Agents need to prepare for potential fallout from the NAR settlement in 2025, such as smaller buyer’s agent commissions.

Ever since the NAR settlement took effect in August 2024, the real estate industry has been holding its breath. People had a wide range of opinions on what would happen to the industry, from some people claiming nothing would change while others predicted the end of agents working primarily with buyers.

So far, the optimists have been mostly vindicated. While some things have certainly changed, most buyer’s agents have survived the shift. However, will this last? We’re still in uncharted territory, and many agents remain nervous about the future of their careers. That’s why today, I’m sharing some of my thoughts on what might happen to real estate commissions in 2025 and beyond:

1. The market slowdown has delayed significant shifts. When the NAR settlement first took effect, many people thought buyer agent commissions would be greatly reduced or eliminated entirely. This hasn’t happened, but it could just be due to the market slowdown. Right now, many markets have low demand, causing sellers to offer concessions to homebuyers. In other words, if the market picks up, sellers could stop offering concessions, like buyer’s agents’ commissions.

“I recommend that you work hard to make as much as possible in this market while keeping one eye on the future.”

2. The market might speed up in 2025. While 2025 isn’t expected to be a boom market like we saw during the pandemic, it should improve slightly for sellers. When the market finally turns around and starts to strongly favor sellers again, commissions could be one of the first things they stop offering buyers. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I wouldn’t be surprised if buyer’s agents’ commissions became negatively correlated with how much leverage sellers have.

3. Make what you can now while preparing for the future. Despite whatever changes might occur when the market picks back up, one thing is certain: Buyer’s agents can still make a lot of money right now. I recommend that you work hard to make as much as possible in this market while keeping one eye on the future. This could mean transitioning to work with more sellers, looking for new training, building your referral network, or something else.

No one knows what the future holds for the real estate market except this: Things will change. Our team is always looking ahead to what the market might hold so we can be industry leaders. If you want additional training on how you can adapt to the future, please call or email us. I’d love to hear from you.

I’m going over how you should hire your first showing assistant, pay them, and avoid mistakes along the way.

Have you considered hiring a showing agent to give you more leverage with your real estate business? I get it—once your real estate career starts picking up, it can feel like you never have enough time. One of the easiest ways you can buy back your time is by working with a showing agent. This allows you to spend all the time you would have spent on showings on money-making activities instead. It’s a great way to gain leverage, and I recommend it to many agents when they’re first feeling overwhelmed. However, working with a showing agent raises an obvious question: How should you pay them? Here are three tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your showing agents:

1. How to find your showing agent. To find the best showing agent possible, I recommend running ads to newer agents looking to get a little extra cash. All agents need to pay the bills, and newer agents might not make enough from commissions yet to cover all their expenses. By offering them to be your showing agent, they can get the opportunity to make extra cash while you free up time to spend on more important activities.

“Hiring a showing agent is all about giving yourself more leverage.”

2. Pay them extra for the first home. When you find a good candidate, offer them extra money for their first home. This first job will double as their “audition” — if they do a good job, they’ll earn the right to work with you on more homes in the future. The higher first-home rate will also help you attract the highest-quality candidates possible for the position.

3. Pay in cash upfront per home. This is the best and simplest way to pay your showing agents. By paying them upfront, you make sure that you’re only paying for work done. Plus, you can avoid contingencies or other contracts that put you at risk of overpaying.

At the end of the day, hiring a showing agent is all about giving yourself more leverage to grow your business. If you’re looking to take an even bigger leap, please call or email our team. We have the training and resources you need to focus your time on money-making activities. Make it a great day!

Setting up a CRM can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Today I’ll go over tags, tracking heat, and getting leads started in your pipeline.

Are you just starting out in the real estate industry and don’t know how to set up a CRM?

Maybe you’ve just started your real estate journey. Maybe you’ve been in the industry a long time but haven’t gotten around to fully leveraging your database yet. Whatever your situation is, you should know that a properly set up CRM is a real estate agent’s best friend.

Most of you probably already know what a CRM is, but if you don’t, it’s a customer relationship management service; in other words, it helps organize and leverage your database. Your database should be your most powerful asset as a real estate agent, so if you aren’t getting the most out of yours, you’re missing out.

With all that in mind, here are three things you need to know to set up your CRM:

1. Create tons of tags. In a CRM, you can categorize people based on pretty much everything. In my experience, you can’t over-categorize - the more tags you create to separate and define people, the better. Keep track of what type of lead they are, where they came from, their personal information, and more. Once your database gets big enough, you won’t be able to keep track of everyone in your head, so it’s best to stay organized early.

“In my experience, you can’t create too many tags.”

2. Track people’s heat. In case you don’t know, heat is an industry term for how ready-to-sell a lead is. So if you get a hot lead, they are probably ready to move ASAP. However, one of the best strengths of your database is that you can keep track of and nurture leads that aren’t hot - people who might not want to move for another year or even longer. Keeping track of and nurturing these leads can give you consistent, reliable business for years to come, but this process starts by organizing everything in your CRM.

