Staging a Home Furnishing Pop-Up Shop in an Active Listing

Imagine walking into a home for sale where some of the most exciting items in the space were made by local artisans or manufacturers, and could be purchased on the spot. 

Well, you don’t have to imagine it anymore because that’s what Guest House does. 

But what Guest House is, well, that’s a different story. It’s the velvet rope and the red carpet. It's the producer and the artist. They take the most beautiful pieces of furniture and artwork then assemble them in a physical and digital presentation like nothing you’ve ever seen before. 

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3527 W 45th Ave | Sold by Anna Domenico | Guest House

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Admit it. You’ve thought about putting a six pack of a local microbrew on a kitchen counter for a photo shoot. I have too. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Guest House is a staging company that creates beautiful spaces in houses, photographs the home, then creates digital marketing and in-person event experiences that get attention and drive more sales.

And while the presentation of the listing is worth highlighting, what’s interesting is how much product is moved when featured this way. Of course the house sells faster when it's tastefully appointed, but so do the goods inside when they’re easy to buy - with just the click of a button.

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3527 W 45th Ave | Staged by Guest House | West + Main Homes

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Our team met founder, Alex Ryden, last summer on a tour of staged properties in Denver. Upon entering a Guest House listing it becomes immediately apparent that every detail was thoughtfully considered. I don’t know much about furnishing homes, but I know when I walk inside of one I feel comfortable and interested in. That’s what happens inside of these houses. 

If the custom aesthetic alone weren’t enough to sell product, then what about the idea that you could extend the physical showrooms of craftspeople into homes for sale to help drive traffic in person and online? It’s a simple idea at the heart of it, but the execution takes special care. 

When consumers are looking for new and engaging ways to explore homes, Guest House delivers on all fronts. Not only is every house staged to order, but the momentum of every new installation is also multiplied by their followers and the reach of the makers that are featured.

The small business flywheel to keep spinning

A few weeks ago, we announced a collaboration with locally owned eco-conscious home goods store, The Conscious Merchant, now with a foothold in our Louisville Main Street office. The inception of the brokerage revolved around finding cool ways to elevate other businesses. 

That’s why West + Main Homes jumped to develop a closer relationship with Guest House and incentivize our agents to onboard more listings onto the platform. The concept works in harmony with how we use our physical offices to feature local artists on a rotating basis ever since the beginning. And while the pandemic has slowed events down, the community still wants safe ways to explore spaces and buy art from people they like, even if it’s online. 

We have a wave of new listings using the service this summer and couldn’t be more proud to work with an aligned company so tightly with ours. To the next generation of listing ads.

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Greg Fischer

Tech | Managing Broker

(720) 605-3325

✉ EMAIL

Are Your Clients Committed to You? If You’re Not Sure, Don’t Write the Contract.

In this season of low inventory, high buyer demand, unheard of low interest rates, and COVID regulations…your job as a Realtor certainly hasn’t gotten easier, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Sure, it’s great to have online leads pouring in as people have increased pressure placed on their timelines and life goals. Your sphere is hot to move, and new Actives indicate Pending Status almost before you even have a chance to pull up the listing on your new Matrix app. From the outside, it probably looks to consumers like we in the Real Estate industry are riding out the pandemic like it’s smooth sailing on a sunny day, but if you’ve listed a property or submitted an offer lately, you know that it can feel much more like riding out a dark storm in a rowboat with one paddle.

Of course, there are the usual challenges and struggles…timing your listing to take advantage of the hyper-local market, watching the Coming Soons constantly, and working 24/7 to avoid missing anything…but the current global environment is really piling it on in addition.

• You have to be even more aware and organized than usual as a professional today.

• It’s up to you to ensure that your clients are following CDC recommendations and State requirements, which change constantly.

• You have to manage tight scheduling issues that sometimes mean being limited to a 15-minute showing window.

• You have to be ready to write competitive offers, quickly develop rapport with co-op agents, and prepare your clients for possible rejection.

• And you have to do it all while wearing masks + gloves on 100 degree days.

First of all, thank you for being the diligent, ethical and well-meaning professional that I am sure you are.

I also wanted to take a minute to talk about a trend I’m seeing as an Employing Broker that I have not experienced in almost 20 years in the business, and ways to avoid a probably stressful, potentially litigious situation which seems to be coming up more + more often: Client/Agent disputes.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve heard about from other Employing Brokers or advised on situations that seem highly unlikely, but, because they are happening more and more often, are worth addressing - situations where Clients terminate Exclusive Agreements while in the middle of a transaction, or ask that a Contract be re-assigned to another Agent because the relationship has devolved.

What the heck, y’all?

I have a couple theories about why this is more common than ever before:

Because of the COVID environment:

Are you signing Exclusives with people that you haven’t really had the chance to get to know because of time/space/distancing limitations? In a non-COVID world, the process is fairly intentional + systematic, and it works. Whether you managed to convert an online lead or received a referral from a friend, fan or family member, you likely arrange to meet at the office, or at a coffee shop…maybe even cocktails or a long lunch. You get to know one another, feel out the connection, decide if the vibe works. Then, it’s a mutual agreement party - they want to work with you, you want to help them make their Real Estate goals come true, thinking that maybe you’ll even become friends or at least enjoy the next 90-120 days of fairly constant interaction.

Usually, you get to tighten those bonds as you drive around together looking at homes, or pore over comps and prep their home for sale. You might text, talk, or spend time together several times a day while going through this process.

How different does this process look for you now? Is it more rushed, with the pressure of rising COVID numbers or fears of another shutdown? Is it more limited, because you have to stay at least 6 feet apart, and maybe you’ve never even seen each other’s faces unmasked? Are you still getting to know your clients + create a true bond, or are you just rushing to get Under Contract?

No judgement, by the way…I’m truly wondering if these barriers are changing your process, and how those changes might be impacting the strength of your Exclusive Agreements.

Because of low interest rates + low inventory:

Even though Sellers have been in the driving seat for many years (maybe even for as long as you’ve been in the business) there is a new level of desperation and urgency that has a different scent. And it sometimes…stinks.

Because Buyer demand seems to be increasing along with major life changes, listings that show well online and are priced appropriately are seeing unprecedented levels of activity. Over the last couple of weekends we have seen unique properties receive hundreds of showing requests. Listing agent phones blow up with questions and demands for information. The pressure is on Buyer agents to score their clients a showing appointment, and we’re seeing offers submitted prior to property viewings even beginning, contingent on Buyers being able to walk through their future home.

In addition, with interest rates consistently dropping, Buyers and their lenders are anxious to find the perfect place and win a contract before their rate lock expires.

What does this mean for you as an Agent? On the Buy side, the challenges are obvious. But being a Listing Agent right now isn’t all rainbows + unicorns, either. It’s up to YOU to vet the offers, to help your Sellers decide how they would like them presented, and to ultimately assist in choosing the offer that makes the sale smooth and hopefully has the best chance of making it to the closing table without an abundance of hassle.

Are you able to keep your clients satisfied throughout these complicated transactions? Are you figuring out the best style + pace of communication for each person and their situation? And did you get to know them well enough prior to the Contract stage in order to do so?

In some of the situations that I mentioned earlier, I seriously doubt it. When a Client/Agent relationship devolves to the point that I’m brought in…it’s usually pretty ugly. Whether mistakes were made, miscommunication occurred, or emotions are just so high and the stakes so big that trust is broken, it’s rarely as simple as just canceling an Exclusive.

Once you’re Under Contract, this becomes a very complex and expensive problem for everyone.

So, how do you avoid it?

No matter what role you are in, take deep breaths. Move a little more slowly. Control the process. You’re the expert here, so you might as well own it - because you definitely own the liability, every minute, every move, every conversation, every document, every transaction. Read and explain everything twice, sign once.

Don’t let other agents bully you into rushing your clients, into violating due process, or into breaking Clear Cooperation policies. Do what you say you’re going to do, and put your clients and their protection first, every time.

Put a ring on it. When you ask someone to sign an Exclusive Agreement, you’re asking them to trust you more than they trust Google, rely on you to navigate the tumultuous world that is Real Estate today, negotiate on their behalf, and get them home. If you can’t picture yourself handing them the keys on Closing Day, and taking a happy photo with them in that silly Title Company photo opp frame, or if your gut is telling you no, then let them go before you go any further, refer them out, or nicely tell them you don’t think you’re a good fit for their needs.

Double down on communication. Follow up important conversations with a confirmation email. Facetime or meet instead of calling if you can, so that you can not only hear what your client is saying, but you’ll see their body language and facial expressions, and ensure that you’re both paying 100% attention to the conversation, and have greater recognition of understanding.

