Fridge Magnets, Begone: Why the Annual Equity Review Is the Best Way to Engage Past Clients
You're an advisor to clients during the purchase or sale of a home, but who do you become to them once the transaction is closed? Too often, the answer is "just a memory." But if you want past clients to keep thinking of you as their go-to advisor for all things real estate, what strategies can you use? One of our favorite ways to stay top-of-mind with previous clients is by offering an annual equity review. This method is not pushy or salesy — rather than contacting clients because you want something from them (their business or a referral), you're reaching out to offer something to them, no strings attached. And all the while, you're highlighting your market expertise and cementing your value in the minds of your previous clients. So what do you need to know to leverage this strategy, and how do you approach past clients? Real estate coach Jason Pantana and lead generation expert David Caldwell cover all you need to know in the video below. Watch it to learn: About the concept of the annual equity review, in depth How you can use this strategy with past clients and nearby potential clients Methods to communicate home value information The importance of providing certainty about home values in the market Why prospects from your database are easier to convert than "bottom of the funnel" leads And more! Related Reading Grab Previous Clients' Attention with the RPR Equity Update How to Reconnect with Past Clients 8 Steps for Nurturing Long-term Relationships with Your Buyers

Plunk unlocks confident investing in real estate
Welcome back to our "Tips and Tricks Tuesday" series, which highlights articles around a monthly theme. August's theme is "Finding more homes for sale." Read on for tips and tricks for finding business even in challenging market: Plunk just announced the launch of Plunk Pro for residential real estate investors, advisors and analysts. This is quite exciting news, since Plunk was only available at the enterprise level through API access. "Stockbrokers and investors have had access to real-time data for decades and currently deal with an average trade size of $10,000 — which is much less than a real estate deal," stated Ian Brillembourg, Plunk's Head of Mobile Product. "The average sales price of a home in the US was $495,100 as of Q2 2023 — yet until now, there was no way for real estate brokers and investors to have access to real-time property valuation data and analysis," he added. Plunk tracks over 104 million homes nationwide to give users the most comprehensive home valuation data in real time, in addition to predictive home investment analysis and risk assessment. Plunk Pro is a web- and mobile-based application that provides real-time access to the following: Plunk Home Value: What is this home worth — right now? Plunk's proprietary, Dynamic Valuation Model (next-generation AVM), updated in real time. Plunk Refined Value: Can I improve this home's valuation accuracy? User-generated valuation allows a user to correct or update up to 31 attributes of a home to improve accuracy or play 'what if' scenarios — and get an immediate, refined value. Home Compare: Why is this home worth more or less than the neighbor's? Demonstrates how a home compares to others in the neighborhood, including number of bedrooms, bathrooms and stories, plus finished square footage, year built and home condition. Real-time Market Insights: How is the local housing market performing? Real-time access to median days on market, media list price, price per square foot, inventory, days of inventory and sale vs. list price. Plunk Remodel Value: What is this home's maximum potential renovated value? The future, fully-remodeled value of a home. Project Recommendations: What improvements can be made to increase this home's value? Renovation projects with the best return on investment. "We're on a mission to unlock confident investing in the largest asset class in the world, leveraging next generation applications of AI and deep learning," said Brian Lent, Co-founder and CEO of Plunk. Plunk Pro is designed for individual users and small teams. For more information on Plunk Pro visit www.plunkpro.com. Plunk's AI-powered home analytics are also available for enterprise customers via API. For more information on API access, visit www.getplunk.com/developers. Kurt Kreager has over 40 years of experience in buying, selling, and managing real estate for buyers, sellers, and investors. He is currently a Managing Broker with Coldwell Banker Danforth and a lead advisor on real estate services at Plunk.

Lead Gen Meets Next Gen with RealtyCandy's New AI-powered Home Valuation Widget
Welcome to a new month of our "Tips and Tricks Tuesday" series, which highlights articles around a theme. August's theme is "Finding more homes for sale." Read on for tips and tricks for finding business in a challenging market: RealtyCandy may have just broken the record in developing the easiest lead gen tool for real estate agents and brokers. For over a decade, the company has been providing unique website apps, templates, widgets, and first-to-market integrations to thousands of real estate agents nationwide. In a recent press release, they announced a partnership with Plunk, an AI-powered property analytics platform, to provide agents and brokers with access to a lead gen widget that produces both real-time home valuation and local market insights, including sale vs. list price, median list price, median days on market, price per square foot, inventory, and days of inventory. This first-of-its-kind lead gen widget is available on HomeValuation.ai and the price points are quite reasonable considering the leads would be generated instantly, without having to take a client outside of the agent's website. The average cost for agent lead gen tools on popular real estate portals like Zillow can range from $20 to $60 per lead. Through the HomeValuation.ai widget, an agent can access up to 100 valuation leads for $59 and keep clients engaged within their own website. In a departure from most other valuation widgets, when a potential client enters their address into a HomeValuation.ai widget, the data address is immediately captured. This has proven to be particularly valuable when paired with a QR code and used as a rider at open houses or on yard arm signs. The agent instantly knows who in the neighborhood is checking their value and can follow up. Beyond the price point per lead and the end-user experience, the easy integration is what truly sets this lead gen tool apart. "I've been a real estate agent for 20 years and have never come across a lead gen tool this simple. It took me five minutes to sign up for a plan and paste one line of code into my website," said Darren Winston, an early adopter of the widget and a luxury agent at Sotheby's International Realty. "Having an AI-based home valuation tool has been an effective way for me to bring past clients and new homeowners to my website." And because it's only one line of code, there's no new tech stack to add or additional costs for a development team to deploy this new tool. "Real estate agents and brokers have been presented with a growing number of technology solutions to help streamline and grow their businesses—but some require complicated integrations," remarked James Call, Founder and CEO of RealtyCandy, in the press release. "So, we built an elegant and simple home valuation lead gen widget, leveraging Plunk's AI-powered home ticker and local market metrics." RealtyCandy has created a demo of how to use RealtyCandy's lead gen widget here. Kurt Kreager has over 40 years of experience in buying, selling, and managing real estate for buyers, sellers, and investors. He is currently a Managing Broker with Coldwell Banker Danforth and a lead advisor on real estate services at Plunk.

