Pat and Andres kick off 2026 with sponsor thanks, travel and health updates, and a lively Hot Finds before diving into three stories that point in the same direction. A record sale in Massachusetts, NAR’s outlook on boomers and buyers with kids, and a surprising list of places adding families set up the takeaway for agents. The second half lays out a clear plan for where the business is headed and how to position yourself to win.

Hot Finds – [00:13:59]

• Andres’ picks: The Kingkiller Chronicle (starting with The Name of the Wind) and a rewatch of Peaky Blinders.

• Pat’s pick: Pluribus on Apple TV, created by Vince Gilligan and starring Rhea Seehorn, with a hive-mind premise that sparks a philosophy tangent.

Rip From the Headlines – [00:26:43]

• Former Obama summer estate tops Massachusetts sales at $37M on Martha’s Vineyard.

• NAR lens on boomers and 2026: retirees hold the cards, and only 25% of current buyers have children living at home.

• Where household size is shrinking fastest and where it is rising: some markets see smaller households as retirees move in, while places like Kokomo, IN attract families with incentives, including down payment help up to $50k.

Main Topic – [00:44:17]

• The next ten years will be won by agents who build real relationships with boomers and with people who influence boomers.

• Context for newer agents: first-time buyers are a smaller slice than they used to be, so your sphere has to expand beyond your own age group.

• Practical moves: grow a referral network that includes adult children of boomers, stay consistent on touchpoints, and be ready with clear plans for relocations and right-sizing.

Closing tag:
Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres open with sponsor thanks to Fidelity National Title, quick life updates, and Hot Finds. They move into headlines on Google testing home listings, November sales slipping in most major markets, and Florida floating a no-property-tax idea for primary homes. Then they welcome Alex Peterson from Southwestern Real Estate to share how he shifted from getting lost in the weeds to a relationship-first business built on systems, clear goals, and service. He closes with a win for a first-generation buyer who became a homeowner.

Follow Alex on Instagram: @the1alexpeterson

Check out his Real Estate Podcast on Instagram: @whiskey.and.real.estate

Watch it on YouTube

Listen on Spotify

Hot Finds – [00:08:41]

• Pat’s pick: a skin-care PSA on photodynamic therapy as a gentler alternative to freezing spots or chemo cream, plus a shout to Casa de Crepes in Oakbrook Terrace and Mexican coffee.

• Andres’ pick: Freeland Spirits rye whiskey from Portland, about $109, saved for special occasions, with an honorable mention to Bull Run.

Rip From the Headlines – [00:21:37]

• November scoreboard: transactions fell in 38 of 40 major markets. Cleveland and Phoenix were up. Steepest drops included San Jose (about -20%) and Austin (about -9%).

• Google enters the portal game with a controlled experiment that shows listings and a “Request a tour” button. Zillow shares dipped on the news.

• Florida proposal: eliminate property tax for homestead residents and replace revenue with tourism, higher transfer stamps, non-homestead taxes, and population growth. The pitch is zero property tax and zero income tax for primary residents.

Main Topic – [00:33:37]

• Meet Alex Peterson and his systems and service playbook for building a career in a choppy market.

• Shift from transactions to relationships with consistent calls, notes, and pop-bys. Compete with your own past work rather than 20-year veterans.

• A first-generation client gets FHA single-unit approval on a condo after another lender said no and then closes. Homeownership can be for anyone.

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres check in, thank Fidelity National Title, and roll into Hot Finds before tackling headlines on Tucker Carlson’s Qatar move and why buyer-agent commissions have ticked up. Then the back half gets practical: what really happens when you inherit a house—how step-up basis works, what to do if there’s a mortgage or a reverse mortgage, and how to handle it when siblings disagree. It’s a clear, street-level guide with a quick legal note to always loop in your tax pro.

Hot Finds – [00:12:46]

• Pat’s pick: “J. Kelly” on Netflix — a George Clooney and Adam Sandler film Pat calls a genuine surprise with clever in-jokes and a reflective lead character arc.

• Andres’ picks: a short Hafez poem (“God and I have become like two giant, fat people…”) and a Stormlight Archive quote on choosing the path over the destination.

Rip From the Headlines – [00:23:40]

• Tucker Carlson in Doha: plans to buy a home in Qatar spark reactions and irony about “freedom” abroad.

• Buyer-agent commissions tick up: average rises from 2.36% → 2.42% as agents set fees directly with buyers post-rules change.

Main Topic – [00:39:35]

• Hook: So you inherited a house—now what? Start with taxes, loans, and who else has a say.

