The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Friday announced that it is seeking a settlement with Chicago-based Townstone Financial that would resolve a case over what the bureau calls “discriminatory lending practices and redlining African American neighborhoods in Chicago.”The proposed order would prohibit Townstone from taking any action that would violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and require Townstone to pay a penalty of $105,000 into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.Townstone characterized the settlement as “favorable” in a statement submitted to HousingWire after this story was originally published. It detailed that one element of the settlement is that “Barry Sturner, Townstone’s president and CEO, was dismissed from the case, and Townstone neither admits nor denies liability for the actions alleged in the complaint.”“My family and I are relieved to finally put this nightmare behind us,” said Sturner in a statement. “The last six years have taken a toll on all of us.”Steve Simpson, senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) who is representing Townstone in this matter, said the case should never have been brought.“Unfortunately, the federal government possesses vast resources and the power to destroy lives and livelihoods, so settling is often the best approach for anyone facing a lawsuit of this kind,” Simpson said.The PLF will “continue to fight overreach by CFPB and other federal agencies,” the organization said.The move toward this resolution follows a lengthy court battle, along with a July decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that reaffirmed the Bureau’s authority to prohibit discrimination against credit applicants and from discouraging prospective applicants for credit under the ECOA.“The CFPB’s lawsuit against Townstone Financial included a major appellate court victory that makes clear that people are protected from illegal redlining even before they submit their application,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The CFPB will continue to prosecute those who engage in modern-day redlining.”In the summer of 2020, the CFPB filed suit against Townstone, alleging that it violated Regulation B of the ECOA by drawing “almost no applications for properties in majority-African-American neighborhoods” and ”few applications from African Americans” in the Chicago metro area.This amounted to discrimination, the CFPB alleged. In October 2020, Townstone moved to have the case dismissed. A federal judge in Illinois ruled in favor of Townstone in February 2023, but the CFPB vowed to appeal, which ultimately resulted in its authority under ECOA being reaffirmed by a three-judge panel.The settlement agreement will need to be entered by the court, which has yet to take place.Editor’s note: This story has been updated with perspective from Townstone, its founder and CEO and a senior Pacific Legal Foundation attorney representing the company.

In this week’s episode of the Power House podcast, host Diego Sanchez sits down with FirstTeam Real Estate CEO Michele Harrington for a provocative conversation about female empowerment, leadership in the real estate industry and recruitment strategies.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The duo start the conversation by exploring Harrington’s path into the CEO’s role at FirstTeam.Michele Harrington: After entering real estate sales right out of the Marine Corps, I built my own brokerage. Six years ago, my whole company came over to FirstTeam. Over time, I became chief operating officer. And then, Cameron Merage thought I could really lead the company into the next generation. Sanchez: When you look at the industry, only 26% of leadership positions in real estate are held by women, even though over 60% of real estate agents are women. Why is that? Harrington: For women, we want the flexibility of having a great career, a family and other things in our lives. When you look at the leadership track, it’s a little bit more structured. We do a disservice to our industry when women don’t step up and lead. I chose to step up and lead because I love our industry and I felt like I had something to offer it. Sanchez: You’re also pretty out front right now with recruiting. FirstTeam is on track to surpass $1 billion in recruited teams this year. How are you doing that in this crazy housing market? Harrington: We have a unique way of recruiting. We’ve always been a new-agent company. Our licensing school brings in brand-new agents, whom we train and develop to help them become superstars. If you take the top 10 agents in Orange County right now, eight of them started at FirstTeam. Most brand-new agents fail. In doing research, when we put brand-new agents on a team, they succeed. These teams are hugely growth-minded teams and they want to recruit. So, we figured out a way to get seasoned agents that have or want to grow these teams, and their production is growing by 20%, 30% or 40% a year. We bring over these teams and then we recruit for the team. So, that’s why they’re attracted to us, and that’s why they grow with us. Sanchez: Are you thinking at all about expanding FirstTeam beyond California? Harrington: We think it’s best to keep our fortress really strong and still grow. So, organic growth by spreading into adjacent territory is ideal, as opposed to skipping over and going to a big city somewhere else in the country. Sanchez: We’re seeing some green shoots in the housing market. How is 2025 looking for your business?Harrington: I think 2025 is going to be a good year, and this year really turned around for us. We sold the corporate office, which cut out a lot of overhead. We ended an expensive partnership and we also recruited a lot. Now that we have this upward trajectory going into 2025 — and I expect the market to improve as well — I think 2025 is going to be a good year for us.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), a subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has been developing a series of uniform technology standards that will ideally allow for the somewhat siloed reverse mortgage industry to more easily collaborate with others in the mortgage finance ecosystem.Jonathan Kearns, vice president of technology at MISMO, sat down with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) at the MBA Annual Convention & Expo in Denver this week to discuss the work of the group.Chris Clow/RMD: What can you tell me about the work that is progressing in terms of the scope of the reverse development work group, and what does it potentially mean for MISMO?Jonathan Kearns: Today, the reverse mortgage is a very cocooned, proprietary dataset in how it’s done. Lenders are very specialized in that space. So, the goal here is to open up and create standardized datasets for reverse mortgages, but also to base it on traditional mortgage data.That way, when a loan officer is looking at a solution for a customer, they can look at both a traditional mortgage and a reverse mortgage together. Today, that’s not possible unless systems are integrated, but usually, it’s two distinct, separate systems. Integrating the data between the two can’t happen today because reverse mortgage data is completely proprietary and non-standardized.Clow: What exactly has this entailed from a technology perspective?Kearns: The first step was to create the data points and information needed that’s not in the MISMO model today. There are probably about 100 data points collected in reverse mortgages that aren’t collected in traditional mortgages, so we added those. Now, they’re looking at creating a dataset based on what’s called iLAD, or the industry loan application dataset.They’re defining certain use cases for reverse mortgages, as there are many different platforms or use cases within traditional mortgages as well. The key goal is to create a standardized dataset using the MISMO model, which would also give it the ability to be combined with a traditional mortgage.Clow: You said that reverse mortgages have often been siloed. Does that present any unique challenges compared to some of the other work MISMO has done, just because reverse mortgages often have their own platforms and terminology?Kearns: Yeah, I think the biggest challenge is getting the stakeholders together in a room because they’re used to working in silos. MISMO, as an organization, does a great job of bringing together people who typically don’t work on standardization and getting it done — but adoption is key. Everyone has to see the value, especially the platforms.The good news is that two of the largest platforms in the reverse mortgage space had the idea to come to MISMO and work on this because they saw the need for it in the industry. Reverse mortgages are a small percentage of the industry today, and they do have a bit of a stigma because of those commercials back in the day with Robert Wagner and so on.Clow: Does that crystallize the reputational challenges that reverse mortgages have in the work of MISMO?Kearns: People don’t always think of them in the same way as a traditional mortgage, but if you really look at them, they provide a unique opportunity for our aging population to tap into their equity.I think the key is going to be adoption — getting people in the traditional mortgage space to consider reverse mortgages as another product. We’re seeing this already with Movement Mortgage, which has gotten into the space and is doing a lot with reverse mortgages because it’s a great product, especially with interest rates where they are today. A refi or cash-out refi isn’t always the best option.Clow: In terms of bringing reverse mortgage professionals into the fold, what has the collaborative process been like as the group’s work progresses? There could be some misunderstandings between forward and reverse professionals. What’s it like finding that middle ground?Kearns: We’re just now starting on the education and adoption piece. What we’ve done so far is to bring reverse mortgage platforms into the group and communicate with the iLAD group about the uniform residential loan application dataset, or URLA, with the GSEs and lenders involved, so they’re aware of what’s going on.In addition, we’ve partnered with the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), which is also part of the group. They’ve done a lot to promote the initiative within their industry. So once we have a dataset — right now, we’ve just finished getting it into the model — then our next step will be working with lenders, attending loan production committee meetings, and starting to educate and evangelize about it.Clow: The most recent timeline mentioned had a milestone date scheduled for January. Is that still on track or could it change?Kearns: Right now, they’re hoping to finish one of the use case datasets by the end of this year. After that, it’ll go through the approval process and similar steps, which takes about another 90 days. So, by that point, they should be complete and ready for the approval process.

In the newest episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast, host Sarah Wheeler sits down with Freddie Mac’s Sonu Mittal — the agency’s senior vice president and head of single-family acquisitions — to explore its recently announced alternative to loan repurchases, as well as appraisal waivers and how they address lender pain points in 2024.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The conversation kicks off with a deep dive into Freddie Mac’s new option to reduce loan buybacks.Sarah Wheeler: First, let’s talk about the expansion that you did when it comes to buybacks, which has been a pain point for lenders over the last 18 months. Sonu Mittal: Our goal was determining how to continue having the right focus on loan quality while reducing friction when a repurchase happens for performing loans. We’re excited to share that the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) pilot is expanded to all sellers who do business with Freddie Mac.Over the next few months, sellers will have the opportunity to opt in for the full year 2025. The program is designed to be based on the UPB (unpaid principal balance), or the loan deliveries we receive in a specific quarter from the lenders, and the corresponding NAQ rate, which is the non-acceptable quality rate.We want to continue to see the right level of engagement from the industry when it comes to the loan quality. We also have to make sure it’s continuing to work within the rep and warranty framework, which is outlined for us from FHFA. Wheeler and Mittal also discuss how Freddie’s fee-based repurchase alternative and appraisal-related initiatives address lender concerns.Wheeler: How do both of these things answer some of the pain points that lenders had in 2024?Mittal: We would like more consistency and predictability on what is expected from them. But also, when you think about lenders, especially the nonbanks or IMBs, they don’t really have a balance sheet. This allows room for alternatives — which may be more financially viable if the loan quality remains positive — and more lender efficiency, giving them more time to meet the needs of their borrowers or customers.Our appraisal waivers were limited to purchase transactions with an 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Now, purchase appraisal waivers will be increasing to 90% loan to value, and appraisal waivers plus property data reports will be expanding to 97% LTV. We will be sharing the exact date of the deployment with the lenders over the next 30 to 45 days, and we expect it to be available by the end of Q1 2025. This is also another step that will assist first-time homebuyers.Wheeler: How much money do you think homebuyers will save?Mittal: We’ve already saved $1.6 billion with our appraisal processes. With this initiative, a borrower is saving anywhere between $4,000 and $5,000 on average on appraisal costs. Even with a property data report, they’re still saving $200 to $300. We’re expecting borrowers to save on full appraisal costs for a 50% reduction in the overall appraisal cost. After exploring other Freddie Mac initiatives, including automated underwriting system (AUS) enhancements, the conversation closes with Mittal sharing his outlook into the 2025 housing market.Mittal: Going into 2025, we will continue to make the right enhancements as we are serving all different aspects of the market. I don’t expect any drastic changes in our approach. Our focus is to make sure we close out 2024 in a great way. 

Rep. Barbara Lee (D), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives who serves California’s 12th Congressional district in the Oakland area, has signaled that she is interested in the role of secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) if Vice President Kamala Harris is victorious in next week’s presidential election.Lee, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, signaled her interest in leading HUD in an interview with Politico.Official portrait of U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, 115th Congress" data-image-caption="Rep. Barbara Lee" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?w=226" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?w=771" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?w=771" alt="Official portrait of U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, 115th Congress" class="wp-image-490522" style="width:200px" srcset="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg 813w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=113,150 113w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=226,300 226w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=768,1020 768w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=771,1024 771w" sizes="(max-width: 813px) 100vw, 813px" />Rep. Barbara Lee“I’ve talked with organizations, and individuals, just about getting their feedback on these proposals — and people have been very excited,” Lee, 78, told the outlet. “People are very pleased that [Harris] has put forth this housing agenda; people have input and ideas.”She tempered the discussion somewhat by saying she remains focused on helping Harris secure the presidency.“Let’s get past Nov. 5 first,” Lee said. “I’m excited about what she’s doing, I think that I know these issues — and naturally, I would be interested in working with her administration on these issues.”Lee and Harris have a long history together as both hail from the Bay Area in California. Lee was also the first member of Congress to endorse Harris for president — in 2019, when Harris first sought the Democratic nomination before ultimately being named Joe Biden’s running mate.Lee served as co-chair of Harris’ first run for the presidency, and both served in the Congressional Black Caucus while Harris was a senator. Lee added that Harris could find “new, creative ways” to boost housing supply across the country when compared to the efforts of the Biden administration.Rep. Adam Schiff (D), who ultimately won the U.S. Senate Democratic primary and will seek to succeed Feinstein, said that Lee would be “an excellent choice in the Cabinet” since she has “the experience needed to serve on day one,” he told Politico.Lee has a reputation for being able to navigate bipartisan relationships without alienating more conservative colleagues with progressive politics, according to Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.).Politico sought comment from Harris’ transition team, but they did not reply to the overture.Should Harris be victorious next week, she will have some unique choices to make when building her cabinet. While some continuity with the Biden administration would be expected, that may not extend to personnel in some positions.Adrianne Todman is currently serving as acting secretary of HUD and could be nominated for full Senate confirmation, but Harris could also aim to signal a cleaner break with the current administration.When asked about potential Cabinet picks, Harris typically demurs, advising reporters and the public to wait until the election results are tabulated to see if these will be decisions she has to make.

Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Optimal Blue CEO Joe Tyrrell to talk about how the company decides where to deploy generative AI and why return on investment (ROI) for customers is paramount. Before arriving at Optimal Blue this year, Tyrrell served as president at ICE Mortgage Technology and as chief operating officer at Ellie Mae. This interview has been condensed for length and clarity. Sarah Wheeler: What differentiates your technology?Joe Tyrrell: There are three things that guide all our tech decisions. Most important, is it improving the ROI of our customers? We have these incredible solutions, in some cases with hundreds of capabilities that the customer has access to. If they are only using 12 or 13 of those, we are not maximizing their ROI. How do we help the lender get the highest rate of return on their dollars? We want to become more than just a vendor; we want to become a partner in their business.Secondly, we never want to automate a bad process. We want to solve a problem, not just automate. Third, making sure that any use of gen AI makes things better, not worse. We see lenders making major investments in gen AI, but when we ask what problems they’re solving, they don’t have a clear answer. As a former chief credit and risk officer, I understand the consequences of introducing unintended bias and how a mistake continues for the life of loan. So, even if a lender thinks an AI use case is cool, if the compliance team or operational staff has any concerns, everything stops. With gen AI, we can articulate the very particular problems we’re solving.Wheeler: How does your background in lending — and lending tech — inform what you are doing now?Tyrrell: I was a loan originator. I ran production, operations. I was an underwriter. I ran a lock desk. I’ve done all aspects of the roles our technology supports. I know what a lot of loan officers do — they know two or three programs really well, and they are going to use those and then stop. But what if loan program No. 21 provides a better rate or payments? We can provide a gen AI assistant there to partner with originators, to serve up all the qualifying programs and tell them, on this program, if borrowers improve by 10 points, here’s a lower payment — on one screen. You can’t ever build technology in a vacuum. At Optimal Blue, we will never use the product that we built, so we talk to the people who will and get them involved early in our process.Wheeler: What else are you doing with gen AI?Tyrrell: A lot! We’re the only true platform in the secondary market that has PPE on the front end, compliance, and then hedging and trading — no one else has all three. So, we look at all of these personas. If you look at the back end, hedging and trading, that’s how lenders get all of their revenue. They are no longer charging 2 or 3 points to consumers, so this is where the money is made — it’s made in the secondary market.So, how does Optimal Blue help them increase their profitability? We started with a profitability assistant. Every day you have execs in capital markets look at, what did I lose or gain on sales? To do that, they might have to pull up four spreadsheets and get data out of their system. Some execs can do it in 20 minutes, for others it takes two hours. This is a perfect use case for generative AI and it’s already available.The profitability assistant sees all the data, knows all the data and calculates the gain or loss. Then you can ask it a question about the data: how it compares to yesterday or three months ago, and it can show you instantly — and then remember what you asked for and include it the next day automatically.  We just saved you 20 minutes, or three or four hours, at the very start of your day, so you can take action and make impact.Originators are on the other end of the spectrum, but gen AI can show them the 15 loan programs, show where they do or don’t qualify for better rates, and what it would take to get there. This is being piloted and we have more AI assistants we’ll be releasing at our February user conference.Wheeler: What is the ultimate goal?Tyrrell: Our goal is to give lenders the ability to say yes to sell profitable loans. There’s a ton you have to unpack to do that, and then it has to be competitively priced, which is dependent on what each company’s costs are, what the pull-through rate is. We’re the only one that from the very first time an originator wants to price a loan, we can tell that company in real time with the borrower your LO is engaged with, what the likelihood that loan will pull through. We have all this data. It could be based on DTI, location, age, whether they are a first-time homebuyer, etc.And if you know going into it that the pull-through of that loan is more likely than average, you could real-time price that loan differently. Instead of a standard rate sheet, if you think there’s a higher propensity to close, you might want to price a little lower so they don’t shop around. If you did that and locked them, you could start planning to sell that loan 60 days before. Most companies are operating at the point of close; we’re operating at the point of thought to capital market execution.Our AIa tools are focused on the back end and front end, because if you get the front end and back end comfortable with AI, it’s much easier from a trust and adoption perspective. Then you get buy-in from the company and you can just be solving problems all the way through the loan.Wheeler: What are some of the changes you’ve seen in tech over the past 18 months?Tyrrell: This time last year, I was CEO of a company called Medallia, and we were working with big global companies taking advantage of technology for customer experience platforms. I learned so much in that year and a half, including that you have to understand who the key stakeholders were. In the mortgage industry, if you solve problems for the front end and the back end, they will become the mavens inside the corporation.The other thing that changed is the evolution of large language models (LLMs). When gen AI first came out, some companies were scared to death to use it. Am I training public models for my competitors? Now LLMs have advanced so much and lenders have so many options.Another thing with technology is that lenders are coming off a period where it’s been really hard, where anything they do introduces new cost. Optimal Blue is taking the opposite approach. All the gen AI, machine learning, all the automation — it’s at no incremental cost. If we truly want customers to grow ROI, we have to commit to giving more value to them at no cost. This is one advantage we have because we’re backed by a company that doesn’t do earnings calls. This allows us to invest and deliver value and we’re not worried about a monetization strategy. Our monetization strategy is retention, delivering value for our customers.

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) said this week that it has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requesting that the agency, at minimum, align its cybersecurity reporting requirements with those of Ginnie Mae. Ideally, however, it wants the extension to be even longer.A draft Mortgagee Letter (ML) was posted Sept. 30 and is viewable on the Single Family Drafting Table, an online portal for proposed but not yet implemented HUD policy. The ML provides updated requirements for when Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved lenders must notify HUD “when a reportable cyber incident occurs” within 36 hours of first detection.The document “provides a clearer definition of what constitutes a cyber incident and requires FHA-approved mortgagees to notify HUD as soon as possible — but no later than 36 hours — after determining that a reportable cyber incident has occurred,” according to an announcement of the draft document published in September. “These updated reporting requirements harmonize FHA with existing standards established by the federal banking agencies.”But NRMLA expressed in a letter submitted through the Drafting Table that it would be a better option to align instead with similar policies announced by Ginnie Mae earlier this year. The government-owned company issued an All-Participant Memorandum (APM) in March that instead gives issuers a timetable of 48 hours to notify the company of the relevant details related to a suspected breach.The trade association announced the move in an email update to its membership. In consultation with NRMLA’s HUD issues and servicing committees, the ideal scenario would be greater alignment with a timetable proposed by the Office of the National Cyber Director, a division inside the White House, NRMLA said.“[T]he goal of harmonizing cybersecurity standards across all federal agencies, as proposed by the Office of the National Cyber Director, is laudable and its proposed timeline for incident reporting is more realistic and reasonable,” NRMLA’s letter said. “For that reason, we strongly advocate that the Department revise its ML and adopt the 72-hour reporting timeframe proposed by the Office of the National Cyber Director.”HUD’s proposed guidance would itself be an extension. ML 2024-10, issued in May, shortened the requirement to only 12 hours. But NRMLA contends that an extension to 72 hours would serve to “harmonize” requirements across multiple federal agencies.Global businesses have become increasingly susceptible to the actions of bad actors seeking to compromise computer systems and either steal data or hold systems hostage for a payment via “ransomware.” Such attacks compromise the information security systems of companies everywhere, and they can expose consumers’ personal and financial information.In August, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s Office of the Inspector General issued a report stating that the agency was highly vulnerable to hacking. The FBI reported earlier this year that cybercrime losses rose to a record high of $12.8 billion in 2023. Mortgage lender loanDepot was heavily impacted by a cyberattack in January, and the company said the event impacted its operating performance in first-quarter 2024.Other entities recently impacted by cyberattacks include Mr. Cooper Group, First American and Fidelity National Financial, the parent of servicer LoanCare. Each of these incidents caused the companies to temporarily shut down certain systems to contain attacks that exposed customer data. The accelerating frequency of cybercrime has many of these entities on edge.

Update: Since publishing this story, mortgage spreads have improved from yesterday, so some lenders may have better pricing today.Today’s jobs report showed the lowest job-growth data for the year at 12,000. You would think this would cause the 10-year yield and mortgage rates to go lower. At first, this did happen, but after more digestion of the data, not only did the bond market give up all the early morning gains, but it headed higher for the day, which confused many. So, I will give you my best explanation, but I need to show all the data that came out this week.Job openingsThe job openings data missed estimates and the internals of this report have been getting softer for some time. This is key for the Federal Reserve, and the reason they did a 0.50% basis cut is because they want to start the process of getting rates to neutral. Now, the internals of the data lines, such as the hires and quit percentages, are weaker than the 7.4 million job openings number. However, in the Fed’s mind, they’re not afraid of a big job-loss recession when the job openings data is still so large, and the economy has been running near 3% GDP for the past two quarters. I believe we had a one-time boost from aircraft spending in the last quarter, which was trying to get ahead of the Boeing strike. That will be a drag in the next quarter.Jobless claimsJobless claims data is always the critical data line when talking about the labor market breaking, and not only did it have a good week, but it’s had a good couple of weeks. Let me be clear: this data line will shoot higher when the labor data breaks. Since 2022, I’ve said: we aren’t going to have a job-loss recession — meaning negative growth, many jobs report showing losses, and the Fed gets aggressive with policy — until this data line heads toward 323,000 on the four-week moving average and breaks. We aren’t there yet.Jobs FridayFrom BLS: Total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in October (+12,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care and government. Temporary help services lost jobs. Employment declined in manufacturing due to strike activity.Excluding the one-time events, the manufacturing data is getting softer and the residential construction sector is at risk with higher rates again, as the housing starts and permits data are at COVID-19 recession levels today. With that said, if you didn’t know the headline number was 12,000 with negative revisions, would the unemployment rate at 4.1% and 4% wage growth change your mind about the state of the labor market? In my view, the bond market is reading ahead of the soft headline print and going to the jobless claims, wage growth and unemployment rate data for now. Here’s the last 12-, 6- and 3-month averages for payroll jobs data:12-month average: 181,0006-month average:  131,0003-month average: 104,000If we divide that average by 138,600 per month, we are a bit below my 140,000 level.To summarize, the labor market is getting softer but not breaking. The critical labor sectors that I focus on when looking at whether we are in an expansion or are going into a recession are residential construction workers and manufacturing employment. The manufacturing data has been softer for three months now, even if I take out the Boeing strike, and the residential construction workers are barely growing. Now that housing starts and permits are at COVID-19 recession levels, higher rates put that group at risk, as I discussed on CNBC months ago. However, today, to explain the bond market action, think about 4% wage growth, 4.1% unemployment rate, falling jobless claims data and an economy growing above trend. I hope that clears up some of the confusion on why bond yields and mortgage rates aren’t going lower today.