Elevate Your Business with RPR's Master the Market eBook Series
Want to attend RPR U (Realtors Property Resource® University)? Okay, we'll come clean, that's not really a thing! However, we do offer a comprehensive eBook series that will help you master the market and elevate every facet of your business. Our new collection of eBooks were inspired by RPR's Market Trends charts and graphs. This aggregation and presentation of hyper-local housing market data is the fuel that drives these ultra informative "books." Each one covers crucial topics in real estate that you need to know in order to build your skills and find success. These aren't quick, top lines that you casually browse through — they're detailed, in-depth, step-by-step guides that will immerse you in the topic and arm you with tried and true tactics and techniques. Download one or download them all! You'll learn how to master your messaging, your marketing and your market. RPR's Guide to Market Trends and Housing Charts This insightful eBook is packed with essential information, tips and tools to help you stay ahead of the curve and excel in your real estate career. With a focus on market trends, housing statistics and industry insights, this guide will enable you to become an expert in your field and provide your clients with the best possible advice. Metrics and Trends for Your Next Listing Presentation Are you a REALTOR® looking to elevate your listing presentations and captivate potential clients? Discover the power of data-driven insights with RPR's eBook: Metrics and Trends for Your Next Listing Presentation. This eBook includes tips for leveraging RPR's Shareable Market Trends to craft compelling and successful listing presentations. Enhance Buyer and Seller Guides with RPR's Shareable Market Trends Discover the tools, tips and techniques you need to create top-notch buyer and seller guides that will set you apart from the competition and empower your clients to make informed decisions in today's ever-changing real estate market. Captivating Clients through Social Media and Data-Driven Insights The digital revolution has significantly changed how people search for and purchase homes, making it crucial for REALTORS® to establish an online presence. To assist you in navigating this terrain, we have developed this eBook to show you how to effectively utilize RPR's Shareable Market Trends to enhance your social media presence, captivate clients and broaden your reach. Lights, Camera, Sold! Captivating Consumers with Market Analysis Videos Are you a forward-thinking REALTOR® looking to elevate your marketing efforts? You've come to the right place! Introducing our eBook: Lights, Camera, Sold! Captivating Consumers with Market Analysis Videos. This resource will empower you to combine the proven effectiveness of video marketing with the unparalleled insights of RPR Shareable Market Trends, giving you a winning edge over the competition. RPR's Shareable Charts: A Game-Changer for Webinars and Virtual Events In today's competitive real estate market, utilizing data-driven insights is essential for staying ahead and delivering the best service to your clients. Webinars and virtual events serve as powerful, low-cost platforms for showcasing your expertise and sharing these valuable insights. This eBook is packed with practical tips and strategies that will have you leveraging RPR's Shareable Market Trends for webinars and virtual events in no time! Stand Out in the Mailbox with RPR's Shareable Market Trends Think direct mail is dead? Think again! In the ever-evolving world of real estate marketing, the key to success lies in delivering the right information with the right value — and that's where RPR's Shareable Market Trends come in. Our comprehensive eBook will show you how to harness the power of direct mail marketing by incorporating valuable data-driven content that truly resonates with your audience. The Art of Print: Crafting Market Analysis Printed Materials In today's competitive real estate landscape, staying on top of current trends and adapting your marketing strategies is essential. By blending data-driven insights with eye-catching print materials, you'll provide valuable information and make a memorable impact during open houses, door knocking, networking events, local workshops and beyond. Learn how to effectively communicate your expertise and capture the attention of potential clients through captivating print materials that highlight your in-depth knowledge of the local market. Market Trends Unlocked: A Comprehensive Guide for Real Estate Bloggers By seamlessly incorporating RPR Shareable Market Trends into your blogging strategies, you'll be delivering data-driven insights and current market analysis that will captivate both potential and existing clients, setting you apart in the ever-evolving world of real estate. This eBook is your go-to guide on leveraging RPR Shareable Market Trends in your blogging strategy for optimum results. Get your "Master the Market" degree from RPR! As the saying goes, "We wrote the book." RPR has actually written nine books! Nine eBooks packed with information, strategies and directions on how to reach clients and prospects with RPR Market Trends data. Be sure to download and dive into a good book today. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Get Shareable Market Trends to Keep Your Clients in the Know
Today, we're introducing a weekly series called "Tips and Tricks Tuesday" that highlights articles around a monthly topic. July's theme is "How can I make more money with my phone?" Read on to learn more about the latest mobile apps and innovations that can help you be productive from anywhere: The RPR Mobile™ app is your key to listing and local housing market intel. If you haven't opened it up lately, you're really missing out. It's recently been improved with enhancements such as an updated interface and a plethora of data that you can access while in the field. And here's the really big news... (drum roll) the Shareable Market Trends charts and graphs are now available on the RPR Mobile™ app! This collection of hyper-local housing stats is designed to help you inform your clients about local real estate market trends, info and indicators. It's also great for positioning yourself as a local market expert. Keep clients informed with hyper-local market updates Access to Market Trends and Housing Stats through the RPR Mobile app makes it easier for REALTORS® to stay up-to-date on market trends, even when they are on the go. Use these metrics to assess and analyze the current state of the housing market in specific local areas. You can use this information to advise your clients on a pricing strategy, offer strategies and market conditions. You can also use it to identify trends that may affect future buying or selling decisions. For example, if there is a low inventory of homes for sale and high demand, you may advise a seller to list their home at a higher price point knowing that there are likely to be multiple offers. Alternatively, you may advise a buyer to act quickly when a new property is listed because you know that competition will be fierce. How to find Market Trends on the RPR Mobile™ App Watch this quick video (under five minutes) for a walkthrough of where to find the Market Trends and how you can easily share these important metrics directly to your favorite social media channels. You can also simply save the images to place in other marketing materials or communication pieces. RPR Market Trends and stats: up-to-date and on the go If you haven't downloaded the RPR Mobile™app, do so now! The previous link will take you to an area within our blog where you can easily get to the App store (for iPhones) or Google Play (for Android devices). If you're a REALTOR®, it's included in your NAR membership.

AI ChatGPT-Powered Market Analysis: Game-Changing Feature for Real Estate Marketing
Does the thought of staring at a blank screen while trying to write a market update for your clients and prospects make you cringe? Maybe diving into data and metrics isn't your favorite activity, or your to-do list is piling up with other important tasks that demand your attention. You're in luck! RPR (Realtors Property Resource) is introducing an AI ScriptWriter, which is a ChatGPT integration. It offers real estate professionals a streamlined approach to creating personalized video scripts, engaging social media content and detailed metrics analysis. These features are powered by essential market indicators such as Month's Supply of Inventory, List-to-Sold Price Ratio, Median Days on the Market within RPR and Median Sold Price. These tools will help you create informative content that effectively showcases the latest market trends and insights while saving you time and effort. Personalized Video Scripts: Create personalized video scripts for your local market analysis videos using the RPR AI ScriptWriter. Match your script with the new Shareable Market Trends feature, which enables you to export charts and graphs for your data-driven videos. Easily download images in JPG or PNG formats and seamlessly integrate them into video editing software like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. Social Media Content Creation: While you're at it, keep your social media platforms buzzing with market insights. Have ScriptWriter create tailor-made content for key local metrics. Metrics Analysis: Leverage ScriptWriter to review the metrics, and highlight the correlation between them. This valuable insight will help you make better-informed decisions while guiding clients through their real estate journey. The Key to Success: Collaborating with Your AI Assistant Remember, the key to unlocking the full potential of AI-generated content is to add your personal touch. Proofread and fine-tune: As the saying goes, "Two sets of eyes are better than one." ChatGPT excels at crafting compelling content, but it's crucial to double-check for accuracy and ensure everything aligns with your objectives. Make sure the script reflects your brand's voice and style to resonate with your target audience. Infuse your brand's personality: Your brand is one-of-a-kind, and you've worked tirelessly to establish your identity. So, go ahead and add your unique flair! Highlight your selling points, emphasize your expertise, and share your experience. This will not only reinforce your brand identity but also instill trust in your clients. ScriptWriter is a helpful tool that can streamline the creation of your market analysis videos. By synergizing with your AI assistant and infusing your personal touch, you'll create truly captivating and impactful content that sets you apart in the competitive world of real estate marketing. Don't miss out on this opportunity to revolutionize your marketing strategy! Getting Started with AI ScriptWriter Ready to create captivating content for your audience? Follow these steps to access and use the RPR Market Trends ScriptWriter tool: Log in to RPR (narrpr.com) and select Research. Now select Residential Market Trends. Then type in your area (ZIP code, City) and click the search icon. You'll arrive on the Market Trends page for the area searched. Select the Create Script to open the Market Trends ScriptWriter. Choose your tone, audience… then choose one of the following buttons: Create Video Script. Create Social Campaign. Analyze Metrics. Review, edit and personalize the content to reflect your brand identity. Don't let blank pages or writer's block get in your way again! The RPR Market Trends ScriptWriter is a marketing tool that lets REALTORS® create talking points and marketing copy, all based on local market stats. Choose your market, tone, audience… then hit the button to almost instantly get the words you need to craft compelling market updates and messages to your clients and prospects. You're also encouraged to proofread and add your own brand voice to the AI-generated text. (Check out this article, How to add Your Brand Voice to RPR's Market Trends ScriptWriter, for some tips and examples.) We encourage you to take the ScriptWriter for a spin today to see how effortless it can now be to create market update videos, social posts, etc. Anywhere you need words, it can help! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How Economic News Affects Your Clients' Mindset
We see the headlines every day. "Rising interest rates throw cold water on a hot market." "How to prepare for the inevitable economic recession." "Mortgage demand takes a big step back." Homeowners, renters and home buyers are being bombarded with these national, some might say sensational, messages on a daily basis. Your clients and prospects hear it too, and it may be making them nervous or thinking twice about buying, selling or investing in real estate. How can you ease their apprehension and nudge them off the fence? Be the source of truth by sharing relevant, up-to-date housing data that affects their actual neighborhood or town. RPR (Realtors Property Resource) puts this type of information at your disposal so it's easier than ever to position yourself as a local market expert. Keep it local and keep them focused on their market's data National statistics, as they relate to housing markets and the economy, can be helpful in certain discussions. Housing costs and policies can shape where people choose to live, work and study, as well as their ability to move or change jobs. However, when it comes down to an individual and their situation, financially and personally, national or even regional numbers don't tell the whole story. That's because real estate is local. Hyper local in reality. What's happening in San Jose, California is definitely going to be different than Cave Springs, Arkansas. Homebuyers and sellers need the latest market trends and data in their immediate area to make informed decisions. And what's the best thing to arm yourself with to do that? Knowledge. Knowledge is your best friend in a changing real estate market. Here's how RPR gives you quick access to an abundance of it: Charts that are smart The "Summary" and "Housing" sections of the Neighborhood details pages, and the new "Market Trends" tab on any Property Details page, are your ticket to real estate market knowledge. Pro Tip: To see these new charts in detail, check out this article: RPR Unveils New Charts and Graphs in its Neighborhood Pages. These charts present local market activity, sales stats and inventory details, and package them in an easy to digest format. There's even a slider that indicates what type of market the area is in. Here's an example: The charts are a snapshot of local market stats, including months of inventory, list to sold price, median days in RPR, and much more. You'll find this collection of data, graphs and statistics incredibly helpful in explaining local market trends to your buyers and sellers. It's also an easy to understand topline that you can share with clients and prospects, which positions you as THE local market expert. This "Market Trends" chart is something home sellers and buyers will really appreciate. You can save the page as a PDF file (through the "Print" option") to add to reports, or make a screen grab and send them an email or text, or even post it as a graphic to your social media channels. Get hyped! The key to adapting and succeeding in a changing market is keeping tabs on it from a local perspective. Gaining the knowledge and delivering hyper local market trends data is really easy, thanks to RPR's charts and graphs. Show potential sellers that even though things have come down to earth, homes are still selling and many markets are still considered a "Seller's Market." Or show potential buyers inventory levels and list to sale prices. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Optimize Your Online Listing, Step 3: Show Results to Your Clients
Last year, we shared a three-step system for optimizing your online listing. Over the past several weeks, we've published a series of articles that breaks down each step one by one. Below is Step Three. See Step One and Step Two. On with the show. Proof of your efforts to successfully market a property can help your seller understand how and when their home gets viewed. Not only can you identify the most popular dates and times the 3D virtual tours and floor plans have been seen, but you can analyze the duration of online visits to your listing information. The staging and sharing steps make your listing stand out to the consumer, but it is also important to show the seller how they benefit from the process. Questions of why their home is not selling or not being shown enough often arise during the contract period. Sellers are anxious to know "How is everything going?" and "When can we expect an offer?" When you give the seller the full scope of online activity, you can help answer some of their questions. After all, your seller is providing compensation for your professional services and, in return, you need to show them why they made the correct decision in choosing you as their real estate agent. Show value by showing your real estate analytics. Real Estate analytics: numbers don't lie Numbers provide everyone with a way to identify specific trends. When the real estate market is hot, it is reflected by the number of houses sold, the number of homes currently listed, and the all-important number, the selling price. Numbers can also give you a comprehensive understanding of space when paired with 3D virtual tours, floor plans and advanced measurements. According to the National Association of Realtors, homebuyers place a high value on the availability of these details when searching for websites for information. Similarly, home sellers are looking for numbers to confirm the popularity of their listing and the results of their real estate agent's marketing efforts. This can easily be shown with the help of comprehensive data gathered and viewed through listing analytics. Understanding the data What can real estate analytics tell you? You can gain a better understanding of where your referrals are being generated. Realtor.com is a popular referring sight for many potential buyers. You can also see if your listing is generating interest from your website or through linked resources like Google or popular social media links like Instagram and Facebook. Analyzing the information helps you modify your real estate marketing to place your online listing information in front of buyers. Good indicators of successful marketing are repeat visitors and the duration of time spent browsing your real estate photos and floor plans. All this data can be shared with your seller to demonstrate the value of virtual tours and how you are marketing their property. Improving results Analytics give you more than just data and numbers, it can help you adjust your marketing. Not getting traffic through your Facebook advertisements? Try switching social media channels until you see the numbers improve. Sharing the listing analytics with your seller is important, but it is also important to make sure you are sharing your contact information too. Analytics reports can be edited to include a banner containing your brand, your name, your phone number and your brokerage logo. Build your brand Real estate-related Google searches continue to be popular, so make sure you give your listings a reason for Google to identify them. Every online real estate listing with consistent information like floor plans, advanced measurements and 3D tours captures the attention of potential buyers. How do you know your listing is getting traffic and growing your brand awareness? Real estate analytics. It's not always enough to have great negotiating skills and plenty of experience. With more than 1.5 million members of the National Association of Realtors competing for business, you need to show the value you bring to the table. Analytics help you build your brand one seller at a time by showing the results of your marketing efforts. You can count on a happy seller referring you to their friends and family. Give more, get more Listing analytics reports can get you more leads from prospective sellers. When you share more information about your online listings like advanced measurements, floor plans and easily navigated virtual tours, your listings get more attention. Virtual 3D tours are now the norm in the industry and are expected by your seller as part of the listing package deal. Analytics provide call-to-action insights and show value to your seller. A more comprehensive understanding of your marketing efforts keeps you and your seller in the know. Think of your real estate analytics as a listing report card where you can watch your progress, see improvement and track your results. Get straight As from your seller for every listing with iGUIDE. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog. Other articles in this series Optimize Your Online Listing, Step 1: Staging Your Listing with Virtual Tools Optimize Your Online Listing, Step 2: Sharing Your Listing to Get Attention

