9 Data-Driven Strategies to Elevate Your Value Proposition
How can you make your expertise indispensable in any market? RPR delivers the data and tools for insight-driven strategies that prove your value to clients. Here are nine strategies for using RPR to boost your expertise, streamline processes and deliver maximum value to your clients. 1. Empower Your Clients with Market Expertise Go beyond simply navigating the market. With RPR, transform data into actionable insights, giving your clients the clarity they crave. Pricing strategies, market trends — RPR helps you explain the "why" behind the numbers. 2. Shareable Market Trends and ScriptWriter Pair RPR's up-to-date market metrics, such as median sale price and days on market, with customizable scripts. Tailor your approach for each situation, guiding buyers and sellers through even the most complex market dynamics. 3. Deliver Insightful, Data-Backed Reports RPR's comprehensive reports cover everything from comparable sales to detailed neighborhood insights. Explore housing stats, local economic trends, school information and more. Strengthen your recommendations with the data your clients expect, making you their trusted advisor. 4. Become a Skilled Negotiator RPR gives you the data foundation for powerful negotiations. Analyze comparable sales, market trends and property-specific details to inform strategic offers, counteroffers and contingency requests. While data is invaluable, your expertise and ability to connect with the other party are essential to securing the best possible outcome for your clients. 5. Secure the Best Price for Your Clients RPR's hyper-local data, paired with your market knowledge, ensures precise CMAs. Price properties with confidence, knowing you're maximizing outcomes for your clients. 6. Anticipate Buyer Behavior for Success RPR's Market Trends help you predict buyer behavior. Stay a step ahead—adjust strategies for bidding wars or slow markets to ensure your client's success. 7. Maximize Exposure with Data-Driven Marketing Harness RPR to elevate your marketing game. Craft targeted campaigns powered by data. From social media to neighborhood prospecting campaigns, highlight the property's unique features and neighborhood amenities to attract a wide pool of qualified buyers. 8. Ensure a Smooth, Stress-Free Transaction RPR empowers you to simplify the transaction process with its comprehensive data and reporting tools. Minimize hiccups by readily accessing accurate property information, generating professional reports and ensuring timely communication with all stakeholders. This reduces confusion and delays, keeping your clients informed and confident throughout the journey. 9. Connect Clients with Trusted Resources Your network is to your client's advantage. Curate a personalized resource list of your recommended lenders, contractors and other service providers. Embed this valuable list directly into your RPR reports as a custom page, offering a seamless and convenient experience for your clients. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Related reading Putting Clients First: How to Deliver Positive Real Estate Outcomes with RPR Where to Get Professional-Looking Marketing Materials for Absolutely Nothing Make DIY Marketing Campaigns a Reality with RPR

Where to Get Professional-Looking Marketing Materials for Absolutely Nothing
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) has a bunch of free resources dedicated to helping you market yourself and prove your worth to clients and prospects. RPR's Canva page features templates that are professionally-designed, easy to customize and free to use. Our in-house marketing whizzes have designed a series of templates that can help you communicate your skills, experience and market insights with ease. With RPR and Canva, you can create: Social media shareables that contain hyper-local market metrics that position you as a local market expert. Postcards that contain the same Market Trends data as part of your direct mail efforts. Presentation slides for PowerPoint decks and Zoom meetings. Custom pages allow RPR users to almost-instantly create pages that can be added to any RPR Report. Options include open house sign-up sheets, agent bio and business philosophy pages, client testimonials, and a series of buyer and seller checklists. The RPR-Canva Q&A We don't want to toot our own horn… but we did just set a 2024 record for how many REALTORS® registered for and attended our special RPR-Canva webinar. Over 5,000 agents learned firsthand how to access the Canva templates in RPR and how to easily insert local Market Trends stats in the pre-designed layouts. Of course, we received a bunch of questions! Here they are to help you get started creating gorgeous marketing materials using RPR and Canva together… Q. Where do I find RPR's Canva templates? RPR features its Canva templates on the RPR blog. Visit blog.narrpr.com/canva. Users can also access the Canva templates from the RPR website itself. Simply click "Learn" in the main navigation bar, and then scroll down to a button labeled, "Canva Templates." Q. Where do I find the metrics to populate these Canva templates? Search RPR for Residential Market Trends by following these steps: rpr.me/market-trends Q. Is Canva really free to use? Yes! Canva has a free version. All the templates provided by RPR can be used with the free version. Of course, you can update to Canva Pro, which offers additional features, templates and assets for a monthly or annual fee. Q. Does Canva offer training? They sure do. The Canva Learning Center offers a tutorial for beginners to get them started. Q. How do I get started with a Canva account? You can sign up easily at canva.com using your email, Google or Facebook account. Q. Canva seems overwhelming. How do I find my way around? Check out this video, it will explain everything and walk you through the process when editing Canva templates. Q. I like the templates, but can I change them? Absolutely! Templates are merely a starting point; colors, fonts, images and text can all be customized. Design Functionality Q. Can I use my own photos in Canva? Yes! Upload your images in the "Uploads" section and then drag them into your design. Q. Where can I find more images if I don't have my own? Canva's "Photos" tab includes a library of free and paid stock images. In addition, here are two free image sites that you can use to search stock photography: StockSnap.io - Offers a wide selection of high-quality real estate photos including both interiors and exteriors. Life of Pix - Features a "buildings" category with plenty of residential and commercial options. Q. How do I change the text styles and colors? Select your text, then use the toolbar that appears to change fonts, sizes, colors and effects. Q. What are "elements," and how do I use them? Elements are graphics such as icons, shapes, photos or illustrations. Search Canva's "Elements" tab to add them to your designs. Q. I finished my design in Canva. How do I save it as an image file? Follow these steps: Locate the "Share" button in the top right corner of your Canva workspace. Click on "Download." File Type: Select your desired image format (Popular choices are JPG, PNG or PDF). Click the final "Download" button to save your image file. Canva Pro Features Q. What's the main advantage of going Pro? Pro unlocks more templates, graphics, a Brand Kit for streamlined branding, one-click resizing and advanced collaboration features. Q. How does the Brand Kit work? Upload company logos, colors and fonts to the Brand Kit. Then, easily apply them across all your designs. Q. Can I schedule social posts directly within Canva? Yes, the Content Planner (Pro feature) lets you schedule posts for various platforms. Tips and Trick Q. Any tips for working faster in Canva? Learn keyboard shortcuts! Canva has a helpful cheat sheet for them. Q. What are the most-used keyboard shortcuts? Here are some popular basic shortcuts: Undo: Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Command + Z (Mac) Redo: Ctrl + Y (Windows) or Command + Y (Mac) Copy: Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac) Paste: Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac) Select All: Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) Zoom In: Ctrl/Command + "+" Zoom Out: Ctrl/Command + "-" To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Beyond the Headlines: Building Trust with RPR's Market Trends Insights
As a real estate pro, distinguishing yourself isn't just about the listings you secure — it's also about the insights you offer. Today's market demands a REALTOR® who can navigate through sensational headlines to present the real, unvarnished truth of localized market conditions. This article will focus on how as a REALTOR® you can leverage RPR's (Realtors Property Resource) Shareable Market Trends and Market Trends ScriptWriter for the data that backs your credentials as a local market expert. Let's explore how you can use these tools to gain a competitive edge and foster trust and credibility with your clients by delivering concrete facts. Identifying Your Geographic Farm: A Precise Approach To help ensure a successful outcome, it's important to begin with precision. Use RPR to determine the specific geographic boundaries of your farm area strategically. Consider factors like turnover rates, median sales price, school districts and other notable trends. This initial step is important for tailoring your strategies to the unique characteristics of your chosen farm area. Analyze the Market: With RPR's Shareable Market Trends, dive deep into key metrics such as median sale prices, list-to-sales price percentage, inventory levels, and days on the market. This analysis isn't just about observing; it's about identifying patterns, opportunities, and challenges. Look for trends others might overlook — this insight will be invaluable to your clients. Customizing Market Insights with RPR: A Step-by-Step Guide Next, use RPR to zero in on market data specific to your geographic farm or ZIP code. Pay close attention to sales trends, price fluctuations and other economic indicators. This data will help form the backbone of your market analysis, enabling you to provide informed, accurate advice to your clients. Imagine you notice the sales trends over the past six months that show a steady increase in the number of homes sold. At the same time, you observe slight price fluctuations with an overall upward trend in median sale prices, indicating a growing demand. Economic indicators, such as a recent decrease in local unemployment rates and the announcement of a new public park, suggest a strengthening economic environment. By analyzing these factors together, you can advise potential sellers that it might be an opportune time to list their property, given the rising demand and improving economic conditions. Similarly, buyers could be informed about the potential for property value appreciation in this neighborhood, making it an attractive purchase opportunity. Print It Out: Leverage RPR's tools to generate customized market trend reports. These should highlight the unique aspects of your area, tailored to the interests and concerns of homeowners and potential buyers. Your ability to provide these personalized insights will set you apart as a knowledgeable and resourceful REALTOR®. Engaging Your Community with Data: Beyond the Basics The Market Trends ScriptWriter is your ally in deciphering the local market for your audience. Create informative videos, blog posts, newsletters and social media content that informs and engages. Focus on how current trends specifically impact buyers and sellers in your area, using language that is accessible and relatable. Visual Storytelling: Incorporate Shareable Market Trends visuals into your presentations and online content. These visuals can simplify complex market dynamics, making your message more engaging and understandable. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it helps clarify the state of the market. Building Trust Through Transparency: The Ethical Use of Data Use RPR data to address and correct common misconceptions about the real estate market in your geographic farm. Your goal is to be the source of truth against sensationalized media narratives, providing balanced and factual insights that help build a foundation of trust with your clients. Consistent Communication: Maintain regular, transparent communication with your farm area. Update your clients on market trends and insights, always focusing on how these trends could impact their property values and real estate decisions. Your consistency and reliability as a source of information will further establish your reputation as a trusted advisor. Becoming the Undeniable Local Expert: Engaging and Personalizing Take your expertise offline by organizing local events or go online with webinars. These gatherings are a great way to present your findings, engage with the community, and answer questions in real-time. Personal interaction can significantly enhance your reputation and client trust. Additionally, embrace the power of visual communication by utilizing the Canva templates we've created specifically for you. These templates help you easily create eye-catching postcards or social media posts highlighting local market trends. By sending these personalized, data-driven visuals to your farm area or sharing them online, you're not just sharing information, but sparking conversations and reinforcing your role as the local market authority. This approach allows you to blend digital engagement with traditional outreach, ensuring your market insights reach your community in the most effective way. Leverage Testimonials: Don't hesitate to share success stories from clients who have benefited from your expertise and the accurate market insights provided. These testimonials serve as powerful endorsements of your skills and knowledge, reinforcing your status as the go-to-market expert. A Call to Action for REALTORS® The role of a trusted, knowledgeable advisor in today's real estate market cannot be overstated. By leveraging RPR's Shareable Market Trends and Market Trends ScriptWriter for your geographic farm area, you can transform your approach to real estate: guiding, informing and reassuring your clients with unparalleled insights. This isn't just about being a REALTOR® — it's about being a trusted partner in your client's real estate journeys. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Anticipating Market Trends: A Data-Driven Approach for REALTORS with RPR
The real estate market is known for being dynamic, with prices and inventory levels constantly changing. For REALTORS®, the key to success is making well-informed projections based on solid data. RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) serves as an invaluable tool, offering a depth of historical and current market data that can provide clues to what lies ahead. In this article, we'll explore how leveraging RPR Market Trends and other vital data points can inform the decision-making process and help you craft strategies that align with the expected ebb and flow of future market conditions. The Predictive Power of Historical Data While historical data isn't a blueprint for the future in real estate, it often provides valuable clues that can help shape our forecasts. By analyzing past and present data, REALTORS® can recognize signs of what's to come. For instance, a consistent decrease of Median Days in RPR in a specific area can indicate increasing buyer interest, prompting a strategy to price new listings competitively. Key Market Trend Indicators for Anticipating Future Changes When starting, there are so many metrics to choose from, but two key indicators stand out: Month's Supply of Inventory and List to Sold Price averages (the average percentage difference between listing prices and final sale prices). These figures do more than summarize the past—they showcase potential future developments. Months Supply of Inventory Months Supply of Inventory indicates how long the current inventory would last at the present sales rate if no more listings were added. A low number suggests a seller's market and a high number points toward a buyer's market. Take, for example, an inventory that decreases over consecutive months—this trend could signal a growing seller's market. By recognizing this early, a REALTOR® might advise sellers to list sooner or buyers to act fast. RPR's graphs turn complex data into visual stories that are easy to read and act on. Average List to Sale Price Looking at past List to Sold Price Average Percentages offers a clear picture of the market's bargaining behavior. If this percentage rises, sellers gain more negotiation power, and listing prices should be set accordingly. Average Sold Prices serve as the benchmark—when aligned with a specific neighborhood's pricing trends, REALTORS® can more accurately advise clients on offers to make or accept. Time on Market and Seasonal Forecasts Median Days in RPR can be a powerful metric to estimate better how quickly properties will sell in the future. A downward trend typically indicates increasing demand, leading to a faster-paced market. For instance, a REALTOR® observing a shortened time on the market during spring can capitalize by listing properties when buyer activity begins to climb. Seasonal graphs in RPR help predict these cyclical shifts, aiding in timing the market perfectly. See Market Trends in Action: Get a close look at the dynamic real estate landscape with RPR's Market Trends. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Market Changes Market analysts know the devil is in the details of short-term (last month) and long-term (12-month changes) trends. While the former offers a snapshot, the latter shows the market evolving. For example, if condo sales are on the rise over the last month, but single-family homes have seen steady growth over a year, REALTORS® can tailor their property focus and marketing campaigns to align with these trends. Incorporating Additional Economic Indicators No market exists in a vacuum. Supplementing RPR data with additional economic indicators like mortgage interest rates or local employment stats paints a more complete picture. For instance, a low unemployment rate might encourage higher listing prices due to increased buying power—RPR's integration of these economic elements ensures REALTORS® have a comprehensive view. Take Market Trends Further: For those eager to dive deeper into Shareable Market Trends, there are lots of resources available. Visit RPR's learning center for a webinar, tutorials and ebooks that will sharpen your analytical skills. Use RPR's Historical Data to Anticipate Future Market Trends Predictive analytics is no longer just an advantage—it's necessary for REALTORS® who want to thrive in a competitive marketplace. By interpreting RPR Market Trends, you'll understand where the market has been and, more importantly, where it's headed. Embrace RPR's historical data to create a vision for the future, and let its powerful insights inform your strategic decisions. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Related reading 'How's the market?' Learn how to respond with RPR Market Trends Elevate Your Business with RPR's Master the Market eBook Series How to Spark Real Estate Conversations with Friends, Family, Clients and Prospects

How to Spark Real Estate Conversations with Friends, Family, Clients and Prospects
As a REALTOR®, it's vital to keep your finger on the pulse of the housing market. Being knowledgeable about and having keen insights into current market trends (versus not having them) can be a make or break quality. And in this business, you obviously want to be a deal-maker, not a deal-breaker! Use RPR to arm yourself with answers One way to do that is by leveraging the tools and data in RPR (Realtors Property Resource) to your advantage. RPR puts an array of data points and up-to-date market info right at your fingertips. Logging into RPR every day, checking your market stats and keeping the RPR Mobile™ app with you when you're out in the field, or out doing anything, is a smart way to keep up on trends and have a digital "cheat sheet" at your disposal. This is a keen daily habit and can help you: Articulate nuanced market movements Provide data-backed advice amidst market uncertainty Align consumer expectations with market realities Being able to provide these insights and answer real estate questions on the fly is the sign of a true, local market expert. And the ability to simply start conversations out of the blue with confidence, and with data-backed details, is a formula for success. Here are three ways RPR can prep you to be a conversation-into-conversion type of agent. RPR Residential Market Trends Last year, RPR introduced Shareable Market Trends, and now hundreds of thousands of agents are using these hyper-local market stats to keep their clients and prospects aware and in the loop. Shareable Market Trends contain vital market information such as the Market Trends Indicator with key details on Month's Supply of Inventory, List to Sold Price Percentage, Median Days in RPR and Median Sold Price. Conduct a search as macro as a state or county, or drill down to ZIP codes and neighborhood names to define your area. You'll get an up-to-date snapshot of a local market and be able to point out key metrics that can really help position you as a source of truth in all types of real estate conversations. Instead of saying "Not bad," when someone asks you how the market is, you can confidently say, "Inventory is slightly up, but still down overall. While properties are still going for asking price and staying on the market for less than a month." These types of details and insights will set you apart from other agents, and plant seeds in the minds of fence sitters and future customers. And remember, with just a few clicks or taps from the website or the RPR Mobile™ app, you can also share these stats and graphs across all your favorite social media platforms and marketing touchpoints. Pro Tip: To ensure that you're providing the most up-to-date Market Trends information, try gathering Market Trends data at or around the 7th of each month. For example, January 2024 statistics were updated on February 6. AI-powered Market Trends ScriptWriter tool The RPR Market Trends ScriptWriter tool is an extension of the Shareable Market Trends. This ChatGPT and AI-powered integration offers agents a streamlined approach to creating personalized video scripts, engaging social media content and detailed metrics analysis. However, the usable scenarios don't end there. You can also use it to create scripts and blurbs for yourself, to keep in your back pocket when organic conversations about real estate occur out in the world. Simply run a Market Trends search, then hit the "Create Script" button where you'll be presented with options on the audience, tone and type of script. For the purposes of arming yourself to carry and start real estate conversations, we suggest you select the "Conversational" tone, Buyers and Sellers for audience and "Social Campaign." Here's an example of the type of copy the ScriptWriter will generate: Over the last 12 months, we've seen a significant decrease in the Month's Supply of Inventory by -20.69%. This indicates a growing demand for homes in Oceanside, making it a promising market for both buyers and sellers. When it comes to selling your home, you'll be glad to know that the List to Sold Price percentage is a fantastic 99.3%! This shows that properties in Oceanside are fetching close to their listing prices, giving sellers confidence in their investments. Looking to make a quick move? The median days on market is just 15 days! Homes in Oceanside are selling like hotcakes, so buyers need to act fast to secure their dream homes. Now, let's talk numbers. The median sold price in Oceanside is currently at $799,000. This reflects the strong demand and value of properties in our city. It's an exciting time for buyers and sellers alike! Now, these little snippets are originally intended for social media posts as individual shares: Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Agents can simply cut and paste the words and emojis. However, for the creation of discussion talking points and convo starters, you'll need a slightly different tactic. All you have to do is lose the emojis, and take the statistics, and learn to recite them in your own words. So when someone asks, "How's the market for selling?" you can respond with, "It's actually pretty strong right now, with more buyers entering the market every day. In fact, the List to Sold Price, which is how much you list for compared to how much you actually get, is a healthy 99.3%!" Check out this How-To for a step-by-step on getting started using it. Take the ScriptWriter for a spin today to see how easy it is to use when engaging with potential clients, family or friends. Note: the Market Trends ScriptWriter tool is only available on the website version of RPR… for now. Equity and Mortgage Calculators Here's where the sparks really start to fly! The RPR Mobile™ app is now equipped with two very powerful tools: The Equity Calculator and the Mortgage Calculator. Now, with phone in hand and the RPR app opened up, you can give potential clients a detailed look at the equity their home has built up, or their purchasing power as a buyer. These are things that sellers and buyers really want to know more about! And sometimes, this type of information can even make someone start considering listing their home for sale, or taking a dip as a first-time home buyer. Knowledge is power and you have so much in your hands with the RPR app and these calculators. Picture yourself at a kitchen island during an open house. Or in line at the local coffee shop. Or at your kid's practice. Or eating out, picking up dry cleaning, in a waiting room, etc. Any time you're out and about, working or not, you're basically a living, breathing, walking and talking real estate information kiosk! Whether someone seeks you out, or you happen to overhear a conversation, the RPR app arms you with ice-breaking opportunities to show people important information about their real estate situation. For a step-by-step walkthrough on how to use the calculators, check out this article from our blog: The RPR App Adds new Estimated Equity and Mortgage Calculators. Use RPR to spark real estate conversations anywhere, at anytime As you can see, RPR is much more than just a mere research tool; it serves as a catalyst for engaging and meaningful conversations about properties and housing markets. By leveraging the wealth of data and insights provided by RPR, REALTORS® can elevate their conversations, build stronger relationships with clients, and establish themselves as trusted experts in a competitive market. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Related reading How RPR Can Enhance Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy [Podcast] How RPR is Helping Realtors Navigate a Challenging Market, with Reggie Nicolay RPR Announces the Winners of Their 'How's the Market?' Video Contest

