Making sense of conflicting housing reports

April 25, 2023

The dreaded “R”

People in every business have to deal with rejection, but let’s face it — in our business, we have to deal with much more of it. It’s an inherent (…and annoying) part of our daily lives.

Trust us, when we first moved to Los Angeles from London, and knocked on door after door after door, we faced our fair share of it. But we always lived by a saying: every rejection is simply a redirection! It points you in the direction you are meant to go.

We definitely get that this market is tough. Don’t get discouraged when someone says no. We can’t control what people say, but we can control how we respond. Go at them with excitement and passion. Focus your energy on finding your next client. Energy is contagious, and if you are consistent and positive, anything can happen!

– James and David

Making sense of the latest housing reports

Source: Unsplash

Different reports have shown price changes for Q1 and March 2023, and these changes might seem contradictory to consumers. Some reports show price hikes while others show price drops. The confusion stems from the reports covering different time periods and sections of the market.

We’ll help clarify what these reports mean:

Fannie Mae reported an increase of 4.7% in home prices for Q1 on a quarterly basis.
Both Redfin and NAR announced annual price drops, with Redfin reporting a 3.3% drop YoY and NAR reporting a 0.9% dip YoY.
Zillow's report found that entry-level buyers are dealing with faster-rising home prices than buyers at higher price points.

Our take

This is a good example of why it’s important to look at what each housing report is measuring. Is it a quarterly measure? It is an annual measure? Those distinctions can clearly make a big difference. There’s so much data out there, and we are always combing through the points that are the most useful for us.

Are more buyers on the way?

Source: Unsplash

The National Association of Home Builders’ latest Housing Trends report found that 18% of adults in the U.S. are planning to buy a house in the next 12 months, the highest share ever for the survey.

Here are the biggest takeaways:

Many economists are expecting mortgage rates to go down in the second half of 2023 or early 2024
Lower interest rates would lead existing homeowners to list their homes to alleviate the lack of supply
71% of homebuyers spent 3 months looking for a home in the last quarter, a sign that slightly lower rates have intensified demand
The West (23%) had the highest share of adults wanting to buy a home this year, followed by the Northeast (19%), the South (14%) and the Midwest (10%)

Our take

We hope these numbers are indicative of what’s to come. We really need more inventory and more demand. If interest rates stay where they are, or go down a little bit, we think we’ll be completely out of the woods by mid-2024. That would be a huge win for the housing market. Keep your eye on the prize, do your lead gen, and be sure to follow up!

Gen Z outpaces millennials in home ownership

Source: Unsplash

Redfin released a survey that shows that Gen Zers are tracking ahead of their parents' generations in homeownership.

Here are the report's main takeaways:

In 2022, 30% of 25-year-olds owned their home, more than Millennials (28%) and Gen Xers (27%) when they were 25, but less than Boomers (32%) at the same age.
Many Gen Zers took advantage of 3% mortgage rates during the pandemic, along with a strong job market and double-digit wage growth.
Unlike Gen Zers, Millennials are tracking behind older generations’ homeownership rates.

Our take

Millennials had it tough coming out of the 2008 recession and now the pandemic. They’ll eventually catch up, and we are seeing this in our day-to-day. But it’s great that Gen Z is ahead of the curve. Make sure you are doing what you can to get in front of the generation you are serving. If you’re new to this industry, double down on your social media marketing and try to attract those new Gen Z buyers.

Schematics

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Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

We talk a lot about client outreach, door-knocking, and finding clients yourself. But there are also steps you can take to help clients find you first, which make growing your career so much easier!

Here are three ways to get clients to contact you:

Laser-focus your profile. As agents, we need to show our clients why we're the best choice to help them buy or sell a home. Your profile needs to tell potential clients exactly what value you provide. A great way to do this is to change your online profile to have an "About YOU" section instead of an "About Me."

Always respond. It makes sense that you can't nurture a lead if you don't respond to them. And you never know where a lead might take you! Even if it doesn't seem like the lead is ready to list or buy, they are another connection in your network, so respond to their messages!

Be visible online. If you're hard to find online, potential clients aren't going to find you, and they will most likely go with an agent who is easier to find and contact. You don't need a huge online presence, but you do need to be easy to find. Remember that the internet can market for you 24/7!

Want to learn more about helping potential clients come to you? Click to read the article.

Q&A

You ask, James and David answer!

Q: Can you give us an example of a time when you made a mistake and how you bounced back from it? In my mind, it pays to be honest when this happens because people are more forgiving when you do. Thanks!

– Lindsay, Delaware, The Blueprint reader

A: We made so many mistakes it’s hard to count! The biggest ones were probably not budgeting well after our first closed deals and not having money for taxes at the end of the year. Another big one was not preparing for listing meetings early in our career and thinking we could just wing it. We also didn’t follow up great when we first started and probably missed out on a bunch of deals.

– James & David

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