Michael Crist

Questionable products, security, dessert, waiting, bugs, time, art, glitter, communities, and autonomous vehicles. Welcome to 2017, where the following items are being sold: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, & Exhibit D. Finally! A purpose for lava lamps. Leave it to Alinea to reinvent pumpkin pie. TheCulinaryGeek/flickr/2010 Google Maps is adding a new feature that… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: Nov. 6-10

The National Association of Realtors quarterly home prices increased again this quarter. Prices continue to drift up this quarter and outpacing qualifying incomes. With less inventory, faster price growth may become a challenge for potential homebuyers. Here is a look at the metro areas for the top five most and least affordable of the third… Continue Reading 3rd Quarter Metro Home Prices

Nearly nine in 10 Realtors®, members of the National Association of Realtors®, are independent contractors of their real estate firms. As an independent contractor, many typically don’t have access to traditional employer-provided benefits, such as health insurance. As debate continues around the Affordable Care Act and more insurance companies drop out of the individual and… Continue Reading Healthcare 101: Insurance Challenges for Realtors® and other Independent Contractors

“Are you ready to own it with me?”  asked Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation REALTOR® and the sixth woman to become president of the National Association of REALTORS® in the past 110 years. “We absolutely have the power to make a difference.” Mendenhall was sworn into office by her father Richard Mendenhall, who was 2001 NAR… Continue Reading ‘This is Our Moment. Own it.’

Marketing Expert Kelly McDonald offers indispensable advice for connecting with prospects and clients. Think of the U.S. as a “salad bowl”—rather than a “melting pot”—that integrates many different cultures as you develop marketing strategies to reach a diverse set of prospects and clients. Marketing expert and author Kelly McDonald offered attendees a range of tips to… Continue Reading Your New Real Estate Motto: ‘Helping Beats Selling’

Whether you’re managing a small team or a large office, your brokerage’s success will depend on how good you are at inspiring and motivating those whom you manage. “If you don’t get leadership right, everything else will fall apart,” said Alicia Matheson, business coach for Matheson Global Consulting, as she led a crowded session Sunday… Continue Reading The Secrets to Becoming a Better Leader

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine You can clean the air with plants. And in an age when “healthy home” is what so many buyers are saying they crave, you may find this a cheaper alternative to improving the air quality in a home by just being smarter about the plants you choose to stage… Continue Reading Use Plants to Showcase a Healthier Home

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine The shower in the master bathroom is getting a lot more attention. In fact, it’s one of the main splurges among renovating homeowners, according to the 2017 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study. These “statement showers,” as Houzz dubs them in its report, include high-tech features, like rainfall showerheads, dual… Continue Reading Hot Home Trend: The Statement Shower

By Lauren Tussey Sal Giunta To kick off the final day of the 2017 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Chicago, Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta spoke about his journey from 18-year-old Subway employee to a service member earning the highest award available to members of the U.S. military. “We are all in this world together. We… Continue Reading Sal Giunta’s Strive for More