RPR for Brokers

New to RPR? Start Here to Boost Your Business
Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 11:00 AM PDT Are you getting started with RPR? This is the class for you! In this 45 minute webinar, you'll learn some RPR basics, such as how to: Quickly conduct property searches Prepare for listing presentations Generate CMAs Efficiently prospect neighborhoods Share reports via email, text or on social media And so much more! Stop running around to find what you need... our one-stop-shop will help you save time and improve productivity. RPR is a NAR member benefit and is included in your annual dues to the National Association of REALTORS®, so there is nothing to buy. No subscription fees, no renewals. Register

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

Grab Previous Clients' Attention with the RPR Equity Update
In the last few years, home values have risen in every market in the country. In fact, "stratospheric," "torrid" and "skyrocketing" are commonly used terms to describe what the real estate industry has been experiencing month after month for the last couple of years. In 2021, median existing-home sale prices rose 14.6%, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. And this year, it looks like home prices will jump another 11%, and 3% in 2023. And of course, those numbers are averages. In many markets, prices have jumped even higher—up over 40% in some areas. As a REALTOR®, this should come as no surprise to you. However, there are some homeowners out there who might not be aware—or, at least, not fully aware. They know their homes have appreciated, but they're not exactly sure how much. Sometimes they simply need to see that number to nudge them a bit. That's where you and RPR's (Realtors Property Resource®) Equity Update come in! RPR's Equity Update: the ultimate lead conversion tool Most homeowners have gained significant equity in their homes. And now is the perfect time to capture their attention! As a REALTOR®, you're in a unique position to be able to keep them in the loop on what may be their largest single investment. Consider sending them a deliverable and leave-behind that's all about their home, how much it's currently worth, and more importantly, how much equity they've gained. Pointing out this figure is a surefire way to garner interest, and possibly spark the idea of putting their home on the market. RPR's Equity Update, also commonly referred to as an "equity checkup" or "equity assessment," is a great conversation starter and conversion tool. Why? Because current homeowners never get tired of hearing how much their home is worth. And if you catch an owner who isn't exactly sure, after seeing the equity figure, chances are they will be very curious. This technique really works well with previous clients (past sellers or buyers) and as a prospecting touchpoint. The RPR Equity Update How-to Figuring out an owner's equity isn't really that difficult to do if you have the right resources. It takes just a bit of digging, running a CMA and some easy math. And as a REALTOR®, you have exclusive access to RPR (Realtors Property Resource®), so as far as resources go, you're all set! To create an Equity Update, the first thing you'll need to do is get the current mortgage balance of a property. This is where your past relationship with the owner will come in handy. You simply have to ask them for their mortgage balance. Some may be apprehensive, because they consider that figure to be private, while others will have no problem giving it up. If one of your previous customers does balk a bit, let them know that you're working on a special packet, created especially for them and their property, that they will find very appealing. This tactic will hopefully pique their interest and get you the number. PRO TIP: Use the original loan balance as a starting point. Often this information will be found within RPR in the Mortgage Records section. Then using RPR, perform a current CMA on the home. Once you have a solid understanding of its current value, your next step is to create an RPR property report. (Customize and trim down the report to just showcase the essentials.) Check out this article, 3 Report Customizations You Should Be Doing Now, to learn how to add custom pages and how to trim down your report (steps 2 and 3). Now comes the math, but don't stress—it's easy! Simply take the home value and subtract the mortgage balance to arrive at the total equity in the home. This is the figure (slash carrot) that you want to dangle in front of your prospect. Delivery and message templates Your next step is to deliver the package to the homeowner. Some agents like to print out the report, bind it, include a cover letter, and either mail it or hand it off in person. It presents very well this way! The other option is to go digital and either email or text it as a PDF file. It depends on your style and the recipient's preferences. At this point, you should know how your clients like to receive information. You also need to remember to include a personal message to the owner(s). This can either be done with a custom cover page that has an area where you can include some text, or you can send an email or text attachment, and then create an email message in the body. Sometimes agents need help putting together the right message. Below we've included two templates for you to copy and paste. Do make sure you update and change out the information that goes to the homeowner. In other words, fill in the blanks (owner names, property address and the equity number) with their information and numbers, and don't use the template examples or the "Xs"! Email template #1 This one comes from REALTOR® Julie Toy, who has a whole strategy for reaching out to her previous clients. Check out her message: Hi Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner! Attached is a property report for your home at 123 Main Street. What a difference a year makes! I don't know if anyone could have predicted the seismic shifts our real estate market has seen — even in the last 12 months — but I sure am happy for homeowners like you. You may not be thinking about selling, but if you were, now could well be one of the best times to pull it off.​Here's a fun fact for you: your home equity is up to $XXX,XXX. That's no small potatoes any way you slice it!​Anyway, if you need anything or know anyone thinking of buying or selling, please let me know.​-[YOUR NAME and CONTACT INFO] Email template #2 We penned this one ourselves just for RPR users: Hello Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner at 123 Main St! I'm sure you've heard the news about the housing market. To sum it up: it's hot! Home values are skyrocketing… and so is the equity that you've built up in what is probably your biggest financial investment.​So I decided to crunch some numbers to let you know that you have $XXX,XXX amount of home equity. And that your home is currently valued at $XXX,XXX. ​Even if you're not thinking of selling or buying, I thought you would appreciate having this information. If you do have any questions about the market or about real estate in general, please don't hesitate to call me. I'd be happy to have a conversation with you to discuss your options.​Thanks for your time,​-[YOUR NAME and CONTACT INFO] Feel free to use these examples word for word, or make edits to fit your voice. Or, write your own version from scratch—it's up to you. Just make sure to include the equity number, and ensure that your tone is centered around helping them out with this information. You're doing them a kindness. Don't push too hard, just dangle the information and let them know you're available if they have any questions. The RPR Equity Update checklist and wrap-up Now you know what to send and what to say when you deliver the RPR Equity Update. This approach to getting new clients from previous ones has a high probability of response if you target previous owners who have built up loads of equity. Use RPR to pull the data, make your CMA, and create your property report. Then include your personal message and the equity number, and you'll be on your way to positioning yourself as a trusted expert who can answer all their questions. If done right, you could soon be sitting down to talk about listing their home. Good luck! To view the original article, visit the RPR