• Step-up basis: you inherit at fair-market value on the date you receive it; taxes apply to gains above that when you sell.

• Loans and traps: check for a mortgage, possible assumption, or a reverse mortgage that may have eaten the equity; if it’s underwater, a short sale might be the play.

• Siblings & solutions: cash buyouts, promissory notes, or—in a stalemate—a court partition; best avoided with a living trust set up ahead of time.

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres celebrate the show’s Wrapped stats, trade a wild closing-and-permits story (hello, transfer stamps and retroactive inspections), and explain earnest money with a quick Fidelity shout before zooming out: what 2026 might really look like for housing. They unpack national forecasts, the “silver tsunami” of downsizing boomers, and why the only honest answer is regional—some markets warm, some cool, most just… depend.

Hot Finds – [00:32:02]

• Andres’ pick (comical): a “Trump ear” curiosity—either miraculous healing or world-class plastic surgery; he lays out the facts and lets listeners infer.

• Pat didn’t bring a Hot Find this week—calls an audible for a Cold Find: Spindrift Cranberry (hard pass).

Rip From the Headlines – [00:42:14]

• 2026 previews everywhere; Pat wants less clickbait, more context.

• Consensus forming on mortgage rates hovering ~6–6.3% in 2026.

• National home-price forecasts cluster near flat-to-low growth; the real story is local.

Main Topic – [00:49:12]

• Hook: “For 2026…the answer is it depends—where you live matters most.”

• Silver tsunami ≠ crash: more likely a gradual tide as boomers age in place, downsize slowly, and inventory releases over years, not months.

• Takeaway: real estate is hyper-local; use national numbers as background noise and make decisions with neighborhood data and a pro who’s in it daily.

Closing tag:
Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres sit down with Nick Sproul—managing broker for Southwestern Real Estate in Florida—to trace his path from late-night studio sessions to a relationship-driven real estate business. Nick breaks down how he built Florida for the brokerage, why genuine coffee meetings beat cold calls, how to handle hard moves with care, and the routines that keep him steady when deals get messy. It is a practical, evergreen look at what the job is really like and what it actually takes to succeed.

Main Topic – [00:02:59]

• Hook: What a career in real estate is really like and the keys to success, told through Nick’s Florida journey.

• Through line: shift from transactional leads to community, systems, and a referral flywheel; manage tough news with transparency and care.

• Habits: morning routine, weekly planning, and simple practices that compound over time.

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres open with a sponsor nod and a pair of Hot Finds, then sprint through headlines (Compass v. Zillow hearing, NAR’s 2026 rebound call, and a shrinking agent pool) before digging into a rare inside look at a real Code of Ethics case—told as a “hypothetical” to honor confidentiality—where an unpresented offer triggers a grievance, a hearing, and actual penalties.

Hot Finds – [00:08:46]

• Pat’s pick: Spindrift Tropical Lemonade (neck-and-neck with POG; yes, he bought cases).

• Andres’ pick: John Mayer – Live at the Nokia Theatre (2007) — “top five” solo performance with a blues stretch that still hits.

• Sponsor: Thanks to Fidelity National Title for re-upping support (“Fridays are casual”).

Rip From the Headlines – [00:16:23]

• Compass v. Zillow: the first hearing kicks off (Nov 18), and the coverage is “pretty spicy.”

• NAR forecast: Lawrence Yun sees a 2026 rebound (≈14% more sales) if rates average ~6%; builders perk up sub-5.8%.

• Agent count: NAR membership drifting from 1.6M (2022) → 1.4M (2025) → ~1.28M (2026); fewer agents may mean healthier balance.

Main Topic – [00:23:49]

• The “Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Offer” — when a listing agent doesn’t promptly present a full-price buyer offer.

• How it works: Realtors must present offers as quickly as possible; failure can trigger a grievance and a board hearing.

• Outcome (told carefully): panel finds a violation and levies education hours, a hearing fee, and a $2,000 fine—real consequences meant to protect buyers and industry trust.

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres open with a quick sponsor nod (Fidelity National Title) and a personal update on Pat’s pending ethics-case verdict, then flip the script: no Hot Finds this week—only Cold Finds. From there, they rip through fresh headlines (a new Zillow lawsuit, a San Francisco MLS study, and the 50-year mortgage chatter) before a light-but-revealing main topic: just how much the top solo agents in America really sell and what that says about network, systems, and scale.

Hot Finds – [00:15:55]

• No Hot Finds this week. The guys call an audible for “Cold Finds” instead.

• Andres’ Cold Find: The Bachelor (Season 27) a full-season hate-watch that sparks a rant on values and reality TV.

