Being too focused on getting the listing without first building rapport, badmouthing other agents and failing to do research in advance are among the mistakes that agents make when cold calling. Being overly pushy or calling outside business hours can also sabotage an agent's chances of generating business.

Under NAR's Code of Ethics, steering buyers based on the amount of broker compensation is prohibited. REALTORS® must pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client, putting their client's best interests before their own. A REALTOR® must never put broker compensation before their client's interests.

REALTORS® must be honest and truthful in their real estate communications and must not exaggerate, misrepresent or conceal pertinent facts relating to the transaction, including facts about broker commissions.

If REALTORS® do anything to put their own (or another broker's) compensation before their client's interests, they are violating the Code of Ethics and potentially violating the broker's fiduciary duties to their client (depending on the broker-buyer relationship and state law). Get more facts about NAR's proposed settlement agreement at facts.realtor.

Business-to-business influencers say the brand collaborations that delivered the best results last year were, in order, co-created content, speaking at in-person events and guest content, per an Onalytica study. The top content formats B2B influencers are collaborating on with brands this year are, in order, social content, videos and posts.

Stephanie Zambrana, social media community manager of CCOM Group, delves into community management and how it can boost engagement and brand loyalty. In multicultural marketing, social media community managers can amplify voices and foster inclusion to "enrich the brand's community and strengthen its reputation as an ally and advocate for diversity and representation."

The REALTORS® Relief Foundation is providing $2 million to the Arkansas REALTORS® association to help recovery efforts after storms that killed seven.

The median rent for a new Manhattan apartment lease was $4,250 in May, unchanged from the prior month and down 3.3% from a year ago, according to Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Meanwhile, median rents for new leases in Brooklyn hit $3,600, a record for the month.

Temporary shelters built for refugee camps tend to become permanent. With that in mind, the Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim have developed a new design for emergency housing in Latin America. The homes contain low-carbon cementitious materials and are said to be 100% recyclable.

Misinformation about the real estate business persists. NAR's consumer ad campaign—"That's Who We R"—counters the critics and educates consumers about why they should work with a trusted real estate professional who's a REALTOR®. And as an NAR member, you get access to turn-key campaign assets, so you can extend those messages with consistency.

The consumer price index slowed to a 3.3% year-over-year increase in May, below economists' expectation of 3.4%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The core CPI increased 3.4% year over year, less than the expected 3.5%. The slowdown appears to have been insufficient to persuade the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates during a meeting this week, as investors price in one or two quarter-percentage-point cuts this year.

Finance chiefs at major U.S. banks singled out older office buildings as the most vulnerable to loan defaults in the current commercial real estate market. Meanwhile, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has confirmed that the majority of CRE loans are held by smaller banks with under $100 billion in assets.