Happy Friday! 

👋  Welcome everybody from the NLS Zoom, thanks for joining our community. Here’s your pre-weekend reminder: there’s nothing and no one holding you back from success in this career. At the end of the day, you are your own boss. You can let that pressure weigh you down OR inspire you to make one more call, one more door-knock, one more follow-up, and one more sale!

– James and David

Today’s Blueprint:

• There’s more CoStar vs. Zillow drama

• September’s unexpected price growth report

• Everyone’s talking about metaverse real estate

• Three steps to a fail-proof business plan

The showing services showdown is on!

The CoStar vs. Zillow battle is shaping up to be telenovela material. This week CoStar went straight for the jugular, launching its own showing-management service for agents called Homesnap Showings. This service is on a mission to squeeze Zillow’s ShowingTime right out of the market. And that’s not just our take, that’s a one-two punch straight from the company’s mouth. 

Homesnap Showings is now available free with a Homesnap Pro account. The popular service allows agents and sellers to collaborate on the home showing schedule, and will send a post-showing survey to every buyer’s agent. It can also build smart, multi-stop itineraries, and promises not to send anyone’s home search data to Zillow.

Our take

Always do your homework before you buy into the latest and greatest industry tools. Especially from companies that are looking after their own bottom line, not yours. We’re not necessarily calling snake oil here, but educate yourself on what tools will actually help your organization and efficiency. Personally, we love good old fashioned iPhone calendars.

It’s beginning to look a lot like last May

We now have proof home prices are beginning to slow their roll. September’s price growth report has been released, which showed it was the first month since May 2020 that annual price growth didn’t increase. 

At final count, September saw a price increase of 19.5% YoY. That may still seem pretty steep, but considering August saw an increase of 19.8%, it’s actually a bit of positive news for buyers. Some experts believe momentum peaked in July and has begun to level out. We’ll know more about what to expect price-wise in 2022 when the next price growth report is released. We'll keep you posted.

Our take

No matter what the market does next year, you can still fetch a better-than-market price for your sellers if you: 

• Hire an impeccable photographer who can get amazing day photos, night photos, and drone shots. Yes, if you’re selling a luxury property you need all three. 

• Declutter and depersonalize every inch of that place.

• If every room is a different bright color, don’t show it like that. Paint it white. Just trust us on this one. 

• Create a strategy around the house. Maybe shop it off market, share it to your industry network, hold a broker’s open, and gauge interest. Only once you know what you’ve got, post it on the MLS.

Welcome to the next dimension of real estate

If you’re looking to expand your real estate career, try selling in the metaverse! Investors are buying up land and houses in Sandbox, Dectraland, and other virtual worlds. Earlier this week Republic Realm, a virtual real estate developer, announced they paid a record-setting $4.3M for acreage in Sandbox. 

Agents are already seeing the potential in this industry. In fact, the metaverse already has its first luxury real estate brokers. Just like in the physical world, these specialized agents help users purchase or rent houses in hotspot areas, near their friends, or by popular attractions. These transactions are usually made using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Because if you’ve got the virtual cash for a second home, why not make it a virtual one!

Our take

Agents are all over this huge opportunity right now. Educate yourself on the ins and outs of virtual real estate because we can guarantee your clients will be asking about it. The metaverse is a space you need to follow because this is happening and it’s happening fast.

Schematics 

The news that just missed the cut

• Is this a senior home or a 5-star resort?

• This creative renovation project is astounding

• Fact check: Nancy Pelosi did NOT buy this $25M home

• Loan limits are up in these counties

• Idaho might be the country’s best kept ski home secret

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

The 2022 business plan you make this month is like a roadmap for your career. Here’s how we put together our power plan every December: 

1. Analyze the data. Look at how your local market performed in 2021. How did your activity follow the trends of your market? Are there areas of new opportunity?

2. Review your $$$. Where can you reduce costs next year? Where did you make the highest ROI? How much cash do you ideally need to operate smoothly next year? How much profit do you want to take home? Answering these questions will help you determine your sales goal for the new year. 

3. State your mission. A business plan isn’t just about numbers. Keep your mission and vision as an agent at the forefront of your mind. Why did you start this career? Who do you really want to work with? Why them? What do you need to do to reach more of that client? 

Write these down and keep them close next year as a continual reminder of why the hustle is worth it.

Just in Case

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

If this is your first time reading The Blueprint, what did you think? Reply to this email and let us know your comments, questions, or suggestions. We’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy your weekend. We’ll see you Tuesday! 

– James and David