Welcome to Episode #107 of the Real Estate Redefined Video Series. In this episode, Dan Forsman shares real estate market trends, breaking real estate news, updates on company performance and a challenge to help you finish strong in 2019! Watch the video to learn more!

— Transcript —

Welcome to Real Estate Redefined.  I am Dan Forsman.  I hope everyone had a great Independence Day holiday.  Every year, it is important to take time to be thankful for the great country we live in and remember those that fought so bravely for our independence.   We must always remember that freedom is not free.

It is the second week of July and we are now officially in the second half of 2019.  After FMLS true-ups, we expect the Greater Metro Atlanta real estate market for 2019 to be down 2-3% in units compared to last year and up 1-2% in sales volume.  The entry level market remains a seller’s market with low inventory and heavy demand.  The middle market between $500,000 and $1 million is a normal market with around 6 months of supply – although inventories are rising and some areas are beginning to trend toward a buyer’s market.  The luxury market is a buyer’s market with most areas averaging over 15 months of supply.  In the ultra high-end, our company has seen a recent flurry of closings over $3 million.  Our investments in our luxury collection marketing are making a difference.  Most analysts are forecasting a slower second half of 2019.  For those that prioritize conversations and appointments, the market conditions will not matter and YOU will have a great finish to 2019.

There continue to be changes in our real estate world.  Last week, the UK-based discounter Purplebricks announced they are exiting the US market.  The math simply did not work as many predicted.  Compass reorganized their executive team as they struggle to prove their tech company valuation model is working.  Inman news reported that Opendoor announced layoffs and reduced benefits as they move resources back to their Arizona headquarters to lower their costs.  The latest numbers show some slowing in iBuyer growth trends.  Our parent company, HomeServices of America was on the cover of the July Real Estate magazine with a powerful story about becoming the largest real estate brokerage in America. We have positive momentum and our future is bright.

Our local company finished the first half with another record performance and we have hundreds of associates enjoying the best year of their career.  Our strategic commitments to increasing Per Person Productivity and Agent Profitability are paying off.  We have implemented minimum performance standards, plus invested significantly in coaching & training programs, sales activity programs and new innovations in marketing and technology.

Last week, we completed our Appointment Setting SURGE from Cinco de Mayo to July 4th.  Congratulations to everyone who participated.  This group generated over 7000 new appointments!  This is an amazing accomplishment and will pay off in a big way for these associates.

Our SOAR Performance Coaching Program for new associates is in full swing.  SOAR is an 8-week program of coaching, encouragement, training and accountability with a focus on setting appointments and achieving a minimum of 6 closed transactions.  Jennifer Davis is doing a great job leading this program and we are excited to see these new agents getting their career off to a fast start.

Our strategic partnership with the Tom Ferry organization will bring a series of new events in the second half of 2019.  Debbie Holloway will be here on August 6th and 7th for training on Neuro Linguistic Programming – to improve our communications skills and help you connect better with your clients.  Bill Pipes will be here on October 15th and 16th for our private Sales Edge with powerful scripts and talking points. Jeff Mays will return in early November for Best Year Ever Business Planning – so you can get ready for 2020.  Tom Ferry will be personally hosting 2 more Quarterly Live Video Conferences with our Masters associates and Bill Pipes will be hosting 2 additional live sessions for our Honor Society.  No other brokerage offers such a comprehensive suite of world-class training and coaching.

Our launch in early June of Adwerx social & digital ads for new listings and “always on” website retargeting has already generated over 12 million ad impressions.  Our seller clients benefit from the most extensive exposure to over 40,000 websites plus the broadest reach on social and digital advertising.  And all this exposure is free to our associates.  Our Zillow 3D Home program is also performing well.  By the end of this month, we will have loaded over 1000 Zillow 3D Home tours.   Our seller clients benefit from the highest search results on the #1 real estate website.  And we provide Zillow 3D Home tours as a free service to our associates for new listings.  In June, we introduced the new Social Media REsource powered by RISMedia.  This is the “easy button” for social media with relevant consumer articles that work great for Facebook and LinkedIn.  We also launched Agent Icon which provides very creative visual images designed for Facebook and Instagram.  Our associates love Agent Icon!  This is one of the most popular platforms we have launched in years.  In late August, we will introduce the first release of our SAGE CRM – powered by Salesforce, the leading CRM solution in the world.  This is part of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Forever Cloud platform which will bring us many advantages over the next few years.  Now is the time to get your database organized and ready so you can leverage the power of Salesforce this fall.

Yes, the second half is here.  There are now 25 full weeks left to achieve your goals.  When you consider vacations, holidays and other events, you really have 22 or 23 weeks left – so every day counts.  It is more important than ever to be smart about managing your calendar.  If it is not on your calendar, it does not exists!  In my 33 years in this business, I can always predict how associates are going to perform by simply looking at their calendar.  What story does your calendar tell right now?

I want to thank you for watching this video.  And remember, every day in every way, you can get better and better!

The post Real Estate Redefined – Ep 107 – Second Half of 2019 appeared first on Atlanta Real Estate Blog.