As a Buyer Agent, take the time to develop rapport with the Listing Agent you’re trying to work with to put a deal together. Communicate clearly. Promise to make the transaction as smooth as possible - and deliver on that promise. Most of all, offer some extra space + grace with every interaction…because they’re just as stressed out as you are.

As a Listing Agent, commit the time needed to completely and thoroughly evaluate the entire offer and its players - not only the buyer and lender, but also their agent - and their relationship with their clients. It’s OK to ask how long they’ve been working with this client, how many homes they have seen, how many other offers they have written and terminated, and even how they met and how well they know them. Sure, any kind of relationship can go sideways, but it’s more likely to happen if the answers to those questions are “I just met them this morning, they fired two agents before finding me on the internet to request this showing, this is the only house we’ve looked at, and we haven’t even signed an Exclusive yet.”

Some red flags in there, yes?

Our work is always important - we’re helping people with what is likely the biggest investment of their lives, as well as the roof over their heads. But right now, it feels more important than ever to do it right, every time.

Commit to serving your clients at your highest level, every time - or don’t ask them to commit to you in the first place, and for goodness sake, don’t submit a contract for them without being sure that you’re all in it together, for the duration.

Growing fast? Here's what this indie brokerage learned when exploring franchise options

While navigating meetings with countless brands, from long-established companies to newly minted disruptors, this indie brokerage learned a few lessons about growth — and a thing or two about its own values.

Note: this piece was originally published by Inman News.

BY STACIE STAUB

Having taken exploratory meetings with over a dozen real estate franchisors over the last couple of years, and then an even deeper dive with several, the process was both interesting and informative. At the same time, it was completely disenchanting.

We talked to countless brands — from long-established companies to new-to-the-scene disruptors to venture-backed firms hot for mergers and acquisitions. And, I will say, it was not a waste of time.

We left no stone unturned in our mission to unravel the tightly wound map of the real estate world. We were open to all sorts of business models, possible partnerships, collaboration and growth.

How Does an Indie Grow?

At the start of this exploratory journey, West + Main was sort of a cute baby brokerage quickly turning into a toddler — and as you know, those terrible twos are no joke. We were growing almost faster than we could keep up with. Our calendars were packed with interview requests and onboarding sessions, all without any kind of active or formal recruiting.

My co-founder Madeline Linder and I knew that we were onto something, but even we weren’t sure what the magic formula we had created from scratch actually consisted of.

There were moments when it seemed overwhelming and exhilarating all in the same breath, and yet, it felt — easy. It’s actually really surprisingly easy to make good decisions. To attract agents that love working with us. To listen to our guts. To do what feels right and to empower our agents to do the same. To make sure that people are heard. To listen more than we talk. To promote from within and to deliver on promises.

I think one of the most troubling myths in any kind of business is that you have to push through the resistance to get to the next step. We’ve always found that if there’s resistance, there’s always another path to take and another way to grow.

At first, we started hearing from the big boxes, the good ol’ boys who thought maybe they could buy the little ladies a drink and mansplain how hard this business is for “working moms like us.”

Those conversations didn’t go far. Madeline and I opened an indie (independently owned and operated) agency because we had little interest in what the traditional real estate brokerages have to offer. We’re both very design-centric, creative-minded people, and we need to maintain our passion for, and freedom to, create and innovate in order to balance out the real estate side of our business — namely, the stress of contracts, regulations, compliance and sales.

But, we were never hard-set against joining a bigger operation. It’s pretty easy to feel like you’re alone on Indie Island, and we also know that exit options are fairly limited. So, when other real estate franchisors started calling, we always bothered to answer with genuine curiosity and interest, as well as an open mind to all possibilities. 

In the meantime, while we navigated all of these meetings, we kept quietly growing the West + Main brand, continuing to better and improve our (thoughtfully curated, not custom-built) tech stack, evolving our marketing collateral based on what we’d hear every day from our agents about their needs, wants and dreams.

We continued opening storefront spaces in new market areas and strengthening our administrative and executive staff in order to accommodate and serve our ever-growing roster.

Also, throughout these last couple of years, we had several opportunities to grow more rapidly through merger and acquisition opportunities. It never felt like the right moment or the right fit, so we passed, again and again. 

While we were exploring all of these franchise options that were being pushed, a pattern quickly emerged.

How meetings go and what’s typically said

• As way of introduction, their first communication is congratulatory and goes something like, “Wow, it looks like you gals are doing great with your little operation out there in Colorado. I’m going to be in town soon and would love to stop by to meet you/check out your office/say hello.”

• Always happens to show up a little early. Wearing a suit. With a partner who “just happened to be available.” It’s a good cop/bad cop scenario. One guy is there to woo and flatter. The other is there to point out shortcomings and discourage.

• Very rarely wants to hear anything about your company. Only wants to talk about theirs.

• A common messaging is: “Once you get to a certain size, you’re going to need to be part of a bigger brokerage.”

• Another common messaging? “What you’ve built here is great, but basically you should throw it all out and pay us for our exclusive technology, marketing services and referral network.” 

• A typical parting message is: “We’d like you to meet our vice president/president/human resources director next week. She’s just like you!” This person is almost always the only woman on their executive team — no matter what position she holds. No gal on the team? “You should meet this person of color. You’ll love him!” (Also, usually the only one on the executive staff.) 

• Sends over a nondisclosure agreement (NDA).

• Schedules a follow-up meeting or travel agenda to the company headquarters to “see if we’re a good fit for each other.”

• Next is a day of discovery, slideshows and a brief meet and greet with the promised executive. This is all followed by a high-pressure sales pitch to “sign right now. We promise this won’t actually cost you anything, and we will make the transition easy for your agents. They don’t care what company they work for anyway, and they’ll be happy to pay the franchise fee for all of this bright and shiny tech, marketing and referral network!”

• That moment when they realize they don’t really have what they would need to get us to buy in.

So, what did we manage to harvest from all of those meetings?

First of all, I want to acknowledge that we did meet some really kind, smart people. I’m now lucky enough to call some of them my friends. I love real estate folks. Sharing a passion and an industry obsession, and taking the time to see it all from a different point of view is always cool. 

The second aspect is that real estate franchisors mostly offer the same thing as a standard business model: Buy a franchise for around $35,000, and commit to a five-to-10-year contract. The compensation is typically a mix between some kind of annual or monthly fee per office or agent, as well as a per-transaction franchise fee of 7 to 10 percent.

Some are multilevel marketing (MLM) pyramids thinly masked with “profit share.” Some are so focused on establishing or growing their local market share that they will negotiate pretty heavily. Some will offer a signing or recruiting bonus or “marketing allowance” to you or your agents.

Third, the products and services that they provide are pretty much the same as well:

1. Technology: an IDX-based website, a CRM, a documents or transaction management platform. The latest must-haves seem to include a single-sign-in agent dashboard, because “agents can’t remember where to log in to several platforms.” They also include an online store where agents can purchase company-branded supplies and merchandise.

2. Marketing: use of logos within strict brand restrictions and guidelines, allowance for agent or team branding within the company brand, available for purchase marketing collateral including buyer/listing presentations, folders, one-sheets, postcard campaigns, etc. Latest must-haves here seem to be direct mail magazines (either ad-based or cobranded to agent or both), and social media templates.

3. Referral network: Most of the time, they are basically saying, “We have thousands of agents that you will be able to refer business to!” (Um, cool, but I can guarantee that I’m going to refer my business to the best agent for the client, not the branded agent, so I usually stop listening at this point to flip through whatever shiny magazine they just handed me.)

4. Training or agent education: Whether they just built a state-of-the-art studio designed to produce the “best training in the industry” or if they recently hired a major coach or consultant to facilitate their ongoing education, most of the franchisors we met did put a heavy focus on this.

Whether all of this was being created by huge internal tech teams and through platform acquisitions, or if it was firmly rooted in old-school tradition, there really was not that big of a difference between any of the offerings.

Creating a new option and opportunity

Then, we started getting approached by people who wanted to purchase West + Main franchises. Again, we went down the exploratory road. But again, it didn’t feel right.

Through all of this, we realized a few things. First of all, we already had and offered everything that the franchisors were presenting. Also, we actually loved what we had created and were not interested in giving it all up just to partner up. And lastly, we really believed that there was room in the market for something different.

So, how could we continue to grow and challenge ourselves and our team?

We dug a little deeper and found that what we are really interested in doing is helping other indie brokerage owners offload some of the things on their overfilled plates so that they can focus on their own growth and success by sharing what we have learned and created.

