Slowing Inflation Suggests Mortgage Rates Have Topped Out

NAR’s chief economist shares what now needs to happen to bring down borrowing costs and increase affordability for home buyers.

 

Inflation eased slightly in July, which could bode well for the housing market in the months ahead, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®. Overall, inflation slowed from 9.1% in June to 8.5% in July, but prices for food and rent continued to climb, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index showed Wednesday.

Still, the slight deceleration suggests that consumer price inflation may have peaked, which suggests that mortgage rates also may have peaked, Yun says. The level of inflation “is still high and uncomfortable but may indicate the start of a steady retreat,” Yun adds.

Gasoline prices posted a 7% monthly decline, a significant contributor to the recent moderation in inflation. However, prices remain 44% higher than a year ago and 104% higher than two years ago. Also, the CPI showed that the rising costs of food, up 10.9% in July, continue to hit many Americans’ pocketbooks. That’s the highest increase in food prices since May 1979. Household energy costs were up 20.5%, and furniture costs were up 14.8%.

Rents continued to rise in July, up 6.3% compared to a year prior, the CPI showed. “That is a testament to the ongoing housing shortage,” Yun says.

But could the worst of sky-high inflation be behind Americans? Yun thinks so. “If there is a sustained decline in gasoline prices and more production of apartments and single-family homes, consumer prices will pull back, encouraging the Federal Reserve policy to be less aggressive,” Yun says. “Mortgage rates will fall.”

On Wednesday morning, the 10-year Treasury yield stood at 2.7%. “That should translate into 30-year mortgage rates pulling back to under 5%,” Yun says. “Some recent potential home buyers who were pushed out of the market may now be able to get back in and qualify for a mortgage.”

Homeowner equity soars across US

Half of all US mortgaged homes are now considered equity-rich, according to a new report by real estate data curator, ATTOM.

According to the US Home Equity and Underwater report for Q2, 48.1% of mortgaged residential properties in the country were considered equity-rich in the second quarter this year, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than 50% of their estimated market values. Data was collected on more than 155 million properties across the US.

The report provides counts of properties based on several categories of equity — or loan to value (LTV) — at the state, metro, county and zip code level, along with the percentage of total properties with a mortgage that each equity category represents.

‘Equity-rich’ properties are those with a loan to value ratio of 50% or lower, meaning the property owner had at least 50% equity, while ‘seriously underwater’ properties are those with a loan to value ratio of 125% or above, meaning the property owner owed at least 25% more than the estimated market value of the property.

The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich in the second quarter increased from 44.9% in the first quarter and from 34.4% in the second quarter.

The latest increase, covering almost half of all mortgage payers in the US, marked the ninth straight quarterly rise in the portion of homes in the equity-rich territory. The report found that at least half of all mortgage-payers in 18 states were equity-rich in Q2, compared to only three states a year earlier.

Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM, said he was not surprised by the report’s findings, given how property prices had been rising for so long.

He said: “After 124 consecutive months of home price increases, it’s no surprise that the percentage of equity rich homes is the highest we’ve ever seen, and that the percentage of seriously underwater loans is the lowest.

“While home price appreciation appears to be slowing down due to higher interest rates on mortgage loans, it seems likely that homeowners will continue to build on the record amount of equity they have for the rest of 2022.”

ATTOM’s report also revealed that only 2.9% of mortgaged homes, or one in 34, were considered seriously underwater in Q2, with a combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property of at least 25% more than the property’s estimated market value. That was down from 3.2% of all homes with a mortgage compared to the previous quarter and 4.1%, or one 24 properties, a year earlier.

Across the US, every state except one saw equity-rich levels increase this year due to the fact that home values have kept increasing, while seriously underwater percentages fell in 46 states.

After a flat first quarter, the median single-family home price shot up another 9% quarterly and 15% annually during the Spring of this year to a new high of $346,000.

