Next Level Agents: The Kevin & Fred Show - Interviews with the best and brightest minds in the real estate industry

This episode is brought to you by: Kevin and Fred's Referral Guarantee https://kevinandfred.com/referral/   FLEQ   FLEQ is the combination of the words “flexible” and “equity” and we're changing the way you think about homeownership. What is the Fleq Alliance? The Fleq Alliance is a new way to buy a home. The Alliance uses a partnership approach to purchase a home of your choosing.   With the entire Multiple Listing Service (MLS) available to you, search for a house using apps like Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, or call up the real estate agent who’s been encouraging you to buy a home for years. Once you’ve found your dream home, you’ll be teamed up with an Alliance representative. You will receive a quote for your monthly payment, your initial equity contribution to the Alliance, the starting ownership percentage for both parties and the current cost to acquire additional units of equity. When it comes to equity contributions, pay whatever you want, whenever you want—or nothing at all. Though not required, any equity contributions will increase your ownership in the Alliance.     https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/economists-outlook/how-long-do-homeowners-stay-in-their-homes     $19K pre-fab home includes artificial intelligence technology Singapore-based startup Nestron announces the launch of 4 low-cost prefab home models complete with an artificial intelligence assistant, Canny   California reportedly launching its own CFPB On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will reportedly unveil a plan for the state to enact its own version of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, overhauling and increasing the power of the state’s Department of Business Oversight. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the proposal to create a state-level CFPB will come in Newsom’s 2020-2021 budget, which Newsom is scheduled to reveal Friday.

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by RE/MAX Holdings CEO, Adam Contos. As the head of one of the biggest real estate brands worldwide, and with a background in law enforcement and undercover narcotics, Adam’s story and his journey to the top of real estate is unique and it has given him a fascinating perspective and global lens on our industry.    What sticks out about Adam is his dedication to being a student and a giver in our industry; something that’s not common about many executives in our business. He has a real boots-on-the-ground approach to leadership, and he has the benefit of talking to Realtors around the world, which gives him a unique pulse on what’s going on in the greater real estate market. Adam shares on what it takes to succeed in a real estate market.     Adam oversees RE/MAX Holdings’ three brands: RE/MAX, LLC, a top real estate brand in over 100 countries and territories; Motto Franchising, LLC, the first national mortgage brokerage franchisor in the U.S.; and booj, an award-winning real estate technology company. He started off in business development and franchise consulting and then worked his way up to the top of one of the largest real estate companies in the world.     There’s a lot of noise drawing us away from our communities in this space, and as the saying goes, what we focus on grows. If we focus on the noise, that’s all we’ll get. What matters in this business is not what we see happening in the market, it’s whether or not we helped someone; whether that’s fellow agents or our database. If we focus on doing the right things for the people in our community, business will keep coming to us.    In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   - How Adam got into the real estate world after taking a unique path from law enforcement.  - The power of identifying people’s problems.  - How habits and processes lead to results.  - How to raise the standards of our industry.  - How to block out the noise and focus on what matters.  - Why our markets aren’t as unique or as different as we say.  - Something he’s excited about, something he’s changed his mind on and something people might not know about him.  - Why noise is a fake indication.  Guest Info   Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Adam oversees its three brands: RE/MAX, LLC, a top real estate brand in over 100 countries and territories; Motto Franchising, LLC, the first national mortgage brokerage franchisor in the U.S.; and booj, an award-winning real estate technology company. Listen to Adam’s podcast Start With a Win here https://www.startwithawin.com/.

Using video in your business doesn’t have to be hard.      You’ve tried before, or thought about it but it   ✅ Seems daunting...   ✅ You don’t have time...   In fact it’s easier than you think...   Check out today’s business tip for some ideas and how to options that make it easy.