This became a part of our 10-year West + Main road map. Fairly quickly, we stumbled into a perfect culture match and started some conversations with Jarred Smith and Mary Hatch, co-founders of Dwell Urban Realty in Oklahoma City. They, too, had talked to many of the major franchisors. 

They already had a beautiful brand and established market presence and, just like us, they didn’t want to be swallowed by any of the big players under one of the typical expansion business models.

The launch of West + Main Oklahoma in May 2020

By folding Dwell into West + Main through a strategic partnership and rebranding their presence, our team was able to offer help with a new website build-out, which was completed in just a few days, thanks to our long-time partners at Real Estate Webmasters.

We also offered the installation of a new CRM, implementation of and introduction to our tech partners and providers, an all-new marketing strategy, collateral and design services, social media management, agent onboarding and training, executive consultation, and continuous services including a recruiting plan, agent training and coaching, and more.

One month in, both the Colorado and Oklahoma rosters continue to grow, attract amazing agents and increase market share. All to say, we are so excited to see where we might go next!

Stacie Staub is the founder and owner of West + Main Homes in Colorado. Connect with Stacie on LinkedIn.

3 Ways to Increase and Empower Black Homeownership

A look at the gap in black homeownership and what we can do to close it.

Note: Although this was written for the mortgage industry, we feel like it’s an important and relevant overview that clearly applies to Realtors, Real Estate Brokerages, Real Estate Industry Leaders and quite simply everyone involved in the housing industry.

Written by Montell Watson for Housing Wire:

Over the last several months, I’ve read many articles talking about the homeownership gap for black Americans. Each article fuels me to speak with more families to bring awareness to the importance of homeownership and how owning a home can have a positive generational impact on their households. 

Although the current gap is staggering, I believe we have an opportunity to change the systemic long-term trust issues black households have with financial institutions while empowering all potential homeowners to believe homeownership is for them.

Below I’ll outline three ways major stakeholders can work together to improve homeownership for black Americans. 

Let’s talk about the numbers

Today, the homeownership gap for black households stands at 44%. This rate has ticked up from a recent staggering 50-year low that traces back to the passing of the Fair Housing Act. This gain is positive, but we have a long way to go. 

Homeownership is still one of the best ways to grow wealth and low homeownership rates in black communities has a direct correlation to net worth. This results in a lack of opportunity for home equity growth and a natural built-in savings account earned by making mortgage payments vs. a rental payment. According to “The Road to Zero Wealth” report by Prosperity Now, the median wealth of black Americans will fall to zero within 23 years if current trends continue. This is daunting. 

How did we get here? 

Recently, I’ve had the privilege to speak with many people within the black community: high school students, college students and adults who aren’t aware of the Fair Housing Act and what it granted for people of color.

This was eye-opening for me.

Many people are unaware of our country’s history with housing and redlining and how it relates to people of color. Compound our country’s history of redlining with the fact that black households were hit the hardest during the housing crisis in 2008 (due to having a disproportionately larger number of subprime mortgages compared to their counterparts), and you have a perfect storm which lands us to where we are today.

Those factors forced many black homeowners out of their homes and into renting. This wiped out any home equity gains for those who took advantage of the momentum of the Fair Housing Act.

This lasting effect is still seen in large metropolitans’ areas such as Philadelphia where there are rows of vacant properties that are disproportionately racially divided. The city of Philadelphia has more than 40,000 vacant properties in the city and is trying outside-the-box strategies to help revitalize neighborhoods that were hit hard during the financial crisis.

Affordability is also a major hurdle for black households to live out the dream of homeownership.

Due to a high unemployment rate for black workers and growing home prices, having the available funds for a down-payment seems insurmountable. There are millions of Americans who can’t afford a $250,000 home.

Rising costs for builders continue to push builders into building higher-priced homes to capture margin. Combine rising builder cost, rising costs of rent putting a strain on savings and this is yet another constraint for black households trying to afford a home purchase. 

What can be done: 

Here are three ways we can work together to improve homeownership for black Americans. 

1) Outreach and Education:

Lenders can continue to improve their outreach and education specifically concerning down payment requirements and programs.

As lenders, we should take the time to educate the 1.7 million black Millennials who are mortgage ready but don’t own. We need to teach these individuals about the misconceptions of down payments and why it’s important to own a home to create generational wealth.

There is also an opportunity to streamline and improve accessibility to down payment assistance programs. Urban Institute states there are more than 2,500+ down payment assistance programs across the country with several of the program’s funds not being utilized. This is because of a lack of awareness and understanding about availability of the programs.

2) Improving Loan Officer Diversity/Inclusion:

Enhancing diversity within the industry also offers a great opportunity to help build trust with borrowers of color who have lost confidence in financial institutions from past experiences.

Today, loan officers continue to successfully build great trust and relationships within their local communities. With minorities expected to be the majority by 2025, lenders have an opportunity to understand how they can better serve the changing demographic through having a more inclusive loan officer population. 

3) Supply and Demand:

Lastly, attacking affordability requires collaboration from many stakeholders.

Alana Mccargo from the Urban Institute says “Acknowledging the problem, some cities have taken bold actions to reform zoning and land-use regulations. Factory-built housing production, like manufactured and modular housing, could also increase homeownership affordability and supply.”

“Contrary to common perception, recent research highlights that some manufactured homes appreciate at similar rates as site-built homes,” Mccargo continues. “Manufactured housing has evolved and could be an affordable solution for helping black families get on the path to homeownership.” Mccargo’s five-point plan to improve black homeownership has more details.  

I’ve highlighted only a few of the many reasons the black homeownership rate is where it is today.

Although many stakeholders are taking action to help eliminate this alarming gap, no one has a silver bullet to solve the issue. One thing that I know is true is that if we don’t act, the net worth inequality gap will continue to increase, and the homeownership gap will continue to get worse.

We don’t have to have all the answers, but we must act. 

Keep learning:
Black Lives Matter Resource Guide

77% of Home Sellers are Ready to Sell After End to Stay-At-Home Orders

More than 3 in 4 potential sellers–77%–are preparing to sell their homes following the end of stay-at-home orders, with half completing do-it-yourself home improvement projects, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors®.

“After a pause, home sellers are gearing up to list their properties with the reopening of the economy,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Plenty of buyers also appear ready to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and the stability that comes with these locked-in monthly payments into future years.”

NAR’s latest Economic Pulse Flash Survey, conducted May 3-4, asked members how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the residential and commercial real estate markets. Several highlights include:

• Five percent of Realtors® said their clients are shifting neighborhood preferences from urban areas to suburban areas due to COVID-19.

• About 1 in 8 Realtors®–13%–reported buyers have changed at least one home feature that’s important to them due to COVID-19. For these buyers, the most common home features they identified as important are home offices, yard space for exercising or growing food, and space to accommodate a family.

• Nearly 3 in 4 Realtors® currently working with sellers this week–73%–reported their clients hadn’t reduced listing prices to attract buyers.

View NAR’s Economic Pulse Flash Survey report:

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/nar-flash-survey-economic-pulse

View NAR’s Weekly Housing Market Monitor:

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/weekly-housing-market-monitor

In similar news…

Here come the homebuyers

Pandemic causing people to look for more room — and they've been able to save more too

As a result of shelter-in-place orders across the country, more people are antsy and looking to buy a home this summer. In fact, LendingTree says that 53% of homebuyers are more likely to buy a home in the next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, 27% said their timeline hasn’t changed, and 20% said they are less likely to buy a home in the next year.

The main reason these potential homebuyers say they would be willing to move is to take advantage of the record-low mortgage rates. A whopping 67% said this is their reason.

Just last week, the average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.15%, the lowest ever recorded in a Freddie Mac data series that goes back almost five decades.

However, although mortgage rates are at record lows, lenders have become more restrictive on what it takes to qualify. LendingTree said that 44% of homebuyers are more worried about qualifying for a mortgage because of the pandemic. Specifically, 58% of first-time homebuyers and 52% of Millennials said they are especially concerned.

Perhaps mortgages in forbearance and loans in forbearance are a contributing factor behind consumers’ willingness to buy – 32% said they were able to save more money for a down payment due to reduced spending, and another 30% said it’s due to home prices dropping. Another 28% said they would move due to being stuck in their small space for so long.

Because the pandemic has accelerated and required the use of tech in real estate now more than ever, 61% told LendingTree that they have toured a home virtually over the last two months, 33% said they had plans to do so and only 7% said there was no plan to tour a home virtually.