Efficiency Meets Proficiency in RPR's Upgraded Mobile App
Last year, RPR (Realtors Property Resource) delivered some major new enhancements and upgraded products to REALTORS®. Read all about Shareable Market Trends, the Market Trends ScriptWriter and more in this 2023 product highlight article: Helping REALTORS® Navigate the Market: RPR 2023 Product Highlights. And as promised, we're picking up right where we left with another major upgrade to kick off the New Year. We've collected tons of user feedback and requests that drive these latest enhancements. Say "hello" to the rethought, revamped and refreshed RPR Mobile™ app! The RPR app: Less tapping – more doing! We know that time is a precious commodity for agents. Which is why the upgraded RPR app has been reimagined with one goal: to simplify your workflow. Helping users do more in less time is basically our unofficial mantra. The redesign is centered on making efficiency go hand-in-hand with proficiency. Here are some highlights of the upgraded RPR app We'll dive into more detail and show off some screenshots in just a bit, but first, here are some of the most important "headlines" to be aware of when it comes to the newly upgraded RPR application: Instant Search - Open the app, and you're set to start your search—no waiting, no extra taps. Navigate With Ease - Our sleek bottom tab bar gets you where you need to go, faster and smarter. All-in-One Searching - Jump between residential and commercial searches with just a tap. Specialty Search Tags - Perform specialty searches and refine your searches with visual tags. Reports at a Touch - View all of your recent reports or create new ones with just a tap. To see the upgraded RPR app in action, check out this quick-look video! A more detailed look at the new, upgraded RPR app The first thing you'll notice is a bright new login screen. Your app login credentials are the same as signing onto the RPR website. The map in the RPR app is your new home screen Welcome home! Right off the bat you'll see that the RPR map search is now the new home screen. It will show your current location on the map, and from here, you can skip the scrolling and quickly start searching for properties! The search bar at the top of screen is where you'll enter specific addresses, area names, listing ID, APN, tax ID, or the owner name to begin a search. Just below you can also easily go from Residential to Commercial property searches with just a tap. In this search view, a new feature you might find helpful is specialty search tags, where users can search using special filters, such as Owner Name, Open House and Distressed. (Just hit the "x" on the tab to close it out.) Tap onto any property pin (we've also increased the number of map pins shown on the screen to 500 – that's 10 times more!) to see the Property Details. Also be sure to try out this new feature: swipe up from the bottom to browse through a List View of the properties shown on the map. Tap "More" (previously called "Map Actions") in the lower right corner to bring up a menu of map options, including Distance points, Traffic numbers, Parcel boundaries, Schools info and more. The new navigation bar: We raised the bar – by lowering it! At the bottom of your app screen is the new nav bar. It includes "Search," with a magnifying glass icon, all the way to the left. Again, Search is now the default home screen and where you'll start using the app. Working your way to the right, we now have a tab called "My Work." This is where you'll find all of your saved work and property counts by status, including Listing Counts, My Listings, My Saved properties, My Recent searches, an area for notes, and more. Next is a button for "Trends." This is simply an abbreviation for the RPR Market Trends, where users can search specific areas, such as ZIP codes, and get up-to-date stats, charts and graphs for a given area. This includes important market data such as Months of Inventory, List to Sold Price percentages, Median Sold Price and more. Agents can also share these stats and numbers directly to their favorite social media channels or download the images to include in emails, texts, websites or print materials. One spot over is the button for "Reports." Here you can create, view, share, and/or delete residential and commercial reports with just a few taps. Another great new feature: the Reports list screen now contains residential and commercial reports in the same list–no need to navigate between Residential and Commercial mode. All the way to the right in the nav bar is the "Menu" button. This area is what was previously shown when the cog wheel was tapped. It contains a ton of useful options to fine-tune your browsing and user preferences, including accessing your Profile, Notifications (App updates and news), User Settings, RPR Access, MLS/CIE Sources, Legal, Tour Link (explains the new navigation), how to mail RPR, how to call RPR, a link to RPR Connect (our user group Facebook page), and how to add RPR to your contacts. With the new, upgraded RPR app, agents will search smarter – not harder With the upgraded version of the RPR app, agents will start searching and start working for their clients right from the get go! Make sure you download, update and open it up to experience all the helpful new changes. There's also a special Welcome Guide that will walk you through the new features when agents install or update the app. Be sure to check it out and start putting the app to your advantage today! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Thank you to RPR for sponsoring this article on RE Technology! Related reading Buyers have school questions? Learn how to answer them with RPR Mobile RPR Mobile: Why It's the Must-Have App for REALTORS Winning Over Sellers: Mastering CMAs and Equity Updates with the RPR App

Easy Hacks for Prospecting and Marketing Automation Success
Have you ever wished you could connect RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) to your CRM, or maybe directly to Canva for prospecting and farming? Well, we're not quite there yet, however there are a few things you can do to "hack" the system and be on your way to prospecting and automation success. Before we jump in, if you're just getting started in real estate or want to give your database a boost, be sure to check out this previous article: How to Build your Neighborhood Database From Scratch. Think of it as some prerequisite reading to this article. You'll get an understanding of what datasets are available to you from RPR and all the info you need on RPR's Mailing Labels. Now you have an understanding of how to set up your CRM and how you can export RPR Mailing Labels. Here's where we take it a step further, beyond pre-formatted labels and right into marketing automation territory: the ability to export raw data via a CSV export. In this article, we're going to take the next step and strategically filter for specific types of prospects. Automate your marketing and targets prospects with these "Recipes" Below are a few "recipes," based on real world scenarios, that you can use with the RPR Advanced Search feature to help you spot target prospects with ease. To drill down and identify Current Renters/Potential Homeowners, follow these steps: Step #1: Click "Research" Step #2: Click "Map Search" Step #3: Search your target area (hint: you can search as small as a neighborhood) Step #4: Click "More Filters" for advanced searching Step #5: Change the search to "Public Records" (you'll want to target less than 500) Step #6: Scroll down to "Miscellaneous Fields" and make sure "Absentee Owner" is selected Step #7: Make sure "Time Owned" is selected to the 5-10 and 10-15 year groupings Step #8: Click "Update and Search" Step #9: Click "Mailing Labels" Step #10: Select "CSV" Step #11: Make sure the "Address Type:" is "Property" Step #12: Change the "Addressed To:" field to "Current Resident" or to "Custom Name" and fill it out with something like "Future Homeowner" Step #13: Select "Absentee Owner" as the "Occupancy Type" Step #14: Run full list, or narrow records to export Target: Potential Home Sellers Follow steps 1-5 from above, then continue with: Step #6: Scroll down to "Miscellaneous Fields" and make sure "Owner Occupied" is selected Step #7: Make sure "Time Owned" is selected to the 5-10 and 10-15 year groupings Step #8: Click "Update and Search" Step #9: Click "Mailing Labels" Step #10: Select "CSV" Step #11: Make sure the "Address Type:" is "Property" Step #12: Change the "Addressed To:" field to "Owner Name" Step #13: Select "Owner Occupied" as the "Occupancy Type" Step #14: Run full list, or narrow records to export Need Help? Take a step-by-step guided tour of the two examples above. From here, you can take these lists and add additional columns to your sheet that would match your CRM (ie: "Status" and then set it to say "Prospect-Buyer" or "Prospect-Seller,") this can work with Google Sheets or your CRM of choice. If you're working with a CRM, instead of additional columns, when you're importing your contacts, simply apply flags or categories directly within your platform to help keep your contacts organized. But, let's not stop there, let's set up an automation that can do all of that for you… Making automations and RPR work for you The beauty of this workflow is the ability to essentially take this data right from RPR and apply it directly to your CRM or Google Sheets contact list. Then using preset triggers with tools such as IFTTT, Zapier and Canva, you can create a multitude of marketing automations that will cut down the manual labor of simple marketing tasks. In this next example, we're going to show you how to take the exports above and connect them directly to Canva to complete a postcard that you've prepped with the most current Market Trends Data and then print it with all of your prospect's data added to it. To get started, head over to RPR's Resource Center and choose a Canva postcard template that you'd like to work from. Be sure to select "Use template for new design" to get started. Next, add your photo and update your information for both sides of the postcard–you don't want to accidentally send your mailing out with filler text. Write a compelling introduction of yourself and why it's a good time to buy; better yet, read on and we'll show you how to let our Market Trends ScriptWriter powered by ChatGPT help you craft the perfect message! Before we add our contact data, let's update the Market Trends information with the latest stats. When you're in RPR, head up to Research, then click Residential Market Trends and search for the geography that you executed for your export. This ensures that the data matches the postcard template with the month and the correct data points. Now we're ready to add our prospect's info to the Canva doc! PRO TIP: Looking for the perfect copy to go with your postcard? Click "Create Script" to give our AI-powered Market Trends ScriptWriter a try. You can easily generate Metric Analyses and Social campaigns, and the copy generated can easily flow into to your postcard. From the left side navigation menu, go to "Apps," and go down to "More from Canva" and select "Bulk create." Maybe in the future, there'll be a "Bulk create from RPR," but for now, select "Bulk create." You essentially have two options here, you can manually enter your data or upload a CSV file. Let's click "Upload CSV" select your list, and all of your fields will be listed by the column headers. PRO TIP: Before you upload your list, open it up and delete any extra fields that you think won't be necessary. Since we are prospecting to potential buyers, we won't be needing the owner's information that by default comes with the export. Next, we're going to connect our data to text fields. So, add a few text fields to the backside of the postcard template. For the greeting, make it fun, since you don't know the person who is renting the property, you could address it to "Future Homeowner." For the next text field, right click it and select "Connect Data." Canva will then present you the list of all your data fields, select "Property Full Address," or whichever combination of fields that you need to complete your mailing. After you have set up your data and added all of your personal information and market data, click "Continue." This will take your data and merge it into a new Canva Doc that you can now send out for print. Pretty cool, huh?! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Unlocking RPR's Potential: A Buyer's Agent Daily Playbook
Sometimes in real estate, it seems like there's an emphasis on selling and the skills and tasks that go with it. Seller's agents are well-known for listing presentations, home pricing strategies, open houses, prospecting and marketing. However, it's really only half the story. Buyer's agents help clients find properties that meet their clients' demands and their budget, they show houses, and they help negotiate realistic offers. Listing agents might get all the glory, but the buyer side is equally important! Let's explore the day-to-day of a proactive buyer's agent who knows how to make RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) work for them. Imagine navigating a jam-packed day full of property tours and client meetings, all while improving the service you provide to clients with RPR. Ready to hear more? Let's dive in and take a look at what we're calling, "A Buyer's Agent Daily Playbook":  Morning: Analysis of Market Trends Start your day by reviewing Market Trends on RPR alongside your morning cup of coffee. Focus on the areas your clients and prospects are most interested in. Preview heat maps to view pricing trends at a ZIP code or city level. Information from RPR will back up your neighborhood authority — which your clients trust.  Mid Morning: Prospecting and Property Inspection Hit the pavement and inspect on- and off-market properties on RPR. With the RPR app, you can quickly access essential details from property records, current valuations and data related to distressed properties. Or use the website for neighborhood prospecting and generate homeowner mailing lists. You'll be equipped with holistic property knowledge which clients appreciate.  Post-Lunch: Converting Potential Buyers into Clients Enhance your client meetings by sharing RPR's comprehensive data to illustrate market trends, neighborhood details and market activity. With this valuable information, you can transform potential buyer's uncertainties into confident and informed home-buying decisions.  Early Afternoon: Building a Successful Offer When a client is ready to make an offer, use RPR's mobile CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) tool to offer reliable advice on competitive yet equitable pricing. Also, tap into the power of RPR's Mortgage Calculator to help buyers better understand their buying power and potential monthly payments. Providing this valuable breakdown helps solidify you as a trusted advisor during negotiations.  Coming Full Circle: Readying for Tomorrow End your day by creating customized buyer reports and market activity reports via the RPR app that showcases viable properties and recent market developments. Prepare for tomorrow's tasks with updated insights and new opportunities. RPR: A buyer's agent's best friend This sneak peek into an efficient buyer's agent routine shows just how effectively RPR can be incorporated into your daily operations. By taking advantage of RPR, you're well-armed to elevate your client-focused business and make data-driven decisions. Additional Resources This article is just the tip of the iceberg. RPR can do so much more to streamline your day-to-day operations. From fine-tuning your listing presentations to maximizing open house opportunities, RPR has you covered. For more tips and tricks, check out the tutorials and webinars available in RPR's Learning Center. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Winning Over Sellers: Mastering CMAs and Equity Updates with the RPR App
There's no denying that we live in a mobile-first world. We demand flexibility and convenience across all facets of life, including the world of real estate. That's where the RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) Mobile™ app comes into its own. Readily available at your fingertips when you're out meeting clients or previewing properties, it makes once complex tasks—like creating a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) or Estimating Equity—a breeze. Let's see how these tools work and how easy they are to use… Creating CMAs with RPR Mobile™ A CMA helps you formulate an ideal selling price or a competitive buying offer. But why use your phone for this? Simple! With the RPR app, you can compile a detailed CMA right on the spot. There's no need to head back to the office or reach for your laptop. Let's explore how to easily and efficiently create a CMA using your RPR app: 1. Begin the CMA: From the RPR app, tap on the magnify icon and enter the subject property address. Then once the property loads, tap Reports and then, and select Create CMA. An alternative way is from the property search results, scroll to find Pricing Tools and select Create CMA as well. 2. Confirm Property Details: View public and listing facts about your subject property. If you find any data missing or incorrect, simply tap on Your Changes, make the necessary adjustments and save. When you're complete, tap Confirm. 3. Choose Comparables: From the menu near top of the screen, select either List or Map. This allows you to choose an interface best suited to pick properties comparable to yours. The map view will allow you to zoom into specific areas. To search a larger area, tap Remove Boundary. You can also use filters to refine your selection based on type, status, property characteristics or keywords. 4. Add Comparables: Go ahead and tap Add for all properties that match your criteria from either the map-pin view or listed view. Tap Next when complete. 5. Review and Adjust Comparables: Now comes an important part—reviewing selected comparables. Swipe left or right on each listed comparable property to view its details. If a property doesn't fit, simply tap Remove. You can reorder listings as well using the drop-down menu placed above each listing's photo. Also, use the sliding scale to adjust how each comparable measures up against your subject property. Here's also where you can add essential notes about individual comparables, including specific features or data points that can impact property valuation. 6. Report Delivery: Time to finalize your report. Check the generated price, price range and tap Edit if any changes are needed. Choosing the delivery method is as easy as a tap–select to email it or have the report downloaded. Calculating Estimated Equity with RPR Mobile™ Apart from generating on-the-spot CMAs, RPR Mobile™ also arms you with another impactful tool: the Estimated Equity Calculator. Homeownership is not just about possessing property—it doubles up as a significant financial asset. The value encapsulated in homes, termed "equity," can shape one's financial health dramatically. As a REALTOR® utilizing this Estimated Equity feature offered by RPR, your insights could become eye-openers for homeowners. To get started and quickly provide insight into your client's financial standing, select a subject property and navigate to the Pricing Tools section, just below the CMA. If you've completed a CMA, that value will be entered in the Property Value field, otherwise, it's the RVM® (Realtors Valuation Model®) value. Next, you'll add loan details or confirm the pre-filled loan data. Then it's just a quick tap on Create Report to generate the Estimated Equity Report. Keep in mind that the Estimated Equity Calculator is just that: an estimate. It should be viewed as an initial step and its purpose is to arouse curiosity and start conversations. Use it as a way to enlighten potential sellers, get their contact info, and set up another meeting. Financial Benefits of High-Equity Homeownership Discussing equity with potential clients is a smart "foot in the door" type of strategy. Don't be afraid to pull out your phone, with the RPR app of course, and zero in on that magic number. It can be a great conversation starter, because being a high-equity homeowner brings many benefits, including: It allows for an unburdened house shopping experience, less dependent on loans. For those still seeking financing for their new home, high equity contributes towards lower monthly payments and better loan terms. Homeowners approaching or enjoying retirement years can find comfort in their home equity—providing them with stable financial support when required. Use the RPR app to build CMAs, estimate equity and reap the rewards RPR Mobile™ is an indispensable tool for ambitious agents, as it simplifies complex tasks like generating CMAs or estimating equity on-the-go. Its utility extends beyond these tasks by bridging informational gaps between REALTORS® and consumers, fostering transparent transactions backed by reliable data. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Thank you to RPR for sponsoring this article on RE Technology!

[Podcast] How RPR is Helping Realtors Navigate a Challenging Market, with Reggie Nicolay
There's a twist to this month's Decoding Real Estate as the show welcomes host-turned-guest Reggie Nicolay! As the VP of Marketing and Social Media at RPR® (Realtors Property Resource®), Reggie is a real estate tech and marketing thought leader. And the only thing he knows better than that, is RPR itself! He's also married to a very successful full-time agent, which gives him a special POV on real estate pain points and challenges. And he has first-hand knowledge on how the latest and greatest RPR data-centric tools on local market trends can help ease and solve them. Host Genie Willett taps into Reg's years of experience and RPR mastery to discuss and highlight RPR's very busy 2023, including: the "Master the Market" eBook series, Shareable Market Trends, the Shareable Market Trends ScriptWriter, free Canva templates, the RPR app and more. Tune in to get the scoop on how RPR is helping REALTORS® navigate their way through this tough market. Don't miss this month's Decoding Real Estate with guest Reggie Nicolay! Decoding Real Estate is hosted by Reggie Nicolay and Genie Willett. Subscribe/Follow And be sure to check out these helpful and relevant links: Realtors Property Resource RPR's "Master the Market" eBook series RPR Shareable Market Trends RPR Shareable Market Trends ScripterWriter tool RPR Canva templates Download the RPR Mobile™ app RPR Blog Listen on: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Thank you to RPR for sponsoring this article on RE Technology!

The RPR App Adds New Estimated Equity and Mortgage Calculators
Thank you to RPR for sponsoring this article on RE Technology: The RPR (Realtors Property Source) mobile app continues to improve and evolve, all in an effort to help REALTORS be more productive, efficient and deliver value when they're away from their desks or offices. We're constantly adding, refining and improving the app's features and capabilities. And now we're doing it by putting two new tools in the hands of REALTORS -- literally! The latest, updated version of the RPR app now includes two pricing tools that agents can use to educate clients, pique interest and spark conversations: the Estimated Equity Calculator and the Mortgage Calculator. It all adds up! RPR app introduces Estimated Equity and Mortgage Calculators REALTORS® can use the RPR app to search properties, do research on properties, run and send property reports, build CMAs, prospect, look up school ratings, access and share hyper-local Market Trends and so much more. And now, REALTORS® have two new crucial pricing tools at their disposal. We'll first look at the Estimated Equity calculator — these can be important tools for agents because they provide valuable insights into an owner's financial real estate situation, and to help them reach their financial goals. How to apply RPR's Estimated Equity Calculator in the field For most property owners, their home is their biggest asset and their equity is part nest egg, piggy bank and safety net. And due to the fairly recent jump in home values, most have more equity than ever before. The majority of homeowners, thanks to online "estimates" and an awareness of what their neighbors are selling for, have a ballpark number when it comes to their equity. However, surprisingly, a lot of homeowners don't have a clear idea about their home's actual equity value. Sure, they may have an inkling, but without crunching the numbers, it's all just a guess. That's where you, the Estimated Equity Calculator and the Estimated Equity Report come in. Picture yourself at the coffee shop and you strike up a conversation with a neighbor, a casual acquaintance or even a stranger, about the housing market. You explain that you can give them a pretty good idea of their home's worth. And better yet, you can tell them how much equity they currently have in their home. (This is where their eyes get big!) And you show them right there, on the spot, using your phone and the RPR app. It could be a lucrative face-to-face lead magnet, and it's super easy to do. Here's how it works: Conduct a property search in the RPR app, and from any selected property, scroll down to find the color-coded Pricing Tools area. Next, tap Estimated Equity to begin. The Estimated Equity Calculator will look like this: This area is pretty intuitive, you simply follow the steps. The property value will already be filled. Hit Add Loan to add the first mortgage balance. If you feel the property value needs to be adjusted or you have a second loan to add, you have the ability to edit those fields. The Estimated Equity amount will show up in the bottom right corner. Tap Save to add this property's Estimated Equity to the Pricing Tools grid. (Also, try to get the person's contact info so you can send them a report or even a screenshot.) To create your Estimated Equity report, tap on the Create Report button. From there, you can create the report and either download it or email directly to your client from the system. It will include all of the equity calculations, as well as all your branded information, including your photo and contact information. Here's what the finished report looks like: Equity Calculator = Convo starter Keep in mind that the Equity Calculator is an estimate only; it should be viewed as an initial step and its purpose is to arouse curiosities and start conversations. Use it as a way to enlighten potential sellers, get their contact info, and set up another meeting. If things progress from there, and serious listing discussions start, you can eventually provide them with an RPR Seller's Net Sheet, another pricing tool offered (just to the left of Estimated Equity in the Pricing Tools section). The Seller's Net Sheet is a more detailed breakdown on the sale of home that factors in sales price, mortgage balance, commissions, taxes, fees, etc. It's basically more number crunching that gives the seller a good idea of what they'll walk away with from the sale of their home, which is, of course, less than what their equity is. RPR's Mortgage Calculator helps buyers tally their buying power While equity conversations and calculators are for sellers, mortgage calculators are more geared for buyers. These tools provide essential financial information that helps both agents and their clients make informed decisions when budgeting, buying or making an offer on a home. The new Mortgage Calculator in the RPR app is located below the Pricing Tools section and will appear on all residential properties regardless of the listing status. Much like the Equity Calculator, REALTORS® can now ballpark a property's mortgage payment with our new Mortgage Calculator and share the cost breakdown via a one-page report. The calculator includes options for Property Taxes, Home Insurance and HOA Fees. Here's where to find the RPR Mortgage Calculator and how to use it: Conduct a property search in the RPR app, and from any selected property, scroll down to find the Mortgage Calculator, located just below the color-coded Pricing Tools area. Tap on the Edit Monthly Cost button to edit or add more details about the estimated monthly costs, including Price, Down Payment, Interest Rate %, Loan Term, Property Taxes, HOA Dues and Homeowner's Insurance. As you can see, some areas, such as the price and down payment (20% is assumed) are already filled in. However, those areas can be changed. For the other areas, you'll need to apply your experience and local market expertise to add in the current interest rate, the annual property tax percentage and any other fees, such as HOA, which you may know or may have to look into. Each area that you fill in helps the calculator crunch the numbers down to deliver an estimated mortgage payment. Once you have your figures locked down and entered, you can Save the Estimated Monthly Cost. Once saved, you can Edit Monthly Cost or Print an Estimated Mortgage report, a one page report that you can either download or email to your clients. Here's an example: With the RPR app's Mortgage Calculator on your phone, you can sit down with buyer clients, virtually anywhere, and have discussions about monthly payment estimates, budget planning, interest rates, loan terms and offer preparation. Perhaps more importantly, mortgage calculators help REALTORS® advise their buyer clients, build trust and raise their clients' financial literacy. You can easily explain to your buyers, using your phone as a visual aid, that certain homes fit or don't fit their budget. This type of grounded, quick decision-making will secure your role as a trusted advisor early on in the process. RPR's new pricing tools help REALTORS® deliver value — from anywhere The RPR app is a digital property data powerhouse that provides agents with access to property data, tools and reports. And it's all housed (see what we did there?) right on their phones. The new Equity and Mortgage Calculators only make the RPR app even more useful and applicable to helping REALTORS® deliver value to their clients and prospects. The ability to go over these big, important numbers, even at a preliminary stage, can help position an agent as a trusted guide and advisor. If you don't have it yet, get your hands on the RPR Mobile™ app now to try out these new, powerful features and tools. Note: The Mortgage Calculator results and Estimated Equity are not included in any other RPR reports. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