The report noted that for owners keeping up with mortgage payments – including many that weren’t – that meant a widening gap between what they owed and what their homes were worth, boosting more home values into equity-rich status.

Equity continued “on a relentless upward path” despite home-mortgage rates doubling this year, inflation soaring to a 40-year high and rising fuel costs, among other issues.

Despite the economic uncertainty, the report stressed that there was “little immediate sign that equity gains will flatten out”, mostly because of a “historically tight” supply of properties for sale.

Broken down by region, seven of the 10 states where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes increased the most between Q1 and Q2 were in the south.

The biggest increases were in Wyoming, where the portion of equity-rich mortgaged homes rose from 26.1% in the first quarter to 33.9% in Q2, Maine, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina.

By contrast, states where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes decreased, or went up the least, during the same period were New Jersey (down from 38.6% to 37.9%), Utah, Idaho, North Dakota and West Virginia.

In addition, the largest declines in seriously underwater properties spread across the Northeast, South and Midwest, led by Mississippi (share of mortgaged homes seriously underwater down from 17% to 8.1%), Wyoming, Missouri, Maine and Connecticut.

The only states where the percentage of seriously underwater homes increased from the first quarter to the second quarter were Montana (up from 3% to 3.9%), New Jersey and New York.

Significantly, more than 90% of homeowners facing foreclosure have at least some equity.

Only about 214,800 homeowners were facing possible foreclosure in Q2, the equivalent of just four-tenths of 1% of the 58.2 million outstanding mortgages in the US. Of those facing foreclosure, about 195,400, or 91%, had at least some equity built up in their homes.

Sharga said: “The fact that over 90% of homeowners in foreclosure have positive equity is good news for borrowers who find themselves in financial distress. These homeowners have the opportunity to leverage this equity to either secure short-term financing to resolve their delinquencies, or to sell their properties at a profit and avoid a foreclosure auction.”

 

By Richard Torne / Mortgage Professional America (MPA)

Setting Your Sights on Sustainability

Sure, it’s become a corporate buzzword. But your actions can help owners save money and conserve resources, and give your business an edge.

 

After paring gasoline use with the purchase of two electric vehicles, Christopher Matos-Rogers, a former marine biologist, and husband Heroildo, a database architect, took a deeper dive into sustainability. They purchased a mid-century modern house in Atlanta and transformed it into an efficient electric home (a home that uses no or significantly less power from the grid). The work was guided by EarthCraft, a residential green building program in Georgia.

Soon after embarking on this path, Matos-Rogers, GREEN, AHWD, decided to earn his real estate license. He saw it as an opportunity since few salespeople in his market focused on sustainability. His Coldwell Banker Realty team raises awareness of sustainability’s merits. (Hear Matos-Rogers’ story on the Drive With NAR podcast.)

“We now have 50,000 properties in Georgia with some level of green certification. We have seen particular growth in homes with solar, thanks to [power company] incentives,” says Matos-Rogers, 2021 recipient of an EverGreen Award from the Green REsource Council, which confers the National Association of REALTORS®’ GREEN designation. “While market inventory has been down by 50% over the last two years, the number of homes with solar for sale in our MLS has increased by more than 50% during the same time.”

As concerns mount regarding climate risk, depletion of natural resources, and higher energy bills, a small but growing number of real estate professionals are seeking sustainable solutions.

Still a Nascent Effort

Eric Rehling, GREEN, a broker with RE/MAX Ready in Conshohocken, Penn., became interested in sustainability 10 years ago because of his young daughters. Once educated, he was ready to explain to home buyers the true cost of homeownership. “It isn’t just about the down payment, taxes, and mortgage, but what comes after when they pay for heat, air conditioning, or a well or public sewer,” he says. “A high-performance house (tight and well insulated) might cut costs 30 percent,” he adds.

After Nashville, Tenn.–based architect Betsy Littrell earned a real estate license and the GREEN designation, she and her contractor husband Austin started Maypop Building Workshop, a company focused on sustainable architecture and construction.