Even though it may look like there are more potential homebuyers out there, out of the 20% that said they are less likely to buy a home, 70% of those homeowners say they don’t think now is the time to move, because of uncertainty due to the pandemic.

And despite the availability of virtual home tours, 42% of hesitant buyers said they won’t buy because of inability to tour a home in person, and 38% said they wouldn’t buy because of loss of income.

But, 53% of first-time buyers said they would buy a house without an in-person tour, while 18% of repeat buyers said they’d do the same.

Are you ready to serve Buyers + Sellers in a post-quarantine world? Do you have a plan in place in the case of a second wave + shutdown?

West + Main is uniquely qualified to provide the support, tools, education and advice that Real Estate professionals are going to need to survive 2020, and beyond.

Let’s talk.

Summer Ninja Workshop Series

Recorded Every Tuesday in Summer at 10am MT! All replays and resources available now!

Video on Vimeo | Audio on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Agent + Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. We highly recommend that you commit to the entire series, and read Ninja Selling by Larry Kendall prior to the first class. You can find on Amazon.

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Week 1 Replay

⤜Download: Week 1 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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Week 2 Replay

⤜Download: Week 2 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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Week 3 Replay

⤜Download: Week 3 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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Week 4 Replay

⤜Download: Week 4 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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Week 5 Replay

⤜Download: Week 5 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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Week 6 Replay

⤜Download: Week 6 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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Week 7 Replay

⤜Download: Week 7 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

---

Week 8 Replay

⤜Download: Week 8 Resources→

Audio only version available on Spotify + Apple + Google + Anchor

Taught by West + Main Homes Agent and Managing Broker Allie Carlson, this 8-week Ninja Workshop Series will help you dive deeper into the Ninja Selling habits and systems to improve both your Real Estate business and your life. 2020 © Anchor FM Inc. All rights reserved.

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How the Pandemic Is Changing Appraisals

Pro Tip: Your property photos are more important than ever…because they are being used not to just to market your listing but to valuate the home as well.

When Chris Read, ABR, CRS, broker-owner of CR Strategies in Woodridge, Ill., was asked to be a speaker at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings two years ago in Washington, D.C., she interviewed 20 real estate professionals beforehand to get a bearing on their thoughts and experiences working with appraisers, according to Realtor Magazine.

It turned out to be interesting fodder for the Real Property Valuation Forum at this year’s virtual meetings. Before presenting Wednesday at the 2020 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings, she interviewed 35 more real estate pros to learn about their changing experiences with real estate appraisals and valuations during the COVID-19 crisis.

One of the biggest differences Read found from her interviews with agents this year compared with two years ago is that there are fewer issues related to “geographical incompetence.” The instances of appraisers traveling to do inspections for homes in a neighborhood they aren’t familiar with has dramatically decreased, she said.

However, an issue that continues to persist is the undervaluing of properties. Of the 35 agents Read interviewed this year, all had at least one undervalued home and some had at least 10 undervalued by about $3,000 to $4,000—with little success in appeals, she said. Typically, the buyer and seller then meet in the middle on price or the seller kicks in money, she said.

Despite the fact that some lenders, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are now allowing exterior-only inspection appraisals or desktop appraisals as safety measures related to COVID-19, Read found that nearly all of the 35 agents she spoke to have used traditional appraisals in multiple transactions since the pandemic took hold in the U.S. The inspection process now typically involves explicit directions to ensure safety, including requiring all doors be open and lights turned on, as well as having the homeowner wait outside the property while the appraiser goes inside to conduct the inspection.

Another difference is that most agents aren’t present for the inspection. Instead, they’re opting to email the appraiser their packet of information, including such things as a list of property upgrades, the age of the roof, and a copy of the contract. Read expects these safety steps to continue for the foreseeable feature. “Some people believe the pandemic has sped up what would have happened in the real estate industry anyway,” she said.

Lyle Radke, director of collateral policy at Fannie Mae, is seeing a similar trend. On March 23, Fannie Mae issued temporary guidance on appraisal requirements allowing desktop and exterior-only appraisals on many mortgage transactions. That flexibility is set to expire on June 30, but it’s conceivable that it will be extended again, Radke said. However, in the majority of cases, lenders and appraisers are still choosing the traditional approach, he added.

Appraisers in harder-hit states such as New York and New Jersey are opting more often to use such alternative methods to conduct appraisals, said Radke. In less-populated states—like Wyoming, where COVID-19 is having a lower impact—modified appraisals are virtually nonexistent. “They’re getting into homes, but they’re taking new precautions in terms of social distancing and hygiene,” Radke said. “I think those are the things that will have staying power.”

While hope is growing for a vaccine or medical breakthrough to eventually manage the transmission of COVID-19, Radke said there will always be a risk of contracting other illnesses and infections. “We’ll never stop thinking about hygiene,” he said. 

Federal regulators are also allowing lenders to postpone appraisals on residential and commercial properties for up to 120 days after the mortgage has closed, a modification due to COVID-19 that sunsets on Dec. 31, said Jeremy Gray, director of credit administration at Rock Canyon Bank in Provo, Utah.

James Heaslet, chief of construction and valuation at the Department of Veterans Affairs, has also found that the majority of appraisers are still doing interior inspections with increased safety measures. Real estate agents today, he said, are “critical and integral” for home buyers and sellers, in part because they’re in communication with appraisers. “We need the details [about the property] and need good photos,” said Heaslet. “Photos are used to sell the property and to showcase the property, but photos are also used to evaluate the property.”

One of Read’s favorite terms is “managing expectations.” Part of the client education process is explaining that there’s a good chance the buyer is going to use mortgage financing that has to go through the appraisal process. Appraisals will continue to happen during the pandemic, but with more care and consideration for everyone’s health and safety.

Related Links:

West + Main is hiring experienced Realtors - schedule an information session with our team!

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Live Stream Open Houses vs. Recorded Virtual Tours: The RESO Standards

Real estate agents are creating new ways to introduce busy, remote or self-isolated clients to properties online. In order to reduce foot traffic in sellers’ homes during the pandemic, new digital showing trends have emerged.

Defining these digital property platforms clearly is important to help agents and consumers understand the difference.

The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) has gathered feedback from the real estate industry in order to provide a standardized way to distinguish them.

Virtual tour: a pre-recorded or pre-existing, static digital exposure of a property. This includes pre-recorded video tours, 360-degree panoramic images, 3D digital tours, and pre-recorded showings available for playback.

Live stream open house: a real-time interactive digital open house at a scheduled time where an agent can communicate with potential buyers via a live video service. 

Agents can provide links to both virtual tours and live stream open houses in the MLS, but the need to distinguish between them is important. Consumers who want to attend a live stream open house shouldn’t be provided a link to a pre-recorded virtual tour.

Live stream open houses are created by agents on live streaming platforms. Some popular examples include:

• Facebook Live and Events

• Zoom

• Google Meets

• Microsoft Teams

• YouTube Live

• GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar

• Skype

• Webex

• Join.me

• Whereby

• BlueJeans

A live stream open house allows agents and sellers to expose a property with maximum visibility. Buyers who cannot physically be in the area can still get customized feedback while viewing a home. In the current environment, clients who are uncomfortable with in-person experiences can avoid close contact. 

Increased Flexibility for Professionals and Consumers

Agents can customize tours of a home on the fly based on the requests of open house visitors. Many features are similar to an in-person tour, such as walking back through a room, turning to focus on a different wall and opening up a cabinet.

Agents can also answer live audio or text questions from multiple viewers, allowing the visitors to learn from each others’ questions and enhancing the agent’s ability to deliver a wide range of information about the property to a broad audience

Live stream open houses in the MLS need to be clearly identified to avoid the unwitting arrival of buyers at listings that are not open to the public, creating consumer dissatisfaction as well as health and safety concerns.

The RESO Standards

RESO’s Data Dictionary Workgroup created standard ways to express this kind of live stream open house data. These results will go to the RESO Board of Directors for ratification and become the agreed-upon method to define these new open houses for the industry’s technology companies.

Agents can select from:

• Live Stream Public Open House

• Live Stream Broker Open House

• Public Open House

• Office Open House

• Broker Open House

It’s critical that live stream open houses are designated correctly, and not accidentally listed as traditional open houses. Buyers showing up at sellers’ homes unexpectedly would be problematic for everyone involved.

There will be a URL field in the MLS for an agent to input a link to the online location of the live stream open house. The only URLs entered into this field should be truly live interactive video broadcasts between agents and consumers or other agents/brokers.