8 campaign ideas for finding more listings
Welcome back to our "Tips and Tricks Tuesday" series, which highlights articles around a monthly theme. August's theme is "Finding more homes for sale." Read on for tips and tricks for finding business even in challenging market: This is the bottom line: Realtors are always looking for more homes to sell. It doesn't matter what industry forecasters predict for the housing market, how much interest and mortgage rates have risen or fallen, whether home sales are up or down, or how the paradigms of the industry are shifting. The core of the real estate industry is home sales. So how do industry professionals find more homes to sell? The key is smart prospecting, and one tool can help you in this endeavor — your MLS's property data tool. Let's look at an example: CRS Data's MLS Tax Suite offers prospecting maps, demographic tools and property reports, and real estate professionals can find a wealth of information about residential properties they may want to prospect. The technology available allows Realtors to become not just familiar with certain neighborhoods or certain geographical areas, but to become experts. And what homebuyer wouldn't want an expert helping them make one of the most important decisions of their lives? You can use your MLS's property data tool to identify prospects, create mailing lists and even print out mailing labels for marketing campaigns. (Check out this link to see how easy CRS Data makes it to build a prospecting list of homeowners who may be looking to sell.) Need campaign ideas? We've got you covered! Here are eight marketing campaign ideas for drumming up new business: 1. Rising home values campaign - Record-high home prices go hand-in-hand with record-low housing inventory. Nudge reluctant sellers off the fence by reminding them how much profit they can make off their home if they sell now. Send out mailers that list how much home prices have risen in the area you're targeting. Be sure to include a call-to-action to contact you for a free home valuation, or to visit a dedicated landing page for a free online valuation (e.g., What's your home worth? Find out here!). 2. Sold listing campaign - After you sell a home, send out a mailer to homes nearby that shows what the home sold for. In today's market, that's usually a big number, so make that information prominent. If the home sold over the asking price or very quickly, mention that. You want your prospects to associate you with a potentially lucrative opportunity to sell their home. As with the above idea, include your contact information and a call-to-action. Your goal here is to capture potential seller leads. 3. New listing campaign - One thing you can count on with homeowners — they're curious about other homes in their neighborhood. What do they look like? How much are they worth compared to my home? Tap into this curiosity by sending a postcard or flier that announces your new listing and all its details: price, bed/bath, square footage, school district, etc. This campaign's goal is to build awareness of you as the go-to Realtor for selling homes in the area. 4. Expired listings campaign - If there's one thing expired listings have going for them, it's this: they want to sell their home. Something went wrong with their last attempt at a sale — the price was too high, repairs were needed, or maybe their previous agent wasn't suited to the task. Whatever the case, these owners are prime targets for prospecting. Send them or physically drop off a packet touting your experience and successes to encourage them to list their home with you. 5. Likely mover campaign - How long do residents in your area stay in their homes? If you know this piece of information, you can use it to target owners who have been in their home for around that amount of time — and statistically may be likely to move soon. A postcard or other mailer from you may help nudge them into listing. Just be sure to use your public records tool to remove active "for sale" homes from your list, as they obviously don't need your services — and you don't need to waste your marketing budget. 6. Renters/new buyers campaign - Do you enjoy working with first-time buyers? Consider targeting renters in affluent neighborhoods. Finding them in your property data system is a little less straightforward than finding current homeowners, however. Fortunately, your property data platform's "owner type" filter can help. For example, in CRS Data's MLS Tax Suite, you can filter results by absentee owner, out-of-state owner, in-state owner, and owner-occupied properties. All options except owner-occupied can help you target properties with renters. Tip: Target renters in more prosperous areas or near major area employers, as these prospects are more likely to be interested in and capable of buying. 7. Open house campaign - As with the first campaign, the open house campaign is a brand-building venture. (You can also send these campaigns to your broader geographic farm.) When neighbors do show up to your open house, don't dismiss them as curious looky-loos. They may be more than just nosy; they may be thinking of selling their own home and are curious to see how their home stacks up. This is a great opportunity to get their contact information so that you can send them a quick home valuation or comparative market analysis. You can email this to them, or even offer to deliver it in person if they seem especially likely to list! 8. Geographic farming campaign - Is there a high number of homes for sale in a specific area you serve? Put their MLS photos on a single postcard, along with their price and bed/bath count, and send it to homeowners in the neighborhood or to those who may want to move there. Even if not all the listings on the postcard are yours, you can use them to bait potential buyers into calling you for a tour. For area homeowners, you can invite them to contact you to see how their home's value compares. For more information about CRS Data, visit their website. Not a CRS Data user? Contact your public records provider or MLS help desk for assistance. You can also explore more public records solutions in our Product Directory.

How to guide clients through market uncertainty using data with Shareable Market Trends
People who are serious about buying or selling a house in 2023 tend to do a lot of research -- and thanks to the proliferation of real estate portals and other sources of information, it's no surprise that they are often quite educated about what's happening in your market, at least at a surface level. As a real estate agent, one way to showcase your value is to help explain how what they're seeing online relates to wider trends, and what it all means for them vis-a-vis their current goal of buying or selling a home. Shareable Market Trends is a tool offered as part of Realtors Property Resource® that can help you do just that. It's a set of charts and graphs that provide an in-depth view of what's happening in your market, which you can share with your clients. When you're having conversations with buyers about inventory levels and just how long they might be searching before they find the right home, or with sellers around pricing in a shifting market, Shareable Market Trends can help bring your words to life.  The real estate industry, with its ever-shifting trends and complex market dynamics, can often leave consumers feeling overwhelmed and confused. As REALTORS®, one of your key roles is to demystify this complexity and provide clear, data-backed insights to your clients. This is where Realtors Property Resource® comes into play and will help strengthen your position as a local market expert. Introducing RPR's versatile data tools Shareable Market Trends is just one example of the powerful tools offered by RPR. This set of charts and graphs provides an in-depth view of the real estate market by presenting comprehensive data that can be tailored to specific local markets and property types. In addition, you can leverage other resources like the RVM® (Realtors Valuation Model®) and our Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to further enhance the data, allowing you to compare properties and refine your analysis. Yet, these tools are only the tip of the iceberg. RPR offers layers and layers of data points and analysis options, so you can select the most relevant information for any conversation with your client. Turning data into dialogue The real power of RPR's Shareable Market Trends lies in its ability to transform data into impactful conversations. Here's how it works: RPR provides the numbers and charts — whether it's median sales price trends, days on market averages or inventory changes — and you, as the REALTOR®, translate these numbers into digestible insights. You might explain how a decrease in local inventory over the past six months could impact a buyer's home search or how a steady increase in median sales price could influence a seller's pricing strategy. The key is to frame these data points in a way that is directly relevant to your client's specific situation and needs. Let's review some real world applications Here are some situations and scenarios where RPR's Market Trends data can really be useful in guiding and informing your clients: Scenario 1: Guiding a Seller on Timing and Pricing Strategy Imagine a seller who's unsure about the right timing to list their home or how to price it competitively. You can leverage inventory trends to illustrate recent local market data that shows a shortage of available homes in their specific area and price range. You can then convey how this inventory shortage could increase demand for their home, suggesting that the timing might be right for a sale. Furthermore, RPR's Realtor Valuation Model® (RVM®) and Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) can be invaluable tools to accurately price the home. The RVM®, a state-of-the-art automated valuation model, can give you a reliable estimate of the home's value, while the CMA allows you to compare the home with similar properties that have recently sold in the area. Together, these insights can help you advise the seller on a pricing strategy that is competitive and aligned with current market trends. This data-driven approach not only reassures your client but also helps them make an informed decision, demonstrating your value as their trusted real estate advisor. Scenario 2: Helping a Buyer Understand Market Conditions For buyers, understanding the state of the local market can be critical in deciding when and what to buy. For instance, a buyer interested in a specific neighborhood might be concerned about increasing home prices. You could use RPR's Shareable Market Trends to show data on the neighborhood's median home prices over time, discussing whether the market is appreciating, stabilizing or depreciating. Such data-driven insights can provide the buyer with a realistic understanding of what they can afford, potentially saving them time and avoiding disappointment. Scenario 3: Reluctant Investor Investors often rely heavily on market trends to make investment decisions. Suppose you have a client interested in investing in residential properties, but they're worried about recent news of an impending recession. With RPR's Shareable Market Trends, you can provide a comprehensive picture of the local market's health, including data on sales volume, median sales price trends and housing inventory. This data-driven approach can help assuage fears and guide the investor towards making a well-informed decision. Scenario 4: Facilitating Regular Market Updates Regular updates about the market conditions can be of immense value to all types of clients: sellers, buyers, investors, and even past clients who like to keep tabs and stay informed. RPR's Shareable Market Trends allows you to provide these updates with current, local data, reinforcing your role as a knowledgeable market expert and keeping you top-of-mind for future real estate needs. Through these scenarios, we see how RPR's Shareable Market Trends can be used to facilitate in-depth, data-informed discussions with clients. It's not just about giving an opinion, but about providing evidence-based recommendations that foster trust and credibility. Tips for successful data-driven conversations For effective data-driven conversations, it's important to do your homework and come prepared. Familiarize yourself with the data before meeting with a client, and plan how to present it in a way that addresses their unique concerns. Practice translating data into straightforward insights, but don't shy away from the details if your client is interested in diving deeper. Remember, data is not a replacement for a conversation, but a tool to enrich it. In the often confusing world of real estate, data serves as a guiding light. RPR's Shareable Market Trends offer a valuable resource for REALTORS® to turn numbers into narratives and facilitate insightful, productive conversations with clients. The more we can leverage data to inform these discussions, the better we can guide our clients through their real estate journeys. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Using Property Data to Enhance the Client's Experience
It's no secret that consumers are facing major struggles in the real estate market today. Housing inventory is low, while home prices and interest rates are high. It's no wonder that so many would-be buyers and sellers are hesitant to enter the market today. Unfortunately, when consumers struggle with the real estate market, that means that real estate professionals do as well. However, MLSs offer a tool that can empower their members to help consumers feel more comfortable buying or selling a home. Today, we'll explore how property data software can assist real estate professionals in enhancing their clients' experiences. Telling stories with data "Providing thoughtful data unique to each client's needs is a surefire way to not only establish trust, but to facilitate and expedite informed decision-making that leads to success for all stakeholders involved in a real estate transaction," said Sara Cooper, Executive Vice President, Real Estate Market at CRS Data. Thoughtful data is what's key here. A list of property facts and figures is not enough to convince consumers who may still be on the fence. To be effective, data needs to tell consumers a story about a property or neighborhood. "Real estate professionals can use the data they gather through CRS Data to tell a story, helping them to effectively communicate insights with their clients that are easy to understand," said Cooper. "CRS Data offers users multiple ways to compile reports with multiple data sets that are easy to interpret for both real estate professionals and their clients." For clients with school-aged children, one crucial data set is school zone information. This data helps buyers understand whether a) a home is in a good school district, a major driver of positive, long-term property values, and b) whether their children will have to transfer schools if the family moves to the property. For sellers, school zone information can assist in communicating the value of a home, especially when the home is in a well-rated district. CRS Data users can easily include this information with a CMA, or with listing and buyer presentations. Sometimes the stories that data helps tell need to be in a different language. For those clients whose first language is Spanish, or who are simply more comfortable in the language, CRS Data offers bilingual reporting options. Zeroing in on the perfect sale Real estate buyers may have a vision of their ideal home that's more specific than the number of beds and baths. Maybe they want a property with a pool, or on one acre, or within a certain ZIP code. CRS Data offers advanced search capabilities that help agents drill down on these types of property details so they can help their clients be well-informed about the home they want to buy. "Buyers generally have an idea of where they want to live, but real estate professionals can use our data to help guide that process and even introduce clients to different areas," said Cooper. "CRS Data offers insights into home value trajectories, school zone information and flood zone data, which give home buyers and sellers the context and the peace of mind they need surrounding a given area or particular property, which can speed up the decision-making process." Sellers, on the other hand, may want to see area sales trends, says Cooper. "With CRS Data, real estate professionals can show their clients recent sales transactions and even compile an area sales trend report that details the number of homes sold in a given area, as well as the percentage of price increase or decrease." That data may be helpful to buyers, too, according to Cooper. "This type of information may provide more confidence to buyers once they are able to see the full picture of real estate in the area they wish to buy, rather than just data on one particular home." Whether real estate professionals are serving buyers or sellers, property data can help to ensure that their clients' experience is as smooth as possible. To learn more about CRS Data, visit CRSData.com.

Get Shareable Market Trends to Keep Your Clients in the Know
Today, we're introducing a weekly series called "Tips and Tricks Tuesday" that highlights articles around a monthly topic. July's theme is "How can I make more money with my phone?" Read on to learn more about the latest mobile apps and innovations that can help you be productive from anywhere: The RPR Mobile™ app is your key to listing and local housing market intel. If you haven't opened it up lately, you're really missing out. It's recently been improved with enhancements such as an updated interface and a plethora of data that you can access while in the field. And here's the really big news... (drum roll) the Shareable Market Trends charts and graphs are now available on the RPR Mobile™ app! This collection of hyper-local housing stats is designed to help you inform your clients about local real estate market trends, info and indicators. It's also great for positioning yourself as a local market expert. Keep clients informed with hyper-local market updates Access to Market Trends and Housing Stats through the RPR Mobile app makes it easier for REALTORS® to stay up-to-date on market trends, even when they are on the go. Use these metrics to assess and analyze the current state of the housing market in specific local areas. You can use this information to advise your clients on a pricing strategy, offer strategies and market conditions. You can also use it to identify trends that may affect future buying or selling decisions. For example, if there is a low inventory of homes for sale and high demand, you may advise a seller to list their home at a higher price point knowing that there are likely to be multiple offers. Alternatively, you may advise a buyer to act quickly when a new property is listed because you know that competition will be fierce. How to find Market Trends on the RPR Mobile™ App Watch this quick video (under five minutes) for a walkthrough of where to find the Market Trends and how you can easily share these important metrics directly to your favorite social media channels. You can also simply save the images to place in other marketing materials or communication pieces. RPR Market Trends and stats: up-to-date and on the go If you haven't downloaded the RPR Mobile™app, do so now! The previous link will take you to an area within our blog where you can easily get to the App store (for iPhones) or Google Play (for Android devices). If you're a REALTOR®, it's included in your NAR membership.

