New housing data suggests market slowdown is ending | Real estate firms should prioritize SEO for marketing | A few words that can make or break a sale
Real estate firms should prioritize SEO for marketing Mashvisor CEO Peter Abualzolof says fresh content, paying attention to search engine optimization and short-form videos all help real estate firms market themselves. He notes that "all digital content that we post on our real estate website, other industry websites, social media or YouTube has to be created and published in such a way that makes it easy for search engines like Google to find it, identify its purpose, mark it as valuable and display it to online users," Abualzolof writes. Full Story: Forbes (tiered subscription model) (1/26)
A few words that can make or break a sale Sales leaders can help their team close more deals by coaching them to end conversations more effectively, sales consultant Colleen Francis says. Weak conversation enders, such as "I'll circle back," or "Let me know when you're ready," don't spur sales, but asking, "Where shall we go from here?" or "What would the next steps be?" are the kinds of questions that lead to action, Francis says. Full Story: Engage Selling (1/26)
The most walkable urban areas in the country are New York, Washington, D.C., Boston and Portland, Ore., according to nonprofit Smart Growth America and real estate information company Places Platform. Walkability commands a 34% price premium in the overall urban real estate market, pricing out some potential residents, the report found. Full Story: Smart Cities Dive (1/25)
Boomers hold onto homes, limiting supply Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, says baby boomers are aging in place and keeping a large inventory of homes off the market, though these homes will eventually be put up for sale, increasing supply. Full Story: MarketWatch (tiered subscription model) (1/26)
Income fails to keep up with rent increases The typical American renter is considered economically burdened, with 30% of median income going toward average rent, according to Moody's Analytics. "The rent-to-income ratio continued to climb up because income growth was not able to catch up with the rent growth," says Lu Chen, a senior economist at Moody's. Full Story: The New York Times (1/25)
Legislation & Regulation
Fed paper contends high rates drive wealth inequality Rising interest rates might be increasing wealth inequality, largely because of their effect on mortgage rates, according to a working paper by the Federal Reserve. The paper counters a belief that a lower-rate environment benefits low-income households less. Full Story: Bloomberg (1/26)
GDP up annualized 2.9% in Q4, beats expectations The economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the Commerce Department, beating the expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. GDP rose 2.1% in 2022 as a whole, down from 5.9% in 2021. Full Story: Yahoo (1/26)
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