Real estate taxes have been on the rise over the last few years. Help home buyers avoid the sticker shock.

The Sales Performance Wheel whittles down a whiteboard full of sales tactics into eight areas: four that focus on people and four on organization, Rain Group President Mike Schultz writes. Schultz details how understanding these drivers helps sales leaders improve sales performance through better analysis, a savvy strategy and a strong commitment.

An excellent customer experience is essential to ensure customers return, writes SmartBrief's Emily Snyder, who outlines three ways marketers can improve. Act like a consultant to solve pain points for customers, use first-party data to gain customer insights and continuously test customer experience to remove obstacles, Snyder advises.

As NAR economists predict a fall below 6% by year's end, new data reveals the rate threshold at which the market would likely be flooded with buyers.

Homebuyers eagerly searched for a nonexistent 40-year mortgage product following news that some mortgage holders in financial distress are able to extend their term beyond 30 years. "Content goes viral on social media for a reason. It's easy to believe advice you see or hear from TikTok videos that have a lot of views or likes, but it's important for people to stay vigilant, do their research and help avoid spreading misinformation," says Brian Rugg, chief credit officer at LoanDepot.

Companies from Apple to Nanit baby monitors offer potential customers video chats with human beings instead of artificial-intelligence chatbots since, for now, automation starts out well in customer calls but quickly falls short, Resident Home CEO Ran Reske says. The bottom line is the important factor: The conversion rate when talking to human salespeople is 10% to 25% compared with 1% to 3% without, Nanit CEO Sarah Dorsett says.

Kerri Payne watched her teenage daughter go through "a form of hell" after suffering a severe concussion. Now they both help others grappling with similar injuries.

Workplace misunderstandings often stem from assuming others' malintent, such as when you're uninvited to a meeting, writes workplace growth and development consultant Julie Winkle Giulioni. By always striving to assume positive intent instead, leaders "preserve precious mental, emotional and relational resources"—and also model that behavior for their team, Winkle Giulioni notes.

The median monthly rate for Manhattan apartments reached $4,175 last month, gaining nearly 13% from a year ago to reach a new record, according to a report by Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. "Landlords are finding that they're pushing rents and they're actually getting it," said Miller Samuel President Jonathan Miller.

The White House Office of Management and Budget is directing federal agencies to revise workforce plans so there is an increase of in-person employees at offices. "The guidance we are releasing today directs agencies to refresh their Work Environment plans and policies, with the general expectation that agency headquarters will continue to substantially increase in-person presence in the office, while also conducting regular assessments to determine what is working well, what is not, and what can be improved," according to a blog post by OMB Deputy Director Jason Miller.