Words Matter

When these events were called “virtual open houses” in an MLS, 99 percent of the URLs entered by agents were incorrect–they were pre-recorded. When the events were changed to “live stream open houses”, 90 percent of URLs entered were for live streamed events. So the industry has coalesced around the term “live stream open house”.

If an agent would like to hold a traditional open house and live stream it as well, the agent could create both a live stream and a traditional open house at the same time. Even after current social-distancing measures subside, this may become a popular technique to increase open house attendance long-term.

After a live stream open house, a recorded version of the open house may be available. That recorded tour should be stored as a virtual tour in the MLS.

Moving Forward with Live Stream Open Houses and Virtual Tours

Recorded virtual tours and live stream open houses will continue to grow in popularity, as will the innovative ways to employ them. Properly describing these events distinctly will help the industry continue to support professionals and consumers in using innovative practices to buy and sell real estate. 

Resources for Real Estate Pros Who Want to Learn How to Host Virtual Open Houses:

How are Industry Leaders Connecting Now? - Creating Paths and Wrangling Cats with Chavi Hohm

I’m looking forward to Inman Connect.

It took me awhile to get to this point, I have to admit.

I’m Zoomed out, I miss hugging people and putting my head on someone’s shoulder in a crowded conference room, and running into an old friend in the lobby, and jumping in an Uber for an impromptu adventure. I miss all of the things, and I’m sure you do, too.

But I actually think that the Inman team has some pretty awesome timing with Inman Connect coming around the corner while we’re all simultaneously yearning for and dreading having to adapt to life with one foot sort of back in the Real World, and the other foot firmly planted Safer at Home.

Today, three industry leaders shared how they’ve been dealing with both the quiet and the chaos, including my gal Chavi! What she said made me both smile + think, as is typical in any convo with this superstar!

Chavi M. Hohm

Team Lead and Content Manager, Team Diva Real Estate with Coldwell Banker Bain

What’s the biggest change in the way you’re managing your business now? 

Life now is about managing feral cats and trying to tame them to be house cats. Anyone who is parenting a teen and manages people in real estate understands that both of these creatures are downright feral. They only come to you when they need to be fed but generally want to be left alone to do their own thing. Schooling a teen at home and teaching adults how to move their business online is forcing feral creatures to enjoy being a house cat. Sometimes you get scratched in the process.

How do you find new business in a time like this? 

Team Diva was really well-positioned for this market before the stay-at-home order came through in Washington state. We were already doing a lot of videos and online content. All we had to do was up the heat and make sure we were staying connected to what the community really needs right now. Frankly, stats about the market are irrelevant when your neighbor is having to go to the food bank. How do you help your neighbor? Creating paths for our clients to help other people is really what is the most important thing right now.  

How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team? 

Early on in the process, all of us adopted the Brooke Castello Monday Power Hour. One of the items that really works is prioritizing personal items first and than working the other items into your calendar. Having the calendar really helps to keep me and the team focused on what we need to do for the work at Team Diva and at home.

Who in the community has impressed you or helped you most during this time? 

Frankly, it takes a village to stay in a winning mindset, have support to be vulnerable about your insecurities in this market, and overcome huge personal and professional obstacles. My village includes Marguerite Martin, Stacie Staub, Anne Jones, Andrea Geller, Kim V. Colaprete, Greg Fischer, Heather Ostrom, Jay Thompson, Sharon Steele and Vanessa Jones Bergmark. There are more people than this. And all of them have sent me an article, suggested we apply for the PPP, had a phone call or just said the right thing at the right time. I love them all!

What’s your outlook for the rest of this year? 

At the beginning of 2020, we changed our goal-setting from gross commission and ranking within the company to net income. 

Can you share a few words about how Inman has helped you grow your business, in bull or bear times? 

Inman opened an entire new world to me back in 2012. It introduced me to a realm of people who were on the same path that I was at the time. That path had led me to be in a really secure space now where I can innovate through this coronavirus crisis, keep my team together and help others.

To find out what other folks had to say, keep reading on Inman News.

And, if you’ve ever wanted to attend an Inman event but couldn’t afford it, didn’t have time, or didn’t know if it would deliver what your Real Estate business needs, this year is the perfect time to give it a go!

Inman Connect Now connects virtually June 2-4, 2020. The digital event offers standout speakers, incredible networking opportunities, and the chance to forge business breakthroughs and build new relationships to last a lifetime. Don’t miss out — register today.

5 action items you need to do now to help people who want to migrate out of dense cities

When state governments ordered residents to stay at home more than a month ago, it triggered a wave of temporary migration.

“We immediately saw a pickup in our rental market, especially a pickup in our high-end market,” with some renting sight unseen, said Tammy Felenstein, executive director of sales for Halstead Real Estate in Stamford, Conn., close to the New York state border, via Housing Wire.

Some in the Northeast flocked to Florida. Others, wary of germs easily spreading in high-rise building elevators and through dense city life, rented homes in the suburbs. Still others, particularly young single adults, packed bags and moved back in with their parents. And even for those staying in place – whether in their condo, apartment or house – the isolation made the walls feel closer.

As states plan to reopen their economies, what changes COVID-19 will have on the housing market remain to be seen. Demographers and Realtors alike predict this is a tipping point for people who’ve already been dreaming of backyards, private pools and more space. It will accelerate trends that were already happening, they said, and bring a new level of consideration – whether people upgrade their apartments and condos for larger units or move out of dense cities altogether.

As a licensed Realtor, are you ready, willing and able to jump in and assist?

Most agents focus on trying to generate activity where they live: farming their local subdivision, creating + sharing content about their own neighborhoods, and helping people who want to move locally.

Which is fine...but in times like these, in a COVID world, do you know where the business is coming from? Are you missing opportunities to help outside of your normal business plan?

Staying on top of “Response Trends” like this, and being able to act quickly in order to serve an unexpected need, is crucial to surviving in this business.

Luckily, there are so many tools, so much data, almost unlimited resources available to you as a Real Estate professional…but first, you need a plan.

Personally, I’m betting that we are going to see an even greater number of people looking to move into Middle America…places like Denver and Oklahoma City that are holding up as well as could be expected in this time of crisis are sure to be attractive to folks looking to move out of crowded buildings and cities, to have a backyard and miles of open space and trails to escape to, where it costs less to live and is easier to navigate - less need for public transportation, bigger homes for less money which will accommodate working from home…the list goes on, and you should know how to market to serve people with these needs + wants, if you are a person who wants to attract these future clients.

Here are 5 action items that I’d recommend starting on immediately:

1. Re-work your business plan and re-set your goals to include relocation business - how many people can you reasonably expect to help move into and out of your town instead of around it?

2. Choose 5 cities where you predict migration will be prevalent, both to and from. Do some research. Gather some data about the differences in Housing Prices, Cost of Living, Unemployment Numbers, Vacancy Rates, and Expected Stay-at-Home Orders for the next few months in each of those cities, including your own.

3. Craft a marketing message that will speak to your target demographic: the people who are suddenly very unhappy with their current living situation who will likely want to move within the next 6-18 months. What do they need to hear? How are you uniquely able to help them?

4. Create marketing collateral with that messaging, and a budget for distributing it. The most effective marketing mix includes both online and off, and statistics show that people will need to see that same message seven times for it to stick - so, that likely means that you will need a strategic combination of postcards, targeted facebook and instagram ads, blog content and landing pages - all reaching the same list - in order to have an effective return on your investment.

5. Research, connect with + nurture Real Estate agents who work like you do in each city. Again, you’re going to need to do some legwork here, but it’s going to be more important than ever to have referral partners that you like, know + trust in the places where you are going to help your future clients move in and out of. Add them to your CRM and create a plan for staying in touch with your fellow professionals.

If all of that sounds completely overwhelming, but you’re feeling it and want to figure it out…let me know. I would be happy to hear about your particular situation + goals and help you figure out how to get started!

Related Links:

See Upcoming Education Opportunities

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How COVID-19 has changed the mind of potential homebuyers

Some are worried about the job market, others want more space

Despite the uncertainties of the current pandemic, some people are still shopping around for homes.

A new study from OJO Labs surveyed 200 homebuyers who had planned to purchase a house within six months before the outbreak of COVID-19 and found that “the virus has amplified many of the existing difficulties along the home-buying journey and made apparent the value of both technology and human expertise.”

From the survey, 45.6% of shoppers said they are motivated to expedite their moving timeline because they think they’ll get a good deal on a home, while low-interest rates are a major factor for 56.5%. But social distancing and the ability to bounce back in the job market was a huge factor for these potential homebuyers.

