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RECAP: 2021 AAR Annual Conference

HAAR staff has returned from the 2021 AAR Annual Conference in Point Clear with the following notes to report to members.

Session 1: Brand Time with Jason Pantana

“Be the agent of Choice or the Agent of Chance” and “The Market Belongs to Those Who Market”

Local Search – Setup/Optimize yourself on Google My Business

  • Lock in your “NAP” (name, business address, phone #)
  • Use applicable keywords in your biz categories (use in both title and business)
  • Reviews! Reviews! Reviews! (give your customers links and send them reminders to do reviews, and use your keywords but do not keyword stuff)
  • PPP – photos+products+posts (google my business with 100+ photos get 520% more calls. 90% of customers are more likely to visit a business with photos on their google my business)

Social Media Search – Increase your presence:

  • Geotag your photos (use geoimgr) to reinforce your location & improve SEO
  • Repurpose social media content by sharing it on multiple sites
  • Offer products such as pdf downloads, seller or buyer guides, city resources, community features
  • MOVE SLOWLY to avoid the “Eye of Google” – a lot of activity in a short time span will flag Google to review your presence

Video Search – Promote Yourself Using Videos:

  • Use title and tags
  • Descriptions will reinforce your title & tags
  • Use thumbnails for click & watch videos
  • Use chapters to timestamp segments to increase your discoverability
  • Use playlists to encourage binge watching
  • Use keywords in your file name

Videos:

  • YouTube – 30 seconds of continuous play (use SEO tools)
  • FB/Instagram – 3 seconds of continuous play (use your reel name/team name, use keywords in profile, use hashtags in caption
  • TikTok – 1 second of continuous play

Video Rules:

  • Share one Instagram TV/week
  • Share one reel/week
  • Post 3x week (photos, graphics, etc)
  • NEVER-DON’T have a story

Session 2: Staging to Sell with Ashley Gilbreath

  • Use an interior photographer – capture the daylight, capture on the big things and main features
  • Have a vision for change
  • Stage to sell by making aesthetic changes
  • You may need a draftsman, residential contractor, architect – make decisions that make a difference (draftsman for “as built” plans)
  • Use natural textures and colors such as blues, greens, grays & creams – shiplap & granite are out; quartz, marble & wallpaper in
  • Be creative with what you have
  • Connect the dot from the floor to the ceiling – use drapes, wooden beams, etc
  • Your home is your biggest asset

Session 3: Buyer Strategies and Referrals with Jason Pantana

Content is Contribution – media, text, notes, value. Use consumer centric content.

  • Don’t loose sight of your past clients or sphere of influence contacts
  • Make a concerted effort to connect on social media
  • Share quality content and use hashtags and location tags to get followers
  • Agent to Agent network – follow and engage with other agents

Use behind the scenes, day in the life of a realtor

  • Content Balance is equal parts of the real me, hyperlocal activity, knowledge, social proof, and agent behind the scenes
  • Your agent brand is your voice, your mind, your heart, your face
  • Repeat Video Rules from session 1
  • dd on a mini-session to your next listing photoshoot (shows you are involved)      
  • Testimonials on your graphics
  • Use cards or carousels showing Fact or Fiction – homebuyer edition
  • Video home tours and neighborhood tours
  • Make pro tip videos (1-4 minute vids promoting you and your knowledge, and have fun on these)
  • Make clickable thumbnails
  • Make blooper vids, goofs & spoofs vids (shows the real side of you)
  • Make expert interview vids
  • Make market updates and news vids
  • Spotlight local businesses and activities
  • Records “quick answer” videos – ie, what is REO?, why get a home inspection?, 30 questions in 30 days

Lunch Discussion: Governor Ivy and Jay Roberson

Governor Ivy has signed legislature to end prison woes (overcrowding and understaffed) and spoke to criminal justice reform. Alabama retained 7 congressional seats. The Alabama unemployment rate is 3.1% compared to the nation at 4.8%.

