You guys are used to hearing, "you need to stay in regular contact (FLOW) with your sphere of influence". Some of reasons you've heard before are:

• This is how you build long term relationships with them.
• You need to stay top of mind, so you are their first choice.
• You want to be their real estate resource for any related needs.
• They will refer you to their friends and family. 

I have one more reason for you to consider: We owe it to them to keep them informed!

We need to adjust our mindset to add this perspective because we do owe it to them! Why? For one, all the classic reasons above are good and true, but they are about you. But the people we know and love NEED us to be their Trusted Advisors. They deserve it. Be of service to them. 

Let's play a little game of Perception vs Reality:

Americans are "woefully misinformed about the nation's housing market, even as millions of them prepare to buy homes", according to a recent survey released by NerdWallet.

Perception

• 28,000,000 Americans said they plan to purchase a home in 2023. 

Reality

• In all likelihood, just a small percentage of them will succeed. Only 6 million existing homes sold in 2021. The data shows us that roughly 70% of those saying they will buy, won't.

Perception

• Of the nearly 30 million Americans who plan to buy a home in 2023, on average, they hope to spend $269,200. 

Reality

• This is more than $100,000 short of the median home price, which was $388,100 in 12/2022. The last time the median home price was $269,000 was 2013.

If prospective homebuyers sound oddly optimistic about prices, that may be because they are pessimistic about the state of the housing market.

Perception

• Two-thirds of Americans surveyed said they expect an imminent real estate market crash. 

Reality

• Real estate economists disagree. NAR is forecasting an average sale price of $385,800 for 2023, about the same as last year. Redfin predicts a 4 percent drop: not good news for sellers, but far from a "crash".

The Fed cut rates dramatically in the Great Recession of 2008 to stimulate the economy, a campaign that continued, on and off, through the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic left us with excruciatingly low inventory, resulting in a boom in prices that aren't likely to come down much until home builders catch up with demand. 

Everyone must know we've had historically low rates for a decade, right?

Perception

• 61 percent of Americans said current mortgage rates are "unprecedented" (defined for respondents as "never been seen before").  

Reality

• Unprecedented? Not even close. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 6.8 percent last week, according to the Fed. That is higher than most mortgage rates of the past few years, which have ranged below 3 percent at times. Over the last 50 years, 30-year mortgage rates have averaged 7.75 percent. Mortgage rates in the 6 to 7 percent range were common as recently as 2008.  

Covid related inflation prompted a dramatic series of hikes in 2022, which pushed mortgage rates back to "normal" levels, at least in a historical sense. 

Another recent survey conducted by the Harris Poll found overconfident and misinformed home shoppers seems to be the new reality. The data from the last 5 years shows an interesting trend:

Perception

• "We know from the past five years, roughly 10 percent of Americans say they're going to purchase a home in the next 12 months, which is wildly optimistic," Elizabeth Renter, Data Analyst for NerdWallet, said. 

Reality

• They found more realism when asking those who responded last year how their home buying plans had panned out in 2022. 70% of Americans who had planned to buy a home in 2022 did not even try or were not successful.

When asked about the disconnect between the optimism to buy a home vs the reality of the marketplace and what it takes to become a homeowner, Renter said, "Part of it could be that they're unaware of what's actually going on in the housing market."

That is clearly a huge understatement. 

Information operates in a vacuum. If Realtors are not putting info out, your audience will seek it out elsewhere. Your public needs to hear from you! They NEED the knowledge we have access to! The more we give them, the more we will receive. More importantly, we owe it to them.