We're heading to the Tom Ferry conferences!

We're so excited to be making our first public appearance as the Bond Collective this week! We will be at the Tom Ferry conferences in Southern California, and we can't wait.

Going to these conferences is always so motivating for us. Not only do we learn more about real estate, but we also get to meet amazing agents who are as hungry as we are to succeed. We’ve learned that no matter how much experience or success you’ve had in this industry, there is always room for improvement. Our business is ever-evolving, which means there is always more to learn, and we have learned so much by talking with other agents and getting their perspectives on the industry.

If you have the chance to come to the conference, we’d love to see you there. If not, we highly recommend attending a conference near you. 

– James and David

Mortgage demand dips to 27-year low 

Realtor.com reported that mortgage applications fell 13.2% during the last two weeks of Q4, dropping to the lowest rate since 1996. The drop is due to mortgage rates doubling YoY and remaining well over 6%.

Also, in the last two weeks of Q4, home purchase applications sank 12.2% and refinance applications fell 16.3%, down a whopping 87% compared to a year ago. 

Our take

To us, this report is a little bit of clickbait to put fear into the market. Don’t let it fool you! The holidays always cause a slowdown, and high interest rates were no help. We don’t take too much away from data during this period. But now, it’s the beginning of the year, inflation is easing up, and interest rates are starting to stabilize. We suggest reaching out to buyers and sellers who pulled back during this time and starting to re-engage with them.

Sellers give concessions at record rate

According to a recent Redfin report, 41.9% of sellers gave concessions to buyers at closing in Q4, which is the highest share on record. Concessions made a comeback in Q4 because buyers had more negotiating power due to high mortgage rates, inflation, and a softer housing market.

Here are other key takeaways from the report:

• 22% of home sales included both a concession and a final sale price below the listing price

• Phoenix, San Diego, and Las Vegas were among the top cities for concessions

• Popular concession requests include closing costs, mortgage rate buydowns, and home repairs

Our take

This is a great opportunity for you to use your negotiation skills when representing a buyer. It’s going to take a lot of work, but that is how great agents are made. In this market in 2023, any agent can do the first 90% of closing a deal, but it’s the ones that can do the last 10% that are going to succeed. 

If you want some tips on negotiating, listen to our special podcast episode with Mauricio Umanksy → Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Metros where prices rose and fell the most in 2022

Realtor.com crunched the numbers to find the markets where home prices increased and decreased the most in 2022. They found that the highest price growth occurred in smaller Midwest and Southern region markets which became popular during the pandemic, while the cities with the biggest price drops were spread across the western two-thirds of the country.

Here are the 5 cities where prices increased the most:

1. Omaha, NE (+21.6%)

2. Jackson, MS (+21.6%)

3. Wichita, KS (+21.5%)

4. Milwaukee, WI (+20.9%)

5. Little Rock, AR (+20.1%)

Here are the 5 cities where prices fell the most:

1. Boise City, ID (-5.8%)

2. Denver, CO (-5.7%)

3. Sacramento, CA (-3.1%)

4. New Orleans, LA (-2.7%)

5. Chicago, IL (-1.6%)

Our take

If you’re in a market where prices increased, go talk to sellers who were hesitant to list their house and show them the data! If you’re in a city where prices fell, you have a great opportunity to find a buyer their dream house for the right price. We know sellers have to make concessions in this market, so there’s no reason that a deal can’t get done.

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

• ‘Get Out’ producer bought this $91M Malibu home

• Here’s how to keep home repair costs low

• Compass is planning another round of job cuts

• Use these trending TikTok sounds in your marketing

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

We constantly tell agents that it’s important to do their homework and show up to meetings prepared with hard numbers. But where can you find these figures? The team at Real Estate News put together a great list of key housing stats that all agents should know, with information on where to find the most recent data.

Here are some key housing stats to watch:

• Existing home sales. Every month, NAR releases its Existing Home Sales data for the month before. It includes data on the inventory of homes for sale, the prior month’s supply of homes, and the median price of homes sold.

• New home sales. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) release data jointly on single-family new home sales every month. The report includes data for all four census regions, plus average and median prices and homes sold by stage of construction. 

• Housing starts. The Census Bureau also releases data each month that measures new construction for both single-family and multi-family homes. Data on the number of building permits is also included, which helps predict trends in construction, the housing market, and the overall economy.

Want to learn more about the housing stats every agent should watch? Click to read the article.

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:

That's all for this edition of The Blueprint! Don't forget to check out the Tom Ferry conferences if you're in southern California. We'd love to meet you, so be sure to say hello.

Have an amazing week, and we'll see you Friday!

–  James and David

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