HousingWire is excited to announce the honorees of this year’s Tech Trendsetters award. The Tech Trendsetters are made up of the top product and technology leaders who have been essential in bringing innovative tech solutions to market for mortgage and real estate clients. Similar to the HousingWire TECH100, which celebrates the most innovative companies in mortgage and real estate tech, Tech Trendsetters highlights the individuals who are developing cutting-edge technology and leading innovation for their clients in these industries. This year, 75 honorees were selected.Congratulations to the 2024 Tech Trendsetter honorees! Take a look at the full list below. Name Job Title Company Name Ajay Trilokeshwaran Head of Credit Services Product Development Informative Research Ajay Belambe Senior Vice President, Product Management ServiceLink Alisande Heriyanto VP, Product and Tech Support The Corcoran Group Andria Thomas Chief Product Officer FinLocker Bart Bailey VP, Product Management Sagent Bernice Lim Chief Information Security Officer Newrez Bonnie Sherman EVP Marketplace and Engagement Inside Real Estate Brandon Rush Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Experience for Single-Family Acquisitions Freddie Mac Brant Morwald President Constellation1 Brian Bair CEO Offerpad Brian Donnellan President and CEO Bright MLS Bryan Jackson Chief Technology Officer Gateless Chris Hilliard CEO Winnow Chris Cox Chief Technology and Digital Officer Keller Williams Realty International Chris Flynn Head of Product and Strategy First American Data & Analytics Courtney Thompson EVP, Servicing CMG Financial Dan Taylor Senior Vice President and Chief Architect Mr. Cooper Group David Callahan Chief Information Officer LoanCare David Yu Chief Technology Officer Houseful Devon Yang Co-founder & CTO Vesta Diane Yu Co-founder TidalWave.ai Erik Wrobel Head of Product Blend Labs Frank Nichols Chief Technology Officer Shape Software George Milian Chief Sales Officer Inflooens James Severance Senior Director, Software Engineering Optimal Blue Jane Mason CEO Clarifire Jessica Evett VP, Product and Software Development Cloudvirga Joe Trapani Chief Technology Officer Moder Solutions Joe Chen Founder and CEO Lofty Joe Marsocci Sr. Director Mortgage and Capital Markets FICO Joe Welu CEO and Founder Total Expert John Holbrook Vice President, Digital Valuation Solutions ICE Mortgage Technology Jon Foy Vice President, Product and Design Polly Jonathan Kearns VP of Technology MISMO Josh Harrison Chief Product Officer Rocktop Technologies Joshua Miller CEO and Co-founder Epique Realty JP Kelly SVP of Mortgage MeridianLink Justin Tucker EVP and Director of Strategic Initiatives Williston Financial Group Kevin Clements Vice President, Product Management, Experian Housing Experian Kevin Greene General Manager, Executive Product Leader CoreLogic Real Estate Solutions Kimberly Hartsough Senior Vice President PrimeLending Lauren Wu Head of List Opendoor Lee Maliniak Chief Product Officer Matic Lou Pontani Executive Vice President, Enterprise Operations Stewart Title Malte Kramer CEO Luxury Presence Mark Fisher Vice President Fannie Mae Matt Gruber Executive Vice President, Technology American Financial Network Max Slyusarchuk Founder and CEO A&D Mortgage Michael Martin Co-founder & Co-CEO Sidekick Michael Lucarelli CEO and Co-founder RentSpree Michael Morford Director of Product Development DocMagic Mike Brown Chief Information Security Officer loanDepot Mike Hogan Senior Managing Director and Chief Information Officer PENNYMAC Nate Divine Chief Technology Officer Inside Real Estate Nicki Todd Senior Vice President of Technology, Agent/Lender Group First American Title Insurance Company Paul Akinmade Chief Strategy Officer CMG Financial Praveen Chandramohan SVP, Origination Growth Solutions CoreLogic Preeti Kalawadia VP of Technology and Partner Solutions Percy.ai Rajesh Bhatia Chief Technology Officer Endpoint Ram Krishnaswamy Vice President – Head of Engineering Xome Ramesh Sarukkai Chief Product and Technology Officer Rate Robert Jewett Chief Operating Officer NewFed Mortgage Corp Scott Falbo Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder LenderLogix Sean Armstrong VP, Product Development United Wholesale Mortgage Seth Siegler Chief Innovation Officer eXp Realty Shayan Hamidi CEO Rechat Shayne Fairley Chief Operations Officer Stellar MLS Stephanie Durflinger Chief Product Officer Dark Matter Technologies Steve Octaviano Chief Technology Officer Blue Sage Solutions Sundeep Mathur VP of Fintech AI and Business Consulting Services Tavant Sydney Barber Head of Product Floify Todd Maki VP, Customer Success Snapdocs Todd Teta Chief Product and Technology Officer ATTOM Vinay Vangala Vice President Fannie Mae Yi Wang Senior Director, Product Manager Auction.com

Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.It’s hard to overstate how dramatically real estate software has changed over the last few years. We went from clunky, slow, and expensive CRMs to AI-powered video apps — seemingly overnight. While we focused on building our brands and trying to make sense of social media trends, the companies that make the software we use ballooned into a $10 billion+ industry.With that much cold, hard cash being thrown at making your job easier, the cost-benefit ratio of real estate software has never been better. Today’s software can (almost) automate your entire business — from first click to closing.To help you build the tech stack of your dreams, we reviewed dozens of tools that help you capture leads, market your business and build better client relationships. Here are our 17 favorites for 2024, including three new groundbreaking AI tools:At-a-glance: The best real estate software for 2024Best lead generation & nurturing softwareBest overall for lead genZurpleJump to details ↓VISITBest for social media leadsMarket LeaderJump to details ↓VISITBest for predictive analyticsOffrsJump to details ↓VISITBest for probate leadsCatalyze AIJump to details ↓VISITBest IDX website + CRM platformsBest overall IDX + CRMCINCJump to details ↓VISITSEO-driven leadsReal GeeksJump to details ↓VISITBest for small teamsSierra InteractiveJump to details ↓VISITBest real estate CRM softwareBest overall CRMFollow Up BossJump to details ↓VISITBest for new agentsLionDeskJump to details ↓VISITBest value for moneyTop ProducerJump to details ↓VISITBest for teams + brokeragesRechatJump to details ↓VISITBest real estate marketing softwareBest for social media marketingCoffee & ContractsJump to details ↓VISITBest for video marketingPivo Real EstateJump to details ↓VISITBest for virtual stagingApply DesignJump to details ↓VISITBest AI real estate softwareBest for lead scoringLikely.aiJump to details ↓VISITBest for data-driven market valuationsHouseCanaryJump to details ↓VISITBest for AI home stagingVirtual Staging AIJump to details ↓VISITAt-a-glance: The best real estate software for 2024Best lead generation & nurturing softwareBest overall for lead generationZurpleVISITJump to details ↓Best for social media leadsMarket LeaderVISITJump to details ↓Best for predictive analyticsOffrsVISITJump to details ↓BBest for probate leadsCatalyze AIVISITJump to details ↓Best IDX website + CRM platformsBest overall IDX + CRMCINCVISITJump to details ↓SEO-driven leadsReal GeeksVISITJump to details ↓Best for small teamsSierra InteractiveVISITJump to details ↓Best real estate CRM softwareBest overall CRMFollow Up BossVISITJump to details ↓Best for new agentsLionDeskVISITJump to details ↓Best value for moneyTop ProducerVISITJump to details ↓Best for teams + brokeragesRechatVISITJump to details ↓Best real estate marketing softwareBest for social media marketingCoffee & ContractsVISITJump to details ↓Best for video marketingPivo Real EstateVISITJump to details ↓Best for virtual stagingApply DesignVISITJump to details ↓Best AI real estate softwareBest for lead scoringLikely.aiVISITJump to details ↓Best for data-driven market valuationsHouseCanaryVISITJump to details ↓Best for AI home stagingVirtual Staging AIVISITJump to details ↓Best lead generation & nurturing real estate softwareAs the name suggests, lead generation and nurturing software helps agents and brokers generate and nurture leads. The best ones provide relatively simple IDX lead capture websites and automated tools to nurture those leads via email and text messages. If you already have a CRM and website you love and only want leads you can nurture on autopilot, they can be hugely helpful for your business.Zurple: Best overall for lead generation & nurturingStarting at $149 per monthZurple focuses on IDX lead generation websites and automated lead nurturing that changes based on a lead’s behavior on your website. While the initial investment might be higher than for other platforms, Zurple is a purpose-built tool that lets agents and teams generate, nurture and convert leads on autopilot.When a lead starts to behave in ways that might signal they are closer to a transaction, Zurple sends them to a daily hot sheet, and this point, the agent can take over.It’s important to note that Zurple is not designed to replace your CRM. Think of it as a way to ensure that every lead you actually pick up the phone to talk to is close to buying or selling a home.FeaturesExclusive leadsAutomated pipeline managementAutomated lead nurturingCan nurture leads from other sourcesHot sheet based on lead behaviorPros & ConsProvides immediate replies to inquiries, emails & textsTakes the pressure off of agents to be available 24/7Automated lead nurturing and pipeline managementLead generation websites won’t work for brandingCRM is basic compared to other platformsPricingStarting at $149 per month, Zurple’s pricing is in line with other IDX lead generation websites like CINC and Real Geeks. If you’re just looking for a lead generation website to augment your personal site, we think Zurple offers good value for moneyHere’s a quick breakdown of Zurple’s monthly pricing and setup fees:Setup fee: $799Basic Plan: $149 per monthAuto Leads: +$139 + cost of leads per monthAdditional sites: +$100 per month, per sitePipeline Boost: +$300 per monthCheck out ZurpleREAD OURZurple ReviewMarket Leader: Best for social media leadsStarting at $139 per monthMarket Leader offers agents an affordable way to generate and nurture leads that they can upgrade as their business grows. Their entry-level Pro package starts at around $139 per month and includes a CRM, IDX website, and marketing center that includes direct mail marketing.Lead add-ons include very affordable top-of-funnel social media leads through their Network Boost program — to highly qualified (and much pricier) buyer and seller leads.We think Market Leader is a fantastic option for newer agents who don’t have the budget for more advanced lead generation and nurturing tools like Zurple, Ylopo or CINC.FeaturesListing marketing automation includes single-property websitesPrint marketing includes bulk mail flyers, postcards, and scheduled birthday and anniversary cards for past clientsCustom-branded content libraryAutomated email and text drip campaignsPros & ConsAffordable all-in-one lead generation and nurturing systemTop-of-funnel Network Boost leadsDirect mail toolsEasily upgradeable to add more featuresCRM is easy to use and has a large user base for troubleshooting and adviceIDX websites are very basic and have limited customization optionsCRM lacks advanced nurturing featuresNo AI features available in any planNo automated text messaging or auto dialerPrice-per-lead can be higher than other providers that charge more for softwareSome agents complain about lead qualityPricingProfessional for Agents: $139 per month + $9-$30 per lead (one user)Teams: $329 + $9 to $30 per lead (up to ten users)Broker Suite: Call for pricingCheck out Market LeaderREAD OURMarket Leader ReviewOffrs: Best for predictive analyticsStarting at $399 per monthOffrs uses predictive analytics and AI to sift through reams of data to identify likely sellers before they hit other lead providers. Using their platform, you can easily target a zip code, neighborhood, or custom farm area. Once the leads are captured, Offrs uses RAIA, their AI-powered agent, to qualify and nurture them through text messages and emails.While many lead generation and nurturing platforms have AI-powered nurturing tools these days, Offrs takes things a step further by offering a team of licensed ISAs to help you nurture and convert leads with a human touch. If you want to generate and nurture seller leads on autopilot, that’s an unbeatable combination — one we think is the future of real estate software.FeaturesExclusive listing leads generated by predictive analyticsRAIA AI chatbot qualifies and nurtures leads for youAvailable licensed ISA teamPredictive analytics predicts likely sellers with 72% accuracyPros & ConsRAIA AI is trained by licensed ISAsCan target zip codes and custom farm areasExclusive seller leads in Premium and Premium+ ISA packagesTransparent and surprisingly affordable pricingLeads are not exclusive in Leads Only packageRecent advances in AI might make predictive analytics obsoleteNo included CRMPricingStarting at $399 per month for leads only, Offrs is surprisingly affordable for what you get. ISA companies like Structurely charge $400 per month for AI-powered ISAs and that doesn’t include the licensed human ISAs that Offrs gives you in their Premium package.Listing Leads Only: $399 per month for one zip code.Premium: $699 per month for five zip codes. You get exclusive leads plus AI-powered lead conversion with RAIA.Premium + ISA: $999 per month for five zip codes. You get exclusive leads, AI-powered lead conversion with RAIA, plus access to an inside sales team.Check out OffrsREAD OUROffrs ReviewCatalyze AI: Best for probate leadsStarting at $360 per monthCatalyze AI leverages predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to identify exclusive inheritance listing leads before they reach traditional lead providers. While they don’t provide any lead nurturing tools, we think the benefit of exclusive listing leads that are highly likely to sell more than makes up for it.It’s also a fantastic value for agents who are willing to put in the time to learn the probate process. Highly motivated listing leads for properties valued over $1 million are just $15 per lead. Closing these leads might come with headaches, but just one closed deal will pay for a year of Catalyze AI.Features40% of identified listing leads transact in 12 monthsNationwide coverageEasy-to-use dashboard to track, manage, and export leads to your CRMPros & ConsAffordable and highly motivated seller leads generated with AICan target leads in a 20-mile radiusTransparent pricingExclusive leadsNo lead nurturing toolsProbate leads require extensive training and a thick skin to closePricing30 inheritance listing leads (under $1 million): $360 per month30 inheritance listing leads (over $1million): $450 per monthCheck out Catalyze AIBest IDX Website + CRM PlatformsToday’s IDX website + CRM platforms give you the near-magical ability to market your business, generate leads, build your brand, and manage your transactions with one tool. An ideal IDX website + CRM platform should offer advanced CRM features, sleek IDX websites designed for lead capture and branding, and enough available upgrades to grow along with your business.Here are our picks for the best all-in-one IDX website + CRM platforms for 2024.CINC: Best overall website + CRM platformStarting at $899 per month (pricing includes buyer leads)Founded in 2011, CINC combines bleeding-edge paid lead generation and AI nurturing tools with some of the best training in the industry. More than just an IDX website with a basic CRM, CINC bills itself as a complete system that gives solo agents and teams all the tools they need to run their businesses—an assessment we agree with. The optional 3-line auto-dialer is a feature we hope more software companies add to their platforms in the future.If you want to focus on paid leads, CINC is an obvious choice. Their hyperlocal ad targeting allows agents to generate leads from specific neighborhoods, school districts, and even home types.FeaturesHyper-local lead targeting focuses on neighborhoods, school districts & moreOptional CINC AI lead nurturing toolOptional 3-line auto-dialerPros & ConsLead generation and nurturing platform powered by AIDone-for-you Facebook and Google lead generationLead generation is powered by data from 50,000 top-producing agents & teamsOptional CINC AI lead nurturing tool trained by top-producing agentsLead generation and conversion trainingOnline and in-person mastermind events6,000-member Facebook Mastermind groupLearning curve can be steep for non-tech-savvy agentsCINC’s IDX Websites are hyper-focused on lead generation, but won’t win any design awards. If aesthetics are important to you, try Luxury Presence or Agent Image.CINC isn’t cheap. Pricing is comparable to platforms like BoomTown which puts CINC out of reach for many solo agentsLess branding and marketing focused than other IDX website + CRM platformsPricingStarting at $899 per month for solo agents and $1,500+ for teams, CINC’s pricing is comparable to other high-end platforms like BoomTown. However, pricing is heavily dependent on factors like ad spend, cost per lead in your farm area, and additional features such as their AI lead nurturing tool, so it can vary widely.Free trial: noContract required: 6-month minimumCINC AI: +$200 per month3-line auto-dialer: +$100 per month, per siteCheck out CINCReal Geeks: Best for solo agentsStarting at $299 per monthReal Geeks is one of the most popular and well-reviewed IDX website + CRM platforms for a good reason. It provides solo agents and small teams with all of the lead generation, nurturing, and marketing tools they need — starting at less than half the price of competitors like CINC or Boomtown. While Real Geeks’ entry-level Establish plan doesn’t include done-for-you lead generation or advanced AI features, it’s one of the best values in the industry.FeaturesSleek IDX websites designed for lead captureAI-powered lead nurturing assistantAdvanced Email and SMS drip campaignsReactive responses automatically texts leads based on their behaviorAutomated property alerts and market reportsEstateIQ property valuation toolPros & ConsEntry-level plan offers excellent value for moneyAutomated SMS & email auto-respondersA la carte upgrades offer advanced AI, done-for-you lead generation & automation featuresIDX websites are designed for lead capture, not brandingLimited website customization optionsAI-generated area pages created with SEO Fast Track tool might get flagged by search engines as spamPricingEstablish: $299 per monthGrow: $599 per monthExpand: $999 per monthConquer: $1500 per monthContract required: 6 monthsFree trial: NoCheck out Real GeeksSierra Interactive: Best for small teamsStarting at $499.95 per monthSierra Interactive is an all-in-one CRM and IDX website that uses a proprietary IDX integration to help small teams generate and nurture leads. Unlike other IDX websites who often use off-the-shelf IDX plugins, Sierra’s proprietary IDX is designed to rank your website on search engines. That means your website can generate free leads from search engines while you focus on giving your clients the service they deserve. The platform also comes with an integrated triple-line dialer and offers team management features to never let a lead (or a client) slip through the cracks.FeaturesProprietary IDX designed to rank on search engines Sleek and stylish lead generation and branding websitesIntegrated triple-line dialer Automated lead nurturing and marketing toolsPros & ConsSophisticated CRM designed for teams Can choose between buyer and seller-focused websitesDone-for-you digital advertising In-app text message marketing toolsNot ideal for solo agents Leads are not included in the entry-level packageNo built-in AI featuresPricingStarting at $499.99 per month; call for custom team pricing.Check out Sierra InteractiveRelated articles The 9 top real estate lead generation companies for 2024 The ultimate guide to real estate lead generation ideas for 2024 The 7 best real estate lead generation websites for 2024 Best real estate CRM softwareHistorically used as simple lead databases, today’s real estate CRMs offer agents and teams sophisticated lead generation, marketing, nurturing and business management tools for a relatively low monthly cost. As the old cliche goes, the best CRM is the one you use. Here are our top picks that we think you’ll love using:Follow Up Boss: Best overall real estate CRM softwareStarting at $58 per monthFollow Up Boss offers agents a perfect balance between advanced CRM features and affordable pricing. Their platform is far more robust than a “just get it done” CRM like LionDesk, but it is still affordable enough for almost all agents — something competitors like Top Producer, Market Leader and Propertybase can learn from.You’ll get all the tools you’ll need to nurture leads and stay organized without paying for an IDX website you don’t need. How do they do it? In a word, integrations. Follow Up Boss is designed to work seamlessly with pretty much any other real estate software you have. Think of it as a scalpel while other companies are trying to sell you Swiss army knives.FeaturesAction plans to automate follow upDaily hot sheetEasy-to-use and intuitive user interfaceAdvanced lead routing features for teamsPros & ConsStreamlined and intuitive dashboard and toolsOver 250 integrations with the most popular real estate softwareWorks perfectly alongside lead generation platformsExcellent training and supportLarge network of usersTransparent pricingNo AI features availableNo auto-dialer upgradeNo text drip campaignsIntegrated calling feature is a $39 upgradeSome integrations require Zapier to workPricingStarting at $58 per month, Follow Up Boss sits in that sweet spot between bare bones CRMs like LionDesk and more sophisticated platforms like Top Producer and Realvolve. It’s an excellent value for agents who want a full-featured CRM but don’t want to shell out $100+ per month.Grow: $58 per month (paid annually)Pro: $416 per month for 10 users (paid annually)Check out Follow Up BossLionDesk: Best for new agentsStarting at $25 per monthStarting at just $25 per month (when paid annually), LionDesk stands out for its commitment to enhancing and automating real estate relationships for agents at an affordable price point. It offers a balance of simplicity and functionality, providing essential tools without overcomplicating the user experience with extraneous features like an IDX website. With its focus on automated email and text message drip campaigns, transaction management, and basic organizational tools, it offers agents a simple tool that gets the job done — without breaking the bank.FeaturesPre-built email drip campaignsAI-powered lead nurturing in broker editionVideo email and textingAvailable single-line dialer upgradeEasy-to-use platformPros & ConsThe most affordable real estate CRM on the marketOffers basic marketing, nurturing, and prospecting toolsTransparent pricing for platform and upgradesAutomated nurturing tools are limited compared to other platformsNo done-for-you lead generationLimited available upgradesLacks Facebook ad toolsLimited integration with lead generation websitesPricingAt just $25 per month, LionDesk still offers one of the best values in real estate software. While you won’t get done-for-you lead generation, it offers exceptional value for money if you’re a brand-new agent without deep pockets.Here’s a quick breakdown of LionDesk’s monthly pricing:CRM: $25 per month (paid annually)CRM Premier: $83 per month (paid annually)Check out LionDeskTop Producer: Best value for moneyStarting at $129 per monthTop Producer has come a long way from the clunky Windows 95-looking software it once was. Today, its CRM platform distinguishes itself with advanced lead generation and marketing features, streamlined and intuitive workflows, and a well-organized and well-designed user interface — all crucial attributes for a platform you’ll use for 4+ hours every day.Top Producer’s newest features include AI-driven insights that help you get a 360-degree view of the contacts in your database and personalize your interactions. Along with MLS integration, there are helpful follow-up tools and solutions for automated social media lead generation and multi-channel, automated lead nurture.FeaturesSocial Connect automates your social media ad creation and streamlines your lead generation. Starting at $379 per user, per month, Social Connect comes with the company’s commitment to delivering a specific number of leads over the duration of your contract — for example, they commit to delivering a minimum of 180 leads throughout a six-month contract period.Smart Targeting uses AI to identify the most promising potential sellers in your targeted farm area by crunching publicly available data to find homeowners who are most likely to sell their homes in the next 18 monthsFiveStreet is the company’s proprietary tool that automates your lead follow-up using text and email, ensuring your clients aren’t waiting for a replyBasic Transaction management tools with visual timelinesPros & ConsCustomizable and user-friendly dashboardMarket Snapshot tool for up-to-date market intelligenceDiverse lead generation tools to suit various needsTransparent pricingGood customer service reputationLimited integration with the provided agent websiteAgent websites are a little dated-lookingPricingPro: $129 a monthPro + Leads: $429 per monthPro + farming: $399 per monthPro Teams 5: $299 per monthPro Teams 10: $499 per monthPro Teams 25: $999 per monthCheck out Top ProducerREAD OURTop Producer ReviewRechat. : Best for teams & brokeragesSimilar price per seat to Salesforce – call for detailed pricingRechat just might be the first truly mobile-first CRM and marketing platform for teams and brokerages. Using the app, agents can quickly and easily create social media posts, send emails, fire off a CMA or advertise a listing — right from their phone. Forget speed to lead, Rechat offers speed to market. Crucial in an age where being first often means the difference between going viral and getting left behind. Rechat offers an almost gamified real estate CRM marketing and transaction management experience that will make Millennial and Zoomer agents feel right at home.FeaturesLightning-fast social media marketing Transaction Center to track dealsDigital ad creation toolCMA creation toolPros & ConsTrue mobile-first UX design for speed & ease of useCan be white labeled Gorgeous social media & marketing materials Seamless all-in-one marketing, CRM & transaction managementNot available for solo agents Pricing is not transparentPricingComparable per-seat pricing to Salesforce. Call for custom pricing.Check out Rechat.Related articles The best real estate CRM for every budget in 2024 26 must-have real estate marketing tools for 2024 8 best real estate marketing companies to boost your business in 2024 Best real estate marketing softwareThrough the magic of AI and the talent of human designers, today’s real estate marketing software can help make your personal brand shine like never before. Whether you want to fit in with the cool kids on social media or wow a homeowner with virtually staged photos, today’s marketing software can get it done — for a fraction of the cost of hiring professional marketers.Coffee & Contracts: Best for social media marketingStarting at $45 per monthOne of our favorite social media marketing platforms to come out in the last decade, Coffee & Contracts will make followers think you spend thousands of dollars a month on a marketing team. They provide up-to-the-minute, trendy and stylish templates for Instagram Posts, Reels, and Stories — including scripts and lead magnets written by top-producing agents.It’s the perfect way to educate, delight, and build relationships with potential clients across your social media channels. What we really love about the Coffee & Contract marketing platform is its dedication to high-quality design and copywriting. Competitors like Agent Crate and Jigglar don’t even come close. While they don’t offer AI features (yet), the human touch in their design and marketing calendars truly stands out.FeaturesLarge and frequently updated library of marketing templatesLead magnets designed for conversionScripts for Instagram Reels and StoriesFacebook Mastermind Group has 5,800 membersPros & ConsAll real estate content written by top-producing agentsThe best quality graphic design in the industry — hands downScripts for Reels and Stories are written in natural (human!) languageLarge network of fellow users on Facebook groupHundreds of templates and new templates are added weeklyOther agents will be using the same templates and scriptsCannot schedule posts from the appContent is not unique to your farm areaPricingCoffee & Contracts membership starts at $45 per month, paid yearly, and $54 per month, paid monthly. You’ll also need a Canva subscription to fully utilize the platform, but since almost every agent we know already has one, it’s hardly a deal breaker.Check out Coffee & ContractsPivo Real Estate: Best for video marketingOne-time fee of $399Pivo Real Estate uses AI to help agents create sleek, professional-looking videos for a fraction of the cost of hiring a videographer. Using just your smartphone, Pivo allows you to create 3D tours that give Matterport a run for its money. It also follows you around the room like a professional cameraman while you pitch homeowners or record walkthroughs for buyers. Even better, you have no monthly subscription fees to pay after purchasing their camera. Pivo’s bleeding-edge software is in the device itself. That means you’ll get as many professional 3D tours as you want with one less bill to pay every month — a win-win in our book.FeaturesFree for life after purchasing their deviceBrokerage pricing availableCan create 3D tours, dollhouses, and floorplansAuto-trackingPros & ConsThe most affordable way to create high-quality 3D toursWorks with your smartphone — no camera requiredMotion-tracking feature follows you around the room like a professional cameraperson3D tours are not quite as smooth or detailed as MatterportNo Zillow integration for 3D toursCompeting 3D smartphone attachments are comparably pricedCheck out Pivo Real EstateApply Design: Best for virtual stagingStarting at $7 per imageWhile they haven’t integrated AI (yet), Apply Design’s virtual staging software is an affordable and easy-to-use way to virtually stage your listings. We really love how they let you choose from common and trendy interior design styles to match the home’s style — without having to pay a professional stager hundreds of dollars. They also offer an astonishing 15-minute turnaround time for staged images. AI might be faster, but the quality is hit or miss (so far!), and that’s why Apply Design is still the best bang for your buck.FeaturesDIY virtual stagingOne-click virtual stagingRealistic 3D furniture modelsPros & Cons15-minute turnaround timeFurniture removal includedVariety of interior design styles to choose fromRealistic-looking virtual stagingFree revisions until you are happy with the resultsImages from professional virtual stagers are still higher qualityCustomization options are limitedNot designed for luxury listing agentsPricingAuto Staging: from $10.50 per imageDIY Staging: from $7 per imageCheck out Apply DesignBest AI real estate softwareAI real estate software might replace every app on your phone over the next few years. Even if you’re not on Team Robot Uprising, these tools are already making waves in our industry. These are the three tools we think are the most useful for agents, and yeah, maybe a little scary, too.Likely.ai: Best for lead scoringStarting at $89 per month with a free trialLikely.ai uses its patented AI-powered Refresh engine to predict likely sellers in your database — so you know exactly who to contact and when. Instead of wasting time and money blasting out marketing materials to your entire database, Likely.ai allows you to focus on leads who are ready to sell. Think of it as Offrs for the hundreds of “cold” leads in your CRM. It can also predict distressed homeowners, and even update contact information for every lead in your database — saving you (or your admin) hours of tedious work each month. It’s ideal for agents and teams with big databases and limited resources to score them.FeaturesAI-powered lead scoring Follow Up Boss appFinds missing contact informationPros & ConsFinds likely sellers in your databaseFinds distressed homeowners in your databaseAI marketing tools included Monitors your leads 24/7 14-day free trialAI marketing templates can be made with free softwareAI agents might soon do the same job for freeLarger CRMs can integrate AI lead scoring into their productsPricingLaunch: Starting at $75 per month, paid yearly, for 2,000 contacts Grow: Starting at $166 per month, paid yearly, for 5,000 contacts Scale: Starting at $499 per month, paid yearly, for 15,000 contactsCheck out Likely.aiHouseCanary: Best for data-driven market valuationsStarting at free – $15 per reportHouseCanary stands out due to its innovative technology. It combines artificial intelligence (AI) and image recognition to provide actionable insights from extensive real estate data. It’s an ideal solution for those seeking AI-powered valuations and market trend data.It has quickly become a go-to valuation tool for real estate professionals. FeaturesAutomated valuations in 19,000 zip codesDemographic and market predictions Includes property images to assess condition Can also assess rent valuesPros & ConsChat-based AI assistant to find data (coming soon)Objective home valuations based on data Excellent for agent investorsValuations are pricey compared to other automated systemsPricingFree- $15 per reportCustom enterprise pricing availableCheck out HouseCanaryVirtual Staging AI: Best for AI home stagingStarting at 46 cents per staged photoVirtual Staging AI uses the latest AI image technology to virtually stage listings in minutes instead of days. Instead of struggling with finicky staging software or paying for virtual staging, their software lets you stage your listing (or any listing) with one click. While the image quality is not yet on par with high-end professional virtual stagers, it’s shockingly close and 95% cheaper. A win-win for budget-conscious listing agents or buyer’s agents who want to present options for their clients.Editor’s note: Virtual Staging AI was recently acquired by ZIllow Group but is still available to purchase directly from Virtual Staging AI.FeaturesHigh-quality virtual staging in 15 seconds Removes furniture from photos Free trialPros & ConsCan choose room type and furniture stylesAffordable pricing Full copyright on staged imagesEasy to use – no tech experience needed Saves time and moneyResults aren’t perfect up closeNot suitable for high-end listing agentsPricingBasic: $16 per month ($2.67 per photo) Standard: $19 per month ($0.95 per photo)Professional: $39 per month ($0.65 per photo)Enterprise: $69 per month ($0.46 per photo)Check out Virtual Staging AIOur methodology: How we chose the best real estate software for 2024Vetted by HousingWire’s expert real estate agents, brokers, and coaches offer in-the-trenches insights into the latest technology and business strategies for real estate professionals. Since 2006, HousingWire has been the go-to resource that provides the full picture of U.S. housing market, for housing professionals. To find the best real estate software across several categories, we analyze dozens of products and platforms, view product demos, read countless customer reviews, and consult with agents and brokers we know. We also apply our combined experience as licensed real estate agents, brokers and brokerage marketers (we have about 50 years between us on the editorial team!). We do all of this with the reader in mind, analyzing each real estate software to give you, beloved reader, a clear, concise breakdown of its features, benefits, pricing, ease of use, return on investment, value for money, client support, and appropriateness for your career stage. We hope our hard work saves you a lot of clicking around the internet to find the right tools for your business!Real estate advice + top tech, lead gen & marketing tools — delivered to your inbox.Get expert advice, independent reviews and product recommendations from our editorial team of experienced real estate agents, brokers and coaches. hbspt.forms.create({ region: "na1", portalId: "4509319", formId: "baa83a9a-0daa-452f-a7c6-38f4addffde5" });jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $('.vetted-accordion-header').click(function() { var content = $(this).next('.vetted-accordion-content'); if (content.hasClass('active')) { // Collapse the section if it's already active content.removeClass('active').css('max-height', '0'); $(this).removeClass('open-toggle'); // Remove class from header } else { // Expand the clicked section content.addClass('active').css('max-height', content.prop('scrollHeight') + 'px'); $(this).addClass('open-toggle'); // Add class to header } });});

Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.Creating or evolving your real estate marketing plan is a critical aspect of every agent’s overall business plan. Your marketing plan will determine if and how you’ll connect with new clients in the year ahead. It’s important to be intentional and choose marketing strategies that give you the highest likelihood of meeting and connecting with your ideal clients. If your marketing isn’t aligned with your niche, personal brand, and skills, you’ll waste time, money and effort pursuing it.I put together this guide to help you find your niche and create a marketing plan that’s aligned with your brand, target market and personality. I’ll explain why a detailed plan is crucial for every agent and walk you through the actionable, step-by-step guide I’ve used with hundreds of agents to help you create your own unique plan.In this article01The 3 real estate marketing tools every agent needs02Why every agent needs a marketing plan03How to create your real estate marketing plan04The full pictur: Creating a real estate marketing plan that works for youThe 3 real estate marketing tools every agent needsNo matter which marketing strategies you choose to include in your real estate marketing plan, there are three crucial tools that you’ll need. Your tools will evolve as your business evolves, of course, but these three will get you started on the right path:1. An easy-to-use, scalable CRMMost brokerages provide a CRM, but you can usually purchase your own if you prefer. When selecting the right one for you, consider how easy it is to navigate and whether it provides the functionality you need. If it’s too complicated, you likely won’t use it.Most agents don’t need a CRM to do anything but provide a way to communicate with their database, set up task reminders, and host a website. I’ve always used KW Command. But if you’re not a KW agent, our team of real estate pros have researched countless CRMs to find the best tools for every budget. Check out our research and top choices in the link below. The best real estate CRM for every budget in 2024 2. A mobile-friendly real estate websiteOur team of real estate industry experts researched the top real estate website builders to help new and experienced agents launch a beautiful, crisp, clean website that offers lots of functionality — not to mention marketing oomph.Ideally, you’ll want a website that you can bring with you from brokerage to brokerage. Check out top picks for every budget!3. Design & social media toolsI love Canva for all things design. It’s what I use for my coaching and real estate businesses. The ability to upload my brand colors and fonts for easy access makes creating social media content, Eventbrite banners, and all my marketing pieces so easy. Working in Canva, the design team at Coffee & Contracts has done the heavy lifting for you, creating a suite of social media marketing posts for every single day, for every platform. All you need to do is choose the templates you love and add your contact info, and then post them to your favorite social platform.Check out Coffee & ContractsRelated articles 11 real estate social media marketing strategies that actually work 30 real estate social media post ideas (+ popular agents to follow) Why every agent needs a strategic marketing planThe most successful agents have a marketing plan that’s specific and focused. With so many possible ways to find business, many agents (myself included in my first few years!) fall into a similar pattern — trying too many things at once, not doing any of them at a high level or consistently enough, not seeing results, and then feeling like a failure.Here are four benefits of a specific and focused real estate marketing plan that will set you up for success this year and for years to come:1. More strategic use of your time By focusing on fewer marketing activities (and those that are proven to work), you can use your time more wisely, strategically, and effectively. Rather than wasting time and money trying many different tactics to find clients, a detailed plan allows you to focus on just a few. I usually recommend sticking to no more than two or three.2. The compound interest effectIf you’re familiar with compound interest, you know that it scales exponentially and builds on itself over time. The same is true for agents who put their effort into one to three marketing strategies. Consistency is key, of course. The compound effect happens over time, yet if you don’t have a concrete marketing plan in place, you won’t see the results you hope for.3. The freedom to say “no” to everything elseMost of us default to saying “yes” to too many things. If you’ve ever walked through a vendor hall at a real estate conference, you know what I mean. We say “yes” to any new shiny object we find, and that typically leads to wasting time, money, and energy. Instead, use your real estate marketing plan as a guide. Ask yourself if this tool you’re considering buying or tactic you’re about to try is aligned with your plan. From there, the decision is made for you!4. Focus on your ideal client to create your ideal businessWe all say we want to work with any client who’s willing to hire us. But the reality is most of us prefer working within a specific niche. Your niche could be anything from first-time buyers to downsizers or investors. By identifying your ideal client before you create your plan, you can tailor your activities to your audience. Doing so will help you build your ideal business, working with clients you enjoy, in the niche you love.Fun factNAR reports that in 2023, 19% of homebuyers were single women, and 16% were unmarried couples. A strategic marketing plan will help you target these growing niches in the industry.12 steps to create your real estate marketing planNow that you understand why a concrete marketing plan is critical for your real estate business, let’s explore the 12 steps to creating your own unique plan. Download our free real estate marketing plan guide and template, created and thoughtfully designed in collaboration with Coffee & Contracts. It’s yours to keep and reference whenever you want to check in on your marketing efforts.Download Our Marketing Plan TemplateSetting the stage to create your real estate marketing planPlanning time usually doesn’t occur naturally in a busy real estate agent’s calendar. In my experience, planning doesn’t happen at all unless it’s purposefully scheduled and protected. This means carving out time specifically to plan your real estate marketing plan.How much time you’ll need varies from person to person, but in general, I’d allocate anywhere from a few hours to two days to work on your marketing plan. My preferred two-day approach looks like this:Day 1: You complete all the steps listed here and create a rough draft of your plan. Then sleep on it.Day 2: Revisit your marketing plan and make any adjustments. Sometimes, stepping away from a project for even a little bit helps you see it more clearly.I always recommend changing up your environment. Creativity and clarity flourish when we aren’t in our everyday spaces (home, office, etc), and even one night in a hotel (even in your own city!) can provide the space you need to create your real estate marketing plan.A quiet spot to think, analyze, and plan will make a huge difference. I like to take myself on a short retreat once or twice each year. 1. Identify your target market & nicheMillennials have been the largest demographic group buying homes for almost a decade. That changed in 2023, though. According to NAR, Baby Boomers purchased more homes than any other group that year — making up 39% of all home purchases. Targeting Boomers would be a smart niche if you live in an area heavily populated by this demographic. However, you should be very strategic in choosing a niche. While it’s worth considering the latest demographic trends, you should also consider who lives in your area, the property inventory near you, and who you’d most like to work with. Finally, you should take note of the folks you naturally encounter in your daily life.Perhaps you aspire to work with luxury properties, or you have a love for the new construction highrises that have been popping up in your city. Maybe you dream of helping first-time homebuyers and military families find their first home. I know It sounds counterintuitive, but the more narrow your niche, the better. You’ll see why in the next step.EXeRCISELook at your calendar from the past month. Where have you spent time? Where are you meeting with and talking to other people who might be close to buying or selling a home? Chances are you’re talking to more people every month than you realize!You may have had contact with your social group or with someone where you volunteer your time. You may chat with other parents at your kids’ school, with members of your church, or simply with your neighbors you run into when you’re out walking your dog. Maybe you have a strong college alumni network or a large extended family who would be happy to refer you some business.By assessing the groups of people you’re often in contact with, you’ll have some data to work with, and you can choose a niche that makes sense.2. Define your unique value propositionIn this step, you’ll want to consider what differentiates you from other agents in your area. Identifying your unique value proposition is a common marketing practice that you can apply to your personal brand to fuel the growth of your business.It comes down to identifying the pain points of the niche market you’ve chosen, assessing the unique benefits you can provide to those clients, and then communicating how you’re uniquely positioned to solve their pain points.You might think of this as a messaging exercise. If every agent can help sellers sell their home, what makes you so special? What’s your elevator pitch? How can you help buyers and sellers reach their goals in a unique way? If we met at a real estate conference and I told you I work with buyers and sellers in the Boston area, you likely would not remember me in a few months.But you’d likely remember me if I told you,“I work with retired seniors who don’t want the hassle of maintaining a large property anymore, who want more time and freedom to spend with their grandchildren, and who would appreciate having the entire downsizing process managed for them. I specialize in downsizing in Newton, MA and cover the greater Boston area.”3. Set goals for your businessEvery real estate coach and training company has their own advice about goal-setting. There’s no right or wrong way to set goals, as long as they are specific and measurable and that you’ve written them down. I advise agents to set several goals.How many people do you want to help (units)?How much money do you desire to learn (GCI)?How much do you want to work (days off)?Maybe your goal is to sell 20 properties, make $150,000 this year, and work five days per week. That’s specific and measurable, so as the months pass, you can track whether your real estate marketing plan is keeping you on pace to meet your goals.4. Audit your current marketing activitiesOnce you have the time and space to create your plan, start with an audit of your marketing efforts. Write down every marketing strategy you’ve tried or are currently engaged in. Then, write down how much time, money, and energy each strategy took. You’ll also want to keep in mind how much you enjoy each strategy!Finally, write down the results from each marketing initiative. Here’s an example of an audit one of my clients recently completed for their Chamber of Commerce membership.Example marketing strategy auditMarketing Strategy:Annual Chamber of Commerce membershipDues:$360Time investment:2 hours per monthEnergy investment:tiring, but funResults (units):5 referrals, three closingsResults (GCI):$30,000Completing this audit for all of your marketing strategies can be time-consuming and tedious. Not all of us love the data collection and math involved. Yet, it’s vital for your success going forward if you want to maximize your marketing plan results.5. Track & analyze your resultsTracking data isn’t sexy, I know. Yet, it’s one of the most important parts of a solid real estate marketing plan. It’s the key to understanding at a high level what’s working and what’s not. Knowing which marketing activities are working best will help set your business up for success. Tracking these metrics will save you money, time, and energy down the road!If you were the agent in the audit example above, would you continue your membership with the Chamber of Commerce? Is the return worth it? For me, I’d say absolutely yes! The financial ROI is incredibly high, and the time ROI is also very high. It breaks down to $1,250/hour if you consider this agent’s $30,000 return in gross commission income (GCI) divided by the 24 hours they spent on their annual Chamber of Commerce membership. This marketing effort also resulted in five referrals that may pan out in the future. The energy expended takes a toll, yet the agent is still having fun, even if they find their Chamber membership a bit tiring.Our marketing plan template includes a section where you can track your results. And yes, we made it simple on purpose. The simpler the tracking tool, the more likely you are to keep it updated. Remember, just like the best CRM, the best tracking tool is the one you actually use.Download Our Marketing Plan Template6. Delete, Delegate or Double DownIn this step in your real estate marketing plan, you’ll want to assess which marketing strategies to delete, delegate, or double down on. I call this the three D’s. Your marketing plan audit should give you a clearer picture and help you make decisions about which specific marketing strategies you’ll focus on this year. For each activity, you’ll decide if you want to:&DeleteGet rid of it entirely. If the marketing activity is not working at all or costing more than you’re making, delete it. I would even delete strategies that are merely breaking even, as those are a waste of energy and time.Eliminate these strategies from your new marketing plan and give yourself permission to get rid of them without feeling guilty! I’m telling you now — it’s ok to stop doing anything that’s not working — as long as you’ve given the strategy enough time.Some marketing strategies, like farming a neighborhood with direct mail, simply take more time to yield results than others. I recommend giving each strategy at least six months to one year before deciding to delete it,I know this sounds extreme and maybe a little scary, but remember — you can always revisit a deleted marketing strategy at a later point in your career — ideally when you have more time or money to invest or when you can afford to hire someone else to do it for you.DelegateIf the marketing activity is bringing results but you dread doing it, then delegate. Pay someone else to do it for you. This can be structured as an hourly rate or a referral fee on closed business. Or you can hire another company to help you streamline your efforts.Example 1: Hire an ISA (inside sales agent) to make cold calls and set appointments for you. This is a great task to delegate to another agent in your office who’s awesome on the phone.Example 2: Hire a graphic designer or marketing company to take over handling your social media content. I see a lot of agents struggle with this, and the convenience of having access to pre-designed templates is usually worth the cost.Coffee & Contracts creates gorgeous templates and done-for-you viral content for Instagram posts, Reels and stories for just $54 per month. The best part is they’re all created by top-producing agents and designed to actually generate leads and build your brand.Visit Coffee & ContractsDouble-downFor every marketing initiative that’s generating a positive ROI (and that you enjoy), double down. This is where the best results are found! By deleting and delegating everything else, you’ve created more time, money, and energy to pour into the right strategies for you. This is what alignment looks like, and this is where I see agents really find their greatest success.Not sure what to delete? As I’m coaching agents, I notice many of them yield positive results from cold calling — but they dread every second of it. If reading that sentence just now resonated with you, I can confidently say that’s a glaring signal that cold calling is not aligned with your personality. Be careful not to commit to any marketing strategy that’s too much of an energy-suck! You need to reserve enough energy to serve your clients well.If you’d like some help brainstorming your marketing strategies, check out The Quiet Success Club. We meet twice a month via Zoom and mastermind various marketing ideas to help you find more business.7. Choose the right marketing channelsWhen creating your real estate marketing plan, be intentional and strategic about which marketing activities and channels give you the highest likelihood of meeting and connecting with your ideal clients. If it’s not aligned with your niche, don’t waste your time, energy, and money on it. Here are some things to consider about your niche.Social media channels: The client who is on TikTok all day is likely not the same client who’s on Facebook or LinkedInWhere they spend their time: Golf courses, local parents’ groups, church, etc.Hobbies and interests: Hiking groups, gardening, book clubs, etc.Life stage: Are they young families with school-age children who are part of the local parents’ group? Are they active seniors who spend time at the senior center?Related articles 26 must-have real estate marketing tools for 2024 How to set up your real estate agent Facebook page to get more leads Here are some real estate marketing channels that are aligned with specific audiences:For first-time buyers: Use Instagram Reels or TikTok videos to market your business to new buyers, as younger people are typically first-time buyers who use those social media platforms.For Baby Boomers: Run Facebook ads offering a home valuation to find Baby Boomers looking to sell. This demographic constitutes the majority of homeowners, and many use Facebook daily.For buyers trading up: Join a parents’ group online or in-person to find clients who are outgrowing their starter home and need a larger property to accommodate their growing family.8. Align your marketing strategies with your brand & skillsetI see agents make this mistake all the time. They learn about a marketing strategy that worked well for someone else and decide to give it a try. After a few months, they’re discouraged and frustrated. They ask themselves, “Why did this work for them but not for me?”.It’s all about alignment. When considering marketing strategies (and there are literally hundreds of options out there), choose ones that make sense for your personality and your brand. If you enjoy networking more than cold calling, create your marketing plan around networking events. If you love writing, start a blog. Being aligned will make everything so much easier and generate much better results.Related articles Real estate mailers: The ultimate guide for 2024 Do viral videos get leads? Gen Z’s favorite Realtor weighs in 9. Establish your budget for money, time & energyUsually, the word “budget” is synonymous with money alone. I’d encourage you to set a financial budget, of course. But you should also set budgets for your time and your energy. Each of these is a valuable resource that needs to be tracked and measured to help you get desired results and not squander your most valuable resources along the way!Pro TIPMany agents don’t think about the importance of energy management. In my experience, managing energy is critical to avoiding burnout, staying healthy (physically and mentally), and enjoying your day-to-day life.A quick way to assess the energy you expend working on a marketing strategy is to give yourself a score of one to 10, both before and after each marketing activity. Ask yourself before you walk into that networking event: “How’s my energy right now, from one to 10?” then ask the same question when you leave. This is simply data collection to help you start to see trends. So, when you do your next marketing strategy audit, you’ll be able to make better decisions about which strategies are worth keeping.10. Schedule your marketing initiatives in your calendarSo you have your marketing plan in place, your goals set, and your budget determined. Now, it’s time to get into the action part of the plan by setting daily, weekly and monthly tasks for yourself. Determine the monthly tasks that’ll help you achieve your goals. Next, break these into weekly and daily tasks and block time on your calendar for your various marketing activities. Remember to start small, with manageable daily tasks. It’s like starting a new habit. When you start small, you set yourself up for success — for an easy win. That win will motivate you to do more. Momentum will build, and over time, you’ll get into a steady rhythm with your new habit.Remember to build your vacation time and personal days off into your real estate marketing plan. Don’t forget to take time off!11. Keep yourself accountableYou know what they say about the best-laid plans. Your calendar is key to your accountability. Set calendar events and time blocks to complete your daily, weekly and monthly tasks that you’ve included in your real estate marketing plan. It’s the only way to ensure you’ll do them consistently. I like to color-code my calendar, using green for all money-making activities.You can use a paper calendar, Google Calendar, or any other tool that works for you. To stay on track, consider setting recurring reminders in your phone or using your CRM to alert you to your recurring real estate marketing tasks. Most CRMs have task functionality with alerts to help you stay on track. Check out our list of indispensable tools, above. 12. Adapt your real estate marketing planYou’re going to want to return to steps 5 & 6 to audit your marketing activities and delete, double down or delegate. I recommend reviewing your results tracker quarterly, but at minimum, once per year. The real estate market constantly evolves, and so should your marketing plan and marketing messaging!Again, the goal is to save time, money, and energy and maximize results. Don’t be afraid to pivot and adjust as you go along. In deciding when to pivot and adjust your marketing plan, ask yourself the following questions:How much time, money, and energy have I invested so far?What has the return on investment been?Have I given it enough time to see results? Keep in mind some things take longer than others. Building a database and working by referral, geographic farming tends to take longer. Cold calling and door knocking tend to generate results faster.Am I enjoying this enough to continue, or is it making me miserable?Related articles 39 cutting-edge real estate marketing ideas for 2024 8 best real estate marketing companies to boost your business in 2024 The full picture: Creating a real estate marketing plan that works for youCreating an effective real estate marketing plan can be challenging, but if you focus on strategies that are aligned with your personal brand, skill set, and niche, you can create a plan that will carry you through your entire career.To keep you going through the mundane and frustrating days, your end goal should be your ultimate dream life — how you wish to spend your days, the freedom you want, and the work you’d most enjoy.Marketing to find new clients to make that dream come true can be mundane, and there will be frustrating days. If your marketing plan includes cold calling, there will inevitably be times when you simply don’t want to deal with another irate expired seller who’s already been called 20 times that morning.When your “why” is powerful enough, though, you stick with it. A “why” is that strong gut feeling, that ultimate motivation to get to your dream life.Vision boards are powerful tools to help you articulate your end goal and keep it top-of-mind. The easiest way to create a vision board is to collect words and images from magazines or printed from online that capture your goal — your why. Then, paste the images and words on a poster board and keep them in front of you, maybe on a wall in your office or bedroom. It’s a little old school, yes, but it works!About Ashley HarwoodAshley Harwood began her real estate career in 2013 and built a six-figure business as a solo agent before launching Move Over Extroverts in 2018. She developed training materials, classes, and coaching programs for her fellow introverts. Beginning in 2020, Ashley served as Director of Agent Growth for three Keller Williams offices in the Boston metro area. She’s now the Lead Listing agent for the Fleet Homes team in Massachusetts and a regular contributor to Vetted by HousingWire. She created The Quiet Success curriculum and has taught thousands of real estate agents nationwide. She has also been a guest speaker at top industry events and has been named a leading real estate coach by prominent industry publications. 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Interior property data company CubiCasa announced the launch of an interactive touring product for listing agents. The new CubiCasa Tour product will create interactive, virtual property tours within minutes.The new product uses similar software to CubiCasa’s Floor Plans, another virtual listing tool that builds floor plans in five minutes or less. CubiCasa Tour generates an interactive listing page in minutes using data and photos. Beta testers praised the product for its simplicity and low cost. CubiCasa President Jeff Allen stresses how difficult it can be for most agents to create an engaging home tour. He mentions how expensive cameras, production equipment and other virtual listing services are. Allen said that CubiCasa’s new tool is uniquely positioned to level the playing field. “Real estate professionals are constantly looking for ways to make their listings stand out, and with CubiCasa Tour, they can now create beautiful, immersive tours effortlessly,” he said in a statement.“You no longer need expensive 360-degree cameras, tripods or cumbersome subscriptions to create a virtual tour,“ he added. “Now, all of this can be created from a simple smartphone scan and listing photos. We’re excited about how this will enhance property listings across the world, as well as what professionals can bring to the table for potential home buyers.”CubiCasa outlines a simple process for creating a virtual tour experience. It starts with a five-minute property scan using a smartphone or smart device photo. Next, users upload that scan, along with any additional photos, to give the artificial intelligence materials to work with. From there, the AI takes over and builds a separate webpage for the interactive tour experience. Agents also have the freedom to integrate parts of their new property tour with existing listings. The announcement is one of several moves by CubiCasa to innovate. Recently, the company partnered with SentriLock — a property management solutions provider for the National Association of Realtors — to offer its Floor Plan and Virtual Tour products to 500,000 agents. As the new year approaches, CubiCasa’s efforts to expand access to interactive property tours may continue to grow.CubiCasa’s mobile application lets agents produce 3D floor plans by scanning the property. The company was acquired by Clear Capital in 2021 and houses 30-plus MLS organizations in its network. 