• Pat’s Cold Find: His new HP printer/scanner + warranty runaround (and “Stupid Staples” energy).

Rip From the Headlines – [00:27:09]

• Zillow lawsuit: Alleged steering to Zillow Home Loans tied to agent lead access; RESPA and consumer-harm claims.

• Off-MLS hurts sellers: SF study shows MLS listings sold for about $302k more on average (~18.6%) than off-MLS deals.

• 50-year mortgages: Lower payments, but slower equity; critics say it misses the real issue...supply.

Main Topic – [00:47:29]

• How big is “big”? A top-10 tour of solo agents by 2024 sales volume.

• From Boston to Palm Beach to NYC: multi-hundred-million producers (and even a $1.12B solo year).

• The outliers: flat-fee/MLS-entry models and the builder-platform machine cranking 7,722 transactions / $3.9B.

  
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Pat and Andres kick off with an all-time sponsor fact drop and a couple of real-world recs before diving into three headline stories: a celebrity sale in Malibu, a Hollywood Hills “new era” purchase (plus a hilarious typo), and a fresh look at commission realities from a mystery-shopper report. Then they zoom out to the big question: why first-time buyers are at historic lows while all-cash deals surge—and what that means for newer agents trying to build a book in a tougher market.

Hot Finds – [00:27:23]

• Andres’ pick (lightweight): a short Spanish poem about what dogs would teach us—joy at the door, long walks, stretch, play, and sitting with someone on a hard day.

• Pat’s pick: Trader Joe’s fall-leaf chips (and a nod to seasonal pancake mix)—perfect on a crisp day.

Rip From the Headlines – [00:31:31]

• Tom Petty’s Malibu estate finally sells after steep price cuts; buyer lands it at $11.2M.

• Dakota Johnson’s Hollywood Hills purchase sparks “new era” chatter—plus the article that called the home a “hoe.”

• Commission check: mystery shoppers say 95% of agents still quote 2.5%–3%, with more pushing 3% than before.

Main Topic – [00:53:13]

• Hook: First-time buyers hit an all-time low (21%) and the median age is 40; meanwhile, all-cash deals hit new highs.

• Why it’s happening: low-rate lock-in, owners staying put (~11 years), and heavier down payments (median 23%) crowding out 5%-down offers.

• What it means for agents: tougher on newcomers who rely on first-timers; focus on consistency, service, and playing the long game as inventory and rates shift.

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

With Houston’s Mark Fuller in the chair, Pat and Andres trade the usual segments for a wide-open spotlight: corporate escape → VHS-era flips → referral flywheel → coaching → leading Texas (plus Alabama and Oklahoma) for Southwestern Real Estate. It’s equal parts tactical and human. They talk systems, consistency, faith, and the discipline of doing the right thing for clients before closing on how friends can disagree on politics without blowing up the relationship.

Main Topic – [00:03:13]

• How a finance manager turned flipper became a top producer and market leader

• Build systems, get coached, focus on relationships, and do the hard things—consistently

• Leading new markets, handling setbacks with apprentices, and keeping perspective through faith and service

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]

Pat and Andres open with Janis Joplin banter, Spindrift, and a sponsor shout before rolling into Hot Finds—where this week is more about honesty than hype. Then they tear through headlines on private listings, rent-vs-buy math, and Zillow’s 3D tour dust-up. The back half goes deep on the real reason agents burn out, how to protect your energy as your business grows, and the simple habits that keep clients feeling taken care of without taking over your life.

Hot Finds – [00:15:41]

• Pat didn’t bring a new Hot Find; he circles back to last week’s AI/course-building experiment and what actually worked (and didn’t).

• Andres didn’t bring a Hot Find this week—saving recommendations for true standouts.

Rip From the Headlines – [00:24:26]

• EXP’s Leo Pareja on why “private listings” hurt transparency (and how a Compass/Anywhere tie-up could fragment inventory).

• “Cheaper to rent than buy” lists (San Jose, Miami, Austin, Seattle, LA, Phoenix)—but it’s cash-flow only, not long-term wealth.

• Zillow pulls many Matterport tours and points at CoStar; CoStar fires back over contracts and blame.

Main Topic – [00:45:03]

• Burnout isn’t just stress—it’s what happens when you exceed your vision for the job.

• Middle years: protect your calendar, set expectations the right way (“call anytime; if I’m tied up, I’ll get right back to you”), and increase proactive touchpoints so clients feel your effort.

• Mature practice: hire help (apprentice/assistant), refer out misaligned clients, and keep your work aligned to what actually gives you energy.

Have questions for us? Submit them here: [email protected]