“We wanted to construct environmentally conscious houses with plant-based materials so they’d be a tool to combat climate change,” she says. “We also wanted to help clients optimize their investment in healthy homes.”

Scottsdale, Ariz., pro Jan Green teaches fellow agents and homeowners about ways to pare costs and save resources. She also specializes in selling high-performance homes, like this Pearl Gold–certified house. (Pearl Certification was a National Association of REALTORS® REACH technology accelerator participant in 2017.)

Jan Green, SFR, GREEN, a salesperson at HomeSmart in Scottsdale, Ariz., took yet another path to bring knowledge about sustainability to her market. As an instructor for her local REALTOR® association, she has taught colleagues and homeowners about energy efficiency. She refers them to companies that perform audits to pare utility bills, save water, and improve indoor air quality.

Despite the high value these practitioners and others place on energy efficiency and sustainability, only about 3,100 of NAR’s members have earned the GREEN designation.

Finding the time can be a challenge, particularly now when finding inventory has become tougher. “It’s one of those things you have to make the time for,” says Melisa Camp, ABR, GREEN, a salesperson with HomeSmart in Phoenix. She did so a decade ago, despite having a newborn. “I wanted the core knowledge to gain credibility and build my business,” she says.

Overall, buyers’ interest has also been slow to ramp up, lagging behind “‘location, location, location’ as the main reason to buy one house versus another,” says John Rosshirt, CRS, GREEN, C2EX, associate broker and co-owner of Stanberry, REALTORS®, in Austin, Texas.

But proponents are laying the groundwork. The state of California passed a voluntary building code more than a decade ago, dubbed “CALGreen,” encompassing planning, design, operation, construction, use, and occupancy regulations and guidelines. Since then, the state has added mandatory provisions, and several other states and localities have adopted green codes.

Christopher Matos-Rogers and Jan Green discuss the growing demand for eco-friendly housing and how to sell their benefits beyond the environmental aspect in an episode of the Drive With NAR podcast.

“We see a shift, particularly among prior homeowners and millennials. Buyers will pay a premium if they see there is long-term value,” Rosshirt says.

Add to that a 3%–5% sales price differential as more appraisers learn to value houses with energy-efficient and sustaining features, says Punta Gorda, Fla.–based practitioner and certified residential appraiser Sandra K. Adomatis, GREEN.

John Shipman, an agent with Barraza Group, Surterre Properties, in Laguna Beach, Calif., and manager of professional development, workforce education, and training programs at the Port Washington, Wis.–based Franklin Energy, thinks the knowledge that improved air quality increases homeowners’ health and comfort trumps all reasons for the growth in sustainability.

How to Seed the Conversation

Before broaching the topic of sustainability with clients, Shipman listens or looks for clues. “Maybe they have an electric vehicle,” he says. “Once we start talking, I listen and answer their questions.”

Architect Nate Kipnis used features such as cement fiberboard siding atop a rainscreen system, reclaimed wood, a no-grass front lawn, and a solar PV panel array on the garage for this Chicago project.

Craig Foley, AHWD, GREEN, chief sustainability officer for LAER Realty Partners in Melrose, Mass., and founder of Sustainable Real Estate Consulting Services, suggests asking, “What did you hate about your past home?”

Another first step: Advise buyers to have a utility company or independent expert perform an energy audit to assess the home’s condition and the return on investment of each potential fix. Some utilities don’t charge for this service since decreased use puts less strain on a local grid, Foley says. Jan Green suggests doing this as part of a home inspection and wrapping improvements into the mortgage.

If a number of changes are to be made, owners should proceed in a proper order according to a master plan. If they’re replacing a roof, for example, they might first install skylights for light and ventilation, prewire for solar panels, add a battery backup, and check if the electrical amp rating can service the load and, if not, add more, says Nate Kipnis of Kipnis Architecture + Planning in Evanston, Ill.

