Back to business

Welcome back! We hope you had a great holiday weekend.

The past two weeks have been undeniably eventful in our industry. A lot of things are up in the air. In the midst of all of this change, keep your focus. Regardless of the changes that are coming, we encourage you to stay on target and try not to let the general anxiety hanging over our industry interrupt your day-to-day. We know that’s easier said than done, but we’ve learned through the years that, in uncertain times, that is truly the best approach.

So while we wait for resolution on those other stories, here’s a look at what else is happening in our industry.

- James and David

Total inventory climbed 2.6% nationally month-to-month in October, despite few homes newly listed for sale, according to Zillow’s October report on the housing market. Here are the month-to-month trends from September to October:

• Inventory rose in 42 of the 50 largest markets, with the biggest gains in Phoenix (+9%), Miami (+8.5%), and Tampa (+8.3%).

• Inventory fell the most in Seattle (-6.6%), Portland (-3.1%), and Austin (-2.4%).

• Sales activity rose the fastest in Memphis (+9.4%), Atlanta (+5.8%), and the New York City metro area (+5.3%).

• Sales slowed the most in New Orleans (-14%), Seattle (-12.1%) and Sacramento (-11.8%).

• Newly pending sales fell 3.3% 

• U.S. home prices fell -0.3%, which was expected and only a little beyond normal seasonality.

Real estate can be extremely lucrative, but it doesn’t come easy. There is a reason why we prospect every day. Generating leads and securing listings is utterly essential to not only achieving success, but maintaining it. Today, we’d like to highlight some sources for leads and listings that agents often overlook.

Probate Court – Mostly because they don’t understand what it is, agents typically don’t use this source to generate leads. But that’s a mistake. Probate is simply the process of selling a home after someone passes away. The court appoints an executor of the estate who can then sell the property. If keeping the home in the family is not an option and the executor wishes to cash it out, that’s a listing. Sometimes, they’ll re-invest the proceeds in real estate; sometimes you’ll just sell that listing. Either way, they need someone to sell the estate. 

Lenders and Stagers – When was the last time your lender sent you leads? When have you asked? Who do they know who is getting prequalified to buy right now and has a home to sell? Stagers are also a great source of leads that agents often overlook. Refer business to stagers and ask for leads in exchange.

Property Investors – Join your local investors’ club through meetup.com or private Facebook groups in your town. You’ll know who’s looking for what property and which investors are likely to sell. This also gives you insider information about pocket listings, which can benefit your buyers. 

To discover more traditional and non-traditional lead generation sources, start here.

For Blueprint subscribers, the course is 30% for a limited time. If you’d like to take our course to learn how to become the top 1% of your market click here!

That’s a wrap on this edition of The Blueprint!

If you’re new to the Blueprint community, we want to hear what you think! What’s your take on today’s stories and tips? Send us a note with your comments, questions, or suggestions.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you back here on Friday!

- James and David