Correcting our mistake

If you tried to listen to our excellent conversation with Grier Allen of “Inside Real Estate” on our podcast, Rise Above the Ranks, you probably realized you couldn’t! That was our mistake. The podcast links were broken.

We’ve heard you and the issue has been fixed on Apple and Spotify.

Please do not let this stand in the way of listening to this truly terrific episode. We reveal a lot of details that we’ve never disclosed before about how we operate as a team and carry on our day-to-day business. We also share our philosophy about how to build a top-performing real estate team.

Listen and share your thoughts!

Now, let’s jump into today’s Blueprint!

– James and David

Active listings rise

Last week, active listings spiked for the first time this year, increasing by 8,815 units. For added context, here are some key numbers from Housingwire:

• The 8,815 unit increase was roughly half the rise of 16,915 units from the same week last year (July 15 – July 22, 2022)

• 2022’s inventory bottom was 240,194

• 2023’s inventory peak was 479,273

• Inventory for the comparable week in 2015 was 1,202,909

Our take

The inventory growth is less than what we hoped to see, but it’s still a good week for inventory. It actually grew and now sits at the highest level we have seen all year. While that is something to celebrate, we’re not pollyannish about it. Just compare the current inventory numbers to 2015 numbers. We have a long way to go before the market becomes healthy again.

Bright MLS breaks with NAR policy on commissions

Bright MLS, the nation’s second-largest multiple listing service, is breaking with National Association of Realtors policy which requires listing brokers to offer commissions to buyer brokers in order to submit listings to Realtor-affiliated MLSs.

On Wednesday, Bright — with more than 100,000 subscribers in six states in the mid-Atlantic region — announced that, starting Aug. 9th, it would allow listing brokers and agents to enter any amount in a listing’s cooperative compensation fields, including zero. Previously, the fields required an offer of compensation of at least one cent.

Our take

We are not entirely surprised by this move from Bright. As everybody figures out how to deal with the upcoming fallout from the ongoing class action lawsuits against NAR, we are going to see similar moves like this. We think it would be wise for buyer brokers to start using buyer broker agreements and continue to express their value at every chance they get.

The real estate CRM built for winners

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That’s why we’ve partnered with Boomtown to give you $750 in FREE marketing credits.

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Where counties are growing and shrinking

Gravy Analytics has a new report on how the population has shifted between Q1 2020 and Q1 2023. Buyers clearly went where homes are cheaper. The median house value in counties experiencing population growth was about 38% lower than the median house value in counties experiencing population loss.

Here are its lists of the top population-gaining and losing counties in the country:

Our take

This study shows the main motivators for moving. People moved to markets where homes were affordable and where they could start maximizing their wages. We hope this is a wake up call to all residents and policymakers of the depopulating counties. We need to build more homes!!

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

• How to become the go-to agent in your area

• What is buyer agency?

• Domino’s mansion in Bel-Air lists for nearly $30M

• This percentage of U.S. homeowners have no mortgage at all

• Close more deals with these compelling call-to-actions

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

Today we’d like to share with you some tips that will help you outperform other agents and rise above the ranks.

Focus on Listings – We say this all the time. If the majority of your business comes from real estate buyers, you’re a real estate salesperson. If over 50% of your business comes from real estate listings, then you have a real estate business. Listings are king. Hone your skills to get as many of them as you can.

Work Extra Hard When Others Are Coasting – Some agents will coast during the first and last three months of the year. That’s when you should be putting in that extra effort. That means putting out unsolicited video CMAs once a day, sending out postcards, going to open houses, having twenty real estate-related conversations in a day, etc. Just get out there.

Invest in Yourself – Invest in your learning, invest in a coach, invest in sharpening your skills. There is a lot to learn in this business. Our industry is always changing and developing, so it’s important that you change and develop with it.

Check out this video with even more suggestions on how to set yourself apart and excel. We can’t recommend it highly enough.

Just in Case

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

Before we go, we have a question for you. What are the biggest obstacles you’re facing in your real estate career right now? If you’re struggling with something, you can bet 10 other industry professionals are too. Message us. We want to know!

That’s a wrap on today’s Blueprint! Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you Friday.

– James and David