How to Use Real Estate Market Statistics to Attract Sellers and Win Listings
We spend a lot of time talking about how to market to home buyers. But it's important to market to sellers too. And it's easy to do. Before making a decision, sellers should be familiar with the real estate market in their area. Here's how to use real estate market statistics to attract sellers and win listings. Valuation Before deciding to list, a seller needs to know how homes are being valued in the community. Specifically, are values going up? To provide this information, you should look for statistics showing the average percent change in valuation over time. The information should be categorized by ZIP or neighborhood. This will allow the seller to know how values are changing in his/her immediate community. And it will help the seller have the right expectations when pricing the home. Total Home Sales The seller also will want to know the competition for buyers. Specifically, how many others are listing in the area? A graph showing monthly sales volume by ZIP code is essential. This will help the seller understand what potential buyers are seeing and better predict their behavior. Median Price Per Square Foot Median price per square foot is the median sold price in the area divided by the square footage sold. This helps the seller understand the prevailing prices for homes in the area. If the seller's home is smaller than average, he/she should expect to price the home lower than others. Sales by Age Square footage is not the only factor affecting home prices. The age of a home also plays a role. To help a seller understand the bigger picture, you should provide statistics on total sales by home age. This will show the age of the homes selling most, and it can help the seller know what most buyers are looking for. Others These statistics are just a start. There are many others that can provide useful information to sellers. You should consider: Months of Supply – How many months it would take to clear the current supply of homes for sale Home Sales by Square footage – What size homes are the most popular Total Foreclosures – How many houses have been foreclosed in the last month Days on Market – The average listing time for a property Where to Promote Your Market Stats Okay, you have some key statistics selected for your marketing efforts. What do you do with them? Here are four places to promote market statistics to maximize impact. Market Statistics Page If your community is small enough, you could create a single market statistics page on your website. This is where you would show data about sales and prices for your entire town. But if your coverage area is larger, this might not work. Sellers want the narrowest data possible. So if you cover multiple ZIP codes, you should breakdown your data by ZIP and create a market statistics page for each. Consider creating neighborhood pages that show available homes and neighborhood statistics together. The Property Listing Page You also should consider placing statistics directly on the property listing page. This page would provide the property listing as well as data about the area surrounding the listing. You might ask, "Why we would put statistics on a property listing if we are looking to attract sellers?" Don't forget sellers are doing research too. They want to know the prices of other homes in their community and the amenities they have. So it's very likely a seller will check out a few active listings before deciding to list him/herself. Open House Statistics are great handout material at open houses. Why? Because neighbors often attend open houses. While they may not be immediately looking to sell, they could be in the future. Providing statistics is a good way to help these potential clients remember you, and it will help demonstrate your expertise. Blog Feature Market statistics also are great web content. Consider adding them to your blog as a regular feature. This will help you boost your SEO and increase your web traffic. Real estate market statistics empower sellers. They can help them understand home prices, competition for buyers, available inventory, and more. Don't leave your potential sellers out in the cold. Win their trust and their listings by adding real estate market statistics to your site today. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.