Jay Roberson (Vice President of Promotions & Activations, 2022 World Games) spoke on the 2022 World Games coming to Birmingham in July. The games are dedicated to inclusivity and adapted sports, and empowerment of women sports. They forecast $256 mil in income, ad Jay said this will be the largest international event since the 1996 Olympics. Honorary co-chairs with Alabama ties are Charles Barkley, Randy Owen, Vonetta Flowers (1st African American Winter Olympic gold medal winner), Noah Galloway (double amputee, motivational speaker) and Cat Whitehall (soccer player on the US Womens National Team)

Brian Copeland: 11 Prices for a Listing

  •             Comp – dummy price that the public searches for

  •             Competitive – CRS, how many days does it take to absorb a house

  •             Compelling – if the home is priced at $X, they are too scared to walk out

  •             Appreciative – the amount above what is “standard”

  •             Appraisable – appraisal value

  •             Post Inspection – in lieu of repairs we will ask $X

  •             Threshold – know the area and what it brings

  •             Pioneering – at what price will the property cap out at

  •             Closing Table – the total price due at closing

  •             Recommended – the price the realtor gives

  •             Negotiable – the sellers price and the buyers willing to pay price

Session 4: Will Your Brokerage Be Next? with Bill Dedman

Bill reviewed the 2019 findings from the Newsday investigation into racial steering by the Long Island real estate agents

Session 5: Interpreting Today’s Economic Factors with Pam Ermen

The Cost of Money , 6 Economic Factors

  1. Unemployment
  2. Housing Affordability
  3. Interest Rates for Mortgages
  4. Destressed & Foreclosures
  5. Vacancy Factors
  6. Home Sales

Learn to Lead the Market with these Resources:

REALTOR.ORG

  • Research and Statistics
  • Housing Statistics
  • Housing Affordability Index
  • Migration Trends Report
  • Local Market Reports

FHFA.GOV

  • Data and Tools
  • House Price Index Report and Graph
  • Latest HPI Report
  • Top 100 Metro Rankings

GOOGLE.COM/ALERTS

Enter in ANY search criteria that is important to the economic health of your marketplace.

CORELOGIC.COM

  • Insights
  • Publications
  • Market Pulse Report
  • AND MORE!

REALTYTRAC.COM

  • Foreclosure Trends

SMARTASSET.COM

  • Rent to Price Ratio
  • Rent vs Buy Comparison

CENSUS.GOV

  • Browse by Topic
  • Business and Economy
  • Economic Indicators
  • Rental Vacancy Rates and Homeowner Rates

Session 6: Maximizing your Teamwork with Tasha Scott

The Laws of Teamwork

  1. The Law of Significance – one job is too small a number to achieve greatness
  2. The Law of the Big Picture – the goal is more important than the role
  3. The Law of the Niche – all players have a place where they add the most value
  4. The Law of the Chain – the strength of the team is impacted by its weakest link – attitude, agenda and ability

                        Attitude – not everyone will take the journey

                        Agenda – not everyone should take the journey

                        Ability – not everyone can take the journey

  1. The Law of the Catalyst – winning teams have players who make things happen
  2. The Law of the Bad Apple – rotten attitudes ruin a team
  3. The Law of Countability – teammates must be able to count on each other
  4. The Law of the Price Tag – the team fails to reach its potential when it fails to pay the price
  5. The Law of the Scoreboard – the team can adjust when it knows where it stands
  6. The Law of Communication – interaction fuels action
  7. The Law of the Edge – the difference between two equally talented teams is leadership
  8. The Law of High Morale – when you’re winning, nothing hurts
  9. The Law of Dividends – investing in the team compounds over time

Session 7: Controlling Seller Expectations with Pam Ermen

Conduct an Absorption Ratio (closed sales divided by number of listings)

Conduct an Absorption Rate to get the normality of the market (closed sales divided by the number of months in the period, then divide that by the number of listings)          

Always do the 3 Cs (communication, cooperation, collaboration)