Communication is always a top priority. Brokers often want their agents to communicate more effectively and professionally. The best way to make that happen? Lead by example.

"It's really discouraging to tell an 8-year-old, 'It's not happening.'" That's how one teary first-time buyer, Nicole, describes her despair after submitting losing offers on nearly a dozen properties. Nicole's story is one of eight featured in the emotionally charged, inspirational season four of "First-Time Buyer," a series you and your customers can stream on Hulu or at FirstTimeBuyer.realtor.

Kent Lewis, founder of pdxMindShare, offers advice on setting up a successful email newsletter to engage consumers, starting by mapping its objectives to current marketing and sales goals, identifying the target audience and setting key performance indicators. Lewis also describes how to research the newsletters of competitors, spanning content, design, delivery, timing and frequency, and performance.

Focus should be on inventory—not on jeopardizing the consumer experience, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

The listing agents have preserved the history of the property where Jeff Bezos invented his trillion-dollar company.

Fannie Mae has released study results revealing the growing importance of condos in the housing market amid a national housing shortage, with 95% of participating lenders saying that they had issued condo mortgages within the last 12 months and expect that momentum to increase. However, regarding the underwriting process, lenders are very concerned about COA financial instability, deferred maintenance and insufficient insurance coverage.

Liz Hogan is the listing agent for Pumpkin Key, a private island off the southern coast of Florida, now on the market for $75 million, featuring a home, three caretaker apartments, a marina, tennis courts and other amenities. In Florida's Card Bay, this island was previously listed for $95 million in 2020.

Google TV Chief Rob Caruso predicts that TVs have the potential to evolve into the central hub of smart homes, surpassing the current role held by smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home. Caruso highlights emerging technologies like Matter and Thread as further catalysts for this transformation, envisioning TVs as more than just entertainment devices but as essential components of home automation.

A 1973 law meant to limit suburban sprawl is being blamed for Oregon's worsening housing shortage. To address this, Gov. Tina Kotek has proposed granting one-time exemptions for cities to acquire new housing land, with 30% of new units to be affordable.

Cook County Judge Kathleen Burke has struck down a planned referendum question on Chicago's ballot on a measure that could have increased taxes on real estate transactions worth at least $1 million. The group that brought the challenge argued that the question was "misleading and unconstitutional."