Buyers might start with the simplest, affordable changes—low-hanging fruit such as LED lights, which have fallen in price from as high as $80 apiece in 2008 to $1.50 today, Kipnis says.

Other easy changes are recycling, composting, smart thermostats, and Energy Star–rated appliances, says Rehling. Camp, a 2011 EverGreen award recipient, suggests buying a $5 can of foam insulation to spray into easy places, installing rain barrels to collect water, and adding low-flow faucets. “Reduce demand so you don’t need as much renewable energy,” she says.

Adomatis put a timer on her electric water heater, which helped lower her monthly bill by $20. Matos-Rogers replaced a gas range he loved with an induction cooktop. Once-pricey solar panels have dropped from $6.44 per watt in 2012 to $2.22 now, Kipnis says.

Last on a homeowner’s to-do list might be big-ticket items such as energy-efficient windows. “They’re one of the most expensive upgrades and take a long time for a payback,” Adomatis says. Foley agrees, and prefers the lower-cost alternatives of air sealing and insulation.

The bottom line, Camp says, is “nothing else matters if we don’t figure out the sustainable piece. You can have cool cars, but they’re not worth anything if we don’t have a habitable planet.”

3 Ways to Earn Your Sustainability Creds

Get a GREEN designation.

It’s the National Association of REALTORS®’ coursework on energy-efficient systems and sustainability, says John Rosshirt.

Jan Green earned her designation after attending an NAR convention and learning how one broker lowered her carbon footprint. She replicated that colleague’s business model and developed a website to list area providers of green services. “Any time you lower the carbon footprint, it benefits everyone,” she says. She went on to add to her area multiple listing service 65-plus green features that show what sustainable features a house includes, such as solar power, a tankless water heater, and low- or no-VOC paints. (Listen to Green’s story on the Drive With NAR podcast.)

When architect Nate Kipnis opened an office in Boulder, Colo., he researched which real estate sales pros had a GREEN designation. “I called to meet and share that I was available,” he says.

Connect with experts.

There are countless ways to test the waters. Green has attended home shows and conferences, volunteers with the U.S. Green Building Council, and is a member of the Arizona Green Chamber of Commerce. Betsy Littrell participates in conferences on high-performing houses including one in Nashville that NAR and the National Association of Home Builders co-promoted on social media with a tour of a high-performance house her firm had designed. The Appraisal Institute has a registry of appraisers who have taken its coursework to value sustainable buildings. RESNET—the Residential Energy Services Network—provides information to gauge a home’s energy efficiency. Earth Advantage has a green building registry at which users can check properties by address to see if they are certified as green or energy-efficient. Also, green lenders share how to finance sustainable projects; the NAHB offers a national green building certificate; and, in about 20 states, Pearl Certification documents a home’s high-performance features when a house is listed.

Live it.

One of the best ways to gain credibility is to live your own sustainable story so that you can give clients a first-hand view of the costs and savings and the sheer joy of a lifestyle that benefits others and the planet.

Carl Lantz, AHWD, a salesperson with Coldwell Banker Realty in West Hartford, Conn., and his wife post photos on social media of their now all-electric, 100-year-old house with solar panels, a more efficient boiler, new windows, and insulation. “The sustainability payback is a long-term investment, but solar has already paid us back,” he says,. His January 2022 bill was one-half the previous month; February was one-third of it; and, in March, the cost fell to zero. “The personal experience holds weight with clients,” says Lantz.

Green improved her 1979 house so it met net-zero criteria, using spray foam insulation, sealed ducts and registers, LED lights, EnergyStar appliances, a 16-SEER HVAC system, and solar panels, which also power her electric vehicle. Eric Rehling’s nine-year-old colonial-style home includes a high-efficiency furnace, pellet stove, LED lights, and organic garden, whose yield feeds his family and others. A well is used to water the garden. Craig Foley embarked on a deep energy audit of his 1890s Victorian house, shifting from fossil fuel to electricity. He thinks it will prove a smart investment to lower costs, especially when he and his wife retire. And Shipman, a 2014 EverGreen winner, built a green-certified, all-electric accessory dwelling unit that he and his wife rent out. The income helps to pay for their son’s college costs.

