On this week’s episode of The Real Word, Byron and Nicole discuss Fannie Mae’s downgraded home sales expectations, along with seven things every agent should do as summer 2022 kicks off (some of which both Byron and Nicole wrote off as huge rackets) – and seven things that need to decrease for your business to grow.
Fannie Mae downgrades home sales expectations
First up is Matt Carter’s Inman article, “Fannie Mae downgrades home sales expectations for 2022 and 2023.” In May they projected an 11.1% drop in sales; that percentage is now at 13.5%.
Putting this in perspective, Byron noted their latest predictions for 2023 will put us at the lowest amount of sales since 2012, which was around 4.66 million. Nicole predicts a change in the types of conversations agents will need to have if this is what we can expect.
“It’s gonna be a huge slap in the face for sellers.”
“The reason why we’re going to have less home sales, I believe, next year, is because who the heck wants to sell and trade into 6.5 percent if they technically don’t have to move?”
It’s important to let clients know that, with inventory still low, housing prices will not crash, which means the value of their homes is not going down.
Seven Things Every Agent Should Do to Kick Off Summer 2022
Next up is a list of seven things every real estate agent should be doing to kick off summer 2022.
Byron calls “racket” on the first item on the list: “Slow down and take time for you,” saying, “If you’re committed to your goals, now is not the time to slow down.
“Everybody else is slowing down. Now’s the time for you to go.”
Byron shared his calendar to illustrate this point. This is a time for seizing opportunities and building your pipeline while other agents are taking time off.
As for the other items on the list…
- #3: “Integrating time to learn” should be an everyday thing.
- #4: “Having fun with client time” is worth doing. Byron added that 80% of every agent’s time should be spent growing the pipeline.
- #5: “Review your business plan.” Byron and Nicole both love this one.
- #6: “Lean into direct mail opportunities” is as big a racket as #1.
“Now is not the time to be lighting dollar bills on fire and starting your direct mail campaign. Now is the time to grow your pipeline – calls, texts, get after those leads, talk to people, conversations… Now is not the time to be licking envelopes.”
Number seven reinforces the point Byron and Nicole have already made: “Pick your prospecting priorities,” which do not include direct mail.
Seven Things that Must Decrease for Your Business to Increase
This week’s marketeer is Jimmy Burgess with his Inman article, “7 things that must decrease for your business to increase.“
- Check your ego. Agents don’t do anyone any favors by appointing themselves “experts” before they’ve gotten to 100 closings. Take the ego out of it. Build a database full of people who trust and respect you – and then keep going. Talk to a 30-year agent to put your 25 deals in perspective.
- Be aware of the time you’re wasting and look for ways to reduce that.
- Confront your fear of the phone. Get past the fear, make those calls, and focus on how you can help. You want more listings, make more calls.
- Decrease your time at the office. Not many people are more productive at home.
- Decrease your less effective marketing. This is a no-brainer and tied to Byron’s earlier comments on direct mail marketing.
- Decrease your time spent with buyers vs sellers. Both called that a bit of a racket.
- Decrease your passivity.
Byron’s profile used to describe him as the most aggressive agent in the market. There’s a big difference between being bold and being ego-driven. No one wants a passive real estate agent.
Watch the full episode for more.
The Real Word is brought to you every week by Tomo. Help your clients close their purchase loans on time. Tomo closes 98% of their loans on time, while the industry average is 40%.