A recent episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast” features a high-profile guest masterclass. Host Dustin Owen sits down with Lower CEO Dan Snyder to explore his journey from studying law to founding a mortgage fintech platform, along with key entrepreneurial tips for aspiring originators.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To start the conversation, Owen and Snyder dive into the CEO’s past before founding Lower.com, including his transition from a managerial role running the mortgage division of a small bank in Maryland.Snyder: We were one of the first retail P&L branches. We weren’t Fannie Mae direct; we weren’t anything. If you’re a small bank, it’s very hard to survive — no different than a small mortgage company over the last couple of years. So, they had to move into a place to position the company to sell. And, you know, mortgage is a great, great income generator for banks. Owen: You basically grew it from virtually nonexistent to doing billions in volume, and you probably made several mistakes along the way and learned a ton along the way. By 2013, the bank ended up selling.Snyder: Mike (Baynes) and I ended up starting Homeside Financial in 2014. We took a very, very small portion of the team. It was Bob Tyson, Chris Miller and Grayson Hanes. I had a little bit of a consumer direct background, plus I like modern tech, etc. Grayson and Chris had deep retail experience. Bob Tyson had a lot of operations experience, and Mike can do sales, finance and so on. We wouldn’t be there without a real balanced partnership. Owen: In 2018, you had this vision and you wanted to put juice behind it. What was that vision in 2018? Does it look similar to the vision in 2024?Snyder: I don’t think it’s changed since 2014. We’ve always thought about building. If we could build a company that we as originators like, then we could build something pretty great and durable over the long term. Focus on what you can do. That’s just the mantra. How far can we go? It’s good long-term thinking. I think it helps inform investments. It helps inform career paths.Owen: Was it in 2018 that you started figuring out how to raise money?Snyder: I tried to do the best to navigate it, but it was going to be really hard to raise money with a company or a brand that’s four years old in 2018. The investments were going to the new-age companies. So, we created a completely separate brand focused on direct-to-consumer and online.Owen: How do you see the future of mortgage lending? Snyder: I think that you learn a lot of lessons in downturns, and so we are committed to building a durable company in the future, committed to investing in our team, bringing that modern approach. How do we really provide elite-level service, help customers refinance in a few clicks, service our customers really well and be the source of authentic content at Lower.com?