 

 Barbara Ballinger – Barbara Ballinger is a freelance writer and the author of several books on real estate, architecture, and remodeling, including The Kitchen Bible: Designing the Perfect Culinary Space (Images Publishing, 2014). Barbara’s most recent book is The Garden Bible: Designing Your Perfect Outdoor Space, co-authored with Michael Glassman (Images, 2015).

Could Solving the Housing Shortage Help Close the Racial Gap, Too?

A report highlights housing supply issues and how a multifaceted approach could be key to improving housing equity as well.

The nation’s housing shortage has also fueled a housing inequity problem, Bryan Greene, vice president of policy advocacy for the National Association of REALTORS®, writes in an essay included in a new report, “Housing Underproduction in the U.S.” To close the widening racial gap in ownership, housing’s underproduction must be widely addressed, he notes.

And that problem is only worsening: The Up for Growth report puts a new number on the nation’s housing shortage—3.8 million homes, more than double where it stood in 2012. The deepening inventory crisis is widening in scope, affecting urban, suburban and rural areas alike and hitting certain minority groups particularly hard, according to the report.

A map of the U.S. with a color-coded key showing the severity of housing underproduction across the country.

Source: “Housing Underproduction in the U.S.”

 

“Underproduction in this country has many causes,” Greene writes. “Local zoning and land-use restrictions have, for decades, proved to be one of the greatest barriers to housing construction, affordable housing and diverse communities.”

The report notes long historical racial inequities in access to housing, such as from past discriminatory government grants and programs, widespread exclusionary zoning policies originally designed with racial segregation in mind, racially restrictive covenants written into home deeds from the 1910s to the 1940s, redlining practices that limited access to capital investments to prospective homeowners of color, and urban renewal projects that caused displacement and gentrification. These have led to a widening racial wealth gap that has stretched over generations and has made it more difficult for families of color to qualify for loans and afford homeownership, according to the report. The gap between Black and White homeownership rates has widened over recent years. These historic and systemic constraints combined with housing underproduction and high prices make homeownership even less attainable for buyers of color, the report notes.

‘Double Trouble’

In a report released earlier this year, NAR called record-high home prices and record-low housing inventories “double trouble” for real estate, particularly for Black Americans. The report found that about half of the homes for sale would require a household income of $100,000 or more to purchase. That has placed homeownership increasingly out of reach for a number of households: 50% of Asians, 65% of Whites, 75% of Hispanics and 80% of Blacks do not earn enough income to buy these homes, the report notes.

Where to Go From Here

Housing supply and housing equity can be addressed on multiple fronts such as by expanding the types of housing available for greater income levels and a broadening focus on land use. Greene points to zoning reforms, investments in new construction, expansion of financing, and tax incentives that prompt investment in housing and convert unused commercial space to residential spaces. NAR continues to advocate for incentives in the tax code to promote zoning and land-use changes, such as tax credits or other support to communities that ease zoning rules that had been limiting the supply of homes, like minimum lot sizes and bans on multifamily housing. Such policies can not only help ease housing shortages but ultimately help expand housing opportunities to more people, Greene writes.

“For more than a half-century we’ve witnessed how land-use decisions can limit housing development, affordability and equity,” Greene notes. “We cannot stand by and lament this lack of progress. Now, it is time to act.”

Protect Your Website From Copyright Claims

Use this risk management strategy, especially if you’re using any third-party content on your website or business materials.

 

Copyright claims are growing in the real estate industry, and many cases end in a judgment against the agent or brokerage accused of violations. Your website or business materials may put you at greater risk for litigation than you think.

You could be held liable for copyright infringement even for photos from the MLS that are provided by a third party but appear on your website through an IDX display. Having a risk management strategy in place can help protect you and your business, says Chloe Hecht, senior counsel at the National Association of REALTORS®, in NAR’s latest “Window to the Law” video.

