Let's Talk Real Estate: Strategies, Smartphones, Safety, and More

Welcome to Let's Talk Real Estate! This is a regularly scheduled column where we go over what's going on in the industry--from news to industry expertise, fun facts and more.

First up, let's talk partnerships.

Lone Wolf has a lot of partnership announcements coming out lately, with both Updater and Presto in recent weeks. You can read more about them here and here.

These partnerships are an integral part of Lone Wolf's ecosystem strategy, which is all about bringing the real estate industry an all-in-one marketplace of tools that actually work together.

Tech trends: How do buyers find homes (and agents)?

Every year, NAR puts out a report discussing the use of technology in real estate transactions, and this year's report had some interesting findings about how buyers find homes and agents.

The report, published here, found that a whopping 76% of all home buyers found their home using a mobile device—and 17% of them found their agent the same way. It also found that the younger the buyer, the more likely there was to be a smartphone in the mix.

This really just reinforces what we've known for a few years now— that an online presence is the new essential for real estate marketing.

Moving away from single-family zoning

Back in July, both Minneapolis and Oregon made headlines for passing new bills that would effectively eliminate single-family zoning.

The whole concept has been a bit of a buzz since then, and recently Inman took a good, hard look at how these legislature changes—intended to help improve affordability—will impact real estate agents.

The article, available here, digs through both sides of the discussion and is a great read for anyone curious about what effects reducing single-family zoning will have.

Last but not least: Realtor Safety Month

Did you know? September is Realtor Safety Month—an awareness initiative designed to help agents stay safe in what can be one of the most dangerous jobs out there.

This impassioned opinion piece on Inman is a great read for all agents, and a good refresher on why it's important to consider your safety—all year long.

To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.