Eighty percent of those surveyed said their moving timeline has been delayed or stopped altogether, while 60% of first-time homebuyers say they are concerned about future employment prospects and 54% said the inability to see homes in person is a factor.

As more homebuyers are stuck at home, more are realizing they need space to fit their needs.

First-time homebuyers in the survey who are expediting the process think extra bedrooms (43.5%) and an open floor plan (45.7%) are more important than before COVID-19.

Even though there are still potential homebuyers out there, new listings dropped an average of 63% in the earliest, hardest-hit markets, OJO said.

And due to social distancing and shelter-in-place guidelines, OJO said that open houses have declined 82% lower than the March peak.

Virtual tours, 3D tours, livestream tours and even FaceTime tours have come out of the woodwork, showing the eagerness of agents. OJO said that 28% of those delaying the process still report looking at listing photos and 25% are taking virtual tours of homes more now than before COVID-19.

In fact, 41% said there was an increase in remote communication with agents – whether it’s Zoom, Skype or FaceTime – while 32.6% said they still met with agents in person.

Virtual tours are more valuable than prior to COVID-19 for both those delaying (42%) and expediting (41%) the process.

What do you think? Do you have the skills, tools, mindset + habits that you are going to need to serve tomorrow’ s homebuyers?

If you’re looking for a brokerage that can help you not only survive but thrive, we should talk!

3 Reasons Why Real Estate Pros Should Not Cut Their Marketing Budget During COVID-19

Since the “stay-at-home” order went into effect due to the coronavirus pandemic, massive budget cuts have been occurring throughout the vast majority of the industries around the globe, including real estate.

Despite the government declaring the real estate profession as an “essential” business in most of the U.S. states, there has been a noticeable slowdown in activity across the country, which caused thousands of real estate companies to start substantially cutting and even completely freezing their marketing budgets.

But is this really a good idea to do so? Or perhaps the current situation presents an incredible opportunity for real estate professionals to expand their business despite all the odds, according to Oleg Donets, founder of Real Estate Bees:

Regardless of whether you are a solo agent, a team lead, a brokerage owner or an investor, it’s important to think carefully about your marketing and other budgets in times like these.

Reason No. 1: Capitalize on Deeply Discounted Exposure

It is not a secret that numerous mass media and advertising firms are suffering tremendous losses as a result of the abrupt budget cuts due to COVID-19 outbreak.

For instance, according to The Wall Street Journal, in March alone the cost to run an ad on Facebook in front of 1,000 users dropped 15-20 percent compared to February. A similar cost drop per 1,000 impressions, in particular a 22 percent plunge, was registered for Instagram.

The largest video search engine in the world, YouTube, has also been suffering 15-20 percent drops in ad cost during the same period. There are many other large digital media and advertising platforms that have a similar impact on their ad revenue.

Over the last 30 days, we have been receiving numerous discounted pitches from various media and ad space selling agencies. Some of the offers were, in fact, quite attractive.

For instance, we have received a pitch from a fairly well-known regional homeowner magazine that reaches about 1.5M readers through their physically circulated and digital version of the journal.

The publication offered us a deeply discounted package, for which we used to pay 2x more. It was a no brainer to us and to our strategic real estate investing partner, a national iBuyer, HouseCashin, from whom we have been buying ad space for quite a while.

The ROI was through the roof especially in conjunction with this unfortunate situation due to the favorable conditions for large cash homebuyers like HouseCashin.com.

That being said, it doesn’t matter what type of real estate company you run. What is important is that you can currently get a tremendous exposure in front of your target audience for deeply discounted prices than ever before.

The economy will bounce back soon, and you will no longer have this amazing opportunity as it exists now. Take advantage of it while everybody else cut on their marketing expenses.

Reason No. 2: Capture Market Share When Everyone Else Is Halted

As more and more real estate professionals desert the marketing and advertising field, it opens up many lucrative opportunities that would not have been available otherwise. One of the many is to capture greater market share while the majority of your competitors are pooling out.

To demonstrate this strategy, I’d love to use one of our most recent examples. For those who are strongly against using Zillow’s Premier Agent advertising platform, I apologize upfront, but this section will be about using the platform to one’s advantage.

For those who know how the Premier Agent program works, you know very intimately the scarcity that’s surrounding certain zip codes.

In other words, there are some very desirable zip codes in every city throughout the U.S. that have been fully sold out to a handful of local real estate agents and teams. Before the coronavirus pandemic, these zip codes didn’t tend to open up often due to a very high demand.

However, at this point, as real estate professionals are cutting their marketing budgets, you can see those most desirable zip codes start opening up for grabs. In response to this increasingly concerning situation, Rich Barton, the founder and CEO of the Zillow Group announced that Zillow will cover 50 percent of the advertising cost beginning March 23.

This is where we advised our strategic real estate partner Kristina Morales, a licensed REALTOR®, not only to not back out of her current occupied zip codes, but also to secure the new ones.

Kristina reported, “When COVID-19 first took place and fear set in that the real estate market may tank, I immediately thought of reducing my marketing budget with the Zillow program. After speaking with my digital marketing strategist from Real Estate Bees, I realized that reducing my marketing budget wasn’t the answer. The answer was to increase and expand into the markets that were previously unavailable to me. What is even better than getting into new zip codes is that the quality of the leads has improved significantly. Think about it, only serious buyers are looking right now because for others it is not worth the risk. My activity over the last four weeks has skyrocketed and my pipeline continues to be full. I attribute that directly to my commitment to maintain and/or increase my marketing budget.”

If Kristina would have gone with the flow of downsizing her marketing budget, she would never be able to fill up her pipeline to the end of the year within 30 days. In addition, once the pandemic is over, she has her new, highly lucrative zip codes secured, which she would unlikely be able to get during the regular times.

Reason No. 3: Leverage Downtime to Build Your Pipeline

It has been almost a month since the U.S. government has mandated non-essential businesses to close their doors to customers. Guess what? It is a lot of people; people who either already were, or were about to be, on the market for real estate services.

But due to the outbreak, all these people, as well as those who have not been officially proclaimed as non-essential businesses, are now stuck at home 24/7. And what exactly are all of them doing at home?

You guessed it right, these people spend a lot of time in front of the TV and their computer. As I mentioned before, these folks were either on the market already or about to be soon. In fact, according to the data we keep receiving from our nationwide network of strategic real estate partners, 70-80 percent of those who already were on the market, haven’t pulled out.

In a recent interview conducted by the Washington Post, Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS® said, “If the virus shutdown is less than three months, then there will be a quick, robust rebound and maybe even no change in the annual home sales.”

Based on what is currently going on, it seems like the government is planning to lift the economic lockdown by the end of April. Therefore, if Mr. Lawrence is correct, the economy will bounce back quickly. So, this is a perfect timing to begin utilizing various advertising mediums to get in front of your target audience to start building your pipeline.

Despite the current situation, people are still buying and selling homes, but not many real estate professionals seem to be interested in picking up new clients. There is a huge opportunity right now to fill up your pipeline with underserved customers.

Oleg Donets is a serial entrepreneur, technology and digital marketing strategist with a solid track record. You can find Oleg on LinkedIn.

National Association of Realtors offering Steep Discounts and Free Certification Classes in May/June

Through NAR´s Right Tools, Right Now program, the Center for REALTOR® Development is offering the following discounts.

• Now through May 31, 2020:
  

  • 30% off ALL online courses

• Now through May 31, 2020 – the following online courses are FREE*:
  

  • NAR´s ePRO® Certification Course [FREE]*

  • NAR´s ePRO® Day 1/Day 2 Bundle Canadian Edition [FREE]*

  • Pricing Strategies: Mastering the CMA (PSA) [FREE]*

  • Pricing Strategies: Mastering the CMA (PSA) Canadian Edition [FREE]*

  • Real Estate Investing: Build Wealth Representing Investors and Becoming One Yourself [FREE]*
    

• Now through June 30, 2020 – the following online course is 50% off:
  

  • At Home With Diversity®(AHWD) [50% off]

* Free course discount offered under RTRN program is extended to NAR members only. Non-members of NAR will receive 30% off RTRN courses.

The Present, Past, and Future of Work. Brokers from CO/WA/CA Discuss (Video or Podcast)

Join brokers from Colorado, Washington, and California for a discussion about navigating the social devastation of a pandemic while figuring out where the business of real estate fits in.

