Existing Home Sales Fall
for 5 Consecutive Months

Existing home sales fell to the lowest level since June 2020. They were 14.2% lower than they were a year ago, falling this past June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million, a decrease of 5.4%. The supply of unsold inventory was at 3.0-months in June, higher than 2.6-months in May and 2.5-months in June 2021.

June 2022 also saw inventory increase from 1.15 million units to 1.26 million - higher than 1.23 million in June 2021. The number of first-time homebuyers rose to 30%, 3% higher than May but down slightly from a year ago when it was 31%.

One quarter of the transactions in June were all cash, the same percentage as May and higher than 23% in June 2021.

Houses remained on the market for an average of 14 days in June, down from 16 days the previous month and 17 days a year ago. The vast majority of sold homes (88%) were on the market for less than a month.

Prices continue to rise due to the limited supply of homes on the market. In fact, June ushered in a new record - the longest-running streak for year-over-year increases at 124th consecutive months. The median sales price of existing homes in June was $416,000, and condominiums/co-ops was $354,900, up 13.4% and 11.5% respectively from a year ago.

11 Tips for Better Social

Media Engagement

Social media is also the vehicle to push out your other meatier content - like blogs, educational content, and podcasts - to position yourself as the expert to those you don't know you IRL. Here are my top 11 tips for getting more engagement while extending your reach.

Pre-game

Before we dive into the strategies, the first step is to make sure your profile is optimized. Think of your profile as your resume. People will decide to connect through a friend request or follow based on their snap judgment of who you are via your profile.

A few minor adjustments to your profile can make an enormous difference. Start by answering all the questions the platform asks in the profile setup. The more complete your profile, the more opportunity for potential followers to connect with you. Be clear about being a real estate agent and the area you cover. These small adjustments can lead to big differences.

11 tips for boosting your
social media engagement

Once you have your profile optimized, now we're ready to take full advantage of the increased engagement the following strategies will yield.

1. Use hashtags – Hashtags act as a way for someone to search for a specific topic or area on social media.
2. Use polls – Polls are a great way to get followers to engage by asking their opinion.
3. Use more video – The algorithms for all the social media platforms are rewarding video posts.
4. Tag people you are with – By tagging people you are with, your post has the potential to be seen by their connections, friends or followers.
5. Use scroll-stopping photos – As people are scrolling through their social media, specific types of photos can catch their attention and prompt them to stop scrolling to check out your post.
6. Tag where you are – Tagging the location where you are provides another layer of opportunity for people to find your posts.
7. Tell a story – When we tell stories on social media, people feel more connected to us, and connection leads to conversion.
8. Share family photos – Sharing family photos shows that you're more than just a salesperson.
9. Document your day in stories – Using Instagram and Facebook stories to document your day is a great way to give people a behind-the-scenes look at your daily activities.
10. Highlight a local business – This could be a restaurant, service provider or even a local retail store. These posts are often shared by the businesses, and this results in exposure to their audiences.
11. Be authentic – Be yourself - because authenticity is undefeated when it comes to finding your ideal clients and friends on social media.

The more authentic you are, the more engaged your tribe will be. The question is no longer whether you should be on social media; the new question is whether you will choose to do it well. Take action and results will follow.

(Source: Inman)

Best Paint Colors
for Selling in 2022

On the exterior of homes for sale, white is the most frequently recommended color for the second consecutive year, according to Fixr. White received 58% of the vote from designers this year. Off-white also has increased in popularity, nabbing 41% in this year's survey.

"White and off-white can both make a home look fresh, clean, and new regardless of age," the study says. "These colors have nearly universal appeal, help improve the curb appeal of a home and make it more likely to sell in a timely way."

Source: REALTOR® Magazine