 

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, which was passed in 1998, may offer some protections when posting third-party content—but it’s not a foolproof defense. The DMCA is a federal law that provides a “safe harbor” to avoid some copyright infringement claims, but certain procedures must be met.

Hecht highlights some of those steps in the video, including:

• Designate a copyright agent. This person will be responsible for receiving any takedown notices in case of copyright claims and will need to be listed as a contact and copyright owner on your website, along with their contact information. Also, register the copyright agent with the Copyright Office.


• Comply with the DMCA’s takedown procedure. After receiving any takedown notice due to a copyright allegation, promptly remove the content in question. Then, notify the person filing the complaint of its removal. “If the alleged infringer submits a counternotice, provide a copy of that counternotice to the copyright owner and state that the allegedly infringing content will be restored in 10 business days unless the copyright owner initiates a lawsuit,” Hecht says in the video. “Absent such a lawsuit, you may restore the content to your website.”


• Include a notice at your site. Inform website users of your copyright policy and include it within your website’s terms of use. View an example under the “Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)” section at nar.realtor/terms-of-use. Also, view the “Termination” section, which informs website users of enforcement for terminating repeat infringers.

 

Access additional copyright resources at nar.realtor/copyright.

Help Sellers Stay Organized at Home

Six steps to livable, attractive spaces.

 

As homeowners hunkered down during the pandemic, many accumulated more possessions—supplies to work from home, utensils to cook more, games to relax. All the extras increased the need to get organized. To homeowners who are getting ready to sell, recommend these steps to kickstart decluttering and maintain a market-ready space.

30+ Lists to Take Your Business Higher

Our tips are here to provide inspiration as you work to generate new business, delight your customers, and stay on the right side of the law.

1. Before finding a home for everything, assess what’s to be kept. Homeowners should touch each object or paper once, and decide whether to save, pitch, sell, or donate. They can scan, digitize, and save to the cloud their important documents and sentimental photos to pare more, says Marco Angelucci, design director at Philadelphia-based Marguerite Rodgers.


2. Advise homeowners to keep often-used stuff in sight near where it’s used and put away what they don’t need often, but still keep it visible—on a wall or in labeled bins in a closet, attic, basement, under a bed, or on shelves no more than 14 inches deep so nothing gets hidden, says Charlotte, N.C., designer Laura VanSickle, owner of a Closets by Design franchise.


3. Retailers offer myriad storage products to enhance decor: baskets for a country-themed bedroom, colorful bins for kids’ closets, matching plastic containers for a refrigerator, pegs that separate dishes in drawers.


4. Get help. For owners who find it hard to start or become stuck, there are experts. Real estate agents and stagers are adept at decluttering, often advising not to put more than three items on counters. Designers are detectives who know how to find storage such as dead space underneath stairs or furnishings with tops that open. Members of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing offer more advice and can be found through its website, napo.net.


5. To avoid starting over repeatedly, urge homeowners to return things to assigned places after use, curtail buying, and share what they don’t need through groups like the Buy Nothing Project.


6. People’s needs change, and so does what they stored. “When you have young children, you may need a cabinet for sippy cups and art supplies. When they’re older, you need space for backpacks. Adjust how you live,” says Raleigh, N.C., designer Leslie Cohen.

 

 Barbara Ballinger – Barbara Ballinger is a freelance writer and the author of several books on real estate, architecture, and remodeling, including The Kitchen Bible: Designing the Perfect Culinary Space (Images Publishing, 2014). Barbara’s most recent book is The Garden Bible: Designing Your Perfect Outdoor Space, co-authored with Michael Glassman (Images, 2015).

8 Steps to Build (or Rebuild) Your Social Media Presence

New agents starting out and seasoned pros returning from a hiatus can use these tips to engage followers.