RPR Unveils New Charts and Graphs in Its Neighborhood Pages
With users in mind, RPR (Realtors Property Resource) has made some really appealing changes to its Neighborhood pages. In this latest product release, we've added new charts and refreshed some existing ones. It's the same robust data you expect from RPR, but the presentation of it has been revamped and redesigned. It all adds up to a more eye-catching, interactive and responsive experience. Here's a quick look at all the new charts available in late June: Market Trends New Listings Active Listings New Pending Listings Pending Listings Sold Listings Months Supply of Inventory Sold Public Records Top Five Occupations These new charts and graphs are perfect for research and staying on top of your local market trends, and for sharing with clients and prospects to position yourself as THE local market expert. Here's how to find the new charts in RPR: RPR charts a new course in data visualization To start, go to RPR and click the Research dropdown. Select Neighborhood Search. Under Neighborhood Search, enter a neighborhood name, city or zip code. Select Exact, Within or Nearby from the dropdown. Now hit the magnifying glass icon to search. Once you've selected the neighborhood you want to view, you'll be redirected to the Neighborhood Details page. The Neighborhood Details is broken up into five areas: Summary, Housing, People, Economy and Quality of Life. Let's look at the summary overview first. To summarize… From the summary tab of the Neighborhood Details page, the first thing you'll see is the new Market Trends card. This view showcases key metrics for any neighborhood. It's basically a quick, at-a-glance snapshot of the local market. The first area is full of important and relevant information about your chosen housing market. The type of market (seller's, buyer's or balanced) is represented on a sliding scale. To get more details on how this is measured, click the About this data link—it's in blue right under the Market Trends title. It's an industry standard that is determined by months of inventory. Then you'll see the Key Details, which include the Months of Inventory, the List-to-Sold Price percentage, the Median days in RPR, and finally, the Median Sold Price. This provides four key metrics about how long homes have been on the market, whether they're going above or below asking price and, on average, how much they're selling for. Green (up) and red (down) arrows below these stats also give a month over month up or down percentage rate, too. Median Estimated Home Values In the next section, you'll see a graph for the Median Estimated Home Values. This shows monthly and yearly changes in property values, as well as the ability to compare your area to values within cities, counties and the state. Also, be sure to notice the Property Type pulldown menu, where you can specify which types of properties you want to focus on. The default is SFR + Condo, which is Single Family Residence and Condo properties (this property type also includes townhouses and apartments), but you can choose many other options. You can also choose to change the property type for that particular chart, or all of them. Again, if you're curious as to how these metrics are determined, just select About this data to see how the market types are defined, as well as the source and update frequency. Rounding out the Summary page is the AARP Livability Index, and the Top Five Occupations in the area and nearby neighborhoods. Both provide population, community and demographic stats and information on your chosen neighborhood. Housing Facts and Stats Now let's visit the Housing tab to take a deep dive into the housing metrics of the neighborhood. The top chart highlights the neighborhood's housing characteristics compared to the county, state and nation, including comparisons for home ownership, rent, and information about permits and buildings. Next up are charts for listings, including New Listings, Active Listings, New Pending Listings, Pending Listings and Sold Listings. These charts provide an in-depth look at several housing market statistics over a period of time. New Listings: Anything listed within that month Active Listings: Still active at end of month regardless of when it was listed New Pending Listings: What went into pending status that month Pending Listings: What was still in pending status as of the last day of the month Sold Listings: What was sold the previous month, but most importantly, how much over or under the list price is going for in the Avg. List to Sales Price % section Rounding out the Housing tab is Months Supply of Inventory, Sold Public Records and Sold Home Stats. In these sections, you can select the property type you want to view. Choose whether to change just the chart you are viewing or all the charts on the page. Again, the About this data link will give you full descriptions of how these stats are configured. The big takeaway here is being able to track and monitor the volume and the details of housing inventory. Another key metric is being able to see whether homes are selling for over or below the asking price. People, Economy and Quality of Life Pure housing statistics and data are essential in identifying and communicating housing market trends. However, you can dig even deeper into what makes up a neighborhood by checking out these other qualitative types of categories. Go to the People tab to get to the heart of who lives in the neighborhood. Find a side-by-side comparison chart that measures population counts, densities and changes, median age, gender, and education levels. See the population of children and adults by age group, households with children and the income brackets making up the area, as well as occupational categories and voting patterns. The Economy tab displays data such as job growth, unemployment rate and cost of living. Lastly, the Quality of Life tab displays data, such as weather and water quality, commute times, transportation options, monthly temperatures, the AARP Livability index, and walkability scores. This tab is particularly helpful when working with relocations. RPR's neighborhood data can be used to evaluate a target neighborhood and search for the right area for your clients. Get a feel for the trends in a particular neighborhood by examining the data and charts presented. How to print and save RPR charts Just a note: the new chart metrics will not display on RPR reports at this time. To print a specific chart or set of charts, use the Print button, which resides in the upper right navigation area. If there's a chart you don't want to include, simply collapse that chart and it will not show. To include these new charts in an RPR Report, click the Print button, and then under the Destination pull down menu, you can choose to save the file as a .pdf. Save the file (chart) and then you can attach it to other RPR reports from the Reports generation page. This is done through the Manage Custom Pages Link, which you can read about here: Learn more about Custom Pages. Share charts to your sphere Number crunchers and data nerds are sure to love these new charts! Be sure to grab them and share them with your sphere of influence. And if your clients prefer less information over more details, just send along the easy to digest Market Trends chart and walk them through it. You'll look like a housing data pro and be sure to impress. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Reports: Easy to Create, Hard to Duplicate
Reports are RPR's bread and butter--professionally designed deliverables that are easy for consumers to understand and that you can send to your clients in minutes (if not seconds). They're also a chance for you to communicate your unique message and your brand to every prospect and client. Agents who use RPR reports: Instantly respond to client needs with real estate reports that matter Create reports with as much or as little information as the client needs Brand each RPR report with their name, photo, logo and contact information Customize reports to include biographies, testimonials, and marketing tools Colorful, Client-friendly Real Estate Reports for Every Facet of Your Business Seller's ReportA review of the subject property that shows local market conditions, comparable properties, recommends pricing strategies and estimated seller proceeds. Property ReportA summary of property characteristics, such as values, foreclosure activity, market statistics, demographics, history, taxes and school information, as well as before-and-after photos. Mini Property ReportA slimmed down version of the Property Report that includes the property's estimated value; home facts like bedrooms, baths and square footage; and photos. Property FlyerA quick glance at a property, including a photo, property information, a map, and your contact information and branding. Valuation WorkbookAn in-depth value of a property used as backup material for a lender or client. Market Activity ReportA profile of market changes based on listing information and MLS data, including active, pending, sold, expired and distressed properties. Neighborhood ReportA summary of economic, housing, demographic and quality of life information about an area. School ReportThis report summarizes student populations, testing outcomes, parental reviews, ratings, and contact information about a public or private school and will even display homes for sale in that school district. How to run Your RPR Report Log in to narrpr.com Type in the property address and enter The RPR Property Details page appears Select the Create Report button Click " + " to select which datasets to include Personalize the report with the recipient's name and a message Choose a delivery method (Display now or email) Select Run Report Pro Tip: Report Customizations You'll Want to Know About To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Q1 Market Report: Metros with the Most Explosive Growth
There were "virtually" no losers in this year's Q1 market report among the metropolitan areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors. Only winners...if you're a seller, anyway. Buyers? Not so much. Stark Contrast Between Sellers and Buyers In fact, 99% of the country's metros recorded year-over-year price gains, with 89% nailing double-digit increases. Only one of the 183 markets covered in NAR's latest report recorded falling prices: Springfield, Illinois, which saw its median slide by 2.4%. A corresponding Q1 market report, this one from analytics firm ATTOM Data Solutions, found that 17.8 million residential properties in the country are now considered equity-rich, meaning their owners owe 50% or less on their homes than their estimated market value. This count represents about one in three of the 55.8 million mortgaged homes in the United States. Meanwhile, the number of owners who owe more than 75% of their home's current value continues to fall; at 6.6% a year ago, it's down to 4.7% currently. That's all good news for sellers. "It continues to be a great time to be a homeowner most everywhere in the country," said ATTOM's Todd Teta. But it's tough on would-be buyers who are continuing to be priced out of the market. "The sudden price appreciation is impacting affordability, especially among first-time home buyers," said NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun. Nationally, according to the NAR report, the median price of an existing house rose 16.2% in the January-to-March period, to a record-high $319,200. Metros with the Highest Percentage Price Increases So what does all this look like on the metro area level? Some of the Q1 market report's largest percentage increases of price were recorded in the New England region. Taking the top spot with a 35.5% increase in median price was Kingston, New York, followed by: Bridgeport-Stamford, Connecticut — 34.3% Atlantic City, New Jersey — 34% Barnstable Town, Massachusetts — 33.1% Elmira, New York — 29.1% (tied) Glens Falls, New York and Decatur, Illinois — 27.5% Inventory Snapshot Of course, higher prices are dependent on the types of house sold, especially in smaller locations. Not all houses saw large price gains in the first quarter, the NAR report stressed. Because there is a concentration of condominium apartments in high-cost metro areas, for example, the median price for those units are often higher than the median for individual single-family houses. Also, prices reflect the types of homes that are selling during the period and can be skewed at times by changes in the mix. That includes the level of distressed sales, which generally are heavily discounted. But economist Yun said the run-up in prices is a product of the same song the industry's been singing for months: strong demand paired with a record-low supply of houses for sale. "The record-high home prices are happening across nearly all markets, big and small, even in those metros that have long been considered off-the-radar in prior years for many home seekers," he said. According to NAR's latest figures, inventory continues to remain at near-historic lows. The unsold inventory of properties listed for sale sits at a 2.1-month supply at the current sales pace. That's down from 3.3 months in March 2020. For context, six months' worth of supply is considered "normal." "With low inventory already impacting the market, skyrocketing costs have left many families facing the reality of being priced out entirely," Yun said. And the situation "underscores the importance" of stepping up new home construction as well converting abandoned retail and hotels into housing. Both, he said, "would combat the affordability problem." What About Mortgages? Often, buyers are more concerned with what a house will cost on a monthly basis than the overall price. But, the higher median price drove the average national monthly mortgage payment for principal and interest from $995 a year ago to $1,067 at the end of March. That's a $72-a-month jump, even though the effective rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 2.93% in Q1. In eight markets, a family needed to earn more than $100,000 to afford a 30-year mortgage with 20% down. And in one – San Jose, California – an annual income of nearly $243,000 was necessary. Mortgage payments are considered affordable if they amount to no more than 25% of the buyer's median income. NAR's report found that with 20% down on a 30-year loan, the average family with a median income of $90,547 spent 14.1% of that income on its mortgage. That's down slightly from 14.5% a year ago. But how many families are making $90K in the not-quite-post-COVID market? Most first-time buyers don't have the savings to put down 20%. Buyers with that much money to put down are mostly those who are cashing in on their gains made by selling and moving to another residence. And there are other housing-related expenses, too: homeowners insurance, property taxes and mortgage insurance if your down payment is less than 20%. Long story short — first-time buyers putting down less than 20% (spoiler alert: many of them) are at a distinct disadvantage in this market. Q1's Most Expensive Markets Let's get down to brass tacks: according to NAR's report, these are nation's most expensive housing markets and their year-over-year price increase percentages as of April 1: San Jose, California ($1.5 million, up 11.1%) San Francisco, California ($1.2 million, up 21.8%) Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, California ($1 million, up 14.3%) Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($940,400, up 19.2%) San Diego, California ($763,500, up 14%) Boulder, Colorado ($726,600, up 16.7%) Los Angeles, California ($682,400, up 15.1%) Seattle-Tacoma, Washington ($653,400, up 17.9%) Naples, Florida ($599,500, up 24.9%) Nassau County-Suffolk County, New York ($598,600, up 22.7%). At least for now, it seems the West Coast isn't the friendliest place for first-time or budget buyers. Will it ease up in those areas anytime soon? Syndicated newspaper columnist, Lew Sichelman has been covering the housing market and all it entails for more than 50 years. He is an award-winning journalist who worked at two major Washington, D.C. newspapers and is a past president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors. To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.