3. Create automated follow-up plans. What’s your strategy to nurture a lead over a long time? If you don’t have one, reach out to me; I can help you with that. However, if you already know what to do, you can set up your CRM to automate your process. This way, you don’t have to worry about wasting time on a lead that never comes around. Everything will be the same way through your CRM’s automation, so you can be sure you’re putting the maximum effort into nurturing leads.

Look: While I hope these tips are helpful, there’s no getting around that setting up a CRM is a lot of work. If you want personalized help or guidance, call or email my team. We have full-time staff members who do these sort of back-end things for you, so you can focus 100% of your energy on making money. Just reach out if you’re interested.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Buyers are backing out of more real estate deals across the country, but by taking control of the situation and focusing on motivations, you can keep more transactions together.

Recently, a lot of agents have called me asking about buyers backing out of real estate transactions. This problem is significantly hurting their bottom lines, but they don’t know what to do. If you’ve experienced buyers getting cold feet in this market, don’t panic: You have options. The truth is that this market is volatile, but there are still steps you can take to ensure more buyers follow through and get to closing. Here are three things you should do to deal with buyers backing out of real estate deals:

1. Be a leader. Staying calm when a deal falls through is easier said than done. However, there’s a solution to every problem. When a deal starts to fall apart, both buyers and sellers tend to freak out a little bit. Selling a home is an emotional process, and hundreds of thousands of dollars are on the line. That’s why it’s critical that you stay calm and be a leader in this situation. The seller and buyer are both going to be looking to you for guidance, and you need to project confidence that the deal can still be done. Don’t get sucked into an emotional reaction and be the rock everyone needs to find a solution that works for everyone.

“Remind your buyers we’re in a buying window that won’t last forever.”

2. Remind the buyer why they want to move. No matter how adamant a buyer is that they want to walk away, the deal might not be over. Even minor issues can spark a strong emotional reaction from buyers, but if you let things calm down, cooler heads often prevail. Remind both parties about their motivations for moving. By getting them to refocus on their motivations instead of whatever issue is holding them back could bring them back to the table and revive a dead deal.

3. Help buyers understand this market. Buyers are in an odd spot in this market. Interest rates have recently changed, and a lot of buyers are paralyzed by the volatility. This is why you need to help buyers understand the opportunities they have in this market. They won’t have more choices than they do now. While no one knows for sure what will happen with rates, it’s likely they’ll decrease soon, which will increase buyer demand and lower supply. The home might not be everything they’ve ever wanted, but the truth is that they might not get a better opportunity. If you make them understand that, they might be more willing to overlook an issue holding them back.

If you’re interested in more of this granular, issue-based training, I encourage you to reach out to my team. Just give us a call or send us an email; in a market with fewer transactions, it’s more important than ever that you make the most of what you can.

If your buyer plans to wait out the market, here’s what you should say.

I’ve been selling real estate in the Valley of the Sun for over 36 years, and in that time, I’ve helped a lot of buyers successfully purchase homes. However, in today’s market, many homebuyers say that they want to wait for the market to come down before they make a purchase. How do you respond when one of your clients says this? Today I’ll use an example to help you explain to your buyers why they can’t afford to wait.

At a 5% interest rate, a buyer with a $400,000 loan would have a monthly payment of $2,147. If that same buyer waited to make a purchase and home prices rose by 10%, their monthly payment would go up to $2,362, which is $215 more per month, or $2,580 a year. Over 10 years, that adds up to $25,000 lost.

Suppose the price stays the same, but interest rates increase by 1%. The buyer’s payment would go from $2,147 to $2,463. That’s $316 more per month or $3,792 more per year. Over a 10-year period, that’s $37,000.

“Your clients don’t have time to wait—they need to act now.”

What if the house goes up 10% in value and the interest rate rises by 1%? In that case, the monthly payment would increase by $562 per month, or an additional $6,744 per year.

The bottom line is that your clients don’t have time to wait—they need to act now. If your buyers tell you they plan to wait for the market to improve, explain to them how both interest rates and home prices are set to rise, which will only negatively impact their ability to afford houses.

If you need help getting your buyers off the fence or have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.

Four reasons why our market isn’t going to crash anytime soon.

Is our market going to crash? I get this question almost every day, and my answer is a hard no. The demand for real estate in our Phoenix market is unheard of, and besides that, there are four good reasons why our market is still strong:

1. Multiple offers. Even after 16 months of a competitive market, we still see multiple-offer situations, so demand is not letting up.

2. Low inventory. This goes back to supply and demand. We have a very small supply of homes and a huge demand from buyers.

3. Job creation. There are cranes and new manufacturing plants everywhere you look in Phoenix. Another 150,000 homes are supposed to be built in the north Phoenix valley soon. 