AI ChatGPT-Powered Market Analysis: Game-Changing Feature for Real Estate Marketing
Does the thought of staring at a blank screen while trying to write a market update for your clients and prospects make you cringe? Maybe diving into data and metrics isn't your favorite activity, or your to-do list is piling up with other important tasks that demand your attention. You're in luck! RPR (Realtors Property Resource) is introducing an AI ScriptWriter, which is a ChatGPT integration. It offers real estate professionals a streamlined approach to creating personalized video scripts, engaging social media content and detailed metrics analysis. These features are powered by essential market indicators such as Month's Supply of Inventory, List-to-Sold Price Ratio, Median Days on the Market within RPR and Median Sold Price. These tools will help you create informative content that effectively showcases the latest market trends and insights while saving you time and effort. Personalized Video Scripts: Create personalized video scripts for your local market analysis videos using the RPR AI ScriptWriter. Match your script with the new Shareable Market Trends feature, which enables you to export charts and graphs for your data-driven videos. Easily download images in JPG or PNG formats and seamlessly integrate them into video editing software like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. Social Media Content Creation: While you're at it, keep your social media platforms buzzing with market insights. Have ScriptWriter create tailor-made content for key local metrics. Metrics Analysis: Leverage ScriptWriter to review the metrics, and highlight the correlation between them. This valuable insight will help you make better-informed decisions while guiding clients through their real estate journey. The Key to Success: Collaborating with Your AI Assistant Remember, the key to unlocking the full potential of AI-generated content is to add your personal touch. Proofread and fine-tune: As the saying goes, "Two sets of eyes are better than one." ChatGPT excels at crafting compelling content, but it's crucial to double-check for accuracy and ensure everything aligns with your objectives. Make sure the script reflects your brand's voice and style to resonate with your target audience. Infuse your brand's personality: Your brand is one-of-a-kind, and you've worked tirelessly to establish your identity. So, go ahead and add your unique flair! Highlight your selling points, emphasize your expertise, and share your experience. This will not only reinforce your brand identity but also instill trust in your clients. ScriptWriter is a helpful tool that can streamline the creation of your market analysis videos. By synergizing with your AI assistant and infusing your personal touch, you'll create truly captivating and impactful content that sets you apart in the competitive world of real estate marketing. Don't miss out on this opportunity to revolutionize your marketing strategy! Getting Started with AI ScriptWriter Ready to create captivating content for your audience? Follow these steps to access and use the RPR Market Trends ScriptWriter tool: Log in to RPR (narrpr.com) and select Research. Now select Residential Market Trends. Then type in your area (ZIP code, City) and click the search icon. You'll arrive on the Market Trends page for the area searched. Select the Create Script to open the Market Trends ScriptWriter. Choose your tone, audience… then choose one of the following buttons: Create Video Script. Create Social Campaign. Analyze Metrics. Review, edit and personalize the content to reflect your brand identity. Don't let blank pages or writer's block get in your way again! The RPR Market Trends ScriptWriter is a marketing tool that lets REALTORS® create talking points and marketing copy, all based on local market stats. Choose your market, tone, audience… then hit the button to almost instantly get the words you need to craft compelling market updates and messages to your clients and prospects. You're also encouraged to proofread and add your own brand voice to the AI-generated text. (Check out this article, How to add Your Brand Voice to RPR's Market Trends ScriptWriter, for some tips and examples.) We encourage you to take the ScriptWriter for a spin today to see how effortless it can now be to create market update videos, social posts, etc. Anywhere you need words, it can help! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How RPR Metrics Can Help Realtors Predict Market Trends
Predicting the future of the real estate market is no easy feat. However, by utilizing data and market metrics, it is possible to identify trends and make well-informed conclusions. In this article, we will discuss how Market Trends from RPR can help you identify potential inventory and pricing trends, enabling you to better prepare and advise your clients. Mastering Market Analysis with RPR Market Trends A variety of metrics found in RPR can be useful for forecasting future market conditions. By analyzing historical data and patterns, you can make data-driven predictions about the real estate market, enabling you to better serve clients and make more informed decisions. Here's an example of how each metric can be used in forecasting: Month's Supply of Inventory: By observing trends in inventory over time, you can anticipate potential shifts in the market. For instance, a consistent decrease in Month's Supply of Inventory suggests a strengthening seller's market, while an increase could signal a shift toward a buyer's market. Forecasting these changes can help you and your clients make strategic decisions about when to buy or sell properties. List to Sold Price Percentage: Monitoring the list to sold price percentage over time can help you identify trends, such as whether the market is becoming more competitive or not. If the percentage is consistently increasing, it might indicate a stronger seller's market, whereas a decreasing percentage could suggest a more favorable buyer's market. Forecasting these trends can assist clients in making well-timed offers and developing effective negotiation strategies. Median Days in RPR: Analyzing changes in the median days in RPR can help you anticipate fluctuations in market demand. If properties are consistently spending less time on the market, it could indicate an increase in demand and a possible uptick in property prices. Conversely, longer selling times might suggest a decrease in demand and a potential downward trend in property values. Forecasting these trends can help clients make better decisions about when to enter or exit the market. Median Sold Price: Observing trends in median sold prices can provide insights into the overall health of the market and help you identify potential areas of growth or decline. By comparing median sold prices across different neighborhoods and time periods, you can forecast future price trends and advise clients on the best locations and timing for their investments. By combining these metrics and observing trends over time, you can develop a comprehensive understanding of the real estate market and make more accurate forecasts. These forecasts can then be used to inform clients' decision-making, optimize marketing strategies and ultimately lead to more successful transactions. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Commercial: Traffic Data You Can Count On
When it comes to advising commercial real estate investors and business owners on site selection, it's a smart move to factor in traffic count data. In this article, we'll show you how RPR (Realtors Property Resource) provides easy access to traffic data to help you crunch those numbers, gauge potential and guide your clients to optimal locations. The RPR-Kalibrate data partnership can really benefit a business Through its partnership with Kalibrate, RPR Commercial offers comprehensive traffic count data to help REALTORS® make informed decisions when assisting clients in site selection. Providing valuable traffic count insight into the potential footfall (the number of people entering a store or shopping area in a given time) and site visibility can be make or break for a new business. The more people who see a business or are exposed to its signage, the more likely they are to visit! Although counting cars and commuters, and determining annual average daily traffic is not a new idea, many commercial specialists don't utilize the data to properly advise their clients. Here's how to do it in RPR. Accessing Traffic Count Data in RPR Commercial Log in to RPR (narrpr.com) Select Research, and then Commercial Map Insights Enter a geographic area or zip code or specific address Select Driving (the car icon to the right) and then Traffic Counts Choose the range, or simply chose Select All and Apply Customize the view by zooming in or out and toggling traffic count layers The traffic data will appear on the map in different colored triangles Click on specific count points (the triangles) to view the detailed traffic data Accessing Traffic Count Data in RPR Commercial Now that we know how to access traffic count data, let's spend a little time on the why. Obviously, the more cars that drive by a business, the better the chances for success. Using this info as a site selection analysis tool can help you and your client(s) in: Assessing footfall and visibility potential Identifying prime locations for specific business types Analyzing trends in traffic flow (morning commutes vs weekend) Aiding in the decision-making process for clients Assessing historical data to track growth Design better delivery routes, if applicable Speaking of visibility from bullet number one, here's a real world example: perhaps you're familiar with the TV show Bar Rescue, where hospitality consultant Jon Taffer gives bars and restaurants a complete remodel and rebranding. He also often makes it a point to give their signage a facelift, and regularly quotes traffic count data in his reasoning. If 10,000 cars go by each day, they need to be able to see and read your business signage. As a commercial retail specialist with access to RPR, you too can make these recommendations! Map out your commercial recommendations with RPR traffic counts With the powerful data layers in RPR's Commercial maps, you can supply your clients with accurate and up-to-date traffic count information. The data will display actual historical counts as well as Kalibrate's projected counts, which are based on the last published traffic count, local area trend data and up-to-date demographic information. We encourage you to do a search and take our map Driving icon for a spin! This can be a helpful way to give retail businesses an idea of how many people will drive by their business each day and position you as an insightful business advisor. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Launches Hyper-Local Shareable Market Trends
RPR has unveiled one of its most exciting features ever: Shareable Market Trends! With this powerful tool, REALTORS® can now easily share up-to-date, hyper-local market trends and housing stats like never before. Just a few clicks or taps from the website or RPR mobile app and you'll be sharing across all your favorite social media platforms and marketing touchpoints. Trust us—it's a game-changer! Empower consumers with data-driven insights Imagine captivating your clients and prospects with a goldmine of data-driven insights, all available at your fingertips. Sharing is a breeze on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, while Instagram lovers using RPR Mobile™ can easily download the image (JPG or PNG) and share it directly. Plus, the charts come with an oh-so-convenient "Copy" function, perfect for pasting these market trends into Canva, PowerPoint, Google Slides, or any other marketing tool you're using. Harness the power of RPR's Shareable Market Trends in all of your marketing touchpoints RPR Shareable Market Trends are a powerful resource for real estate agents looking to stay informed and impress their clients with up-to-date, detailed insights into the local market. They offer a variety of metrics to help you (and your clients and prospects) understand current market dynamics, such as the Market Trends Indicator with key details on Month's Supply of Inventory, List to Sold Price Percentage, Median Days in RPR and Median Sold Price. Below that are a series of dynamic charts representing different statuses, including New Listings, Active Listings, New Pending Listings, Pending Listings, Sold Listings and a chart for Sold Public Records. Each chart features tabs showcasing essential metrics such as Median List or Sold Price, Number of Properties, List-to-Sold Price Percentage and Median Days in RPR, among others. Additionally, the Months Supply of Inventory is presented in a dedicated chart for your convenience. Now, here are some tried-and-true strategies to make the most of these shareable charts: Social Media: Regularly post charts and stats on your social channels, engaging your audience with meaningful market insights that keep them coming back for more. Email Marketing: Spice up your newsletters or campaigns with these informative charts, showing subscribers you know your stuff when it comes to the local market. Blog Posts: Write data-driven posts with charts to back up your analysis, boosting your website's SEO and solidifying your reputation as a local market expert. Listing Presentations: Wow potential clients by weaving charts into your presentations, proving you've got your finger on the pulse of the market. Buyer/Seller Guides: Enhance your guides with charts to give clients a comprehensive understanding of current trends and what to expect in their real estate journey. Direct Mail: Grab your target audience's attention by featuring charts in postcards, flyers, or other direct mail materials. Video Content: Produce videos discussing chart insights and post them on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. Share these videos on social media and embed them on your website to maximize engagement. Webinars and Virtual Events: Use charts as visual aids during webinars or virtual events to educate your audience and showcase your know-how. Print Marketing: Broaden your reach by incorporating charts into brochures, magazine ads, or local newspaper publications. Here's how to find the shareable charts and how to share them Now it's time to experience where to find the Market Trends charts and graphs, and how easy it is to share them. Simply join us on this guided tour in RPR for a step-by-step walk through. This shortcut will take you through the process in no time. Share hyper-local market stats in hyperspeed We've made it super easy to access and share local market housing data. Now it's up to you to spread the word! By integrating RPR's Shareable Market Trends into your marketing mix, you'll effectively showcase your expertise, attract new clients, and keep your existing clients in the loop. So go ahead—unleash the power of RPR's latest product offering and watch your business flourish! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Market Trends and Housing Stats Now Available in RPR Mobile
Last year, RPR (Realtors Property Resource) unveiled a fantastic resource for REALTORS®: the Market Trends charts and graphs. This collection of hyper-local housing stats is designed to help you inform your clients about local real estate market trends, info and indicators. It's also great for positioning yourself as a local market expert. (Check out these articles for details: RPR Unveils New Charts and Graphs in its Neighborhood Pages and Future Proof Your Business by Knowing Your Market and Your Numbers.) And now… (drum roll) the Market Trends charts and graphs are available on the RPR Mobile™ app! Keep clients informed with hyper-local market updates Access to Market Trends and Housing Stats through the RPR Mobile app makes it easier for REALTORS® to stay up-to-date on market trends even when they are on the go. You can quickly access Months of Inventory, List-to-Sold Price Percentage, Median Days in RPR, and Median Sold Price from your mobile device. Best of all, they're conveniently grouped by each status: New Listings, Active Listings, New Pending Listings, Pending Listings, and Sold Listings. This can help your clients make informed decisions and provide better service by being able to respond quickly to changes in the market. Use all these metrics to assess and analyze the current state of the housing market in their area. You can use this information to advise your clients on a pricing strategy, offer strategies, and market conditions. You can also use it to identify trends that may affect future buying or selling decisions. For example, if there is a low inventory of homes for sale and high demand, you may advise a seller to list their home at a higher price point knowing that there are likely to be multiple offers. Alternatively, you may advise a buyer to act quickly when a new property is listed because you know that competition will be fierce. How to find Market Trends on the RPR Mobile™ App To find the charts, open up your RPR app (after updating it, of course) and look towards the bottom of the home screen. There is now a new Market Trends icon! Click the tab to access a variety of market statistics, similar to the Market Trend tools on the RPR website. Be aware that the Market Trends will open to the geography that the user is currently in. To change it, type in a new neighborhood, ZIP or city. Pro Tip: If you're searching a neighborhood or area with little to no recent transactions, there will not be enough data for a chart to be offered. For the transaction-based charts, RPR needs at least three transactions within a calendar month. If no data appears on a chart or the "Updated" date is not what you expected, try searching within a larger area or select a different Property Type. The chart options will include: New Listings Active Listings New Pending Listings Pending Listings Sold Listings Sold Public Records Months Supply of Inventory Median Estimated Property Value You'll also be able to view a variety of metrics for all property statuses and property types. And filters allow you to break down statistics by individual property types as well. Tip: You can also "Save" markets by tapping the heart icon. RPR Market Trends and stats: up-to-date and on the go If you haven't downloaded the RPR Mobile™app, do so now! The previous link will take you to an area within our blog where you can easily get to the App store (for iPhones) or Google Play (for Android devices). Be sure to update and fire up your app or download it to your phone to get easy access to RPR's Market Trends and Housing Stats. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Turn Your Next Open House into a Closed Deal
Spring has officially sprung and that means open house season is in full bloom! RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) is here to help you get ready and host an event that draws traffic, lures in buyers, and maybe even helps you connect with some warmed up leads. For tips on how to prep, plan and pull it all off, check out RPR's ultimate guide: A-Z Open House Tips. However, the focus of this article is a reminder that the most important guest who attends your open house… is your phone. That's right, the RPR app is your secret, on-site weapon! The RPR app: where every answer is in the palm of your hand On game day, make sure the RPR Mobile app is updated and downloaded to your phone and with you at all times. The reason? Ahead of time, you can run a variety of different reports on the home and the area. Everything you do on the RPR website syncs with your phone app. So when you create the reports for your property address, all those reports will be one touch away. You can also create reports right there in the house, on the fly, and instantly send them to prospects visiting the open house. These reports, such as the Market Activity Report, the Neighborhood Report and the Schools Report, will arm you, and prospective buyers, with loads of data and information. Then you'll be ready to have conversations about the home itself, the neighborhood, the schools and the market. Speaking of market conditions… Market Trends and Housing Stats go mobile Access hyper-local housing market data with just a simple tap from the app's home screen. You'll see a laundry list of relevant area data, including: New Listings, Active Listings, Pending Listings, Sold Listings, Sold Public Records, Month's Supply of Inventory, Median Estimated Property Value and more. The advantages of being able to offer this type of information are endless. Access to this data positions you as the go-to, local market expert. Simply put, these charts make you look really smart! If a buyer strolls in and asks a question about home inventory in the neighborhood, there's zero "fake it til you make it" on your part. With the RPR app in your back pocket, you're able to provide up-to-date, rock solid data that will make a huge impression on your open house goers. RPR app Success Stories Here are two real world ways that the RPR app helped REALTORS® close some deals after an open house. One was an on-the-fly hail mary, while the other is a calculated, planned out ahead of time lead generation tactic. RPR Mobile App Saves the Day for Busy Florida REALTOR® In a high-stakes open house, Florida REALTOR® Gregg Center faced a unique challenge: engaging six couples simultaneously. With his go-to real estate app failing to deliver, Gregg turned to the recently downloaded RPR Mobile app as a last-ditch effort. Swiftly intercepting the last couple, Gregg used RPR to showcase nearby properties, revealing a missed listing right across the street. Impressed, the clients made a $2.1 million offer, which ultimately fell through. However, they entrusted Gregg with buying a new home, selling their current property, and listing four waterfront parcels. Today, Gregg champions RPR as an indispensable business tool, streamlining client interactions and "elevating his real estate prowess." Get the Full Story: Hail Mary Effort Proves Worthy of This Realtor's Strategic Open House Move Mastering Open Houses: A RPR-Driven Approach Nicole Nicolay, a top-performing REALTOR® from Northern California, has developed a successful open house strategy that revolves around three key elements: engaging icebreakers, providing relevant information, and ensuring timely follow-ups. By leveraging RPR data and tools, Nicole establishes meaningful connections with potential clients and offers personalized property, neighborhood, and school reports to create lasting impressions. Nicole's approach begins by greeting open house guests enthusiastically and asking the right questions to establish a connection. She then offers potential clients valuable information drawn from the RPR platform about the area, schools, and neighborhoods. If visitors are considering both buying and selling, Nicolay promptly offers an RPR Mini Property Report on their current residence, complete with a comp analysis. To prepare for open houses, Nicole runs RPR's Mini Property, Neighborhood, and School Reports, displaying them prominently during the event. She also has a streamlined follow-up system in place, using an online form to collect contact information and subsequently sending customized RPR reports based on clients' interests. And here's the lead gen cherry on top that Nicole uses at all of her open houses: She displays one copy of a report in a high traffic area. Then, when guests pick it up, she can break the ice and make an intro by saying, "It's great that you picked up that Property Report. Right now, it's the only copy I have left, but if you'll give me your contact information, I'm happy to send you a personalized version." This conversation-starter is a keen lead generation tactic that helps her connect with prospects, without coming on too strong. Get the Full Story: Conversion is Key for This Open House Expert You and the RPR app make a great team on open house day Spring is when the selling season really heats up! Make your next open house a success by incorporating RPR; especially the RPR Mobile app. It can help you handle all the curveballs that buyers throw your way in the form of questions about the home, the neighborhood, the schools and the market. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Discover the Power of Data-Driven Real Estate Sales Funnels
Are you ready to maximize your marketing impact? Utilizing real estate sales funnel data can be the key to reaching your niche and driving growth in your business. What's a sales funnel? A real estate sales funnel is a process used by real estate agents and brokers to convert leads into clients. It involves a series of steps that help agents identify, qualify and nurture leads, eventually converting them into buyers and sellers. The funnel comprises various stages: generating leads, nurturing leads, setting an initial meeting, closing a deal, and even post-transaction follow-up. At the start of the funnel, leads are generated through various methods such as advertising, social media, networking, referrals, and cold calling. After leads are identified, they're nurtured by providing information and resources to help them make informed decisions and build trust. The next step is setting an initial meeting, usually a face-to-face meeting, to determine their needs and discuss the options. How to set up a real estate sales funnel Setting up a sales funnel for your real estate business can seem daunting, but with the right steps, it doesn't have to be. Let's walk through the steps to set up a sales funnel for SEO-based campaigns, social media, video and other marketing outreach: Define Your Target Audience: Start by pinpointing who your target audience is. Ask yourself questions like, "What type of clients do I like working with most?" and "What are their interests?" Once you've identified your target audience, you can tailor your sales funnel to meet their needs. Choose and Optimize Your Platforms: Once you know your target audience, decide on the platforms you'll use to reach them. Will you be using SEO? Email? Social media? Video Marketing? Choose the platforms you think will work best for your audience and then optimize those platforms for maximum visibility and engagement. Create Content: Content is king and especially important for sales funnels. Create content that your target audience will find valuable and shareable. Tailor the content to the platforms you're using. For example, if you're using social media, you may want to focus on visuals and short snippets of content. If you're using SEO, then focus on keywords and long-form content. Lead Magnet: Lead magnets are attractive offers that entice prospects to visit your site and provide their contact information in exchange for something of value. Examples of lead magnets include e-books, webinars, white papers, market reports, a "What's my home worth?" landing page and more. BONUS: RPR Market Activity reports are a powerful lead magnet. Consider offering a Market Activity report to prospects with data-driven market insights about the local real estate market. These reports contain invaluable information about the current market, including listing and sales activity and pricing trends that can help potential buyers and sellers determine whether the time is right for them to enter the market. Be sure to have a clear call to action, such as, "Provide me with your address and I'll send you a Market Activity Report based on your area," or something to that effect. Design Your Funnel: Once your content and lead magnet are ready, it's time to design your funnel. Often this involves a landing page. It should be eye-catching and provide clear messaging and a call to action. From there, create a form to capture user information and set up automation to follow up on those leads. Automating your follow-up process allows you to reach out to potential customers quickly and easily and ensures no leads slip through the cracks. Track and measure: driving maximum impact with your sales funnels If you're serious about your sales funnel strategy, don't stop short of tracking your results. Pay attention to the metrics that can give you the most useful insight into your campaigns' performance and areas that need improvement (social media engagement, website visits, click-through rates, conversion rate, cost per lead and more). Then based on those metrics, craft messages that will really connect with your niche audience! Use trends from your existing campaigns – emails, mailers, social media and more – to identify what's working and areas for refinement. With this data to guide you, create targeted messages and campaigns that resonate. And use the same data to focus in on the best messaging for maximum impact. Unlock the power of data to get the results you want! Unlock your inner marketer: create an engaging sales funnel Embrace the power of sales funnels and use the tools you now possess to craft a powerful funnel that resonates with your target audience. With the right combination of content and analytics, you can see the tangible results of your efforts and confidently optimize your marketing plan. Take the plunge and make your mark — the success is yours for the taking! Good luck! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Using RPR Site Selection Tools to Help Businesses Find Their Target Audience
In our previous article, "Tap Into Big Data with RPR and Esri Tapestry Segmentation," we demonstrated how commercial practitioners can utilize Consumer Tapestry Segmentation data in RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) for research purposes and how it can provide support for their recommendations and client guidance. This time around, we're going to dig a little deeper and illustrate how Tapestry Segmentation plays an essential role in finding the right target audience by incorporating a household's interests and characteristics into the analysis. Unlike age and income, Tapestry Segmentation takes into account the relationships between these characteristics. It provides a more comprehensive view of a household's housing choices, consumption preferences, and decision-making tendencies. Most importantly, using RPR's Site Selection tool with Esri's Tapestry Segmentation, REALTORS® can analyze demographic data and focus on the attributes and behaviors that lead to a successful business location. How Does Tapestry Segmentation Help? Despite age and income being important to the demographic profile of an area, looking at these factors separately doesn't reveal any underlying relationships. But experience has shown households with similar interests and characteristics tend to make the same decisions. Let's look at how those interests and characteristics can be included by using Tapestry Segmentation data found within RPR's Site Selection analysis. In the two examples below, Household "A" and Household "B" appear quite similar. The average household income and ages between both households are practically the same. If the goal is to find new areas of expansion with specific types of consumer households, "A" and "B" appear to have equal demographics and spending power potential. However, once Tapestry is included in the analysis, a different story is revealed: Both neighborhoods contain distinct consumer markets, but "A" and "B" are very different types of households. They also display different housing choices and consumption preferences. Households in neighborhood "A" are classified as Metro Renters, while neighborhood "B" is classified as Up and Coming Families. Use RPR and Esri to drill down into Tapestry Segments to find the best targets As you can see, the income and ages of these households are closely aligned, but by adding the Tapestry Segment, a more focused picture comes to light. The name itself is a huge indicator and drilling down into the descriptions of these groups really helps solidify the context. For example, if your client is looking for a neighborhood or community to open a toddler-focused fitness and fun center (think My Gym), your main objective is to find young families. On the surface, Metro Renters and Up and Coming Families are very alike, but scratch just a bit in the Tapestry, and it's obvious that there are stark differences. Metro Renters are mostly young, single professionals who live in a big city. Up and Coming Families live in the suburbs, are in their early 30s, and most importantly, have young children. Of course, this doesn't mean that ALL Metro Renters don't have young children. It's simply a grouping that represents the majority of that demographic. The main takeaway here is to do your preliminary research ahead of time, use some common sense, and be sure to do your homework on each specific Tapestry Segment to ensure you're focusing on the most lucrative targets for a business. What is the best way to determine which consumer attributes are most important to a business? To figure out which consumer attributes are the most critical, the best place to start is with market research, which can include both primary and secondary research: Primary research can include surveys, focus groups, interviews, and other means of collecting data on consumer preferences, attitudes and behaviors. Secondary research can include analyzing publicaly available data such as market reports, census data and consumer spending habits. This data can then be used to identify consumer attributes that are most important to a business's specific product or service. See RPR's Site Selection tool in action For a run down and a video walkthrough of RPR's Site Selection tool, check out this article: How to Perform a Proper Commercial Site Selection in RPR. It's a smart way to show your clients not just who you are recommending, but why. You're not simply going after income and age; you're targeting specific attributes and behaviors that can lead to a successful business site. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Pushes for Perfection with New Property Details Additions
At RPR (Realtors Property Resource), we pride ourselves on pushing the platform to make RPR better for its users in every way imaginable. For our team of developers and designers, the work is simply never done. We take feedback, survey responses, suggestions and user testing sessions very seriously, and we make updates and enhancements to our website and the mobile application, to ensure that REALTORS® have access to the most complete property data tool in the industry. Case in point: our latest improvements to the Property Details pages. Yes, we did come out with a redesigned and refreshed version of our Property Details pages last October. And after some input from users, we're fine-tuning and improving them even more in our latest product release. RPR's reformatted residential Property Info page When you click into a property in RPR, you're taken right to its Property Details page, and the first section you're presented with is the Property Information. With its bigger pictures and improved layout of facts, you're now able to see more information about a property at a glance. The new design features: A larger property photo The basic facts are more prominently displayed (beds, bath, square footage, etc.) An improved display of the RVM® estimated range and confidence score The Refined Value and CMA link have been moved to the new Pricing Tools card The RPR Pricing Tools card Directly underneath the photo and facts is the Pricing Tool cards. These new color-coded boxes provide important price and valuation numbers, with links for more details. But what you'll probably notice first is the color! This pop of color for each card really helps the numbers stand out and be noticed. The new Pricing Tools Card includes links to: The list price (for active properties) or the most recent sold price (off market properties), as well as the RVM® CMA Tools (Comparative Analysis and Sales Comparison Analysis) The Refined Value Tool Seller Proceeds More prominent display of the sold price for off-market properties For researching off-market properties, we've made it much easier to view the last sold price, including the date the home went off the market. Less scrolling and hunting—more viewing! RPR's Market Trends/Neighborhood Housing Charts The Market Trends and Neighborhood Housing charts and graphs in RPR are perfect for keeping tabs on local housing markets. Agents are checking them monthly, and sharing the stats with their clients and prospects to keep them "in the know" on how the market is doing. Which can go a long way in positioning yourself as the local market expert! RPR has made the following improvements to these pages: The "About this Data" link has been replaced with an italicized 'i' The date has been moved from the bottom of the chart to the top. Reminder: These charts are updated monthly (5-7 days after the first of the month). RPR keeps getting better! Our goal is to help REALTORS® be better, faster and more proficient at what they do. Helping you "wow" clients and close more deals is the mission, and our constant drive to improve the product will help us all get there. This is just a highlight of all the changes and improvements RPR made with its latest product release. Be sure to check out our February 2023 Release Notes for more details and in-depth information on everything else. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Outperform Your Competition with These 10 Prospecting Essentials
It's no secret, prospecting is a critical factor in determining how successful you will be in the real estate industry. This article will identify prospecting strategies to help you stand out from the competition and increase your real estate success. From knowing your niche to utilizing digital marketing to its fullest potential, these strategies will help you make the most of your time, acquire more leads, and close more deals. 1. Know Your Niche Identify your competitive advantage and focus your efforts on the areas where you excel. Also, consider the type of clients you want to work with and the services you can offer to meet their needs. 2. Leverage Behavioral Targeting to Connect with Your Ideal Prospects With your niche selected, use behavioral targeting to identify key characteristics of your prospects and then craft a message that speaks directly to them. 3. Create a Localized Website with SEO Optimization This is your home base for showcasing your listings, marketing your services, and providing resources for buyers, sellers, and investors. Consider including a blog to discuss local real estate news and showcase local resources such as schools, restaurants, and attractions. 4. Embrace Video in Your Marketing Video has the potential to reach a large audience and gives potential prospects a chance to get to know you — building your trust and credibility. Your tips and market insights will help to position you as a local market expert. Video marketing also helps you stay top-of-mind with past clients. 5. Leverage Social Media to Connect with Prospects Social media is a terrific way to build relationships with prospects and create content that adds value to their lives. Share helpful advice and tips about the area, the real estate market, and the home buying/selling process. Connect with local businesses and organizations to increase your presence in the community and become a trusted resource. 6. Host Events to Network with Prospects Host open houses or educational seminars that allow potential prospects to meet and learn more about you. Consider participating in, or organizing, local community events to meet new locals and build connections. 7. Develop an Effective Follow-Up Process It's important to follow up with prospects after initial contact to stay top of mind. Take the time to craft a personalized message tailored to the prospect. Ask questions that will give you insight into their needs and wants. And don't rush the process! Be patient and take the time to build trust and rapport. 8. Providing Exceptional Customer Service Always strive to provide the highest level of customer service to ensure prospects will remember you and reach out for future business. That starts with listening intently, following through on promises, providing timely answers, and going above and beyond when needed. 9. Leverage Referrals from Past Clients Word-of-mouth referrals from happy past clients are invaluable for real estate prospecting. Sending thank you notes is a great way to thank past clients for their business and remind them to refer their friends and family. 10. Develop an Effective Lead-Nurturing Strategy It's important to identify and prioritize leads based on their level of engagement and interest, so you can focus your efforts on the most promising leads. This is why it's important to have a lead-nurturing strategy that includes targeted content, automated emails and follow-up calls to keep prospects interested and engaged. Prospective clients are out there… we'll help you find them What's just as important as your current client? Your next one! Proven prospecting methods like the ones above will help fill your pipeline and start some conversations. Use this top ten list of prospecting strategies and tactics to stand out from the pack and get noticed. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

