Back from Inman!

Hey, James here. Just got back from New York, and oh man, it was COLD. This LA boy was not ready for it. I think I wore 19 layers every day.

My biggest takeaway from the conference after meeting a bunch of you was that I couldn’t be more grateful for the work I do. So many of you came up saying how much you love this newsletter and our podcast. Not that I needed motivation to keep doing this, but it’s moments like yesterday at Inman that reminded me how happy I am every day.

So here’s a thank you to each and every one of you for working hard and wanting more out of your day-to-day!

– James

Biden administration releases Renters Bill of Rights

In an effort to promote rental affordability, the Biden administration has announced a Renters Bill of Rights. This aims to be the first set of federal laws to protect renters. According to the Biden administration, research has shown that housing providers exploit renters and that the current set of state and local laws have often acted as patchwork with little recourse for renters, such as landlords losing their homes.

The White House wants every renter to have access to these five protections:

1. Safe, quality, accessible, and affordable housing

2. Clear and fair leases

3. Education, enforcement, and enhancement of renter rights

4. The right to organize

5. Eviction prevention, diversion, and relief

Our Take →

This is terrific! Affordability is a major issue facing first-time home buyers right now. Most people have to rent for many years before buying their first home. We can’t imagine what it would be like if their landlord put them in an unfair situation. We want more people to be able to save up and eventually own homes of their own, and this is exactly the right legislation to get us there.

CoStar reportedly in talks to buy Realtor.com

The real estate world is buzzing about CoStar's possible $3 billion acquisition of News Corp's Move, Inc. real estate segment. CoStar bought Homes.com in 2021. It also owns Apartments.com, Apartment Finder, and Rents.com, among other web-based real estate companies. This deal would add Realtor.com to the company's portfolio and further position CoStar as a major Zillow competitor. The sale could be announced within days, according to insiders familiar with the negotiations.

Our Take →

This would be an insane acquisition by CoStar if it happens, and for this amount of money, WOW! They are already a leader in the commercial space, and with a consumer-facing acquisition like this, they’d be poised to force a lot of good competition in residential. We think this brings great opportunities for all agents. It also goes to show how the value of the residential space, and reminds us that we're in the right industry.

Record number of buyers looking to relocate

A new Redfin report shows that a record 25% of home searchers looked to move to a new metro at the end of 2022. This trend was driven by remote work, which allows home buyers to seek out less expensive areas. Sun Belt cities remain the most popular destinations for relocators, with 8 of the top 10 metros having lower average home prices than the potential buyer's home market.

Here are the top 10 relocation destinations by net inflow:

1. Sacramento, CA

2. Las Vegas, NV

3. Miami, FL

4. Tampa, FL

5. Phoenix, AZ

6. Dallas, TX

7. Cape Coral, FL

8. North Port-Sarasota, FL

9. Houston, TX

10. Orlando, FL

Our Take →

We always find this data useful. If you’re in one of these markets, reach out to your sellers who have been hesitant to sell their homes and let them know the latest news. You have an opportunity to get them the price they want so they can use that money toward their next home. If you’re in these markets, you should be door-knocking a lot and asking homeowners if they’d be willing to move if you found the right buyer for them.

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

• This viral Zillow listing is getting a lot of attention

• Watch this before buying a fixer-upper

• Big win for NAR against the DOJ

• This app plays matchmaker for buyers and sellers

• Avoid these common mistakes when working with contractors

• MLSs combine forces to create Nestfully

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

We've all been there: business is going incredibly well, clients are happy, and deals are getting done. Then, business suddenly hits a lull. Good agents know that slow times are perfect opportunities to work on growing your business. Instead of focusing on the downside, use this time to outreach and generate leads.

Here are three ways to generate momentum for your business:

• Block your time. As agents, it's easy to waste a lot of time on small tasks that we should outsource. Instead of mindlessly wasting time, set aside blocks of time to do specific activities. Make sure you actually utilize this time to do things to generate momentum and delegate the rest!

• Learn everything you can about comps. Study the comps obsessively. You should have the square footages, listing and sales prices, days on the market, and trends in your market committed to memory. This way, you prove to potential clients that you're the real deal, and they can trust you as their agent.

• Pick up the phone or door knock. Momentum comes from more conversations with potential clients. Pick up the phone and reach out to past clients to check in. You already know what we're going to say about door-knocking – every single agent should be doing it. This is a numbers game, so the more conversations you have, the more leads you'll find!

Want to learn more about how to increase your business? Click to listen to the podcast.

Just in Case

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

That’s all for this edition of The Blueprint! Remember, mindset is everything. If you are having a bad day, or bad week, don’t think about it too much. Go back to the basics, put in the work, and everything will fall into place.

See you on Tuesday

– James and David