 0.75%), more homeowners are opting to keep their home and their lower interest rate. According to Redfin:

• A full 85% of homeowners with a mortgage have a rate of less than 6%

• New listings were down 19% in early September

Our take

We can’t blame these homeowners for staying put. It makes complete sense. This is why we always try to keep a list of homes for off-market listings in prime areas. Regardless of this data, we think everybody has a price. If you just knock on the right door or cold call the right number, you never know what might happen!

Opendoor faced major losses in August

Opendoor’s iBuying program got hit particularly hard last month. Due to lower-than-expected transaction volumes and slowing price appreciation, the company closed 42% of its transactions at a loss. In Q3, the company expects to report more than $175M in losses.

Our take

While the market normalization isn’t a bad thing (and might even be a good thing!) for average buyers and sellers, it’s a different story for these companies. They build their entire business around transactions, so they still need to keep making deals even when they might not be in their favor. Only time will tell if selling at a loss will be good for their business in the long run.

Multi-family home construction is on the rise

Despite slowing demand, rising interest rates, and decreasing builder sentiment, new construction activity picked up in August.

• Total new construction starts grew 12.2% last month

• Multi-family home starts were up 28.6% from July, while single-family increased 3.4% month-to-month.

• The total number of multi-family homes under construction rose 3.3% month-to-month and 26.5% YoY

Our take

This data shows we’ll see a rush of new multi-family inventory hit the market over the next few months. We know how expensive the single-family market has been over the past year, so having more affordable options is good for the overall housing market. We’ll be interested to see how this impacts the residential market and rental prices in Q4 & Q1.

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

• Demand for luxury real estate remains surprisingly strong

• The impact of the Fed raising interest rates .75% on Wednesday

• Compass’ layoffs extend to tech team

• Chinese investors are selling off billions in commercial real estate

• Share these tips with your first-time buyers

• Why Seattle has become the fastest-cooling US housing market

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

If you want to find long-term success in real estate, you have to be willing to do what other agents won’t. We don’t just mean working harder and smarter. To level up your business, be ready to make these sacrifices:

• Your money. You know the phrase, “It takes money to make money?” Well, in real estate, that’s true. It’s tempting to spend every dollar of your commission on awesome stuff, but be sure to set some aside for marketing, admin costs, and personal development.

• Your comfort zone. Cold-calling and door-knocking are always uncomfortable the first time you try them. But if you’re willing to put yourself out there consistently, you’ll find success.

• Your time. There will be times when you don’t want to host that open, drop by the event, or meet that client. But if you want to become a top producer, learn how to motivate yourself to get up and get out there!

• Your ego. The agents who act humbly, put others first, and ask for help when they need it are the agents who last long-term. They’re the ones who enjoy repeat clients and referrals, and a better team environment.

For more advice on making the right sacrifices to get where you want to be, check out this video.

Q&A

You ask, James and David answer!

We’ll be back next week with another answer to a real reader question. Submit yours here!

Just in Case

Keep the latest industry data in your back pocket with today’s mortgage rates:

When it comes to closing deals, finding clients, negotiating sales, and marketing yourself, what are your biggest hangups and holdups? We want to know! Ask us your burning questions, and we just might answer them in the next Blueprint or podcast! Seriously, we’re truly here to help.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-James and David

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