Home price stats we LOVE to see

February 14, 2023

Our Valentine’s Day gift to you

Well, we didn’t buy you flowers, but we got you something we think you’ll love just as much.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting a free webinar with our friends at Boomtown on Wednesday, February 22 at 2pm EST!

We will be sharing the best tips and tricks that helped us sell more than $1B of business in under ten years. Plus, we’ll give our take on the current state of the market.

Now enjoy this Valentine’s Day-themed edition of The Blueprint!

– James and David

We heart this homebuyer report

Source: Unsplash

Our hearts aren’t the only things that are soaring. According to a new Redfin report, both home buyer and seller activity went up during the first week in February.

Here are the main takeaways:

The Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index hit its highest level since Q3, up 21% since October.
Google searches for “homes for sale” were up 38% from their Q4 low.
Mortgage applications increased 3% week-to-week.

Our take

We’re seeing the exact same thing in our local LA market. We recently beat out 20 offers on a home for one of our clients. Buyers are eager to jump on these rates, and sellers are confident that they are getting the right price for their homes. Now it’s our job to play matchmaker and find people their dream homes!

Home price jumps we LOVE to see

Source: Unsplash

NAR released its home price report for Q4 2022, which showed that prices for existing single-family home sales climbed in almost 90% (166 of 186) of measured metro areas.

Here are the top 10 markets:

Farmington, NM: 20.3%
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: 19.5%
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL: 17.2%
Greensboro-High Point, NC: 17%
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC–NC: 16.2%
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI: 16%
Winston-Salem, NC: 15.7%
El Paso, TX: 15.2%
Punta Gorda, FL: 15.2%
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL: 14.5%

Our take

We LOVE what we’re seeing here. This has us feeling really good about the next six months. There’s confidence in the market, and we think this is the new normal. Remind yourself not to read any negative headlines about national macro news. Focus on what is happening in your market. Remember, go the extra distance to deliver value for your clients because this is an unbelievable opportunity to separate yourself as an agent. When they see your hard work, they’ll say BE MINE!

Free webinar on February 22nd!

Buckle up – this is going to be epic. In this upcoming webinar, we’ll tell you how we started with zero contacts and built a billion-dollar business, and we’ll share our top strategies for staying productive in this market. Plus, we’ll give our tips and tricks for staying ahead of the competition.

Join us on Wednesday, February 22nd at 2pm EST.

Goldman Sachs takes off rose-colored glasses

Source: Unsplash

Goldman Sachs has changed its 2023 market prediction after previously predicting a housing slowdown in 2023. Instead of the 6.1% home price drop predicted back in January, Goldman Sachs now expects prices to fall only 2.6% by the end of the year.

Here are the three factors that contributed to this forecast change:

Homeowners have equity in their homes due to high home values, leading to fewer homeowners being underwater in their mortgages.
90% of mortgages are fixed-rate, so fluctuations in interest rates aren't impacting these loans.
Household balance sheets remain strong, with lower debt and considerable savings from the pandemic.

Our take

Well, obviously they’d do this. It’s slightly annoying that big institutions make predictions to create news when they’re not in the day-to-day like we are. Our personal issues aside, this is another sign that the market is looking very rosy.

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

Source: Business Insider

Airbnb bookings were low for the Super Bowl in Arizona
Check out this dream kitchen
CEO of Pretium predicts bad news for iBuyers
If Eminem wrote Valentine’s Day cards to his clients

🎧 Rise Above the Ranks

In this week’s Rise Above the Ranks podcast, Jon Grauman and Adam Rosenfeld join us to talk about the week's top real estate news, client communication, and how agents can scale their business in 2023.

Here's what we dig into in this episode:

How to communicate with clients about the housing economic climate. We've talked about the market rebalancing in 2023, but how can you break this down for your clients? We share how to talk about housing and the economy in a way that makes sense for your clients.
Our recommendations for scaling your business. Most agents don't have a huge budget when they're first starting out, and it can be hard to figure out the best way to grow your business without spending a ton of money. We go over our recommendations for how newer agents can streamline their business on a budget.
How new agents should spend their first months in the industry. We say it all the time – you've got to put in the work. But we're all about agents working smarter, not harder! We share how new agents can thrive in real estate.

Want the full scoop? Check out the episode → Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Q&A

You ask, James and David answer!

Q: If you had 3 hours in a day to get ahead of the competition, what would you do?

– Chris, The Blueprint reader, Arizona

A: STUDY THE INVENTORY! There’s so much value in knowing which homes sold for what price and what homes are on the market. Look up what homes are being built and where people want to live. There’s so much value in being the go-to for your market. Study each zip code, and be ready to tell your clients everything there is to know about that area!

– James & David

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