27 Real Estate Statistics You Should Know and Understand
Real estate is a data-driven industry. Many statistics and figures are used in daily conversation to describe shifts in the market. As an agent, you need to be familiar with this data. You need to be able to understand what they mean and interpret any changes. To help you get started, we'll review 27 real estate statistics that are essential to any real estate business.

More First-time Homebuyers Are Entering the Market
The share of first-time homebuyers rose to 36% in April 2020, up from 32% a year ago, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). There are several factors motivating this trend: A desire to move out of city dwellings and into more suburban/rural ones following COVID-19 A lack of a need to sell a property prior to purchasing one Record-low mortgage rates A lack of competition from investors scooping up properties

5 Key Metrics Your Customers Need to Know During a Challenging Market
Proactive agents that care about their customers are reaching out to them. They're calling, they're texting, they're driving by and waving and they're emailing! Of course, the most important thing to talk about right now is simply asking each of your clients how are they doing. If the conversation steers back to real estate, there is a ton of great information you can provide. First, some good news. Jim Lawson of Terradatum, one of the nation's leading provider of market statistics, told us during a recent Coffee Chat that week-over-week, new listings in 1800 markets across the state are UP 20%. He also shared that in the same 1800 markets, listings were down the first week in April, 50% over the same week a year ago. While certainly not ideal, I was cautiously encouraged by the recent uptick in listing activity. I believe that many consumers think that the real estate industry is SHUT down right now. That is clearly NOT the case. Key Takeaways 1. Some consumers ARE interested in learning about the real estate market right now, and here are the stats they are interested in: Sold Under Contract New Listings Expired Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) 2. There is a new tool emerging that allows you to overlay the severity of COVID-19 incidence over the location of the home. This is available through a new product called AERGO. 3. There is a new product available called ListingHomeRun.com that provides a FREE online listing presentation. Watch the Coffee Chat with Jim Lawson here: Don't Miss This Week's Upcoming Coffee Chats! Wednesday, April 22 Right Tools, Right Now from NAR to Help You Ride Out COVID-19 with Colleen Doyle of the National Association of REALTORS® Thursday, April 23 How Your Digital Marketing Strategy Can Help Your Real Estate Business During COVID-19 and Beyond with Grier Allen, CEO of BoomTown Friday, April 24 Two Powerful and Effective Ways to Sell Homes with Virtual Open Houses with Richard McDonald, Senior Director at Matterport, and Andrew Dorn, National Speaker at realtor.com If you would like us to sign you up for all upcoming coffee chats, email [email protected] and he will get you signed up. If you would like to get notifications every time a Coffee Chat recording is published, subscribe to our YouTube channel, RETechnologyInc. Then hit the bell next to the Subscribe button and receive notifications every time we publish new educational videos. Get Recordings of All Coffee Chats If you would like to binge watch all of the Coffee Chat recordings, click here. If you would like a FREE 3-month trial of RE Technology, go to retechnology.com, click Create Account and then use one of these coupon codes: COVID-19A COVID-19B COVID-19M

How to Create a Market Activity Report for Any Neighborhood
When your clients or prospects are interested in tracking a neighborhood's activity, the RPR Market Activity report is the perfect fit. First, it's flexible and can be generated for any geography, even areas drawn by hand using the RPR map. In addition, the report itself includes changes in a local real estate market based on listing information and MLS data.

RPR Reports: A Member's New Best Friend
Whether you're new to NAR or simply new to Realtors Property Resource, we're here to help get you started and get you using the most powerful business data tool in real estate. One of the many advantages to being a REALTOR is members-only access to RPR. What Is RPR? Realtors Property Resource is the nation's largest property database. As a new agent, this user-friendly, data-driven platform and business tool should never leave your side. Regular use of RPR will help you help your clients, which can lead to more listings, and hopefully, more deals! RPR makes it easy for REALTORS® to stand out from their competition. Using RPR as a real estate business tool will make you a more informed, more savvy, and more efficient REALTOR®. Ready to better serve your clients, market yourself like a pro, and grow your brand and business? Let's dive in... On-the-Go and in the Field, RPR Reports Give REALTORS® an Edge RPR reports put property details, market trends and neighborhood insight into one, convenient package that you can access anywhere, anytime. Picture this scene: you're conducting your first property walkthrough with your first clients. After viewing the home, your clients ask a basic question or two about square footage and number of BD/BA. But after the softballs, in come the curveballs! They might ask about taxes, warranties, school ratings, flood zones, property history, community resources, etc. As a REALTOR® with the RPR app in your palm, you can literally tap into RPR and instantly pull up real time, dynamic property data. You can even customize a property report with client comments, notes and photos, and text it to them right there on the kitchen island. Armed with these comprehensive reports, you can quickly and confidently answer any and all questions. Which will put your clients at ease, and position you as a knowledgeable, local real estate expert. RPR Report Topics RPR reports are a breeze to create and the customizable features will surely impress your clients. Here's a list of the different types of reports you can create: Buyer Tours: Select properties to tour, determine the order you'd like to see them, and create a colorful, client-friendly report to share with buyers. Market Activity: The report includes samples of active, pending, sold, expired and distressed properties, as well as recent price changes and upcoming open houses for a period of up to three months. Neighborhood: Paint a lifestyle picture with details on employment opportunities, traffic, weather, parks, dining, etc. The Neighborhood Report summarizes economic, housing, demographic and quality of life information about an area. Schools: Summarizes student populations, testing outcomes, parental reviews, ratings, and contact information about a public or private school. Compare schools within a district or a specified radius, and/or select up to 20 nearby listings to include in the report. Property Valuations: Gives details about the overall characteristics of a property such as values, foreclosure activity, market statistics, demographics, history, taxes and school information. Mini Property: The Mini Property Report is all about the essentials and includes info on the estimated value; home facts like bedrooms, baths and square footage; and photos. It's a great way to share property data with buyers at the onset. Property Flyer: A quick and easy way of marketing any property. Upload your own photos, enter a headline, and/or details about an upcoming open house. Seller's Report: Reviews the subject property, shows the condition of the local market, presents comparable properties for side-by-side comparisons, recommends a pricing strategy, and shows estimated seller proceeds. New REALTORS® Should Also Become New RPR Users! An easy-to-use, real estate tech tool that will make your job easier and make a serious, favorable impression on potential clients?! Yep, it's true. And it's literally made just for you. Visit the RPR site today and be sure to install the RPR app to your tablet or smartphone. Access to this powerful, real estate data tool is exclusive to REALTORS® and best of all, it's completely free as a part of your NAR membership. And also make sure to join the RPR Facebook Connect group. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Impact of the Absorption Rate in Real Estate
Absorption rate can sound complicated, but it's a really simple calculation used across the real estate industry to determine the number of homes sold versus the number of homes available. It is mostly commonly used to determine conditions like "a seller's market," and can be critical for builders and other industry professionals, along with the regular buyer and seller. What Does Absorption Rate Tell Me?

3 Creative Ways to Deliver Your Next RPR Report
In a fiercely competitive real estate market, it's important to do everything you can to stand out. Meeting your clients when and how they prefer, with extra special touches, could serve as your tipping point. Here are three simple, creative ways to deliver your next RPR report that will definitely distinguish your services as unique.

Know Your Numbers to Get Analytics Working for You!
At a recent real estate event, a question was posed to the audience. What do you get paid for? The answers were varied. Negotiation, marketing skills, and value were words commonly mentioned. Then someone said "my experience" and the speaker's eyes lit up. "What does experience mean?" she asked. The room quieted for a moment as the attendees contemplated the answer. "Experience," she said, "means that you are bringing to the table all of the things that your customer doesn't have without you."

5 Simple Steps to Share Your RPR Market Activity Report on Facebook
RPR's Market Activity report is an ideal option for agents who want to create enduring and results-oriented relationships through social media. The report presents a snapshot of changes in a local real estate market based on listing and MLS information, and includes active, pending, sold, expired, distressed, new for lease, and recently leased properties, as well as recent price changes and upcoming open houses for a period of up to six months. Here's a quick tutorial on how to post your RPR Market Activity Report to Facebook.