5 Ways to Start 2023 Strong
Welcome to the new year, where fresh starts, clean slates, resets and resolutions are top of mind and can set the tone for a successful 2023. We're here to help you elevate every aspect of your business by giving you access to data, reports, tools and inspiration that you can utilize to "wow" clients and close more deals. These five pointers will help you increase your productivity and expertise. Try one or all five to be more prepared and more successful in the coming year. Develop your brand story You're likely familiar with what a "brand" is. It is something that goes beyond a physical product or service, in that it incorporates experience and perceptions. Apple isn't just a phone or computer; it's clean, cool and easy to use. And of course, successful branding includes a consistent look, tone, feel, design, messaging, mission and vision, and more. However, the term "brand story" might be new to you. Here's a quick definition: a brand story is a packaged narrative that includes the facts and feelings that are created by your brand, i.e. your real estate business. Unlike traditional advertising and marketing, which usually centers on showing and telling, a brand story sets out to strike an emotional chord. It recounts the series of events that sparked your business' inception and expresses how that narrative drives your business forward. How can a real estate agent develop a brand story? It starts with answering the "why?" question. Why are you in real estate? Why are you passionate about it? What motivates you and why do you keep at it? Why are you the right person to help someone achieve their real estate goals? Answer these questions and you've got a great start to your brand story. Finding that voice will set you apart from the cookie cutter crowd. Include it in your bio, feature it on your website, post it on Facebook, and commit your elevator pitch to memory for face to face meetings and bump-ins. PRO TIP: RPR Reports are customizable and you can add custom pages to the beginning of every report you create. This is the perfect place to include your brand story, as well as testimonials and business philosophies that back it up. Build positive daily habits It's no secret that successful people do the same things, day after day. The trick is to make these daily habits be productive and enjoyable, as opposed to feeling like a chore. Here's a good list to get you going, specific to real estate professionals: Establish a morning routine: Getting up every day at the same time helps you set and stick to a schedule. Even though agents aren't exactly nine to fivers, getting up and having a healthy breakfast and a strong cup of joe is a smart way to start the day. Coffee time is perfect for reading real estate blogs and/or listening to real estate podcasts. If that's not your thing, use the time to browse the latest hot sheets. After that, set aside some time for exercise, even if it's just a 20-minute walk. You'll feel better, more focused and your brain and body will thank you for it. Sleep in on Sunday! Prepare and practice: After nutrition, caffeination and a bit of cardio, it's time to get down to business. Set aside a chunk of time, at the same time every day, for some script rehearsal. If you bump into someone and they ask you about real estate, do you have a go-to response about what you offer or how the market's doing? Practice this "elevator pitch" out loud, and just like that old college speech class, use note cards and deliver it to yourself until you've got it down pat. Pick different topics and work on what you'll say in different situations. Focus and prioritize your communication efforts: Don't leave 'em hanging! Be sure to respond as quickly as possible to leads and always follow up on your client questions and "asks" in a swift manner. Set aside a 15-minute block a few times a day (or more) to respond to any emails or texts that were sent your way. If you need time to figure something out or get an answer, let your customers know that you're working on it and you'll get back to them ASAP. If you're super techy, you can also set up some AI bot response software for lighting fast response times. Be active on social media/build an online presence: Facebook, Instagram, and yes, even TikTok are the price of admission in today's marketing mix. Sharing posts, photos and videos about your real estate business is expected by Gen Xers, Millennials and now entering the market, Gen Z. And in an online world, there's no "set it and forget it." You have to stay active and current on your platforms to ensure you stay top of mind with clients and prospects. Set aside time each day to monitor your accounts, and while you might not create and share content daily, be sure to do it at least a couple of times a week. Share new listings, philosophies, local market trends, community events and news, testimonials, home design recommendations, etc. And be sure to keep tabs on other agents to see what they're sharing and if it works… start doing it, too. Perfect your explanation of what's happening in your market After the Fed raised interest rates in 2022, many buyers hopped back up on the fence, which caused the market to shift from the previous boom. National headlines continue to feed up scary language that is causing confusion and concern. However, all real estate is local, and you've got access to the latest local market stats and trends through RPR. RPR offers monthly updated market stats from a county level, right on down to specific neighborhoods. With this fresh data, you can tell a real estate market story from your local point of view. This will help inform your clients and prospects of how the market is doing, versus what the nationwide market is reporting. This positions you as a source of truth and shows off your local market expertise—something that buyers and sellers need right now! Check out RPR Unveils New Charts and Graphs in its Neighborhood Pages for a "how-to" on finding these charts and graphs. Getting this type of information out to homeowners and home buyers is essential in today's shifting market. And you can easily do it on social media channels. Learn how to share this information with your sphere by reading How to use RPR and Canva to Make Shareable Market Charts for Social Media. Another great way is to produce quick videos, 1-2 minutes in length, that deliver the messaging that plays out in a simple click. This article, Shifting Real Estate Market: How to Create a Video That Clears up Confusion, shows you how to pull it off, and it even includes a script for you to use word for word, or find inspiration from it and create your own. Have a solid lead generation strategy Every agent wants warm leads, but they rarely come walking through the door. You simply have to go out, work them, and find them. Or better yet… generate them! Here are some great ways to get started with lead gen strategies: Open houses: some say it's antiquated and doesn't really work for your listings, but savvy agents know that open houses are great for meeting buyers. Some agents even hold open houses for listing agents for this exact purpose. While they do attract their fair share of neighbors and looky loos, open houses also draw serious, qualified buyers—many who don't have an agent yet. Be sure to have an old school paper sign-in sheet or a digital tablet sign-in to collect contact info, and write notes after they leave. Follow up within 48 hours and definitely add them to your CRM. Social media: Using Facebook for marketing purposes may seem complicated, but it's actually not too difficult and the cost is relatively low compared to many other types of media. This article, The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Lead Ads for REALTORS®, explains how to do it, from soup to nuts. Sphere of Influence (SOI): Your Sphere of Influence is a mix of your contacts and connections. It's everyone from close family and friends, to social media friends, to even friends of friends. Add them all to your CRM and start to nurture that list: use social media posts, deliver an eNewsletter, send out direct mail, write and post blog post, etc. Any touchpoint you can make adds to your circle! For even more solid farming/lead gen ideas (and more info on the ones above), be sure to check out one of our most-read articles, 8 Proven Prospecting Methods. It's the perfect place to get inspiration for prospecting/farming/lead generation tactics. Hone your skills: Attend a free RPR webinar Here's a smart way to invest in yourself and get the year off to a solid start: RPR webinars! Throughout the month (every month, in fact), our expert and super friendly trainers conduct one-hour classes on topics you can surely get better at, including prospecting, building CMAs, creating listing presentations, conducting property searches, commercial property site selections, and much more. Best part? These quick webinars are absolutely free! No upsells, add ons or sales pitches. Just one hour of hands-on, how-to training that will get you fluent and super productive in the RPR platform. Check out our webinar schedule to RSVP and claim your spot now. Start the new year in high gear Now you have a roadmap for making 2023 your best year ever in real estate. Apply a couple or all to your daily routine to put yourself in the best position to succeed! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

[Podcast] Decoding Real Estate: Minimizing Buyer's Remorse with Bernice Ross
This installment of Decoding Real Estate is all about how to set home buyer expectations and curb buyer remorse in the current, shifting market. Real estate coach and nationally syndicated columnist Bernice Ross joins the DRE crew to discuss different strategies on how to approach buyers and how to pre-communicate to them in this new, high interest rate market. Bernice gives tips on in-depth buyer interviews and how to assess new home wants versus new home needs. She also offers other great ideas on communication preferences, how to prep first-timers on paperwork, disclosures and key transaction dates. And, of course, reasons to provide buyers with RPR property reports. Decoding Real Estate is hosted by Reggie Nicolay and Genie Willett. Subscribe/Follow And be sure to check out these helpful and relevant links: RealEstateCoach.com Realtors Property Resource Listen on: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Stitcher To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Integrates with CompStak to Deliver a Deal-Making Commercial Tool
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) is excited to announce that we're now offering our users another nifty tool in their commercial tool belt. In an effort to provide commercial agents with more of what they need to succeed, we are pleased to welcome CompStak as a new partner. CompStak is a national commercial data platform that puts valuable CRE intel into commercial practitioners' hands. CompStak offers commercial brokers, agents and appraisers access to commercial property comps. This is achieved through an information exchange which gathers and quality checks lease and sales comps from real world commercial professionals in the field. CompStak's free database provides millions of vetted, granular comps with no fees or contracts. This collaborative effort can save agents time and assist commercial specialists in getting more deals done. RPR welcomes CompStak to your tech stack Through RPR, REALTORS® can now access the CompStak Exchange, an analyst-reviewed comp data and analytics platform for no additional cost. CompStak can be located with just a click in RPR's Additional Resource section, which is found on every RPR commercial property. At its core, the system operates on agents sharing comps with each other and using/gaining credits. This "crowdsourcing" approach fosters use and collaboration amongst its users. REALTORS® will have access to 500 promotional credits which allows them to try out the product and to discover timely comps in their respective markets. REALTORS® can upload their own comps to earn additional credits. Access to CompStak is now available to all REALTORS®, REALTOR-ASSOCIATES®, and Institute Affiliate Members. Here's how to access CompStak in RPR 1. Claim your free account by linking from a commercial property in RPR. The CompStak logo will be displayed in the Additional Resources section. 2. A window will display stating you are leaving RPR for a partnered site. 3. After creating your account, access to the CompStak database will be granted, complete with 500 preloaded credits provided through this partnership. 4. Additional credits may be earned by uploading your own comps. Get Commercial comps in RPR RPR Commercial has been focused on being simple, succinct and the place to start a commercial property search. This new data integration goes a long way in supporting this commitment. If you're an RPR Commercial user, you're encouraged to try out CompStak for quick access to accurate and transparent data. It certainly has the potential to provide REALTORS® with a competitive edge and can lead to better, faster deals. Check out our blog Knowledge Base for even more details on CompStak and how this new commercial product integration works within RPR. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

New Agent Maps out a Promising Future With an Assist From RPR
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) success stories are examples of how Realtors are using their NAR member benefit to "wow" their clients and close more deals. RPR can really help newer agents get up to speed in their skills and everyday transactional tasks. That's why we were so glad to see the following email from Michela Navarria: Hi RPR, I'm a huge fan of RPR because it's very user friendly and it has a neat layout. And of course, with the huge amounts of data, RPR makes my job easier and my clients happier. If I can be efficient in pulling data and analyzing it, I have more time to focus on customer care, moving transactions forward and delivering results by using advanced communication tools. -Michela Navarria Now that's a well-thought out take: use RPR as a tool to crunch data, send reports, create CMAs and prospect, while freeing yourself up to focus on taking care of your clients. Here's our Q&A with new(er) agent Michela Navarria. Q. How long have you been a REALTOR® and what area do you specialize in? I've been a REALTOR® for one year. I do residential mostly, and I also help buyers find second homes and vacation type of properties in Central Oregon. Q. How did you get started using RPR? Well, as a new REALTOR®, I did and still do a lot of research. During one of my Code of Ethics classes, I heard someone mention "RPR," so I decided to check it out. I couldn't believe we had access to this for free! The layout is clean, easy to understand and I just love it! Especially the maps—they are great! I'm really into using the maps to search for properties, boundaries and locations. Q. Well, the next question is what is your favorite, "go-to" feature in RPR? I guess we know the answer! Maps! I can look at one house for sale and use the RVM® (Realtor Valuation Model®) to see the estimated value. Then I can see every lot and every property around it. I like to play around with them. I also see great value in doing a radius search. For example, if someone is looking for land, which is common here in Portland, I can easily expand my search. I can use the map to see what's a 90-minute drive from the location because the distance and driving tool is really amazing! I can also do a center point search and see all the land listings. It's just so easy and user friendly. Oh, and I also really like the Neighborhood reports, the School reports, and the Market Activity report. Q. You said that "being efficient in pulling and analyzing data" helps you focus on your customers. Tell me more about that. I feel like I can give a better quality service when I don't have to mine for data. RPR is easy to digest, it makes it so much easier. It's very transparent. It's a value that I know my clients appreciate. And it really represents my style of how I want to work: to be fast, more efficient, and not waste time. It helps free me up to focus on the client and the job. Q. What else are you using in RPR? I really like the ClimateCheck feature, that is awesome. AARP Livability™ Index is really neat, too. Those quality of life stats, those are great to show to clients, especially those that don't know a neighborhood. Because what's around a house is very important and it's not always clear. Walkability and livability play a big role. Michela sure doesn't sound like a rookie agent! She's using RPR data and reports to help support just about every facet of her business. We really appreciate hearing new agent stories like hers and hope you'll use RPR to do the same. If you're a new or new-ish agent, be sure to check out our free webinars that are designed to help agents get started in RPR and get their career going in the right direction. Check out and save your seat for "RPR For New Members" and "New to RPR? Start Here to Boost Your Business." To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

