Being a real estate professional is never easy. But right now, it's particularly complicated. Here are ways you can build yourself up and find your footing.

For MLSs that are not wholly owned by a REALTOR® association, the agreement includes a mechanism to obtain a release efficiently if they so choose. Broadly speaking, the agreement provides two paths:

1. The MLS can elect to pay an amount based on a pre-determined formula based on number of MLS subscribers.
2. The MLS can elect to participate in non-binding mediation within 110 days following preliminary approval of the settlement.

Under both options, participating non-association MLSs would agree to be bound by the practice changes set forth in the settlement agreement, including and not limited to the adoption of a rule prohibiting offers of compensation on that MLS. Non-association MLSs can also choose not to participate in this settlement. Get more facts about the settlement at facts.realtor.

Sales teaches a salesperson the art of discipline as you learn how to read people, listen to their point of view and handle rejection, writes Shari Levitin, a prominent sales thought leader. "By definition, salespeople must muster the courage to put themselves out there," Levitin says.

Asking smart questions is better than asking lots of questions or not enough questions whenever you're seeking to make a decision, write IMD Business School professors Arnaud Chevallier, Frederic Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux. They recommend asking questions from each of these five categories: interpretive, investigative, productive, speculative and subjective.

Higher-than-expected inflation data is expected to push borrowing costs up during the busy homebuying season.

A gulf-front penthouse at The Regent in Park Shore in Florida has been listed for sale at $29.5 million, setting a new price record for the area. The Earls | Lappin Team and John R. Wood Christie's International Real Estate are listing agents for the renovated penthouse, which has over 12,000 square feet of indoor space and 1,700 square feet of outdoor terraces.

Commercial real estate markets are starting to open up as the bid-ask spread between buyers and sellers continues to narrow and transactions will soon normalize, according to experts on a panel at the ULI Spring conference. "[G]oing forward, I think we will see opportunities," said Starwood Capital Group Managing Director Bakari Adams, who adds that much depends on the sector. "Data centers—you see vacancies go down there."

As routine tasks are increasingly automated by generative AI, companies are shifting their focus in terms of staffing requirements, training and upskilling, experts say. Improving soft skills and learning to use AI "will empower people to thrive in new hybrid roles, ensuring both the human and technical aspects of work complement and enhance each other," says Pragashini Fox, Thomson Reuters' head of talent and diversity.

New Jersey real estate pro Michael Sclafani becomes a major fundraiser for families affected by the deadly disease after learning his buyer's story.

Despite widespread calls from various sectors and government levels to increase housing supply, there has been little discussion on aligning these efforts with fair housing principles. Legally, housing policies must consider past and ongoing practices that propagate segregation and discrimination, including zoning rules, uneven neighborhood investments and private discrimination, James Jennings and Lydia Edwards write.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said that the "economy has come a long way toward achieving better balance and reaching our 2% inflation goal." However, he also cautioned that more progress is needed to reach the Fed's goal and that there is no need for interest-rate reductions "in the very near term."