The Latest Trends in Market Analytics
Perhaps the most significant disruption in real estate market analytics has been the launch of Zillow's Zestimate. The Zestimate is an automated valuation model that uses mathematical algorithms to speculate what a home's value might be. In the banking industry, these mathematical algorithms are called AVMs, or Automated Valuation Models. As consumers gained access to the Zillow Zestimate, it sent the industry into a tailspin. "The Zestimate is too high," or "The Zestimate is too low," shouted the crowd of industry pundits, REALTORS®, and consumers alike. The tailspin was created by opening up the dark box of real estate data that had previously only been available to real estate professionals. On a property by property basis, real estate agents would carefully sift through dozens or hundreds of properties on the market, under contract, or recently sold in the process of establishing a market value for a home. This remains true today, and the real estate professional who painstakingly performs this analysis continues to be the authority in helping sellers price homes or supporting buyers with successful offers. So the battle is on. Real estate agents have a strong challenger in Zillow, who aims to become the source of real estate information on property values. The good news is that software vendors in the real estate industry continue to raise the bar for REALTORS® by delivering a wide array of products that not only enable the agent to gain astute insights into market data, but analyze and report on that market data with exceptional professionalism. Used correctly, the agent can continue to maintain their position as the most trusted source of what is happening in the real estate market. The challenge is adoption. We have seen an enormous effort expended by the National Association of REALTORS® to maintain the advantage of the REALTOR by the development of the RVM®, or REALTOR Valuation Model. It is like an AVM, but only available to members of NAR. The RVM is created by NAR though their subsidiary, Realtors Property Resource®. This is certainly nothing new, but it is a significant trend in the industry because of its enormous evolution. The product has gotten really advanced in the data available, its ease of use, and certainly the quality of its reports. Frankly, RE Technology believes that RPR is among the most advanced mobile tools available to real estate professionals today. Another enormous development in the real estate industry has been in tax systems. CoreLogic has shifted their development of REALIST® from a standalone solution and opted to focus on Matrix 360, a fully integrated MLS and tax system in one. Alongside this trend, we have seen CRS Data completely rebuild their tax interface and become one of the newest tax systems in real estate. These systems, along with the marketing focused tax system Remine, have splintered the strategic direction of off-market data accessed by real estate professionals. Of course, data quality as measured by accuracy (typos), depth (number of fields), and timeliness (speed of update from the recorder's office) varies by county. No matter how good the software or reports are, the underlying data is the most important resource. Agents and brokers continue to tie market data into their CRM and leverage market reports in lead generation forms for "What's my home worth?" In this regard, we have seen a lot of activity by leading CRM providers like Inside Real Estate, Contactually, Top Producer's Market Snapshot, Boston Logic, Booj, Real Estate Webmasters, Gabriels, and so many others. It is the most powerful drip marketing report with soaring open rates, some hitting as high as 40 percent because consumers are starving for this information and expect it from their agents. Want to learn more about how to make market analytics work for your business? Download our FREE Success Guide to Marketing Analytics today!      

Are You Keeping Home Sold Price Records?
When you want to look up some home sold prices for comps or other purposes, it's fast and easy to go to the MLS and get them. Do you know how long your MLS database keeps home sold prices where you can access them? Many remove them after five years, but check your MLS rules or ask, as it's important information. Whether you've checked or not, virtually everyone at some time or another wants information about home sold prices, and serious buyers and investors want long-term price appreciation information as well. The key here is "long-term." If your MLS is purging sold records after five years, that's all the reliable historical data available. There must be some value in having older sold price information, and you can build your own database easily.

The Lead Generating Power of the Monthly Market Report
We all know that real estate leads are the first step in a process leading to a seat at the closing table. We also know that real estate lead generation can be complicated when it comes to our websites. So, what's a great way to generate real estate website leads? Sure, there are calls-to-action all around the site, from "subscribe to our newsletter" to "get a free home valuation." Even our site visitors, those suspects we want to make prospects, know about most of them because they're seeing the same offerings on every real estate website they visit. Run a quick test in your market to see these common calls-to-action, but also make note of what percentage of your competitors' websites offer current and regular market statistics reports. Unless you're in a very marketing-savvy area, you'll likely find that there aren't that many competitor sites offering market statistics on a regular and up-to-date basis. You can read a lot about differentiating yourself and your services from the competition on the Internet, and this is one way that works to do just that. As we go through this article and tips for generating leads with market statistical reports, you'll need to adapt to your MLS system's reporting and report formats. There are differences, but for the most part, the reporting recommended here is going to be possible in some way from your MLS system. The goal is to not just offer a bunch of numbers, but to instead offer reports that buyers and sellers will want and value.

Use Market Reports for a Flood of Real Estate Website Leads
"How do I get more real estate website leads?" That's a FAQ that you don't see on real estate websites, but it gets asked a lot by real estate professionals, and there are thousands of articles and blog posts that give you tips on how to generate more real estate website leads. If you take what you read here and do it well, in a year or so you'll look back and wonder why you didn't do it years ago... it works!

Why Agents Should Use Big Data and Predictive Analytics
How (and why) can agents and brokers use algorithmic predictions to help find listings to build their businesses? Good question. The National Association of REALTORS states that 72 percent of sellers will list with the first agent they speak with, not necessarily with the most experienced agent. Therefore, big data and predictive analytics allow agents to focus their time and energy on those most likely to list. Before big data and predictive analytics were introduced to the real estate market, agents may have attempted to produce similar results by assigning scores to people in their territories, including their spheres. As an example, they might assign individuals a score of 1-5, depending on their knowledge of individual prospects and their intention to sell within a predictable period. The reality is that human beings are extraordinarily complex, and their buying and selling behavior is usually the result of hundreds of converging factors. To truly uncover predictions of human behavior, you need to analyze thousands of data points to reveal the multitude of patterns that lead to transactions. Attempting to complete this process and predict listing opportunity at a human's pace is daunting at best. There is a solution. Big data and predictive analytics consider thousands of data points, providing in-depth information on the people living in the home, the history of the home itself, and the history of the market in which the home resides. Data in these areas are analyzed to identify who may be signaling a near-future selling date. We all know the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of yield comes from 20 percent of a farm. An agent's goal is to find the top 20 percent in their market. The reason agents mass farm a territory is because they are trying to find the top 20 percent. This is where big data and predictive analytics come into play. An agent's goal is to find the top 20 percent in their market. Let's take the Joneses, for example. Perhaps over the past 20 years, they move, on average, every five years and today has been four-and-a-half since their last move. That's interesting. But what if they also have two children who are about a year or less away from college? That's interesting too. Now consider that the Joneses' income history puts them in a category of homeowners who typically sell in year seven and it's now year six. Here, we see that three different attributes align—history of migration patterns, children and income. Those are just three attributes that line up. However, when you stack several hundred of them on top of each other, you no longer have a coincidence. You have statistical relevance. This technology is all around us. A FICO score is simply a prediction of our likelihood to make loan payments on time. The department store Target made headlines when they showed they can predict accurately, using big data and predictive analytics, which of their customers are pregnant. Now, instead of telling everyone about their new baby products (mass farming), they just focus on this subset of customers (smart farming). This technology is not new; its usage is just new to those in the real estate industry. Companies use these predictions to determine factors such as whom to contact, as well as when and why. Now real estate agents can too. Traditionally, farming is arduous and costly. Big data and predictive analytics will identify an agent's top 20 percent, eliminating the 80 percent that often prove to be wasted time, effort and marketing (think of all the mail that goes unopened or thrown away by the bottom 80 percent who have no intention of listing). Of all the tools and technology now available to real estate agents for prospecting, big data and predictive analytics are the most robust. Nothing else currently matches these abilities at allowing agents to hyper-focus their time and energy on the right prospects. To view the original article, visit the SmartZip blog.

Be the Analytical Realtor for Commissions on Steroids
This isn't a tutorial on changing your real estate market niche if you're happy with the one you're working. If first time buyers or lower priced homes are your markets, no problem. However, if you work higher priced homes or luxury homes, even condominiums or homes above $200,000, this information is going to change your income for the better. You're seeking "qualified leads" for higher priced homes, so logically, you're searching for prospects with the incomes that make those homes affordable. Who are these individuals? Middle or upper-level management people Self-employed business owners Attorneys, accountants, bankers and other professionals. These aren't the idle rich. They're all working in careers or business, and they all deal with a lot of detail in their business lives. In short, they all share some level of analytical tendencies. Now we know these targeted prospects have two things in common: they're analytical and they have the money to afford higher priced homes. How do we attract high-end buyers for real estate commissions?