TOPICS
Layers of Marketing
Extra Seller Prep
Managing Showings
Leading Through Crisis

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PANELISTS

Chavi Hohm
Mrs. Diva + Team Diva Member @ Team Diva

Stacie Staub
CEO @ West + Main Homes

Anne Jones
Designated Broker + Owner @ Windermere Abode

Vanessa Bergmark
CEO @ Red Oak Realty

Kim Colaprete
The Original Diva + Managing Broker @ Team Diva

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RESOURCES

Chavi Hohm
Team Diva: Safety Signage for Listings

Stacie Staub
West + Main Homes: Home Photo Tips for Sellers

Anne Jones
Windermere Abode: Keeping Communities Safe

Vanessa Bergmark
Red Oak Realty: Listing and Buying During Shelter

Kim Colaprete
Team Diva: Digital Listing Marketing Example

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State-by-State Economic Impact of Real Estate Activity

How is the housing market in your state affecting the local economy?

These reports from the National Association of Realtors outline the total economic impact of Real Estate related industries on the state economy, as well as the expenditures that result from a single home sale, including aspects like home construction costs, real estate brokerage, mortgage lending and title insurance.

Find out how much the real estate industry is affecting the gross state product for your area.

Click here for interactive map.

NOTE: This page does not include data from U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands) because the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)—the main source for our calculations—does not currently provide it. 

Here is the report for the US. Access the report and details for every State below.

Statistics for the country as a whole: United States

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Related Links:
Listing + Selling Your Property During a COVID Stay-at-Home Order
Buying a Property During a COVID Stay-at-Home Order

Realtor.com Launches Livestream Open Houses

All while complying with social distancing

Realtor.com released a new feature on its website recently, allowing homebuyers to attend an open house without leaving their couches, according to Housing Wire.

The company said as COVID-19 continues to spread, it is working closely with MLSs to enable listing agents to show homes safely while practicing social distancing.

“Unsurprisingly, we’ve seen a bit of a slowdown in home buying and selling activity as consumers and agents adjust to this new normal,” realtor.com Chief Marketing Officer Nate Johnson said. “However, we know that many people still need to buy and sell homes, and realtor.com is dedicated to helping ease real estate transactions as much as possible during the COVID-19 crisis. We’re working hard to roll out technology solutions like Livestream Open Houses and we’ve set up microsites dedicated to providing information and resources to help both agents and consumers move forward with searching for, buying and selling homes during times of social distancing.”

Much like a traditional open house, Livestream Open Houses will allow agents to show homebuyers the property in real time.

Homebuyers are able to join the open house at any time during open house hours. But unlike virtual tours, these are scheduled in advance and broadcasted live, allowing agents to interact with the homebuyers.

“While virtual tours are a great resource for consumers, most home shoppers still want the opportunity to walk through a home with an agent and ask questions in real time,” said Ryan Green, vice president, product management at realtor.com. “Especially during this time of social distancing, realtor.com’s Livestream Open Houses will give agents the opportunity to showcase their properties, and will allow consumers the ability to still explore a home through a live online experience from the safety of their own homes.”

According to a survey from realtor.com and Toluna Insights, 24% of people would be willing to buy a home without seeing it in person, while 21% of people said that COVID-19 has made them more than likely to move into a home without stepping foot in it first.

The Livestream Open Houses, available now, can be performed via Google Hangouts, Zoom, join.met and Zoho, with more being added over time.

More recently, realtor.com rolled out its own home value estimate tool, which will appear on for-sale and off-market listings on the site.

The company previously displayed an estimated home value on off-market listings, but for the first time, realtor.com is now displaying an estimated home value on for-sale listings as well.

The brokerage also introduced a noise indicator feature, providing home shoppers with data at the property level, where others can only do so at a neighborhood level.

According to the company, new listings typically make up around 9% of active for-sale listings this time of year, and in the last three weeks, they’ve averaged to just 7%, a share of the market more typically seen in the fall.

Pre-COVID-19, new listings were increasing 5% year-over-year on average, realtor.com said. In the week ending April 11, new home listings had decreased by a whopping 47%.

Even after stay-at-home orders are loosened, virtual open houses might be a good option for getting more exposure for a property, and for reaching more potential buyers, so developing these skills now is likely going to turn out to be time well-spent for the long run.

Wondering what platforms or equipment to use? Start with our Agent Guide to Using Video

Marketing Property During Stay at Home Orders

Over the years I’ve written a couple of posts about how to promote stale listings.

One was published by Inman News in 2014:

16 things you can do right now to maximize your listing's exposure

And then I updated it last year with a piece for Realtor.com Pro:

20 Strategies for Stale Listings

Having been through a few market ups + downs, I’ve learned that the key to successfully marketing a listing sometimes requires a quick pivot - and this time that we are experiencing right now is of course like no other.

Real Estate professionals, and their clients, are on a pretty crazy roller coaster ride…with changes to stay-at-home orders, guidelines, mandates, and directives being published, announced and changed on an almost daily basis, it’s pretty tough to come up with a Marketing Strategy and hope that all of the pieces will come together into a successful closed transaction…but all we can do is keep on trying!

I’ve been asked by agents both in my own Company, West + Main Homes, as well as agents across North America, how to best create a presence for listings in our current, ever-changing environment.

There are a few things that are absolutely necessary at this point…and if there is any little bright side to these boundaries, there are also some really creative and innovative actions and strategies that are helping folks that NEED to buy and sell right now do so.

The game has changed, and instead of getting as many people through the door as possible, it’s all about getting the right eyeballs on your property, online, and in a perfect scenario you will have a sight-unseen offer that leads to a smooth transaction thanks to your amazing marketing.

Let’s start with the obvious.

Properly set your Seller’s expectations from the very beginning.

With Real Estate activity being greatly reduced across the country, keeping up with the data and creating a flexible strategy is more important than ever. For example, my rule of thumb in a Seller’s Market used to be, 20 showings or 2 weekends on the market - and if we haven’t received a viable offer, then we need to drop the price. What is that rule now? It depends on the inventory in your listing’s area and price point, on the constraint on showings/stay-at-home orders, and on the overall activity in the marketplace which is unfortunately in constant flux.

Listing Your Property During Stay-at-Home Orders - What You Need to Know

Really great photos.

In most areas, photographers are still allowed to fulfill photo orders. If there are details about the home that should be captured, make sure to ask for those - and also ask for photos of areas that don’t typically get photographed…the HVAC system, the garage, and unfinished storage rooms are all things that serious Buyers are going to want to see.

When you are uploading photos to the MLS, try to put them in the order that a person would walk through the home - this is new advice from me, as I used to recommend that you put the photos in the MLS with the best photos first, but when folks can’t go out and see every home they are even slightly interested in, I think it’s important to create a “tour the home online” experience in every place possible. Homebuyers might also have a little more time to flip through all of the photos, so hopefully they will.

If you’re in a situation where your Seller needs to take the photos, provide as much guidance as possible and help them present their home in its best light - tucking away clutter, using the widest angle available, and making sure that they are seeing their home through a buyer’s critical eye.

At least one video tour…preferably several.

This is an absolute must at this point…and there are several different ways to create a showing experience for homebuyers who are doing most of their search - and possibly even writing an offer before touring a home.

3D Tours

These types of tours have been around for a while, but the technology has improved so much over the years, and now they can provide a really great way for buyers to take a thorough look around a property, check out the layout and details, and really get a feel for how the home might work for them. Many photographers offer this as part of their service, and to avoid having to use several different vendors, it’s a good idea to find someone who can do it all in one stop.

Traditional Video

It’s the expected user experience - press play and let the camera take the viewer on a tour through the property, usually set to music. Sometimes a photo slide show is done instead. To really make the property feel “alive” and to hopefully present a more life-like tour of the property, video is the better option…but do what you have to do. If a videographer isn’t available, there are tools that you can use to create your own slideshow video using the property photos, and any video is better than no video.

An Agent-Narrated and Filmed Video Tour

If you’ve never experimented with video or jumped into creating collateral for your listings, now is the time. You don’t necessarily need to be IN the video, but presenting the property from the listing agent’s point of view is a really personal and effective way to make a homebuyer feel informed and comfortable.

An Updated + Appropriate Listing Description

We’re living in weird times…but let’s not ignore the big fat elephant in the room by trying to market listings “as usual.” Your listing description will be more relatable, and frankly attention-grabbing and interesting if you just go for it. If, when we are finally allowed to leave our homes on an unlimited basis, your listing is still on the market, you can always re-write it…and you should.

Floor Plans

Another absolute must-have in your listing toolbox right now…and it’s always a good idea. If your MLS allows, upload the floor plans as jpgs right into the listing photos instead of adding them as a PDF supplement, which many buyers do not know how or care to access, depending where they are viewing the property online.

OK, so now that you have all of the expected assets to market your listing, what can you do with it all in order to make sure that your property is viewed online by as many potential homebuyers as possible?