[Podcast] Decoding Real Estate: Deliver Clarity to Clients Amongst Shifting Market Concerns
What's everyone in real estate talking about these days? The shifting market and how it will affect inventory, sales and consumer confidence. This month's Decoding Real Estate is talking about it too, but we've got a much more positive spin than the doom and gloom media narrative. That's because RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) has recently introduced new charts and graphs that can help REALTORS® deliver local market stats to their clients and prospects. Hyperlocal data can ease fears and cut through the confusion. And there's no better expert on the subject than DRE's own host, Reggie Nicolay. Listen in as Genie Willett asks Reggie to explain what the new housing Market Trends charts and graphs contain, including definitions of the type of market areas are in, months supply of inventory, days on market, median prices, and much more. Reggie also offers up a slew of tips on how agents can use, share and promote these crucial stats, and he lists a handful of other impactful ways agents can promote their business (using free RPR tools and data!). Plus, a sneak preview of RPR's next big product release. Decoding Real Estate is hosted by Reggie Nicolay and Genie Willett. Subscribe/Follow Click here for a complete transcript of the episode. And be sure to check out these helpful and relevant links: RPR Unveils New Charts and Graphs in its Neighborhood Pages Shifting Real Estate Market: How to Create a Video That Clears up Confusion Free Templates to Help you Create Social Media Market Updates Printable guide: How's the Market? How to Build Your Neighborhood Database from Scratch Realtors Property Resource® Listen on: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Stitcher To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Free Templates to Help you Create Social Media Market Updates
The media narrative during a changing market does little to instill confidence. Clickbaity headlines, based on national and regional statistics, speak to recession worries, a real estate bubble and even a real estate crash. However, if you take a step back and look closely at the data, it's clear there is much more of a story to tell. Real estate is local, and it always has been. This is why as a real estate pro, you should use your social platforms to cut through the confusion and deliver expert local advice. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other media platforms are the perfect place to add your voice with local market insights to earn the trust of your followers. And to help on this sharing journey, RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) has the perfect solution: new housing market charts and graphs. This collection of data, metrics and statistics is incredibly helpful in explaining local market trends. What market type are we currently in? Is housing inventory picking up? What are the month-to-month inventory changes? Are home prices softening? These are all questions your prospects and clients have on their minds. Share Regular Market Updates to Cut Through the Confusion RPR reporting is not always perfectly suited for sharing on social media. For starters, there can be too much data to share on your feed at any one time. Consider picking one or two data points and adding some context around them. And to make sharing easier, we've created a bunch of new templates that will cut your design time in half, and still come off looking polished and professional. We've created these templates in Canva so you can easily apply your colors, fonts, and even images when needed, to have aesthetics that match your brand. The How-To: Creating and Sharing Market Updates Found in RPR's Neighborhood pages, the new Market Trends chart helps to tell the underlying story of any market starting with the type of market (Seller, Balanced or Buyer), inventory trends, list-to-sold price ratio, median days on market, and the median sold price. Moving over to the Housing tab, you'll get a granular view at what's driving your local market. Here you'll see the activity and trends are broken up by each key status: New Listings, Active Listings, New Pending Listings, Pending Listings, and Sold Listings. Rounding out this section, you can also dive into Month's Supply of Inventory, which allows you to view inventory trends throughout the years and make any needed comparisons. Each chart is interactive, too! When you click on a tab, the chart updates with the underlying data. Now that you understand the new datasets available to you, it's time to deliver this important information to your sphere. Check out this collection of market trends templates that will help you showcase the data you're sharing. Browse through and choose your favorites. They're all professionally designed, and you can grab them for free. Once you have selected a design, simply search the neighborhood you are reporting on. Now write down the current metrics you'll be covering. For example, let's share the Market Trends for Scottsdale AZ 85255. We can see the zip code 85255 has 2.14 Months of Inventory, which is up 20.9% month over month. Homes are selling slightly below list price at 99.3%, which is a decline of 2.5% since the previous month. And homes are taking around 18 days to sell, which is an increase of about 20% in the last month. And the Median Price of sold homes is hovering around $1,150,000. With these numbers in hand, now click on the Canva template you'll be editing and begin to enter your numbers. Also, take a moment to click on any colors and update the layout to match your brand. Once you've finished updating your template, click "Share" in the top right corner of Canva. Now choose "Download" and select your file type. For social media, PNG will work great. But remember you can explore different formats based on your goals. The Wrap Up Delivering market updates through social media is a great way to let homeowners and potential home buyers in your market know that you are a local real estate expert. Right now, consumers have lots of questions about the market and their home values. Posting these social media market trends helps to position you as the go-to source for up-to-date information. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Use RPR for A+ School Reports and Data
It's August, and that means "Back to School" time. A time for your clients to work on clothes, supplies, carpools and schedules for the coming year. And time for you to take a refresher course on RPR School reports and data! RPR school reports and data Schools play an important role in the home buying process. However, it's not just parents of school-aged children that benefit from good schools. Home values benefit, too. Deciding to buy a home in a good school district can certainly help increase your clients' home value over time. And if the market shifts or "corrects" in the future, an outstanding school district could make all the difference during a changing market. Let's take a look at RPR school data, how you can search for homes in specific school districts with RPR, and how you can create reports that will guide your buyers to better informed decisions. RPR school data–you could say it's a Niche market RPR's school data is robust and extensive. It's provided by a collaboration with Niche, the industry's fastest-growing school data provider. Niche specializes in connecting schools with students and families. It has in-depth profiles on every school and college in America, including over 140 million reviews and ratings. With RPR, you can access this data which includes teacher, academic, and overall school grades; as well as school district side-by-side comparisons. Specific metrics include: Total enrollment Students per teacher Average GPA Math and reading proficiency Percentage of gifted students Number of students enrolled in AP Graduation rate Average ACT and SAT scores Average teacher salary Percentage of teachers in the first or second year Written school reviews RPR school searches When a buyer client wants to be in a specific school district, you can use RPR maps to search for properties near schools or within district boundaries. REALTORS® can search for schools within 5 miles of a location; by city/state, school, or district name; and even by type of school (elementary, middle or high school). Here's how: Log in to narrpr.com Click Research and then select School Search. The school search will appear. From the left drop down menu, choose whether to search by Geography or within a particular School District. Enter the city and state or zip, and click the magnifying glass to execute your search To further narrow down your search, enter a School Name to the right of the School Search or choose a School Type: Elementary, Middle, High Search results extra credit From the Search Results, view the basic information and rating of each school, create a School Report, or View Nearby Listings. If you're looking to dive deeper on a school, select the School name. You'll see the school's address, grades served, enrollment, information about standardized test scores and the school's grade rating, including the average rating for schools in the area. The Reviews tab displays community reviews for the school. These reviews are also provided by Niche. You can also link to nearby listings, neighborhood information, and other local schools RPR School Report cards The final step to helping your buyer clients in their school search is creating and delivering RPR School Reports. Much like our Property Reports, they contain tons of data in a sharp-looking layout that you can easily send to clients electronically or you can print them out and bind them for in person delivery. An RPR School Report summarizes the data from your search, and provides options to compare schools within a district or a specified radius, and/or select up to 20 nearby listings to include in the report. From the school results page, click Create Report (or choose Schools from the Reports menu). Select to choose the elements you want displayed on the report Personalize your report with a recipient name and message Choose your delivery method Click Run Report School zone ahead Schools play an important role in home searches, whether the buyers have children or not. As a REALTOR®, you can tap into RPR data to search, compare and find the right schools in the right neighborhoods. Use these tools to find homes in or near coveted school districts, which helps kids get a solid education, and certainly doesn't hurt home values. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Tap into RPR Commercial to Land More Closed Deals
A member of RPR's Industry Relations team recently had an interesting conversation with a Realtor at the Realtors Land Institute National Conference. Stephen J. B. Davis spoke with our RPR rep about how much he loves RPR (Realtors Property Resource) and that he uses it quite frequently for recreational and agricultural land deals. But here's the twist! He utilizes RPR Commercial to get those deals done. Using the commercial mode of RPR to get the ball rolling on recreational and agricultural land projects is a unique approach, for sure. We set out to speak with Stephen one-on-one to hear more about his RPR usage. Hi Stephen, how long have you been a REALTOR® and what area do you specialize in? I got my license towards the end of 2018, so about three and half years. And apart from practicing residential real estate, I also specialize in land. Tell me about how you got started using RPR. Well, I first started using RPR to get up to speed and to be informed about my area. I work in Kentucky, yet I'm not actually from here. And for some people, they simply don't want to work with a non-lifelong resident. So, as a transplant, I use RPR because it's really simple for getting solid info on a particular area. It's just so easy to get super specific data! Right down to the zip code and neighborhood level. I'm not an eighth generation Kentuckian, which is important here, but with RPR, it looks like I've been here for a while. Good point, almost like a relocation specialist learning about neighborhoods through RPR. Exactly. RPR gives me quick reliability for my clients. The market updates, they really make me look smart. What's the tag line, "Wow your clients and close more deals"?! That's me! I love using the tools at my disposal. You don't become excellent on accident! That's an idea I really believe in, and I use RPR to fulfill that. Explain how you use RPR Commercial in your land business? Land wise, I use it for hard data on comps. Land isn't centralized. It's so much more spread out and it's not on Zillow or realtor.com. With RPR access, I'm able to bypass gatekeepers on certain MLSs, ones where there's a paywall, where I don't have access. But I can go on RPR and figure what has sold in the last six months, year, two years. It's a great starting point. It's invaluable. So you use RPR Commercial to check on sales data and comps for land purchases? Well, I first started using RPR to get up to speed and to be informed about my area. I work in Kentucky, yet I'm not actually from here. And for some people, they simply don't want to work with a non-lifelong resident. So, as a transplant, I use RPR because it's really simple for getting solid info on a particular area. It's just so easy to get super specific data! Right down to the zip code and neighborhood level. I'm not an eighth generation Kentuckian, which is important here, but with RPR, it looks like I've been here for a while. What are some of your favorite, "go-to" features of RPR? I mostly use it for sales data, as a way to compare similar properties. I choose property types to see what has sold in the last few years. And then I might double check with another platform to see if it's there as well. Just to verify, I use as many sources and resources as possible. I also use the commercial side for sales records, actually sold, and how does that land use fit for what I'm trying to compare it to. And I use it for all of my listings appointments. Any stories about how you've used RPR to "wow" a client? Sure, all the time I hear clients say, "Oh wow, you have that? Where'd you get that?" But what's even better, is when I "wow" people in my own office! They say, "How do you know so much?" (laughs) I say, "It's from using RPR." I wonder why everyone in my association and MLS aren't using it. You've got to use it! RPR is one of the best things that NAR offers its members. It's fairly simple to use, but you know, I don't tell my clients that. I want them to think that I spent hours finding them this great data. Great advice, Stephen! We love hearing about the creative and resourceful ways our users are applying RPR to their business successes. If you want to see how you can use RPR when it comes to locating and prospecting land, check out our on-demand webinar: Looking for Land in all the Right Places. And remember: you don't become excellent on accident! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Unveils New Charts and Graphs in Its Neighborhood Pages
With users in mind, RPR (Realtors Property Resource) has made some really appealing changes to its Neighborhood pages. In this latest product release, we've added new charts and refreshed some existing ones. It's the same robust data you expect from RPR, but the presentation of it has been revamped and redesigned. It all adds up to a more eye-catching, interactive and responsive experience. Here's a quick look at all the new charts available in late June: Market Trends New Listings Active Listings New Pending Listings Pending Listings Sold Listings Months Supply of Inventory Sold Public Records Top Five Occupations These new charts and graphs are perfect for research and staying on top of your local market trends, and for sharing with clients and prospects to position yourself as THE local market expert. Here's how to find the new charts in RPR: RPR charts a new course in data visualization To start, go to RPR and click the Research dropdown. Select Neighborhood Search. Under Neighborhood Search, enter a neighborhood name, city or zip code. Select Exact, Within or Nearby from the dropdown. Now hit the magnifying glass icon to search. Once you've selected the neighborhood you want to view, you'll be redirected to the Neighborhood Details page. The Neighborhood Details is broken up into five areas: Summary, Housing, People, Economy and Quality of Life. Let's look at the summary overview first. To summarize… From the summary tab of the Neighborhood Details page, the first thing you'll see is the new Market Trends card. This view showcases key metrics for any neighborhood. It's basically a quick, at-a-glance snapshot of the local market. The first area is full of important and relevant information about your chosen housing market. The type of market (seller's, buyer's or balanced) is represented on a sliding scale. To get more details on how this is measured, click the About this data link—it's in blue right under the Market Trends title. It's an industry standard that is determined by months of inventory. Then you'll see the Key Details, which include the Months of Inventory, the List-to-Sold Price percentage, the Median days in RPR, and finally, the Median Sold Price. This provides four key metrics about how long homes have been on the market, whether they're going above or below asking price and, on average, how much they're selling for. Green (up) and red (down) arrows below these stats also give a month over month up or down percentage rate, too. Median Estimated Home Values In the next section, you'll see a graph for the Median Estimated Home Values. This shows monthly and yearly changes in property values, as well as the ability to compare your area to values within cities, counties and the state. Also, be sure to notice the Property Type pulldown menu, where you can specify which types of properties you want to focus on. The default is SFR + Condo, which is Single Family Residence and Condo properties (this property type also includes townhouses and apartments), but you can choose many other options. You can also choose to change the property type for that particular chart, or all of them. Again, if you're curious as to how these metrics are determined, just select About this data to see how the market types are defined, as well as the source and update frequency. Rounding out the Summary page is the AARP Livability Index, and the Top Five Occupations in the area and nearby neighborhoods. Both provide population, community and demographic stats and information on your chosen neighborhood. Housing Facts and Stats Now let's visit the Housing tab to take a deep dive into the housing metrics of the neighborhood. The top chart highlights the neighborhood's housing characteristics compared to the county, state and nation, including comparisons for home ownership, rent, and information about permits and buildings. Next up are charts for listings, including New Listings, Active Listings, New Pending Listings, Pending Listings and Sold Listings. These charts provide an in-depth look at several housing market statistics over a period of time. New Listings: Anything listed within that month Active Listings: Still active at end of month regardless of when it was listed New Pending Listings: What went into pending status that month Pending Listings: What was still in pending status as of the last day of the month Sold Listings: What was sold the previous month, but most importantly, how much over or under the list price is going for in the Avg. List to Sales Price % section Rounding out the Housing tab is Months Supply of Inventory, Sold Public Records and Sold Home Stats. In these sections, you can select the property type you want to view. Choose whether to change just the chart you are viewing or all the charts on the page. Again, the About this data link will give you full descriptions of how these stats are configured. The big takeaway here is being able to track and monitor the volume and the details of housing inventory. Another key metric is being able to see whether homes are selling for over or below the asking price. People, Economy and Quality of Life Pure housing statistics and data are essential in identifying and communicating housing market trends. However, you can dig even deeper into what makes up a neighborhood by checking out these other qualitative types of categories. Go to the People tab to get to the heart of who lives in the neighborhood. Find a side-by-side comparison chart that measures population counts, densities and changes, median age, gender, and education levels. See the population of children and adults by age group, households with children and the income brackets making up the area, as well as occupational categories and voting patterns. The Economy tab displays data such as job growth, unemployment rate and cost of living. Lastly, the Quality of Life tab displays data, such as weather and water quality, commute times, transportation options, monthly temperatures, the AARP Livability index, and walkability scores. This tab is particularly helpful when working with relocations. RPR's neighborhood data can be used to evaluate a target neighborhood and search for the right area for your clients. Get a feel for the trends in a particular neighborhood by examining the data and charts presented. How to print and save RPR charts Just a note: the new chart metrics will not display on RPR reports at this time. To print a specific chart or set of charts, use the Print button, which resides in the upper right navigation area. If there's a chart you don't want to include, simply collapse that chart and it will not show. To include these new charts in an RPR Report, click the Print button, and then under the Destination pull down menu, you can choose to save the file as a .pdf. Save the file (chart) and then you can attach it to other RPR reports from the Reports generation page. This is done through the Manage Custom Pages Link, which you can read about here: Learn more about Custom Pages. Share charts to your sphere Number crunchers and data nerds are sure to love these new charts! Be sure to grab them and share them with your sphere of influence. And if your clients prefer less information over more details, just send along the easy to digest Market Trends chart and walk them through it. You'll look like a housing data pro and be sure to impress. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Realtor Sees RPR Commercial as a 'Game Changer' Based on the Size of His Market
This month's installment of RPR's (Realtors Property Resource) Success Stories welcomes Dave Ferro. Dave is the Managing Broker and Vice President of Watson Realty Corp in Gainesville, Florida. Dave is a REALTOR®, a practicing commercial practitioner, and an investment real estate specialist. He's also been active in leadership roles, including being the past President of the Gainesville Alachua County Association of REALTORS®, and the past District Vice President of Florida REALTORS®. He is currently the Florida REALTORS® Commercial Alliance Committee Council Chair. This latest role is how we heard his story. The RPR Member Experience team recently attended (via Zoom) one of those Florida REALTORS® Commercial Alliance Committee meetings and heard some eye-opening tidbits about RPR from Mr. Ferro. When it came to discussing using RPR Commercial as a resource, he said, "RPR reports really 'wow' my clients. I see RPR as a game changer based on the size of my market." Speaking to him about using RPR in his commercial business seemed like a no-brainer! Here's our Q&A with Dave Ferro... Q. How long have you been a REALTOR®? And what area do you specialize in? I've been a REALTOR® since 2004. I'm a broker and manage an office, but I also do deals myself, both commercial and residential. Q. How were you introduced to RPR? I'd heard about it, but I wasn't exactly aware of what it could do for me, as far as my commercial needs. But then I found out that RPR had collaborated with and was receiving listing info from CREXi and other listing sites. That access really got me to pay attention. For me, I use RPR to see stuff in the market. Not just MLS stuff, but everything. The commercial members of our board wanted better exposure nationally, and they were paying for third party services. I advocated for our users to use RPR and integrate with RPR. I said, "Let's keep our commercial guys happy and adopt RPR. It's free!" I also run three offices that are residential, and they all use RPR, too. The reports are really impressing all the sellers that we work with. Q. How are the reports doing that exactly? Well, in our offices, we really support, nurture and encourage old school farming. We like to canvas an area or neighborhood, do a quick intro, and then provide some info for the homeowner. The leave-behind we hand them is an RPR Seller's Report. They just make us look so smart! They're beautifully packaged and it looks like you spent a ton of time on them–but you really don't. It's a huge time saver and gives us a bunch of credibility. They're especially great for newcomers and really make the practitioner look brilliant! Q. What are some of your go-to features or tools? I use the property reports a lot. For a listing appointment, I come in with the property report, I personalize it, and it gives them something to chew on and read. It's a great leave-behind. And when it comes to property valuations and that type of thing, I usually know the number in my head because I know my local area so well. But when I present this data as backup to show I know what I'm doing, it's proof! The reports show I'm informed and I'm credible. All of it makes me look professional: "Here's info you may not have seen." I have to admit, sometimes commercial guys don't always put together the best presentation packages. We just don't have the time. And most smaller mom and pops don't always have that ability either. But RPR Commercial gives you that quality. It's very useful to small and mid size shops, that's for sure. Q. Does RPR relieve any commercial pain points for you? Search! RPR Commercial allows me to do a quick and dirty report for listing appointments. Sometimes it goes like this: I get a call and someone says, "I want to sell my building. Can you swing by this afternoon?" So now the pressure is on me and I don't have a lot of time. That's when RPR comes through. It shortens the amount of prep time I need. When there's zero time for a fancy presentation, I can create a report on the fly. And I come off as relatable and informed. I do them on my desktop in the office right before I head over. Then I bind them, show up and present them to the potential client. It makes for a really impressive deliverable. Q. How do you use RPR in regards to the current market? Where do you find yourself most when you're on the site these days? Again, it's searching for properties and listings. RPR really simplifies my search. We have a lot of partners, all these websites, and it just takes up a lot of time. I go to RPR Commercial to save time and simplify. That perfectly sums it up for me. I don't have to go to each individual's website for listing info. RPR Commercial gives me a head start. I can see all my properties and deals in one location. It's such a great place to search, every commercial agent should try it. Q. Knowing what you know now about RPR, how would you have integrated it into your workflow back when you were running a small commercial brokerage? I would probably base all my decisions on what I get from RPR. It would've saved me a lot of time back then. If I had to go back, I would've pushed for RPR sooner in my market. I'd go to the board and explain that the flexibility to go from these other sites to RPR is unreal. There's just too many benefits to not utilize it. Q. Any good RPR "wow" stories? I have some customers who are really analytical types and they just love the reports. It's perfect for people who are data driven. They love it. Detailed folks, it gives them so much to chew on, it really satisfies their need to back up a decision with data. That certainly "wows" them and appeals to their personality. Detailed property data "wows" is something we always like to hear! Great insight Dave, and thanks for sharing. RPR Commercial: big, small and everything in between As you can tell, RPR can help commercial practitioners in so many different ways. Whether it's searching over 800,000 listings, researching over 56 million properties, creating property reports for presentations or tapping into site selection and trade area tools, RPR can help you and help your business grow. Try it today at RPR or sign up for this free webinar to learn more and see RPR Commercial in action. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

[Podcast] Decoding Real Estate: Managing Climate Risk in Real Estate with Cal Inman
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) recently introduced a new data set called ClimateCheck. This integration allows REALTORS to access and share a personalized climate risk rating and assessment for any property. Cal Inman, the founder and CEO of ClimateCheck, chats with Decoding Real Estate to give his insight and advice on how this valuable information can be used by home buyers and sellers, investors, brokers and commercial specialists. He stresses that ClimateCheck's main goal is to arm agents with this data so they can help their clients understand the risks, protect themselves, and make more informed decisions. Cal also explains that as Millennials and more Gen Zs make up the bulk of the market, the more questions they'll have about how climate affects housing. Mitigating these risks with suggested home improvements and giving free access to this data is, as Cal puts it, "another arrow in your quiver." Decoding Real Estate is hosted by Reggie Nicolay and Genie Willett. Subscribe/Follow And be sure to check out these helpful and relevant links: RPR® Integrates with ClimateCheck® to Offer Property Risk Ratings ClimateCheck® Realtors Property Resource® Listen on: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Stitcher To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