 

From 6:30 to 7:45 every morning, Andrew Finney is in his “creative zone.” He turns off his phone and other distractions to focus on crafting engaging social media content. “If content creation is your thing, you’ll find the time,” says Finney, CRS, SRS, leader of the Andrew Finney Team at King Realty Group in Las Vegas. “When your content style is in harmony with your passion, you’ll follow through and be consistent.”

Whether you’re a new agent just launching your business presence on social channels or a seasoned pro who’s reengaging with followers after taking a break, building (or rebuilding) a social media presence doesn’t have to be a heavy lift, social marketers say. “Show up, be present first, and comment [on others’ posts] with complete sentences,” says Carrie J. Little, CIPS, PMN, a technology trainer and managing broker at CarMarc Realty Group in Warrenville, Ill. “This will help your social media feeds once you begin posting your own content.”

Before posting anything, search for yourself on Google and review the top five to 10 results, says social media speaker Katie Lance, founder and CEO of Katie Lance Consulting. “Click through each of them to see if your contact information is up to date, check for any broken links in your biography, and update your profile photos and cover photos,” she adds. Here are more steps to take to establish your social media presence without much hassle.

1. Decide on a goal for the content you’ll create. Do you want to draw new customers or strengthen existing relationships? View your content from a business paradigm and consider the value you’re offering to those reading your copy or watching your videos.


2. If you’re returning from a social media break, acknowledge your absence in your first post, says Michael Glazer, co-founder and CEO of Encino, Calif.–based automated marketing company Back At You, a REALTOR Benefits® partner. “Don’t just start asking for business. Tell followers that you took a break from social media and you miss them all,” he adds.


3. Become knowledgeable on the local farmers market, a charity or sporting event, the new restaurant, or whatever will interest people in your area, Glazer suggests. Create posts to share that local knowledge, and follow up with some cool listings as an added value.


4. Little suggests sharing a personal photo or family photo and telling a story about real estate or something else going on in your own life. “Our networks like to engage when we are coming from the human side,” she says.


5. Ensure that you have the ability to capture the emails of those who like your social media pages.


6. Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to use every social platform at the same time. Focus on perfecting your message on one network at a time—or maybe two, since Instagram and Facebook are connected, Glazer says. “Keep it simple but consistent, whether it’s a post every week or a weekly ad.”


7. Video is paramount, Lance says. “Share the behind-the-scenes of a listing or an open house. With tools like Instagram and Facebook Reels, you can create video content quickly and easily,” she adds. Don’t be afraid to go through a trial-and-error period; video takes practice. Little shares a video every Wednesday on YouTube. She sends an email to her network after the video posts to remind her followers that it’s there. “I also go live [on Instagram and Facebook] every Friday at 9 a.m.,” she says, to share her wisdom with followers.


8. Don’t get caught up in the buzzwords, like “algorithms” or “hashtags,” Glazer says. Just focus on creating engaging content to start, and think about adding hashtags and using other marketing tools on social media once you’ve found your voice.

 

Choosing the Right Platforms

“Everyone talks about TikTok; it’s a great platform. But for the average agent, it’s probably a bit too much for now,” Glazer says. “You can’t be everything to everyone.”

He suggests that real estate pros should understand which client segments are buying the most homes in their market and then becoming familiar with who they are and where they spend time on social media. For instance, millennials aged 25 to 40 represent about 37% of home sales nationwide, he says. However, baby boomers aged 57 to 76 and Gen Xers aged 41 to 56 are right behind them, each representing about 25% of home sales. “The social networks of choice for boomers and Gen X are Facebook and Instagram,” he adds.

Millennials like those two platforms, too, but also tune in to YouTube. Generation Z—those under 25—are more attracted to Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

 

 Lee Nelson – Lee Nelson is a freelance journalist from Illinois. She writes for several state REALTOR® association magazines along with LawnStarter.com and Nurse.org. She has written for Yahoo! Homes, MyMortgageInsider.com, and TheMortgageReports. Contact Lee at leenelson77@yahoo.com.