No time for infographics? How to share visual market info in 30 seconds or less
Running a lockbox to a new listing. Meeting a potential buyer for coffee. Coordinating professional photos at dusk. Hiding a kitty litter box before a showing. Spending three hours designing an infographic. One of these things is not like the other... Think about the last time you scrolled through Facebook. What types of content made you stop and pay attention? It was likely some type of visual content, as over 41 percent of marketers say infographics and other original graphic content get the best engagement. (Yeah, I found that statistic in an infographic.) Yet, today's busy agents often have to prioritize business-right-now tasks over build-my-future-business tasks, which means coming up with visual content is likely getting pushed to the backburner. Are you focused on "business-right-now" tasks or "build-my-future-business" tasks? If you have 30 seconds or less, these #marketlikeapro tips for sharing visual content can help:

Find the Local Market that Offers the Best Growth Opportunity
Selecting and working in the wrong local market is a costly mistake that many real estate professionals make. But with some background knowledge, it's an error that you can avoid. If you selected your current Local Market based on the following factors, you may want to reconsider (and we will show the tools to do this, below): I live in this neighborhood; I like the area, the homes are nice; Other agents are marketing there, so I should too; I've got a listing there The reasons for choosing a local market area above aren't wrong, but they shouldn't be your sole reasoning. In this article, we'll look at how to select the best Local Market area—one that you can master (and be profitable in). To achieve this, we'll need to do some calculations (which we will walk you through step by step). Learn how to: Calculate the opportunity of a geographic area; Calculate the potential future opportunities of a particular market area; Look at other variables that will affect the Local Market you choose. To get started, grab a calculator, a pad of paper, and a pen. Let's get started!

Top Job Markets for Real Estate Professionals vs. Top U.S. Real Estate Markets
As with the start of any year, professionals within the industry are anxious to know the markets where they have the most opportunities for business. As WalletHub points out, "location, location, location might be the most hackneyed expression in the real-estate profession," and applies to both the real estate professional and their clients. Recently, WalletHub analysts "compared 150 of the largest U.S. cities across 14 key indicators of a healthy real estate environment." The findings of the study were intended to highlight the best places to be a real estate agent in 2017. Check out how their top 20 compare to what realtor.com predicated as the top housing markets for 2017. WalletHub's Top 20 Places to Be a Real-Estate Agent Honolulu, HI Seattle, WA Denver, CO Boston, MA Aurora, CO Madison, WI Reno, NV San Francisco, CA Irvine, CA Austin, TX Colorado Springs, CO Portland, OR Henderson, NV Lincoln, NE Santa Rosa, CA Spokane, WA Nashville, TN Vancouver, WA Washington, DC New York, NY "In order to determine the best cities for real-estate agents, WalletHub's analysts compared 150 of the most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, including 'Job Opportunity & Competition' and 'Real-Estate Market Health.'" Each city was graded individually and on a 100-point scale.

Integrated Market Analytics from the Top Down
Every Realtor faces the challenge of turning a deluge of market data into valuable insights— and, ultimately, sales. Fortunately, our Technology Guide helps real estate professionals sort out the best from the beasts for integrated solutions that deliver the best view of economic, market, and sales trends with easy-to-use tools. This year, we highlight Realtor's Property Resource (RPR), which seamlessly delivers data analytics and communications for all levels of the real estate vertical, from agents and their brokers to associations and MLSs. RPR provides a wide range of tools through one centralized platform that is made-to-order for each industry segment. Through their partnership with hundreds of MLSs, commercial information exchanges (CIEs), and even the National Association of Realtors (NAR), RPR offers broad-spanning data sets and effective analytics and communications tools to meet demanding real estate business needs. Let's take a look at how each of RPR's tools can boost sales effectiveness, from 'on-the-ground' agents to the CEO strategist: RPR Residential enables agents to access an exclusive nationwide database covering over 160 million properties and create customized reports including demographics, local schools, and taxes, as well as mortgages and foreclosures. The data platform consolidates valuation resources by working as a hybrid between a traditional automated valuation model (AVM) and MLS for agents to conveniently generate and send detailed reports—even on the fly through an app on their smart phone or other mobile device.

See SmartTargeting in Action (8/10)
Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT Join our top Sales Manager Adam Long for a tour of SmartTargeting, the platform agents across the country use to increase their listings business. See first-hand how predictive analytics identify top seller prospects, and how targeted marketing campaigns help you engage and convert these homeowners when they are ready to sell. Register now!

See SmartTargeting in Action (6/8)
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT Join our top Sales Manager Adam Long for a tour of SmartTargeting, the platform agents across the country use to increase their listings business. See first-hand how predictive analytics identify top seller prospects, and how targeted marketing campaigns help you engage and convert these homeowners when they are ready to sell. Register now!

Good Agents Listen to the Market
It is always interesting when science makes news as it did last week. The Los Angeles Times ran an article titled, "'We can hear the universe': Scientists detect gravitational waves, predicted by Einstein." First, let me begin by saying that Einstein must have been from the future. The things that he predicted and the observations he made are likely to astound us forever. Einstein said that when things happen in the universe, like planets exploding, it is possible to hear them. That waves of sound must travel through space. Historically, we have only been able to observe the universe through light. Now we can measure the wavelength. Some really sharp scientists finally proved Einstein’s theory by building two L-shaped labs – one in Louisiana and another in Washington. They shoot a beam of light, the width of a photon, two miles in each direction that bounces off of a mirror at the end of the L and comes back to the intersection. If they come back at the same time, they cancel each other out.  If they come back at different times, then a wave from the universe has passed through the beam. If both labs detect the same wave effect at the same time, then it must be true. Einstein’s theory is proven! That is complicated and crazy – but scientists agree that the wave that they detected was a ripple caused billions of years ago when two black holes collided, chewing up more than 50 planets in a matter of 20 milliseconds – perhaps the biggest universal event we know about. Listening In Great real estate agents listen to the universe, too. Like scientists, they study data and produce charts that show ripples in the real estate market. Looking backwards, we can gain an understanding of what the future is like, given economic indicators like interest rates, unemployment, days on market, list price to sell price analysis, etc. You have a great tool in Realtors Property Resource (RPR) to gain these insights. Be sure to run RPR reports when you are going on a listing presentation or working with a buyer to put an offer on a house. If you want to display this data on your website, use RBintel.com.

Forecasting a Sale: A Real Estate Market Report to Send to Clients
This is the second report in our 3-part series in which we give away 3 free real estate market reports (see part one here). While all of them have some common data, it's presented differently in each. This one also has single family and condominiums treated separately. This one has price ranges, which the first one does not. While the first report is great to send to a lead who is seeking general information, this report would be great for a home seller who wants to know how long it will take to sell their home. What you see in the image above is created for you in the Excel spreadsheet once you fill in the data cells. So, just enjoy that great colorful representation and don't worry about the magic that makes it happen. The Data Cells     Let's talk about the columns and where you'll get the data. Of course, everything will come from your MLS reporting system. How your MLS will offer up the numbers will differ, but all of this should be there. You can choose the time frame for this data, either a month or maybe the previous quarter. This is all data your site visitors will find of value from whatever perspective they are looking—buyer, seller or investor. *Important: Remember that every item on the next page after #1 is going to need to be pulled for just the price range in that line.

4 Email Series To Deliver Your Market Report
The professionally written emails below are part of a bigger strategy to create effective market reports that will establish you as the local real estate market expert. Here is how they should be used: Email 1 - This email template should be contain an attached PDF Market Report, and will be your introductions as the local real estate market expert. Email 2 - The main intent of this follow up email is to verify if your prospect is an actual quality lead. Email 3 - The third email of this installment will firm you as the market expert and make you the top-of -mind realtor for any real estate needs. Email 4 - This email can be used to send out Monthly Market Reports to your list of leads. You can copy and paste these emails into any email platform you use. Email #1 Title/Subject: Thanks – The [YourMarket] Market Report You Requested is Here Your market report is attached as a PDF file. It is a detailed snapshot of the current [quarter/month], as well as the previous [quarter/month] so you can spot trends. The data in the report comes from our local MLS, Multiple Listing Service, system, and comprises all of the transactions and listings through all member brokerages. It's an accurate and up-to-date resource to help you in understanding the local real estate market and conditions that will influence negotiations between buyers and sellers. I have at my disposal many reports in much greater detail, and I'll be happy to send them to you. Just email me with the information you would like, even from previous years, and I'll generate a report for you. Thanks again, and enjoy crunching the numbers!

4 Statistics that Sellers Love and Can Win Listings
We've all heard it before: Agents who control the listings control the market. The power and value of a great listing means that agents will jump through hoops to woo sellers. Part of the challenge is meeting new seller prospects in a low-inventory market. We've discussed strategies for earning more seller leads—be it through these tried-and-true seller lead generation methods or these strategies for winning more listings online. But when it comes to standing out amongst the competition and getting a signature on the dotted line, agents also need to know how to show off why they are the best agent in their market. So how do you do that? The answer is simple: Data. As agents, we've heard so much about big data, local data, and market data that our eyes can glaze over at the mere mention of the word. But the truth is that sellers' craving for data continues to grow. To increase our listing business, we have to level-up our ability to deliver the data points that trigger potential clients' trust and confidence that we can, in fact, do what we say we can do. Here are some data points that have that differentiation power. If you don't have these particular data points available, use them as inspiration. Be creative in how you numerically frame what you do for prospective sellers. 1. Your Listing Price to Sale Price Ratio Of course it's important to brief sellers on what the average comparable home in their neighborhood is selling for, vis-a-vis average list prices. But it's also important to demonstrate that your listings' LP:SP ratio bests market averages in one of two ways: Your listings sell for more than asking Your listings sell for more above-asking than the average listing in your area. But take note—sellers are increasingly skeptical that agents are depressing their listing prices to make their job easier. If your listings are selling for dramatically higher than the average asking price for the listings in your area, be prepared to explain why that's not simply a byproduct of under-pricing on your part. In many situations, initially underpricing a home may be preferable to overpricing it. Should any of your seller clients fail to understand the dangers of overpricing, use these five talking points to vividly and painlessly prove them.