5 Ways RPR Can Jumpstart a Realtor's Career
Starting out as a new real estate agent can be overwhelming. You're bombarded with emails and phone calls to sign up for this and purchase that. It can be difficult to decipher and filter out what you really need. That's where RPR (Realtors Property Resource) comes in. RPR is a digital, property record platform. But really, it's so much more than that! It's tools, data and property reports. It's CMAs, prospecting and listing presentations. It's current market data, plus neighborhood and school information. Simply put, it's everything you need to "wow" your clients and close more deals. And here's the real kicker… it won't cost you anything to use it. RPR is an NAR Member Benefit, which means as a REALTOR®, you have complete access to it and we won't ever ask you for a penny or any payment info. It's yours to take advantage of and put to good use! RPR is a perfect way for agents to get productive, efficient and on their way to their first deal. We've come up with five ways you can use the RPR website, app or blog to accelerate your business and get going in the right direction. RPR live webinars: free, frequent and informative! If you want to get a feel for something, having an expert walk you through it is a surefire strategy for success. RPR webinars are just the ticket. Our webinar sign-up page allows you to choose class options by date, topic and skill level. Each class runs about an hour long, and they are taught by RPR's team of expert trainers. These workshops take place at least one to two times per week, and cover all types of subjects and skills, including prospecting, building CMAs, listing presentations, new users and commercial topics. For new users, we highly recommend "RPR For New Members" as a perfect starting point. This five part series is a thorough way to learn the RPR basics. And of course, these classes are provided free of charge. Sign up today! Subscribe to Decoding Real Estate RPR's podcast is a bit different from other real estate shows, in that it isn't an endless plug for RPR itself. We like to handle that in other areas. The focus of Decoding Real Estate is you—the agent. Your growth, your success and your enlightenment is our number one goal. Each month, the program features a guest who's an expert in a particular topic that can help you grow your business and expand your knowledge. So far, Decoding Real Estate has tackled topics such as real estate teams, social media marketing, clarifying your marketing message, and how to properly implement and manage a CRM. Listening to this show once a month for 30 or so minutes will help you understand what's going on in the industry as far as trends, best practices and new products or services. It's a super easy (and passive) way to soak up tons of good real estate information. Download, listen and subscribe to Decoding Real Estate today. Have an Answer to "How's the real estate market doing"? Almost daily, REALTORS® get asked, "How's the market?" To be relied upon as a local market expert, you're going to need a better response than, "Great!" or "Hot!" A better response is to be super transparent and explain that inventory is lower than ever, homes are going for over asking, and rates are rising for buyers (or whatever the state of the market is at that time). Then flip your response into a question and ask them about their situation, and what their special needs are, or if they have specific questions. You'll soon know if their remark was merely small talk or whether the person is really curious and needs help. Either way, being prepared and expecting this question should be your norm. Recite your replies over and over in your head, and loosely script out your responses. And of course, insert your local knowledge of the market into your exchange. And if your market is a little different from the national market, get that point across, too. A great way to keep up with your local market, and any market in the country, is the RPR Market Activity Report. These reports are helpful data-infused tools that you can use (and even pull up on the fly with the RPR mobile app) to keep tabs on any area. They're also quite flexible and can be generated for any geography, even areas drawn by hand using the RPR map. In addition, the report itself includes changes in a local real estate market based on listing information and MLS data. The Market Activity report can include active, pending, sold, expired, distressed, new for lease, and recently leased properties, as well as recent price changes and upcoming open houses for a period of up to six months. When you combine Market Activity Reports with your local market know-how, you'll always have a good answer to any and all market related questions. Prospecting 101 Prospecting may seem like an intermediate skill level action for agents, but the truth is, the sooner you start the better. Marketing yourself, digging for leads and mining for gold (clients!) is inherent to being successful in real estate. RPR is perfectly suited for your prospecting needs. The maps in RPR make it easy to choose an area by ZIP code, neighborhood name, or you can use the drawing tools to outline and capture any area or group of homes. We put powerful data and tools at your disposal to help you identify your targets, group them into lists, and help you create deliverables to send to them. To get your feet wet, take this tour in RPR: Prospect for Clients. This guided tour will walk you through the map search process of getting started in prospecting. And when you're ready to go even further, make sure to download our eBook, How to Farm and Prospect for new Clients. Join the RPR Connect Facebook group Looking for a group of like-minded professionals you can interact with and bounce ideas off of? Look no further than the RPR Connect Facebook page. This private group on Facebook is free and easy to join (just search for it and request to add). It's the home of nearly 40,000 RPR users who use the forum to ask questions, take polls, post ideas and share success stories. Adding yourself to the group is also a convenient way to keep up with RPR blog content, as fresh articles and announcements are posted weekly. RPR: A New Agent's New Best Friend If you're just starting out in real estate, RPR's got your back. With it, you can research properties, create property reports, keep tabs on market statistics, share neighborhood and school information, build CMAs, prep for listing presentations, fine-tune your marketing efforts, and the list goes on. If you haven't done so already, activate your RPR account today, and also be sure to download the mobile app. Doing so will keep you more informed, more prepared, and ultimately, more successful with RPR. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

[Podcast] Decoding Real Estate: Improving Dollar-Producing Productivity Without Stressing Out with Terri Murphy
"Available day or night," "Multi-tasking" and "Call me during dinner" are shock collar terms that sound like they belong to hard working real estate agents. However, they're actually impossible to achieve and do way more harm than good. Communication specialist Terri Murphy discusses the importance of self care and how to properly balance work and life in our latest episode. Terri also explains the importance of setting goals, setting boundaries, how to stay focused, and why delegating smaller tasks can make you a more dollar productive agent at the end of the day. There's also tips on how to say "no," decreasing the stress in your life and how to stop procrastinating. Tune in today to learn some systems and methodologies that will keep you on track and in sync. Decoding Real Estate is hosted by Reggie Nicolay and Genie Willett. Subscribe/Follow And be sure to check out these helpful and relevant links: TerriMurphy.com Realtors Property Resource Listen on: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Stitcher To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

10 Things for New Users to Know About RPR Residential
If you're an RPR new user, then welcome aboard! We know you have a lot riding on your next deal (maybe your first!), which is why we built the nation's largest property database. And we built it for one thing: your success! We're committed to helping REALTORS® like you do more, and do it in less time. Once you become familiar with RPR's data, tools and reports, you'll become a more efficient and more skilled real estate agent. Designed exclusively for REALTORS®, RPR is included in your membership dues, and requires no extra fees or upgrades. Simply go to narrpr.com, and get the login process started. You'll soon be searching properties, creating reports and delivering data-rich, professional-looking materials to your clients. And in no time, you'll use RPR to "wow" your clients and close more deals. Need help or have questions? We'll guide you along and help you learn every step of the way As an RPR new user, you might have a few questions or need a little help here and there. Don't worry, we've got you covered. The RPR Learning Menu is accessible on almost every page within RPR. We also offer Guided Shortcuts that help you through, step-by-step and click-by-click, some of our most used (and most helpful) features. For the Learning Menu, simply look for the "LEARN" tab that appears in the upper right of the site's navigation bar. Click it to reveal a drop-down menu that provides users with tips, links, videos and answers to commonly asked questions. And because it resides within the context of whatever task you're completing, it's a convenient way to get knowledge, yet keep focused on what you're doing. The Shortcuts reside right on your homepage. Look for seven icons just below the main search area, labeled "Shortcuts." These are some of our most powerful and popular features. Clicking one of the icons will reveal a magenta pop-up box that will take you on a guided tour, explaining each step as you click through. Want to learn how to build a CMA in RPR? Click the icon and follow the prompts—it's that easy. Just for You: The RPR New User Series Another useful source for new members is the RPR New User Article Series. We consider these features to be the "pillars" of what RPR has to offer. These ten straightforward "how-to's" cover everything from simple searches, to gathering data on schools and neighborhoods, mapping, and our ever-popular RPR reports. Each article includes a breakdown of what you can expect from RPR and how to easily incorporate RPR tools and features into your everyday business operations. Here's an overview of what you'll find in the RPR New User Series: Homepage The user-centric RPR Homepage is built for efficient productivity, with a REALTOR'S® regular routine in mind. It offers "Shortcuts" to tools and features, and customizable "My Market" areas with quick access to property hot sheets. Property Search As an RPR® user, you have the power to capture real estate data to the extent that no other search mechanism offers. In fact, no other real estate data sharing website offers side-by-side, listing vs. public record comparisons like RPR. Maps The RPR map is a powerful way to visually search for properties and uncover market trends. From aerial, road, and overhead views, to schools, parcels, estimated values, heat maps, overlays and more, we'll show you how easy it is to draw or designate your map in ways that suit every type of interest or need. Property Details RPR's Property Details page offers a wealth of data not found on any other real estate platform. Here you will find side-by-side comparisons of MLS vs. public records information; sales, tax and mortgage histories; property photos, school and neighborhood profiles, interactive maps, and more. Property Pricing RPR shares four tools that will help you refine the value of a property, use the platform's flexible comp analysis tool, create a Sales Comparative Analysis and Valuation Workbook for harder-to-price properties, and run a real-time analysis for investment properties. Neighborhoods Finding the right neighborhood for your buyer is easy thanks to the housing, demographic and economic data found within RPR. Here, we'll run you through the basics on how to help your clients find a home near desired amenities and within commutable distances. Schools Test scores, parent reviews, enrollment data and more help REALTORS® quickly drill down to schools best suited to client needs and expectations. Search for schools within 5 miles of a location; by city/state, school, or district name; and even by type of school (elementary, middle or high school), as well as up to 20 nearby listings. Market Activity Report The Market Activity Report delivers a snapshot of all the changes in a local real estate market, including active, pending, sold, expired and distressed properties. It's a quick and convenient report that will get your clients up to speed, and a surefire way to impress prospects. Reports Easily create and share RPR's colorful, client-friendly reports from your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. Customize the elements of your report to suit client interests and brand each with your name, photo, logo and contact information. And even add your own pages to the report (biographies, testimonials, and marketing tools). RPR Mobile™ Downloading the free RRR app to instantly view on- and off-market properties, leases, valuations, tax and mortgage info, distressed data, maps, schools, neighborhoods and more. The app also provides a customizable feature that allows you to create, save and share reports with just a few quick taps on the screen. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Commercial: Parcel Overlays
In our last few RPR Commercial articles, we've honed in on specific map tools that can help commercial practitioners in property research and advising clients. We've covered map POIs, data layers, and drawing tools to show you just how deep RPR's data goes, and how easy it is to access this important information within our platform. We're continuing the trend by putting a spotlight on one of our Commercial mobile app tools: the parcel overlay. And here's why: during a recent member feedback session, one of the participants offered up some advice on a digital application that she's been using to great success. It was a parcel overlay app for the state of Florida. She then said (and we're paraphrasing), "If only we had a national tool like this that covered the whole country. It would be so valuable." Turns out, you do. In fact, every REALTOR® does! It's the Parcel Overlay map filter found in the RPR Commercial app, and it's a nifty little feature that doesn't get a lot of attention. Here's how it works and how you can leverage its value… Parcels that deliver the goods Before we dive into the "how-to's" of using the map parcel overlay, here's a summary of what it can do for you as a practicing commercial real estate agent. By turning on parcels on the map from your phone, you can click on a property and have instant access to the: Property Owner Acreage Boundaries and property lines Square Footage Property Address Transfer Date School District Sale Price Building Description Directions Trade Area and population info "Call agent" button Imagine standing in front of a property or prospecting in an area, and clicking a button to reveal all this information. The investment and development possibilities are endless with this type of digital data tool and it could potentially give you a huge competitive edge. It accelerates the job of contacting owners and "digging" for intel or gauging interest in offers for their property. The days of going from website to website and making endless calls for basic information are no more. With RPR Commercial map parcel overlays, you simply find the property and then access the data with ease. A visual representation of parcel data can really help you make informed decisions about the potential value of properties. Here's how to do it. The "How-to" on commercial parcel overlays Step 1: If you don't have it already, download the RPR app for your smartphone or tablet. Step 2: Make sure you switch the mode in your RPR app to "Commercial" Step 3: From the home screen, hit the magnifying glass icon to conduct a search. Enter an address, ZIP code, city name, MLS ID/APN or Tax ID, then click "search" right below the bar. You'll be taken to a map that looks like this: Step 4: See the little round navigation button in the bottom right, the one with the three smaller dots in a row? Press this button to reveal the map options: Step 5: Press "Parcels" to "on" to activate the parcel boundaries overlay feature. Now search the map pins, and select a property, and a page that looks this will appear: Step 6: Click on the photo of the listing and scroll down to see the Listing Details and the property description. Step 7: Scroll down even further to reveal the Location Details, Property Facts, the Price Change History and more. It's so easy to make RPR's commercial data work for you! The parcel data available to you in the RPR Commercial app could be a game changer. With just a few finger taps, you now have the ability to research and gather key information on millions of properties. Give parcel overlays a test spin while you're in the field or on the go. Download the RPR app today to streamline and optimize your commercial research tomorrow. Good luck! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How to Build your Neighborhood Database From Scratch
As a real estate agent, knowing who you are marketing to is essential. Luckily, there are many ways to get there, and each process is different based on your approach. Some may be obvious like your sphere of influence, past clients, or even a social media friend list. But did you know that creating a prospect list for any neighborhood is quick and precise with RPR? In this article, we'll show you how to create a highly targeted list of homeowners for any geography that can be imported into your CRM to aid in future direct marketing efforts. Use RPR to Build Your Database RPR's Mailing Labels feature also includes a CSV export, which provides REALTORS® the ability to create prospecting lists with up to 2,000 records (residential or commercial property owners) each month. That means with RPR you have the ability to export direct mail contact information to your CRM for any neighborhood. Here is an example of the general fields in each export: Step by Step: Exporting Property Owner and Address Data From the RPR homepage, select Research and choose Map Search. You'll arrive at the RPR map. Now using the main search bar, change: TYPE/STATUS: Check Public Records PROPERTY TYPE: Select your preference here. For this example, we'll use Single Family. Now enter the general geographic area in the LOCATION search field and then select the search button. The map will update. Now pan and zoom the map to find the neighborhood you're focusing on. Once you do, it's time to draw a boundary around the neighborhood. Select Draw and choose Polygon (If you prefer, try one of the other options: Freehand, Radius, or Box). Using your mouse, click on the map to begin creating your geographic area. Once you've connected the last point, a dialog will appear. Click Search this Area. Map pins will display on the map representing each home in the area. Now select the Mailing Labels button above the map. The Mailing Labels dialog will open with three sections to complete. LAYOUT: Here we'll choose the CSV option because that will become the base file you'll import into your CRM. CUSTOMIZE: In this section, you'll choose the address and owner name format. First select the Address Type: Property or Tax Billing. If you select Tax billing, you can also choose to Eliminate Duplicates. Next choose how you want the labels addressed: Owner Name, Owner Name "and/or Current Resident," "Current Resident" and Custom Name. Since our goal is to populate a CRM database, let's check Owner Name. FILTER: In this section, you can filter contacts by occupancy type, Do Not Mail and those with incomplete addresses. Begin by selecting Occupancy Type: All, Owner-Occupied & Absentee Owner. For this example, we'll choose All. Then using the spreadsheet, we can then look to the mailing and site address to identify absentee owners. Now choose Export to generate your list. Create prospecting lists with RPR Collecting the names and addresses of homeowners you want to market to is pretty painless using the RPR Mailing Labels capability. Hopefully you were able to follow these steps and generate an exportable list for your geographic farm area. Look for future articles on how you can use Google Sheets (or Excel) and RPR to augment your list with new fields of data. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Agent Uses RPR to Build Trust, Relationships and Her CMAs
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) user success stories continue to roll in! This month's Q&A is with REALTOR Darlene Dresch. Darlene recently attended a KW Ann Arbor Brokerage team meeting where she had nothing but good things to say about the value RPR provides to its users--especially the CMA builder tools, which she uses almost exclusively to create her CMAs. And according to Darlene, "To build trust and relationships." We definitely want to hear how she does that! Hi Darlene, how long have you been a REALTOR® and what area do you specialize in? I've been a REALTOR® for six years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And I work in residential real estate, both buying and listing. How were you first introduced to RPR? Three to four years ago I worked with a different team, and one of my coworkers showed me RPR and how to use it to create CMAs. Then someone from our board held a class and showed it to us in action. It was impressive! I realized that RPR was good for relaying and presenting statistical data to my clients. CMAs can be a little intimidating at first, and can take a long time to grasp. Since then, I've never looked back, and now I use RPR to create all my CMAs. At a meeting late last year, we heard you were raving about the value RPR offers, specifically our CMA. Tell me about that. The market right now, it's just so crazy and really hot for sellers. However, buyers are wary. They hear and see a lot out there and they have a lot of hesitancy. And honestly, they're also a little scared. RPR does a good job of keeping their data up to date and extremely accurate. Those other websites (they know who they are!) are not accurate. From week to week and month to month, RPR has everything I need to make my sellers smile and my buyers breathe a sigh. And that's because RPR lets me deliver data and stats and info in so many different ways. RPR has graphs and charts, summaries, maps, reports, top lines and bottom lines. No matter how someone likes to learn or process information, RPR has something for them. Providing my buyers and sellers this information is how my clients make decisions. They feel informed, educated and empowered! RPR gives them the data and education to make those decisions. Why other agents don't use it blows my mind. It would take weeks to compile all that info… I can do five in an hour in RPR. And not to brag, but I've never missed an appraisal after using the RPR CMA builder. Humble brag! And pretty impressive. What's one of your favorite features of the RPR CMA? With the CMA builder, I can find properties that are close by, or I can pull from other comparable areas if there aren't enough nearby properties. The client can see what we picked, what properties are close to theirs, etc. I show them the value in RPR, I don't make it up. I also like to use CMAs for buyers too, to help them on how to craft an offer. To show them recent sales activity, so they don't come in too high or too low. I also really like to use the Refine Value Tool. I can easily make adjustments on renos that have been done and need to be done, I can change it like an appraiser. This type of statistical data gives us so much credibility to what we do and it shows people that we truly have their best interests at heart. And we want them to understand the market as much as we do. Any pain points that RPR helps or alleviates for you? I think a lot of everything in there does. It makes you look differently at your job. I thought I needed an assistant. But now I do everything so quickly, RPR is my assistant! I prove the value of homes, I don't go anywhere else for that. Just use RPR. But sometimes I use my MLS too, for tricky ones. Using RPR and my MLS together is a great hack for difficult-to-price properties. Great tip. Any stories about how you've used RPR to "wow" a client? Almost every time! I show them everything, all bundled up in these pretty report packages. And of course, it's all branded with my photo, my info, my philosophy, my awards, all that stuff. And before the appointment, when they get this package from me, they're like, "Wow!" I get that all the time. I also like to keep up with past clients, so I do a property analysis once a quarter so they know how much equity they have. I do it for my clients as a service, when they're not even thinking about buying or selling. And I think they really appreciate that. I don't hound them or call them, I just send the report that I create in RPR. This helps build relationships and trust. And I think that's what this business is all about. Thanks for sharing your story, Darlene! She's certainly getting the most out of her NAR Member Benefit by using RPR for home valuations, pricing strategies, expert guidance and earning her clients' trust. But don't just take her word for it, put RPR to work for you and your business. Learn more about RPR's CMA builder by signing up for our new webinar: The RPR CMA: Your Spot-on Pricing Tool. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

[Podcast] Decoding Real Estate: Clarify Your Marketing Message With Kristin Spiotto
This 30-minute podcast will help you rethink and reevaluate your brand and your marketing message! With 1.5 million REALTORS out there, standing out from the crowd can be tough. Yet, one of the best ways to accomplish this feat is to not talk about yourself so much. You're saying, "What!?" Yet it's true. Marketing message mastermind Kristin Spiotto reveals how the Storybrand approach to marketing can help agents simplify their communication, establish their USP (Unique Selling Proposition), find their "superpower" and become "The Guide" to their customers' journey. All that, plus the seven questions you need to answer to be successful with your marketing outreach. View Brandscript Example Decoding Real Estate is hosted by Reggie Nicolay and Genie Willett. Subscribe/Follow To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

New Agent Stands Out and Finds Real Estate Success with RPR
The National Association of REALTORS is the country's largest trade group. And it's only getting larger! It is now well over 1.5 million members as a whole, an all-time high. While more REALTORS is good for the industry and for consumers, it can also equate to more competition amongst agents. So how does a new agent stand out, gain an edge and get ahead? One solid way is by taking advantage of NAR's membership benefits, including RPR (Realtors Property Resource). New NAR member takes advantage of a major benefit Here's how Eliana Umanzor, a new REALTOR® from Houston, Texas, is doing just that. She got her start in real estate by assisting her husband, REALTOR® Cesar Umanzor, for six years. During this time, Eliana was able to use RPR by taking advantage of the Assistant User feature. With access to RPR, she was able to pull CMAs, create reports and prepare listings presentations, which really helped her become familiar and proficient in using RPR. And it helped prepare her for a new career in real estate. We spoke with Eliana to learn how she is using RPR to help her stand out and gain success. Hi Eliana! How long have you been a REALTOR® and why did you decide to start now? I started about three months ago. I decided to get into the business because the market is good right now! And I really love assisting people to find a home to fit their needs, their lifestyle and their milestones in life. As a new agent, how have you used RPR to help get your business going? Oh, in so many ways. The market is constantly changing, and I'm committed to studying the neighborhoods I specialize in and keep an eye on trends, so I can inform my clients. RPR helps me do all of that! The reports are very useful, especially the Neighborhood Reports and School Reports. My clients are very impressed with them. Most buyers with school children prioritize schools, and RPR School Reports are perfect for that. They love being able to see the nearby properties to the schools they want their kids in. Supplying them with that information and data shows them that I'm a neighborhood expert. What other takeaways do you have in using RPR? I use it so much, both the mobile app and the desktop version. The mobile app is so convenient when you're on the go. There's a variety of clients in the market: some clients want detailed analytics, data and numbers, etc., while another group finds that all too overwhelming, and simply wants a brief summary. With RPR, I can satisfy both of those types of clients in a matter of minutes. I'm really impressed with the variety of reporting, which can be modified to fit the needs and expectations of my clients. Nowadays, clients are experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to home buying, so they expect info rapidly. RPR helps me stay informed and take care of clients' questions and concerns in a timely manner. New agents often find it hard to get up to speed and get going. Does RPR help alleviate any of those types of roadblocks? Absolutely. When you're new, there's all this pressure to learn as much as you can. RPR is very resourceful when it comes to learning and education. I recently signed up for the new member webinar series, that's just for new agents. And I find the RPR Learning Center to be really helpful. I love the short videos that help you navigate around the RPR site—those are my go-to's! I also like how you can schedule live webinars, but also watch on-demand tutorial videos. And it's so cool how they send you a recording of the webinar you attended for future viewings and reference. Your website bio reads: "Eliana loves helping others by empowering and enriching her clients with dynamic market intelligence and insightful information…" Tell us more about that. I just love houses! And helping people find the right one. I actually get a thrill from touring properties and imagining how to transform spaces and how to build lives within them. I know what families are looking for in a home. So when you combine that passion with the data and info that I get from RPR, it's a successful combo. The big question: how's it going so far? Pretty well! I closed on my first house at the end of my second month, and I have four more listings coming soon. Way to go, Eliana! As you can tell, having passion for and some previous experience in real estate is really helping her jump start her career. And taking advantage of RPR's tools, data and reports doesn't hurt, either. Get your real estate career into high gear with RPR RPR provides new agents with learning resources such as live webinars, video tutorials, printable guides, downloadable eBooks and so much more. Plus the ability to search properties, create reports, build CMAs, put together listing presentations, prospect for clients, market themselves, and the list goes on. If you're a new agent, create your RPR account today, and be sure to sign up for your new member webinar series. Good luck out there! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How to Customize Your RPR Report Cover in Minutes
So you've just built a bulletproof CMA and you're ready to share it with your client. However, the cover picture is not up to par. Maybe it's outdated or one of those satellite photos that are anything but impressive. Don't fret, you can change your CMA cover photo in RPR and it's really easy to do: First, choose the photo you want to use, then search for the property and from the Property Details and scroll down the page to My Updates; choose Photos. Next, click Add photos and upload your chosen photo. Then select Use for report cover and save. Finally, create your Property Report and you'll see your new photo on the cover. Easy peasy! Watch this really quick video to see all of the above in action: To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