California-based personal finance company NerdWallet has struck a deal to acquire brokerage firm Next Door Lending. Jonathon Haddad, chairman and CEO of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), is one of the owners of Next Door.As part of the deal that closed Oct. 1, NerdWallet is paying $1 million in cash for the outstanding equity interests of Next Door. It is also offering $3.5 million in performance-based earnout awards to certain Next Door employees. The earnout will be reported as compensation expenses through 2028 and subject to continued employment with the company. The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) shows that Michigan-based brokerage firm Next Door had 61 sponsored loan officers as of Thursday, along with four branches in Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Texas.According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), NerdWallet said the deal allows the company to “provide mortgage shoppers with more hands-on guidance. ” Tim Chen, chairman, CEO and founder of NerdWallet, told analysts during an earnings call on Tuesday that the acquisition is expected to contribute ”approximately 1 to 2 percentage points of growth to our Q4 ’24 revenue outlook.” NerdWallet expects to deliver fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $164 million to $172 million .“I have really enjoyed getting to know Next Door Lending’s principals, Doug [Liska] and Jonathon, through this process,” Chen said. “They are kindred spirits who bootstrap their business and share our focus on operational efficiency as well as a consumer-first orientation with the customer reviews to match.“While the upfront deal consideration is small, the strategic alignment presents a significant opportunity for us to drive better outcomes for consumers, lenders and NerdWallet.”  Chen believes the acquisition “will enable us to build deep and reoccurring relationships with consumers and take more market share while improving mortgage unit economics.” According to Inside Mortgage Finance estimates, the broker channel accounted for a mortgage market share of slightly more than 18% from January 2024 to June 2024, lower than that of the correspondent (28.5%) and retail (53.3%) channels. The analysis includes first-lien mortgage originations. Brokers originated $79 billion in mortgages in Q2 2024, up from $62 billion in the previous quarter. AIME named Haddad as chairman and CEO in January to replace Katie Sweeney. He is a relative newcomer, joining the broker channel in 2020. Before that, he spent six years at Quicken Loans.

By at least one measurement, affordability is improving for prospective homebuyers, even as home prices continue to rise and mortgage credit availability remains relatively low.According to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the median payment for purchase loan applicants declined by 0.8% from August to September. The median payment for these prospective borrowers dropped to $2,041 last month. Monthly payments were down 5.3%, or $114, compared to September 2023.“Homebuyer affordability conditions improved for the fifth consecutive month, as mortgage rates near the low 6% range improved purchasing power for prospective buyers,” Edward Seiler, MBA’s associate vice president for housing economics and executive director of the Research Institute for Housing America, said in a statement.“Overall affordability is now at its highest level since August 2022, but the recent jump in rates will likely cause conditions to plateau. MBA is forecasting for rates to be around 6.3% by the end of the year.” Source: Mortgage Bankers AssociationThe trade group’s national Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) measures how new monthly mortgage payments vary over time relative to income and uses data from MBA’s weekly applications survey.The average mortgage payment declined in spite of an increase in the median loan size for purchase applicants, which went from $320,100 in August to $328,000 in September. This was tied in part to a mortgage rate decline of 31 basis points (bps) during the month, the MBA noted. Average rates at the end of September were 100 bps lower compared to April.Also contributing to the lower PAPI figure were higher median household earnings, which rose 4.2% compared to September 2023. MBA reported that mortgage payments for lower-income borrowers (those at the 25th percentile of applicants) dropped to $1,369 in September, down $19 from August. This was also reflected in median payments for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, which stood at $1,753 in September. By comparison, the median payments an FHA loan applicant was $1,817 a month earlier and $1,920 one year ago.Mortgage payments for new homes also declined during the month, down $29 to $2,362, according to MBA data derived from a survey of homebuilders.Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Rhode Island had the highest PAPI readings in September, making them the least affordable states for mortgage applicants. Conversely, the least expensive states were Louisiana, Connecticut, New York, West Virginia and Alaska.