Market Analytics 101
A real estate professional can look at the market much as a doctor approaches a patient. Your doctor will assess your health on a variety of different levels and use a battery of tests to determine how well each of these levels is functioning. So, too, do real estate professionals assess the "health" of their local market – but instead of an MRI or blood test, you use market analytics tools. Instead of cells, organs, and bones, you are examining specific properties as well as neighborhoods, regions, counties, and the nationwide market. And, of course, your insights are possible thanks to data collected about taxes, sales histories, demographics, schools, zoning, and more. Just as a doctor needs accurate information to cure a patient, a REALTOR® needs complete and accurate information to serve their clients. This is where market analytics tools can help – but it's imperative to find the right solution for you. So, let's make sure you're armed with the questions you need to ask and take a look at a few of your options. Choosing the Right Tools If you're considering a market analytics tool, there are questions you can ask to evaluate which option is right for you, like: What are the data sources for this tool? What is the geographical range of the data? Is the data for my local market available? Is nationwide data available? What reports are available? Are the reports easy to understand? Do I want to use this tool to create materials to give to sellers or buyers? If so, can the technology support this functionality?

Become a Market Data "Reporter"
In collaboration with VScreen and Terradatum, I've dusted off a WAV Group whitepaper about the importance of "edutizing." What was going to be a one-off, a single article based on some important findings from the paper, has turned into a series of articles about a topic that is still incredibly important. Today, I'm going to talk about one concept mentioned briefly in the whitepaper: "on-location expertise." First of all, you can find the whitepaper here. It's free and it's totally worth a read. Now, back to business. When the authors of the whitepaper talk about "on-location expertise," what they're discussing is the importance of using social channels to share valuable information in real time, sort of like a reporter. By sharing relevant market data as soon as it's available, you're giving your followers a gift and establishing yourself as their go-to resource for real estate information. It's a great way to stay top-of-mind for past clients, earn the loyalty of current clients, and ensure repeat business. The two primary channels the authors discuss for accomplishing this are Twitter and Facebook. I'm going to give you some examples of how you can use the new Market Videos from VScreen and Terradatum to be a real estate "reporter" for your sphere of influence. Twitter Oh that infamous 140 character limit! In a society with an embarrassingly short attention span, people LOVE IT. But how can you share substantive information effectively in such a small space? Well, links are your friend. I'll walk you through it.

Hot Tip: Stop Selling and Start Engaging
It's pretty noisy out there in the marketplace! Getting your message out in an information-overloaded market is more challenging than ever. Statistics prove that what "used to work" is less effective and generally more expensive. Smart agents understand the value of "narrowcasting" their marketing message rather than "broadcasting" to show a higher return on investment. Marketing experts define "narrowcasting" as a strategy to aim messages at specific segments of a target market defined by values, preferences and demographic similarities that resonate with that segment's interests. Translated, that means instead of buying an expensive ad in a newspaper, which has limited time and exposure, today's savvy agent may opt to create marketing using information that is more relevant to their target market and how that market best receives the information. Does your intended audience spend more time online than reading newspapers? Do they want to know about real estate in general or real estate in their area? As an example, instead of sending out a market report or newsletter with general information about the national scope of real estate, refine the message to address how that data has impacted your local market. Your odds stimulating increased engagement are high because the impact is more local in nature, as opposed to global which is of less interest or concern to your immediate area.

Statistics: The Content That Keeps On Giving
This post comes to us from the WebsiteBox blog: How many ways can you explain title insurance, real estate negotiations, repair negotiations, surveys, or appraisals? It's all great content for your real estate website, and you can write it with enough originality to get SEO credit for it. "Original" for the search engines and "original" for the site visitor can be very different. What can you put on your website that is different from 90+ percent of your competitors' sites? What do you have to offer that your competitors do not? Actually, it's not much except personal information. However, there's something few of them are offering, or they're doing it in a lame and ineffective way. It doesn't matter if your site visitor is a buyer, seller, investor or appraiser. They're all very interested in market statistics. Which homes are selling and for how much? How many homes are selling each month, quarter, or year? What's the absorption rate? This type of data, or most of it, is available from most computerized MLS systems as market reports. In most cases, you simply click on the report link and give the system a date range, and you get an on-screen formatted data report. Once you've created the report, it's simply a "print to PDF" routine using any one of a number of very inexpensive PDF creation software tools. Over 99 percent of computers can open a file in the PDF format, so it's the way you want to produce it. Of course, you can also do these reports as blog posts or website articles. Here's how one successful website lead generation program does it.

Agents Using Market Data as a Sales Tool
Earlier this year, CoreLogic® partnered with RealEstate Business Intelligence, LLC (RBI) to create a statistical solution uniquely combining MLS listing and public record information. The solution, called the MARKETrends Premium suite, is now offered to users coast to coast via Realist®. Since its May launch, real estate agents have been using MARKETrends Premium to help current buyers and sellers understand the real estate market, and past clients understand the market trends that impact the value of their homes. "There is no doubt that consumers are loving this information," says Marilyn Wilson of the WAV Group. "Once Zillow opened the consumer eye to how big data can explain market trends, people cannot get enough of it." Now, agents and brokers have exclusive access to the most accurate, timely, and comprehensive market trends to share with customers. RE Technology interviewed Jonathan Hill of RBI and Jon Green of CoreLogic to find out how the rollout of MARKETrends Premium is going today. We learned that MARKETrends Premium is currently available to agents and brokers in over one hundred CoreLogic MLSs nationwide.

How's the Market? 2 Tools That Help You Connect With Prospects
Market Snapshot has always been one of my favorite tools for incubating clients who are not ready to move in the immediate future. The emailed reports sent from the Snapshot tool contain valuable information for any homeowner or buyer, such as new listings, sold details, days on market, average sales price and a plethora of other details that today's real estate consumer is looking for. The data contained within the Snapshot report was and is so powerful that it wasn't long after the release of Market Snapshot that several "similar" products were released from competing vendors. Last week, a new product debuted called Market Videos powered by VScreen. Following along the footsteps of Market Snapshot, Market Videos provides insights and analysis of the local market, but does it by creating professional looking videos, with almost no effort, that can be used to follow up with your clients and generate leads. Check out a sample video below.

Secure a New Listing in 4 Simple Ways
Inventory is tight today. There are tons more interested buyers than there are homes for sale right now. When you are lucky enough to get in the game to list a property, you want to sure you win the deal. Top producers that are securing new listings these days have shared a few of their tips with us. First, they say that your listing presentation has to be packed with local insights. Using a product like Cloud CMA or RPR, agents can prepare highly attractive and comprehensive comparative market analysis to demonstrate their knowledge of the industry. Since there are so few homes for sale these days, it's critical to prepare a professional Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) as quickly as possible. Tools like Toolkit CMA now allow you to build your CMA right from your smartphone or iPad and allow your potential clients to view it from those devices, as well.

Good Industry News and How to Use It
For the real estate news hound, good news might seem hard to come by in general, but during the last few days headlines have surfaced that could make real estate agents feel good about the future. But how agents take advantage of the news is crucial. The first story is about investment property sales and second home sales projections. According to the National Association of Realtors' 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, investment home sales increased 64.5 percent in 2011, and vacation home sales rose 7.0 percent. According to NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun, "During the past year investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices. Rising rental income easily beat cash sitting in banks as an added inducement. In addition, 41 percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property."  

Images from Market Insider
As promised, we're about to show you some images of Market Leader's exciting new product Market Insider. To learn more about the product itself, you can read yesterday's article. For even more from Market Leader, check out the webinar from CEO Ian Morris. Above, the Market Analysis tab.

Industry Relations Announces New Focus on RPR REALTOR® Service
It is hard to believe that it was just 18 months ago when RPR was unveiled at the NAR Annual Convention in San Diego.  Since that time, REALTORS® all over the country have been checking out this new NAR member benefit, and MLSs and Associations continue to embrace this new tool as an important part of the value they bring to their members.  Recently RPR announced it had surpassed an important milestone, enrolling over 510,000 REALTORS®, represented by contracts with 287 MLSs.  This is a significant achievement, as RPR now has more REALTORS® enrolled in RPR, as it does REALTORS® waiting for their MLSs to work through the contract process.