10 Ways to Pump up Your Prospecting Pipeline
New year, new you! And a new chance to increase lead generation to build up your business. After referrals and repeats, prospecting is the most effective way of generating leads and turning those leads into prospects. It's not necessarily easy: it takes patience, persistence and proficiency. These ten tips from RPR (Realtors Property Resource) will help you get started, stay on track and prospect like a pro in 2022. 1. Get your hands on RPR's prospecting eBook There are many ways to go about prospecting. You can create geographic farms, implement drip email campaigns, leverage your social media sphere, knock on doors, use targeted direct mail, and the list goes on. To get some ideas on where to start and for step-by-step instructions on how to do it, make sure to download How to Farm and Prospect for New Clients. This exclusive REALTOR® download is yours for the taking and will show you how to identify and market yourself to potential new clients. 2. Make prospecting a priority and a daily task Prospecting is not a "set it and forget it" method. Yes, you can automate email sends and replies, implement auto dialing systems, and even use AI through a digital CRM. And each one of those examples can be a successful tactic. But to really prime the prospect pipeline, you need to be consistent and constant in your attention and your action. Make it a priority by putting a specific task or general goal into your daily, weekly and monthly calendar. (Those little e-notifications can be annoying, but they can also be the perfect nudge!) Carve out time, each day or week, for prospecting activities such as networking, community outreach, blog posts, social posts and shares, phone calls, emails, using RPR maps to search for homeowners that are ripe to sell, touch base with friends, family and previous clients, and any other strategy you see fit. The main point is to stick to it and make it a new habit. 3. Embrace your inner data nerd It's no secret that real estate numbers are big. It's most likely the biggest financial transaction your client will experience in their life. With this many zeroes and commas involved, it's no wonder why consumers relish property data. RPR (Realtors Property Resource) offers REALTORS® vast amounts of property data in one central hub. You have exclusive access to property reports, maps and tools that make RPR an indispensable asset. By exploring and learning more about RPR, you'll find that you can easily package up data and offer it to potential clients. In fact, they want it! Charts, graphs, stats and info from expert sources is something home buyers and sellers crave. And if you put it out there in an easy to digest format, you will get reactions and responses. 4. Communicate market activity and home values The most basic way to get your name and face in front of potential new clients is to share local market statistics, and in some cases, specific home sales data. For example, if you have a neighborhood or community Facebook page, make sure you regularly post home sales activity for that area. Doing this once or twice a month gives homeowners an idea of what their home is worth, and how "hot" the local market is. While not everyone is in the position to buy or sell, when they do think about it, chances are they'll remember where they get their information from and the name associated with it. And if you think you have a really hot prospect, don't hesitate to send them an RPR property report on THEIR home. Run a modified Seller's Report by choosing what pages and info you want to include, and then customize it with your info and a personal message. Print it, then mail it or drop it off and use it as a conversation starter. Homeowners have been known to keep these around for years! 5. Take advantage of RPR Mailing Labels Mailing labels or mailing lists can play a crucial role in prospecting outreach in competitive markets. REALTORS® can create them or export owner information from RPR search results. And you can create up to 2,000 each month for free! These ready-to-print mailing labels are perfect for farming, prospecting or direct mail marketing within custom geographies: Conduct an area search, then use filters to narrow it down or use a previously saved area, such as a farm area Sort your results using the "List View" or from the "Map View," and click "Mailing Labels" once you have the right number of addresses A pop up window appears; then choose your label type or a CSV file Hit "print" and remember that you have 2,000 EACH MONTH to use Watch this one-minute video to see all of the above in action or follow these step-by-step instructions. 6. Make 12-24 prospecting touchpoints throughout the year A prospecting campaign can take some time to build; it doesn't happen overnight. Frequency, or how many times a target is exposed to your message, is a long play. Once you've identified a target, whether it's one single address or an entire geographical area, you've got to pepper that contact with your marketing message. One to two times per month is a good pattern. You don't want to overload them, and you also don't want to fall off their radar. That means don't send one postcard once a month and call it a day. Start with a postcard that calls out recent market activity. Then, follow up two weeks later with an email, and ask about whether they saw the postcard or if they have any questions. Then call, drop off a flyer, knock on a door, email a personal video, send another direct mail piece, send a text or Facebook message, etc. It's not called a marketing mix for nothing! Mix up your contacts and touch points, and change up your content to keep things fresh. Another great tip is to "read the room." If they complain that you're sending too much or too often, back off and deliver quarterly. 7. Be a ninja nurturer to past clients This article from Homes.com offers up several ways for agents to stealthily keep tabs on their former customers in an effort to drum up leads and listings. Unlike targeting areas or owners you have no relationship with (yet!), the basic premise is to maintain and foster relationships you do have. For example, a phone call or an email or text to a past client to discuss their real estate goals or to let them know how much their home value has risen is much better than a "Are you ready to sell? The market is hot!" type of pitch. Frame the discussion or "interview" as an FYI to the owner, or call it an annual real estate check-up. A softer approach such as this will help you set up the chat and you'll most likely get some good information out of it. And make sure to keep notes in your digital Rolodex so you can schedule a time to reconnect. You can also follow former clients on social media to see if any life-changing events have occurred: new job, newborn on the way, older kids moving out? Anything that might affect their lives is a potential reason to move and their need for a REALTOR®. One last tip: you can also use Facebook neighborhood pages or Nextdoor sites to offer up help when homeowners ask, "Anybody know a good handyman?" If you see a post like this, reply right away! Chances are you do know a good (fill in the blank) in the area and your suggestion will be appreciated by the owner and seen by others. But don't call or text them right afterwards; just keep a note and add them to your prospecting list. Neighborly, nurturing moves such as this are a great, semi-sly way to get your name top-of-mind with homeowners. 8. Take a free prospecting webinar Wouldn't you know it, RPR offers a live webinar to help you get started. That's right, we're here to help you get going and succeed. There's no better way to learn and get familiar with a process than to have an expert walk you through it. Save your seat for Keep That Pipeline Pumping. This one-hour session will show you how to use RPR's data, tools and features to your advantage. It's easy, it's free and it's highly informative. Sign up today! 9. Take part in or create your own community events When it comes to being involved with your local community or neighborhood, you can't just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. You need to have real passion, know the area and its residents, and be active in making it a better place to live. Here's just a few ideas to get you started and thinking: Start a neighborhood Facebook and/or Nextdoor page Sponsor a youth sports team and show up to a couple of their games with snacks or drinks Get a booth at a school fair or at a farmer's market Send out HOA meeting summaries, if applicable Volunteer for school and sports team fundraisers Send out a monthly or quarterly eNewsletter that focuses on community events and issues Organize an annual community garage sale day, where you handle all the signs, promotion, etc. Keep in touch with local police and fire departments and give safety updates to your neighbors Take a walk! Simply strolling through your neighborhood will help keep you in the loop on local happenings This is just a thought starter, we're sure you can brainstorm a great list of your own, based on your interests and your community's needs. Most of these suggestions will only cost you time, but do plan for earmarking some of your marketing budget towards community involvement costs as they arise. Making these meaningful connections is a keen way to organically grow your network of prospects. It's also a truly great way to meet and form relationships with your neighbors. 10. Take a tour of the tools So you haven't downloaded the free eBook or signed up for the free webinar. Perhaps you're the "dive right in and get started for yourself" type? We can respect that and we've got you covered! Go directly to the RPR site and start prospecting. This guided tour will take you through the steps of how to prospect for buyer and seller residential clients. You can also start prospecting for commercial clients as well. These guided tours, the magenta colored boxes, are sprinkled through the RPR website. Each one is designed to help you learn about powerful RPR features by helping you navigate your way through the process. The wrap Prospecting for new clients is equal parts hustle, discipline and persistence (read this case study for an example). You've got to make a plan, make the time, and make sure you stick to it. Use these ten tips to get started and to start sparking some new client meetings in 2022. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Spot-on Commercial Site Selection Is How the Cookie 'Crumbls'
In one of our recent articles, Find the Right Site for Your Clients' Customers, we used a hypothetical client and situation to explain and demonstrate how the RPR Commercial Site Selection tool works. We hope you found it useful and visited the RPR site (Realtors Property Resource) to try it out for yourself. As fate would have it, days after we published the Site Selection step-by-step post, a "real world" example came by our desks. And after checking it out, we just had to share it with our loyal readers/users. Because, well, that's just how the cookie crumbles... Fresh, hot franchise taps into RPR site selection to make the most dough Cynthia Lee, a REALTOR® and Broker/Associate with KW Commercial in San Antonio, Texas recently helped a franchisor find the perfect retail location for their trendy, up and coming specialty sweet shop. Was it cinnamon rolls? Cupcakes? Bundt cakes? Doughnuts? Cookies (insert Cookie Monster frenzied munching sound effects)! Cynthia's client, Crumbl Cookies, is a fast-growing, popular brand in the dessert category, with retail locations popping up all over the country. Their concept? To make the greatest chocolate chip cookie ever. Of course, they've taken things a bit further by offering four specialty cookies each week, a rotating menu of one-of-a-kind cookie flavors such as Biscoff Lava, Coconut Lime, Funfetti, Key Lime Pie, Midnight Mint, Muddy Buddy and Snickerdoodle, to name a few. Rotating recipes such as these, plus their staples of chocolate chip and frosted sugar cookies, have really put them on the munchie map. Each store features an open-kitchen design where customers can see all the fresh, high quality ingredients that go into each batch. The scooping, the baking, the topping and the boxing all happens out in the open, which creates a fun environment and experience for customers. And Cynthia's client needed to know, "Where are the customers in San Antonio who would appreciate and pay for these top shelf baked goods?" Are those cookies baking... or is it the sweet smell of success? Fortunately for Cynthia, Crumbl knows exactly where their customers' sweet spot is, as far as marketing targets and demographics. They indicated that their target customer is: "Soccer Moms," mid 30s-40s Family Female $90K+ income Area with Population Growth Housing Growth Identified several possibilities, but then requested placement in a larger center with a few large stores. Armed with this target customer information, Cynthia was able to use her local knowledge and insight as a commercial real estate specialist, and use RPR's Commercial Site Selection tools to pinpoint Crumbl's ideal location. "I was a regular user of RPR when I was a residential agent, but never really utilized the Site Selection tool for commercial until recently," explained Cynthia. "I had no idea how great of a resource and tool it is! It's so easy to just assume anything with NAR is only residential focused, when in reality, RPR offers just as many commercial features. I had no idea what we were missing out on." RPR's Site Selection tool enabled Cynthia to crunch some data and turn that info around to her client in no time. "The best part about the RPR Site Selection tool is how quickly I can get a detailed and useful report about a trade area to our clients. It just makes the site selection process so much more efficient and is of tremendous value, especially when dealing with some of our more analytical clients." And of course, when she delivered the final package, her commercial client was more than impressed. "They were shocked at how fast I was able to get them what they were looking for. Thanks to the target customer information they provided me with, I was able to present a ranked list of different market segments, and the people who make up these areas, including their spending habits and other relevant socio-economic traits. My client was blown away by all the statistics and data, and how it was all packaged together in the report I delivered." RPR Commercial delivers the goods Well, two things probably happened after reading this article: you're curious about the RPR Commercial Site Selection tool and how you can use it for your next client. And... you really want a cookie! (The author feels your pang.) Visit RPR today to see how much RPR Commercial offers, including free access to one million active listings and 57 million off-market properties, plus prospecting, site selection and tools to enhance your business. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Houston REALTOR Uses RPR to Deliver Reports and Results
Consider yourself an RPR "power user"? You may have to reconsider after you read about Bruce Inman and his dedication to creating and sending out RPR Seller's Reports as a way to prospect for new clients. "Every day, seven days a week, I mail out five RPR Seller's Reports to prospective clients. I've been doing this for four years, and I know for a fact that it works," says Bruce. If you're keeping score at home, that's just over 7,000 reports generated! Is Bruce reluctant to share his winning strategy and process for finding leads? "Not one bit," he says. "Because I know that most people will find it to be too much work." Take 5 RPR Reports and Call Me in the Morning Bruce Inman is a Broker-Associate with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene Memorial Office out of Houston, Texas. In real estate for 20 years, he describes himself as a "land guy" that specializes in ranch and farm properties, including land that investors want to develop. Growing up, his parents owned four ranches, so Bruce knows a thing or two about Texas-sized plots of land and how to develop them. He also knows his way around easements, mineral and oil rights, and flood zones. And he certainly knows his way around RPR! Read on to learn how he farms an area and uses RPR reports as mailing deliverables to drum up business. Here's a Q&A with super productive RPR user Bruce Inman. Hi Bruce, thanks for joining us. How did you get started using RPR? Four years ago, I started sending out RPR Seller's Reports to my family and friends about their homes. I got feedback from them on what they liked to see, how many pages it should be, etc. I wanted to create something that they would keep and not throw away. How did you come up with the idea? I got the idea one day when reading an old Motor Trend magazine. My wife asked, "Why do you keep that magazine around, it's three years old!" And I replied, "Because it has my car in it." And that's when it hit me! It was like that Back to the Future a-ha moment when Doc Brown hits his head on the toilet. And this works? Oh yeah, it works, people keep them around. One time, a couple called me two years after I sent them a Seller's Report. I walked into their living room, and they had the report on their coffee table, next to all their magazines. It feels special to them when I send it. Great story! How does a typical report-sending day look for you? In the morning I get my coffee, and get on the computer. It takes time, but I'm dedicated. First I check for expired and terminated listings, but there's not too many of those nowadays. Then, using the RPR maps, I look at properties near properties where I've had listings. I systematically go around, in a radius, and look for properties that meet my criteria. Basically, I check tax records to see how long they've owned it. If they've owned the property 10-20 years, and it's not upside down, I go for it. Do you have a name for your method? I call it "target specific marketing." Choose a home near a listing, research it, then create and send the report. No mass mailers or recently sold stuff. Just one report on their property and how much it's worth. I use the RPR current market analysis for that. How do you deliver the reports? I get the first page customized with all my brand info, my picture, contact info, and I usually deliver a custom message. I go into my office to print the pages and I use the binding machine to put it together. I handwrite the address on the envelope, put on the stamps, drop in the 10-page report, and toss in two business cards. It costs $1.61 per mailer, and yes, I'm on a first name basis with all the folks at my local post office. Of course! Why not get an assistant or hire someone to fulfill the mailers? I have found that the personal touch of handwriting the address has a huge emotional impact. I had one client tell me how much they were impressed by the report and that my staff hand wrote the envelope. I told her that I did not have a staff and I addressed the envelope. That blew her away! She was the first listing I got using an RPR report and she still refers clients to me. It made me stand out from the crowd. Any words of advice for someone who wants to try this approach out in their area? You've gotta be consistent, and stick to doing it every day. And don't get frustrated if you don't see immediate results. It took me six months until I got a response, and then they just kept coming. There's over 26,000 agents in Houston that I'm working against, so you have to hustle and think outside the box. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

New Agent Makes RPR Her 'One-Stop-Shop' for Success
At RPR (Realtors Property Resource), our number one priority is your success. We strive for you to be more productive, more efficient and better equipped to solve all types of real estate business problems. And we love helping new agents get their feet wet! Here's a note we recently received from Shikha Mehra, a new RPR user and active member of our Facebook Connect group. It's feedback such as this that lets us know just how helpful RPR can be for new agents. Good morning, For me, RPR has become a one-stop-shop! RPR equips you with everything: from building your SOI (sphere of influence) to then farming that area. From creating Market Activity Reports to executing sellers disclosures. I can even create and execute contracts thanks to the connection with my zipForm. It sounds cliche when you hear a website mention that they provide tools and resources for every situation. But RPR literally does it! Thank you. Shikha Mehra, REALTOR®Dream J.P. Pirtle Realtors, Louisville, Kentucky Thanks, Shikha! And of course, we had to hear more. Here's a Q&A with a new user who discovered RPR within the past year: Q. How long have you been a REALTOR® and what area do you specialize in? I got into residential real estate just over one year ago, during the pandemic. I pivoted from my own catering business, and before that I was a regional loan officer. I was always interested in real estate and being my own boss. Plus, I'm a people person! I can communicate with a total stranger at a comfortable level. Q. How were you first introduced to RPR? I first heard of RPR through Coldwell Banker. It sounded interesting, but I didn't know all about it. Then I found the RPR Facebook Connect Group. That made me want to learn more about it and explore it. I clicked on it and noticed so much information and exposure. It was easy to use and not overwhelming. The way the group welcomes new agents is awesome. The guidance, the knowledge, there's no end! Q. What's one of your favorite features of RPR? I love using the RPR app. It makes it so easy to deal with clients right on the spot. I don't have to wait to respond to clients, I just do it—boom! One-stop-shop! Q. You mentioned RPR being a "one-stop-shop," which we really appreciate. Can you elaborate on that? From the beginning to end of the transaction, I use RPR the entire time. All the reports, market trends, graphs, charts, distressed property info, home values, CMAs right on the spot, the list goes on and on. From one end to the other, it encompasses everything in a real estate transaction to get the job done right. Q. Wow, great answer! Which reports are your go-to's? The Market Activity Report for sure. The beautiful part is RPR also created a window for us to fill in little blanks for a personal note to our clients. It adds a little spunk to it! I love that, my clients go "Wow!" And it's easy to learn, even a newbie can figure it out. RPR helps you broaden your horizons and to embrace new info, existing info, and tech. You put it all together and make it functional for your client. Q. What are some pain points for new agents like yourself? Anything that RPR helps or alleviates? Your first CMA is kind of tough when you start out. But I got feedback and guidance from the Facebook Connect group and there are so many videos in the Learning Center. I dedicated myself to watching those. I created my first CMA with help from RPR and I was so freaking psyched! New members can get started with RPR in just a few steps As you can see, RPR can go a long way in helping new agents get up to speed and into the groove of the real estate business. Creating your account and getting started with RPR is a breeze. Simply click the link and follow the easy steps to activate your exclusive National Association of REALTORS® benefit today. To kickstart your RPR journey, there's a brand-new webinar series that's been tailor-made for new REALTORS®. The five-part series includes: RPR for New Agents Ins-and-Outs of Your Exclusive Member Benefit Find Your Buyer's Dream Home Perfectly Price Your Next Listing Build Your Pipeline and Farm for Prospects To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

1-Minute Lesson on How to Add Custom Pages to RPR Reports
RPR reports are packed with data and metrics your clients count on for making quick, well informed decisions. But do they include your personal and company marketing info? Your reports could include your bio, recent market production, your business philosophies, stats and awards, etc. Luckily, adding custom pages to your RPR Reports is no problem: Simply select "Manage custom pages" from the Report section A window appears that allows you to add up to five PDF pages Select the number of pages you want to add, and what order you want them to appear (beginning or end), and just like that you've got custom pages as part of your RPR Report Watch this just over one-minute video to see all of the above in action: To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.