Virtual Showings + Open Houses

Because in-person showings are absolutely out of the question in some areas, and are just not a safe way of conducting business anywhere during Stay-at-Home orders, Showing Time has now added the ability to schedule a “Virtual Showing.” The logistics around these video showings are a bit all over the place, with some Sellers doing a 4-way Facetime walkthrough session with the Buyer, the Buyer’s Agent and the Listing Agent…and other times with a Buyer’s Agent conducting the showing, in order to answer their Buyers’ questions and show them parts of the home that they might feel the need to see before writing a “Sight Unseen” offer.

Same thing with Virtual Open Houses - we have seen these evolve over the past few weeks, but it seems the most typical Virtual Open House involves the Listing Agent scheduling an event and promoting it, so that potential Buyers can view online, asking questions and requesting to see different parts of the property. Again, you need to follow your area’s guidelines and decide if these types of activities are allowed.

Reach Out to Your Reverse Prospecting List

Your MLS likely has a list that you can access of agents who have clients set up for an automated property search that matches your listing. These agents are now your new best friends.

Pick up the phone and call those agents. Text them. Email them.

Tutorial: How to Create a Reverse Prospect Email Campaign for Your Listing.

Ask them if they happened to see your property listing and if they still have a buyer that might be interested. Send them the property tour, ask them if they would like more information. Cooperation has never been more important, so take a step out of your comfort zone and start a conversation!

Also, ask them for feedback - if they have decided not to send the property to their client, what is it about your listing that they feel won’t work for their clients? This is valuable information that you can share with your Sellers, especially if there is a common thread, like “the bathrooms look too outdated” or “it seems overpriced.”

Rotate Your Listing Photos Every Day

By putting a new Cover Photo in the MLS every day, you might catch a homebuyer’s interest with the kitchen or living room, or even the backyard, who didn’t really love the front exterior shot. Of course, follow your MLS guidelines - but get creative, too!

Consider Virtual Staging

If your property is either completely vacant or could use some staging, virtual staging is another technology that has come so far since the early days of awkwardly sized furniture getting photoshopped onto a picture of an empty room. It’s also surprisingly affordable! Did you know that they can also create “twilight photos” green up the landscaping and bring your property photos to life so that homebuyers can better imagine creating a life for themselves in the home!

I know that this is a really hard time to sell Real Estate, but by doing absolutely everything you can from the safety of your sofa, you are literally saving lives. You’re also filling up your toolbox with new skills, platforms and ideas that will serve your clients not only now but in the future.

Hang in there, and let us know if there is anything that we can do for you!

Special thanks to Anna Domenico and Brandi Wolff for use of their wonderful marketing materials.

How to Stay Positive and Productive in the Current Market with Erin Bradley

We didn’t hesitate when thinking about the first person we wanted to invite from outside of our firm to talk to our people in this moment. As we urge our agents who can to stay home, we collectively faced a laundry list of choices about how to stay healthy and still be productive.

Erin Bradley is a positive voice in a time of uncertainty. Erin shared in detail how she survived the last economic recession and built the business she always dreamed of over the last decade.

We found her outlook and tone to be a refreshing change. As we imagine the hundreds of different ways life might look differently tomorrow, Erin helps you gain control of the result.

We open most of our online training to agents everywhere and link to events we think are useful or relevant to agents in the markets we serve too. We recorded this in our platform.

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⤜Erin’s Info and Slides→

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Freebie: link
Online workshop: link
Closed FB Group: Pursuing Freedom
Follow on IG: @pursuingfreedomofficial
Call/text: 303-906-8038
Email: erin@pursuingfreedom.com

How is the NAR Addressing Housing Affordability Challenges in the US?

The National Association of REALTORS® has been working with authorities to create expanded housing options.

Sharp increases in home prices and a lack of housing inventory in the U.S. have resulted in a housing affordability crisis, where both rental homes and homes for purchase are beyond the reach of low- and middle-income families.

To address this watershed moment in real estate, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with Secretary Ben Carson taking the lead, has been hosting meetings to discuss these matters with issue experts. HUD also published a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas from the real estate industry and brainstorm solutions.

In comments submitted to HUD, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) stressed that affordable housing is critical to America’s communities and businesses. To address housing affordability issues, NAR offered HUD a series of policy considerations that encourage all market players to collaborate to provide safe and affordable housing. These included:

• Enhancing Mortgage Market Liquidity – Re-focus the mission of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on providing liquidity in the mortgage markets for low- and middle-income homebuyers.

• Reforming the CRA – Clarify existing regulations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) so banks can receive “credit” for serving the lending needs of middle-income households.

• Incentivize YIMBY – Foster a “Yes in My Backyard”—or “YIMBY”—market to encourage states and localities receiving federal dollars to reform high-density zoning and other land-use rules.

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds – Encourage states and localities to update their comprehensive housing and development plans to address barriers to housing affordability. If they do so, they receive additional CDBG funds.

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) – Allowing for development of ADUs is a simple way to increase density and affordable housing. State and local laws can protect the rights of property owners and concerns of neighbors about increased traffic or demand for resources.

NAR also commended the Administration for the work it has already done to improve housing affordability. Since May 2019, HUD has taken several actions, including:

• Finalizing the FHA Condo Rules – Condos are often the most affordable option for first-time buyers, urban dwellers and those wishing to downsize. HUD’s reform of FHA’s condo rules should yield thousands of new homeownership opportunities and help alleviate affordability restraints impacting markets across the country.

• Repealing and Replacing WOTUS – The Administration repealed the 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule and replaced it with a common-sense regulation that more clearly defines the regulatory limits of the Clean Water Act. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule will provide predictability and reduce red tape and lower costs for real estate developers, which will lead to the construction of more homes in all real estate markets.

• Creating Qualified Opportunity Zones – NAR applauds the creation of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, chaired by Secretary Ben Carson. Opportunity zones have great potential to address housing affordability across our country. HUD has also provided additional incentives for development in opportunity zones through FHA products.

Although there is no single solution to promoting housing affordability and increasing housing supply, NAR does believe that a broad-based policy approach to bring safe, decent and affordable housing to low-income households, as well as methods to enhance the availability of affordable middle-income housing, can be achieved. We look forward to working with HUD and our partners in the real estate industry to reach these goals and improve access to the American Dream of homeownership. 

Russell Riggs is NAR’s senior environmental policy representative. For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.

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Earnest Money Transfers in a COVID-19 Environment

Earnnest Announces Free Transfers for Homebuyers and New Features

Earnnest, the largest digital earnest money service in the U.S., recently announced new features for its platform, as well as a temporary lift on fees for all homebuyers, effective immediately through April 17, 2020.

Earnnest enables homebuyers to send electronic money deposits directly to any U.S. financial institution through a secure, proprietary electronic payment tool, mitigating the risk of wire fraud, completely eliminating paper checks and removing the need for any in-person interaction. The tool features banking-level encryption and is always free to use for agents and escrow holders, with a flat fee to homebuyers, no matter the amount of money transferred. Now through April 17, this buyer fee has been waived.

“We’re living through unprecedented times and more than ever, platforms like ours offer a much-needed solution for business continuity and growth,” says Earnnest CEO Rick Altizer. “We’ve waived all fees for Earnnest, so homebuyers currently at home taking care of their families can simply transfer earnest money through our app.”

Many escrow holders are finding value in Earnnest, too. Denver-based Land Title® Guarantee Company recently expedited its timeline by three months to roll out the platform to its clients nationwide as soon as possible. Additionally, the number of escrow holders registering through Earnnest’s integration with zipForm® Plus has significantly increased in the past several weeks.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic has caused businesses to shift to work-from-home models and society is practicing social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, we’ve seen a substantial lift in escrow holder enrollment and agent registration,” says Earnnest Chief Technology Officer Daniel Jeffords. “Earnnest is a technical solution for digital real estate transactions but it’s also an emotional solution to bring collective calm to an industry just wondering how to conduct business.”

In conjunction with the fee-free announcement, Earnnest also launched several new features, including:

• Self-registration, allowing any licensed real estate agent to register and make payment requests in the closed network

• Support for single sign-on integrations with software platforms, including the leading transaction management software tools

• Support for business administrators to manage multiple accounts and make payment requests

“Our safe, closed network isn’t just an answer for right now,” says George Clements, Greenville, S.C.-area mega agent and co-founder of Earnnest. “This is a solution for the future of real estate that’s safer, more streamlined and more resistant to whatever changes the world may bring.”

For more information, please visit Earnnest.com.

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