4. Price appreciation. Homes increased in value by 32% last year. There is a lot of equity in the market, and it shows no signs of slowing down. 

If you have any questions about the market or just want to chat, give me a call at (602) 942-7000. I’d love to hear from you.

These are the four best reasons to become a real estate investor in 2022.

Real estate can be a fantastic investment vehicle. Many people have used real estate to build their wealth and diversify their portfolios. Here are the four main reasons you should invest in real estate in 2022:

1. Rent has increased by 27% year over year. Think about that. Vacancy has gone down to 3.8% in the same time. That’s the lowest vacancy figure in over 20 years. Just like the resale market, the rental market is extremely hot. If you buy a home to rent out, people will be lining up to become tenants.

2. Interest rates are still low. They’re keeping homes affordable and keeping buyers in the market. When I bought my first investment property, I got an interest rate of 11%. These days, you can still lock in a rate under 4%, but they’re on their way up.

“Many people have used real estate to build their wealth and diversify their portfolios.”

3. Real estate is a great hedge against inflation. In the Phoenix market, we’re expecting about 3% inflation over the next 12 months. Last year, we had a whopping 32% appreciation in home values in the Greater Phoenix Area.

4. We have the highest job creation in the country. Cranes are in the sky, companies are coming in, and a lot of jobs are creating many more renters for you.

If you have questions about investing in real estate or any other matter, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

My advice is to tune out the distractions and stay focused on the basics.

Today I’ll discuss focus. In this crazy real estate market, it’s not uncommon to get daily calls from someone trying to recruit you to their company or see TV commercials from iBuyers. There is a lot of noise out there. My advice is to stay focused on the basics.

For example, Tom Brady has been playing the same position for 20 years, yet he’s still excelling because he’s mastered the basics. He understands every player’s role and takes full advantage of it. What are you doing to take advantage of this marketplace? Stay focused and do your basics every single day. At the end of the year, you’ll have an amazing business.

If there’s anything I can help you with regarding goal setting, business planning, or real estate in general, I’d be happy to sit down with you and share some of my 35 years of knowledge. Please reach out to me at [email protected] or (602) 430-5226.

Here’s everything you need to know about our real estate workbook.

As some of you may know, Sarah Michelle Bliss and I recently wrote a book called Your Real Estate Journey to Abundance in 8 Steps. In this book, we wanted to revolutionize the way real estate is sold. There is nothing on the market that resembles what we’ve done with this book, and that’s because it is specifically targeted at real estate agents. 

This book is really a workbook. You can track your progress and what you’re doing with your day, so the book will hold you accountable for doing the work it recommends. Whether it’s following up with clients, closing homes, or even eating right, this book will get you in the right mindset for success. 

Think about it. If you start your day with three things you want to do and three people you want to talk to, it sets you up for a win. You will begin to start acting with intention rather than mindlessly trying to generate leads.

“This book will get you in the right mindset for success.”

If you want to know more, we recommend you check out our book as soon as possible. You can find the book on our website as well as on Amazon. If you have any questions, please reach out to us via phone or email. We are always willing to help.

We wrote a bestselling book to help fellow agents. Here’s what to know.

Today I’m here with a special guest Sarah Michelle Bliss. We’ve been lucky to be friends and work together for the past 25 years, and a couple of years ago she came to me and said we needed to write a book. We’ve been working on it ever since and now we’ve had it published. It’s called “8 Ways to Dominate Any Real Estate Market,” and it became available on August 3.

The book goes over eight steps to help you weather any real estate market. Together, Sarah and I have experienced both the boom and crash of the market and everything in between. Our book encompasses the tried and true basics that, no matter what the market is doing, will help you succeed. Whether you’re a new or seasoned agent, this book is designed to help you. 

What’s in our book is what we’ve tried and learned along the way. Some of these things you may have heard before, but we wrote it to help fellow real estate agents.

“The book goes over eight steps to help you weather any real estate market.”

One thing we wrote about is the Top 50 Program. The top 50 are the people who know, like, and trust you, and if you engage with them enough, they’ll do business with you. More importantly, if they know another agent, these are the people who will do business with you, not them. The book provides a full-blown business plan to engage your top 50 and ensure you’re their top-of-mind person. 

Here in Phoenix, 90,000 licensed Realtors are running around, so most people know someone in the business. One goal is to get a referral from each of those 50 people. Even if you only close half that number, that’s a pretty good year for most agents. Read the book; take action! 

Please join our Facebook group and simply search “8 Ways to Dominate Any Real Estate Market”. You can visit our book’s website here, and it’s also available for purchase on Amazon. Our book made the International Best-Seller List within 24 hours of launch! 

In our next video, we’ll discuss the companion product we created to go along with our book. If you have questions or we can help you in any way, just let us know via phone or email. We would love to help you.