It’s been one year since the Sitzer/Burnett verdict was rendered in Missouri. What has changed for real estate brokerages since then? (Image generated by AI in Midjourney)Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles that will explore the effects of the landmark Sitzer/Burnett case, which was decided on Oct. 31, 2023, and has since reshaped the business practices for real estate brokerages and agents across the country.Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the jury verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit, which found the National Association of Realtors (NAR) HomeServices of America and Keller Williams liable for artificially inflating agent commissions. While the day is still fresh — and further disaster could still strike — HomeServices executive vice president Chris Kelly is hopeful that this Halloween will be better than last.“I’m hoping that this Halloween, when I’m taking my kids around trick-or-treating, it won’t be nearly as stressful,” Kelly said. “I’m looking forward to a little bit less eventful Halloween.”After a year that saw real estate brokerages and agents grapple with numerous changes and concerns as to how they would get paid in the future, Kelly said HomeServices is working with its employees to refocus their attention on consumers.“For us, probably the biggest change has just been a refocus on the engagement that our agents have with the consumer at the inception of a real estate transaction,” Kelly said.The business practice changes outlined in NAR’s settlement have been a massive positive for agents, according to Kelly, as it has become more important for them to talk with buyer clients at the start of the transaction process. They must more clearly define the parameters of the relationship and set expectations for how the process will work.While many, like Kelly, consider the new practices a positive for agents and consumers, implementing them was no small task. Although many large brokerages had the education and training platforms already in place, the intensity and level of training required to get everyone up to speed in time for the business practice changes was something few had dealt with before. But Kelly said that HomeServices faced a different challenge when it came to retraining agents.“I think the largest challenge we faced was that despite this being a national settlement and a national rollout of new business practices, how those business practices were implemented in each individual state — which is something we dealt with being a nationwide brokerage —really vary,” Kelly said.Individualized supportThis challenge is not unique to HomeServices of America. At Compass, coaching leaders Courtney Smith and Ashley Donat said they have looked to navigate this challenge by relying on the expertise of top brokers and agents in each state.“We’ve always married very strong national training with equally strong regional training,“ Smith said. “And in a scenario like this, where the regional differences are so vast, we have really relied upon our incredible brokers of record and amazing sales leadership team to deliver on those regional nuances.”In addition to making sure agents and brokers are ready to handle the various challenges they may face based on the state they operate in, Smith and Donat said Compass is also working to help those who utilize different business models.“Not every agent runs their business in the exact same fashion, so making sure that the information being delivered is able to be distilled in accordance with the type of business a particular agent has is so important,” Smith said. “We are trying to take into account everything from their business style to their office, state and regional nuances, and then all the way up to the national level.”For James Dwiggins, the CEO of NextHome, agent education and coaching have been a central theme of this past year. While he is confident in the preparedness of his agents, he said the company has found some peers who have been woefully unprepared for the changes the industry has undergone this year.“It has been hard because a lot of our peers were not properly educated. They didn’t have proper guidance and most of the companies were reactive,” Dwiggins said. “I am not blaming them; they just didn’t take as proactive of a stance on this as we did. This really showed me that there is a significant lack of leadership in this business from the top down and the guidance has been horrific at best.”In addition to challenges posed by untrained agents, Dwiggins said the industry has also had to adapt to agents and brokerages that do things a little differently from each other.At NextHome, agents are no longer engaging in cooperative compensation. Listing agents are only advertising their seller’s offer of buyer broker compensation if the seller instructs them to do so. Otherwise, NextHome agents are telling buyer’s agents to ask for compensation in their offer and the seller can consider it.“The hardest part has been educating everyone that we are still willing to play in the sandbox, just under slightly different terms than we did before, and that our sellers are motivated to sell their homes and are willing to look at all of a buyer’s requests, but then they’ll figure out what is best for them and then we can all try to negotiate terms that make sense for everybody,” Dwiggins said.Unlike other firms, NextHome did not find itself as a defendant in a commission lawsuit until April 2024, when the firm was added to the Gibson suit via an amended complaint. Less than five months later, the firm announced a settlement.“We knew we were going to get sued, so it wasn’t a surprise,” Dwiggins said. “We knew the best course was settlement because the real estate commission system was rigged — we’ve known that for a long time. Settlement is always cheaper than going to trial, so that is what we prepared for. “Now we are taking a deep dive into our company and making sure that we are not only following the terms of the settlement but thinking about how to change our practices to keep ourselves out of further litigation two or three years down the road.”’Cream rises to the top’Although many firms like NextHome that were named in copycat lawsuits over the past year chose to settle, white-label brokerage firm Side has taken a different path by continuing to pursue litigation.“We had to look at it from our company perspective, which I think is what each company does, and then we all make an educated decision on what is best — whether it’s financially beneficial or some other reason as to why one way makes sense,” said Hilary Saunders, the co-founder and chief broker officer at Side.“For us, at this point we just don’t see a reason to settle. I come from a litigation background and I think you have to look at every lawsuit as its own, and determine if it has any merits and address those if they exist. And sometimes you have one that is just baloney and a money grab.”Saunders knows the past year has been challenging for real estate professionals, but one thing she is happy to see is that top agents are continuing to thrive despite the changes.“There is a big cream-rises-to-the-top situation going on, where the top-performing, excellent Realtors in the their given markets are rising,” Saunders said. “They are being able to command higher compensation because they have bigger opportunity to define their worth. And the others, who aren’t really good at what they do, are racing each other to the bottom using a discount agent fee for representing buyers.”At HomeServices of America, Kelly sees another reason to smile.“There is a high degree of stickiness in the agent-consumer relationship because the consumer sees value in working with an educated professional when they are transacting,” he said. “For most of them, this is the largest financial and emotional transaction they go through any time in their lives. And what we have seen in this past year — and really since Aug. 17 — is that bond still remains strong,” Kelly said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Thursday said it will aim to simplify the process of funding affordable housing projects through the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks). The advisory bulletin came in response to comments by sponsors that have called the process too cumbersome.“Each of the 11 FHLBanks operates an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) providing grants or subsidized advances to fund rental housing and homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households,” the agency said. “Nonprofits and other sponsors submit an application to the FHLBank, which includes a request for financial assistance to fill a project’s funding gap. FHFA, which oversees the FHLBanks, has heard feedback that the process is too burdensome.”In response to this feedback, the agency issued Advisory Bulletin 2024-05. It cites the ongoing need for affordable housing and aims to address it by easing certain regulatory burdens tied to the AHP program.“FHFA is simplifying the process of applying for AHP funding to expand the number of project sponsors and improve the FHLBanks’ ability to address affordable housing needs in their districts,” FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said in a statement. “Today’s Advisory Bulletin demonstrates FHFA’s focus on ensuring that the FHLBank System remains a cornerstone of support for affordable housing.”Among the input considered, the bulletin highlights feedback that illustrates a need to address certain regulatory hurdles.The FHFA aims to “reduce unnecessary obstacles to effective implementation of the AHP, such as uncertainty about the AHP subsidy amount or amount of debt financing at later project stages,” the document reads. The agency added in its announcement that the feedback largely emerged during roundtable discussions and listening sessions stemming from an initiative to recognize the 100th anniversary of the FHLBank system.FHFA also requested input on the AHP application process. Respondents suggesting “easing regulatory burdens and constraints associated with the AHP, and consistently identified the Need for Subsidy determination as a significant challenge,” the agency said.“They pointed specifically to uncertainty for project sponsors about the amount of their AHP awards and sponsors’ compliance burden compared to other sources of funds for affordable housing development.”The document also emphasizes that funding requests will need to be continually scrutinized by using “rigorous feasibility guidelines based on sound reasoning, to ensure that AHP funds support the projects most in need.”

The real estate industry is racing to find ways that artificial intelligence (AI) can improve business practices. ClearValue Consulting thinks it’s found a way.The firm has partnered with Restb.ai to bring computer vision to its valuation review platform called Certainty. The companies hope Restb.ai’s technology can help ClearValue’s appraisal review clients improve efficiency and quality control while also reducing costs.“Our goal has always been to provide clients with the most advanced, efficient and reliable tools available,” ClearValue CEO Don Juhl said in a statement. “By integrating Restb.ai’s technology into Certainty, we are taking a leap forward in appraisal modernization. This partnership will reduce resource costs, improve the accuracy of reviews, and generate greater efficiencies in the appraisal process.”Certainty is used by mortgage lenders and valuation providers, and ClearValue’s partnership with Restb.ai is designed to allow an AI-powered system to analyze photos of a property for identification and verification purposes.Restb.ai’s technology will be compatible with broker price opinions, appraisals, inspections and forms.“By leveraging our advanced market-proven computer vision technology, ClearValue provides clients with a powerful tool that reduces the time and resources spent on reviews, allowing professionals to focus on higher-risk valuations,” Tony Pistilli, Restb.ai general manager of valuations, said in a statement.Restb.ai has been busy on the partnership front. Earlier this month, the company partnered with Lundy to provide voice-driven property searches. The goal is to make finding a home on a multiple listing service more accessible to the visually impaired.In August 2023, Restb.ai announced a partnership with Bradford Technologies, another company in the appraisal space.“People are constantly asking how they can reduce costs and minimize revisions while maintaining high standards,” Juhl said. “With the integration of Restb.ai, Certainty offers an unmatched comprehensive review platform needed to meet these challenges head-on.”

Compass’s plan for future success? Become a hub for real estate listings. Brokerage founder and CEO Robert Reffkin laid his firm’s plans for the future bare during its third-quarter 2024 earnings call with investors and analysts on Wednesday.“Listing inventory remains the lifeblood of the residential real estate marketplace,” Reffkin said. “At Compass, we already have a depth of inventory in many of our local markets that is unmatched.”  One of the firm’s main goals is to realize an average of 30% market share in its top 30 markets. Achieving this goal, Reffkin said, would boost the company’s competitive advantage by growing the number of listings its agents have and the number of contacts in their customer relationship management (CRM) platforms.“By growing our listing inventory, we believe more and more buyers will search Compass.com and use Compass agents, as it will be known that Compass has more inventory than any other website or brokerage,” Reffkin said. “This inventory advantage includes not only our active inventory, but also potential inventory from our Make Me Sell program, which allows clients of Compass agents to provide an aspirational sales price for their home in our CRM.”Reffkin believes the Make Me Sell program, which will fully launch in all markets in 2025, will help consumers by creating the potential for more inventory. It should also help Compass by making it a hub for inventory and listings, attracting agents and consumers who will come to the firm searching for properties they can’t find elsewhere. “Ultimately, our North Star is to use our depth of inventory to create better outcomes for sellers, buyers and our agents, which, as a function, translates to better outcomes for Compass and our shareholders,” Reffkin said.While Reffkin’s vision for Compass may seem simple, there is one slight roadblock: the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP). Under this policy, listing agents have one business day to list a property on the MLS once they begin to publicly market the property. Not surprisingly, Reffkin has become a vocal critic of CCP and is calling for NAR to repeal the rule.According to Reffkin, CCP “infringes” on a seller’s choice of how they want to market their home.“We don’t think this is right. Homeowners should not be forced to do anything they don’t want to do,” Reffkin said. “The future we are creating is one where buyers will know to search Compass.com, as we become known as the place homeowners list their homes early, through Compass Private Exclusives and Compass Coming Soon, which will protect them from the risk of MLS exposure. “For most homeowners, their home is their most valuable asset. It deserves the most valuable marketing. It deserves to be protected from the risk of MLS exposure.”In Reffkin’s view, no homeowner wants the number of days their property has been listed, its history of price cuts, crime reports or climate risk-related data to be shown with their listing.“The powerful real estate websites use these insights to empower their model of selling buyers to third-party agents,” Reffkin said. “In the same way tabloids use negative headlines to attract readers, real estate websites use negative insights to attract buyers.”Reffkin noted in his remarks that professional homebuilders and developers are excluded from the CCP. He claims that repealing CCP would “level the playing field” for existing homeowners looking to compete with builders.Industry professionals in support of CCP argue that repealing the policy would harm buyers, making the home search process that much more challenging and laborious for consumers and their agents. Reffkin addressed this criticism during the Q&A portion of the call with analysts, noting that many critics highlight the challenges of shopping for a home in other countries that lack an MLS.“In a lot of these other countries, it is not as hard as it used to be 10 or 15 years ago,” Reffkin said. “But look, I’d love to be able to search everything in one place. I’d love to go on Netflix and see any show I want, but that is not how the world in a free and fair market works. There is something called competition, and different companies come in and create different offerings.”At the moment, time will tell if Reffkin’s big play to boost Compass’s internal listing platform will pay off. A NAR advisory committee has recently refused to make a decision on CCP, referring the issue to its leadership team.In the meantime, with CCP still in place, Compass managed to record another strong quarter of growth. In Q3 2024, the firm’s revenue grew 11.7% year over year to $1.5 billion. Its transaction count jumped 16.1% to 55,872 for a total sales volume of $57.7 million, an increase of 13.4% compared to a year ago. Additionally, Compass grew its principal agent count 20% from a year ago to 17,542, while its national market share grew to 4.8%, up from 4.31% in Q3 2023. It also posted free cash flow of $32.8 million. Compass executives are standing by their guidance that the firm will be free cash-flow positive for full year 2024, a first for the brokerage. But despite its growth, Compass still recorded a net loss of $1.7 million for the quarter, an improvement over the $39.4 million loss recorded in Q3 2023.