Sustainable, cozy spaces are in demand, but once-popular designs that require maintenance are losing appeal. Know what your clients will be looking for next year.

Real estate speaker, trainer and author Monica Reynolds shares best practices for setting goals and a script for reaching out to past clients.

Marketers can glean four types of information from social media research to help inform decisions: industry insights, competitor analysis, brand positioning and content design and messaging, writes Jessica Wong, Valux Digital and uPro Digital CEO. Social media research can help businesses "access the right audience faster than ever before and at lower costs" when directing their efforts to specific segments of audiences on social platforms, Wong notes.

Up-and-coming sales managers often think they're ready for anything, but it's wise to keep five self-inflicted traps in mind, writes Henning Schwinum, co-founder of interim sales leader company Vendux. Taking yourself too seriously and not being prepared for any possible customer comments when accompanying a team member on a sales call are two of the five traps Schwinum identifies.

Find out the trends of yesteryear that remain most popular in each state.

Taylor Marr, Redfin's deputy chief economist, says the housing turnover next year will drop to its lowest rate since the 1980s, with 32 out of 1,000 homeowners expected to sell their homes. Marr predicts a moderation in rates, but notes that affordability will continue to remain a "strong constraint."

Pegasus Tech Ventures CEO Anis Uzzaman predicts a rise in smart home automation devices as smart home technology continues to disrupt real estate development and construction. Research suggests smart kitchens will experience a compound annual growth rate of 30.5% until 2030 and surveillance technology will grow 31%.

Affordable housing depends on small businesses like cafes, coffee shops, parks and bistros, and the rapid decline of these businesses and their reduced hours have caused an upset among those living in smaller spaces, writes Center for Housing Economics Director Roger Valdez. A report by Datassential suggests the changes are due to a labor shortage, reduced demand and the work-from-home trend.

Although many strides have been made in increasing the number of affordable housing units nationally, there are still a number of areas that need to be addressed, including the expansion of the low-income housing tax credit, writes Richard Burns, president and CEO of the NHP Foundation. Burns urges that laws be passed that would enable the industry to preserve affordable rental homes amid overwhelming demand.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have issued guidance allowing insurers of Florida homeowners with federally backed mortgages to tap into a stabilization arrangement proposed by the state Office of Insurance Regulation to help carriers whose financial ratings are downgraded below Fannie and Freddie's required levels. The guidance, which is effective through May, enables state-backed Citizens Property Insurance to use an endorsement to pay insolvent carriers' outstanding claims that are not covered by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.