This episode is brought to you by: Kevin and Fred's Referral Guarantee https://kevinandfred.com/referral/     Mortgage rates start 2020 well below last year's average The average U.S. fixed rate for 30-year mortgage slides to 3.72%   In the first week of the year, the average U.S. fixed rate for a 30-year mortgage averaged 3.72%. Not only is this percentage below the previous week’s average, but it’s also nearly 80 basis points below the 4.51% of the year-earlier week, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. “As investors kept their eyes on the phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal, 10-year Treasury notes closed 2019 lower than a year ago,” said George Ratiu, Realtor.com’s chief economist. “The conventional 30-year loan slid 2 basis points to 3.72% in the first week of 2020. Rates remain about 80 basis points lower than the first week of 2019.” https://www.housingwire.com/articles/mortgage-rates-start-2020-well-below-last-years-average/     2019 Rent Prices - Nationally, cost of rent went up 4.1% for one-bedroom units   As 2019 saw historically low vacancy rates among multifamily housing, it also led to a rising cost of rent, too. According to realtor.com, a report from Abodo said rental prices went up in 38 states, including Washington, D.C., in 2019. In the other 12 states, the cost of rent actually fell, but only slightly.   Nationally, median rents for one-bedroom units went up 4.1%, making monthly rent $1,078 at the end of 2019. Prices for two-bedroom units went up 5.5%, making monthly rent $1,343.   In 2019, multifamily occupancy rates reached as high as 96.3%. The demand of multifamily housing keeps rising, as home prices are also continuing to climb.   According to realtor.com, rental prices surged the most in Utah. There, rent went up 3.78% in 2019, reaching $965 for a one-bedroom unit.   “In states like Utah, people are relocating for jobs,” Abodo said in its report. “Many folks are coming from California and other high-priced hubs. People need to find places where they can live and afford to live a lifestyle that they want.” Renting cost the most in Massachusetts, where the average one-bedroom unit cost $2,218 a month. Renting surged the most in Detroit, where cost of renting a one-bedroom went up 7.48%, making rent $886 a month. ;l   The highest rents in the nation were, at no surprise, San Francisco and New York City. On average, renting a one-bedroom unit was $3,877 and $3,082 a month, respectively.   Renters in Montana saw the biggest price cuts in 2019. Rents fell 1.6%, to an average $745 a month for a one-bedroom unit.     Comprehensive List of 2020 Real Estate Events https://www.inman.com/2020/01/02/a-comprehensive-list-of-2020-real-estate-events/

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by real estate overachievers and leaders of Realty by Monica, Chris and Monica Foster one of the most highly-rated real estate teams in Houston. After moving to a completely new area, where they had zero database, they managed to build a $90 million volume business, and gain a great position and build momentum in a short space of time. Their story and their success is unique not just because of the timeframe of it, but because right from the start they focused on the client experience and value, not ratings and volume. The most incredible thing that happened is that focusing on the client first, brought the number 1 rating, and the volumes.    The amount of pressure there is on our industry is being felt, especially in shrinking profit margins and commissions get driven down. Contrary to a lot of the panic out there, this doesn’t have to mean disaster for us. It’s key that we think of business differently so that we’re finding opportunities to keep growing our businesses.      In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   01:03 - The team set up that Monica and Chris have, and how they built a massive business in  02:59 - How Chris transitioned from a job at NASA to real estate.  09:25 - How they were able to start their real estate operations without a database.  14:16 - Why the client experience comes before us focusing on volumes and ratings.  17:07 - Zillow lead generation best practices.  19:40 - How the roles have evolved as the business has grown.  23:27 - What Monica and Chris are most excited about going into 2020 and beyond.  Guest Info   Monica is a licensed Broker in the State of Texas and lead of the Monica Foster Team, specializing in Residential Real Estate in the Houston Bay Area. The Team is consistently one of the top teams in Houston and the entire U.S. For more information, visit https://www.realtybymonica.com/.   

"iBuyers are Ripping off Sellers and Stealing Their Equity!" You've probably heard this and maybe even felt this... so what's true and what's a myth about that statement?

Happy New Year! From Kevin & Fred

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