Michael Crist

By Brandon Doyle I’m an avid reader and an author in addition to being a real estate professional. I know firsthand how influential books can be on a person’s life and career. After much debate, I’ve come up with my top 10 book recommendations for real estate agents. These titles are in no particular order,… Continue Reading The Ultimate List of Book Recommendations for Agents

I live in a bustling neighborhood in Chicago called Boystown, the city’s best-known gay enclave, with a plethora of bars, shops, and other businesses tailored for the LGBT community. Having moved to Chicago a little more than five years ago, I’m always taken aback when natives tell me, “You wouldn’t have wanted to live in… Continue Reading The Problem With Gentrification

In a monthly survey of REALTORS®, respondents are asked “Compared to the same month last year, how would you rate the past month’s traffic in neighborhood(s) or area(s) where you make most of your sales?” Respondents rate seller traffic as “Stronger” (100), “Stable” (50), or “Weaker” (0) and the responses are compiled into a diffusion… Continue Reading With Higher Mortgage Rates and Home Prices, REALTORS® Reported Slower Homebuying in July 2018

When you contact clients, make sure to offer something of value in the conversation so they don’t see it as a nuisance call. Content sponsor Firepoint, a real estate CRM company, has released The Rule of 3, a guidebook to help you create a communications strategy focused on increasing leads. Here’s what the company says… Continue Reading The Rule of 3: Communicating to Grow Your Business

Home stager: Justin M. Riordan, founder of Spade and Archer Design Agency, with offices in Portland, Ore., and Seattle The home: This Portland, Ore., home was a “complete and total fixer,” Riordan says. But it wasn’t anything that some savvy staging couldn’t fix. The 3,180-square-foot home was built in 1906 and features five bedrooms, 3.5… Continue Reading Staged to Sell: A Fixer Upper to Show Stopper

A nun with a great pitching arm, green roofs, house tattoos, set-jetting, floating farms and open offices. This nun is a better pitcher than Yu Darvish of the Cubs. It’s hard enough to get one hole-in-one, but three in a day is exceptional! Michelle Hofstrand/flickr/2005 Green roofs around the world. Learn how floating farms can… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: August 20-24

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this July fell for the fourth straight month down 0.7 percent from last month, and dropped 1.5 percent from last year. July’s existing-home sales reached 5.34 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $269,600… Continue Reading July 2018 Existing-Home Sales

By Matt Clements Building a team, in my opinion, is a must. Think about it: Your clients expect it. In order to be a top agent today, it’s critical for your clients to know that you have power, reach, and resources behind you. You need a buyers agent, maybe even two or three. This power… Continue Reading Is It Time to Build a Real Estate Team?