Here's what we know: social media is a powerful tool to reach new clients and grow your business. But a question that's asked all the time is, "WHAT kind of content should I be posting?"

Let's look at 17 social media video ideas to get you started:

•  Introduce yourself. A quick video intro is an excellent way for potential clients to get to know you and see what you’re all about.
• Show off your neighborhood knowledge.  Do you specialize in a certain area? Give people a tour of the neighborhood and highlight all the reasons why it's a great place to live.
• Share your listings. Of course, you want to promote your properties! A video is a perfect way to show off all the features of a listing in an engaging manner.
• Teach people about the home-buying process. A lot goes into buying a home, and many people don't know where to start. Help them out by breaking the process down into manageable steps.
• Teach people about the home selling process. Same thing here - you can explain how hiring an agent can help get them more for their home than they can get on their own, how you can help them steer clear of legal issues and negotiate on their behalf!
• Talk about what to look for in a mortgage professional. If you've got a lender you partner with regularly, you can even do a video together.
• Myth bust! Do two separate videos - one on three homebuying myths and one on home selling myths.
• Get inquisitive. Talk about three questions every seller should ask a real estate professional before hiring.
• Spotlight area businesses. Do a quick interview with local entrepreneurs, business pros or restaurant owners to help spotlight their businesses.
• Market change update. Share three things that people should know about how market change affects their sales or buying power.
• Talk stats. Spotlight what is happening in your local area, such as days on the market, price changes, interest rates, etc.
• Curb appeal tips. Share three great ways to make a home shine even from the street!
• Staging tips. Pair with an area stager to share top staging tips for getting the biggest home return on investment.
• Highlight past successes. Have you helped someone achieve their real estate goals? Share their story and let others know what you're capable of.
• Get personal. People want to do business with real people, not faceless corporations. So, give them a peek into your life outside of work.
• Answer frequently asked questions. Have people been asking you the same questions over and over again? Address them head-on in a video so everyone can benefit from the answer.
• Thank your clients and followers. A quick thank-you video goes a long way in making people feel appreciated. You could even do this regularly to show off your latest five-star review!

These are just some ideas to get you started - but really, the sky's the limit when it comes to creating social media videos as a real estate agent. The most important thing is to be creative, have fun and be yourself.

Your personality is what will make you stand out from the competition, so let it shine through in your videos. Don't worry about perfection. In fact, casual and impromptu can feel way more enticing to people than rehearsed and staged.

Lastly, one of the most important things you can do with video content is to be consistent. If you're going to start posting videos, don't make it a one-off thing. Try to have them once a week, twice a month, even once a month. You can even record a bunch in one day or over the course of a weekend - that way, you have them ready to post ahead of time.

(Source: Inman.com)

As of mid-September, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage passed 6% and continued to increase after the Federal Reserve acknowledged rates will likely continue to rise as inflation remains a significant challenge. Nevertheless, late September presented a positive combination of more for-sale homes and sellers who are more willing to negotiate as they attempt to secure offers from a shrinking number of buyers. Homebuyers may be able to take advantage this shifting market and translate it into a lower sales price, as almost 20% of last month's home listings had a price cut. Consider these other statistics from the last week of September:

• New listings dropped 10% from the previous year. In fact, it was the 12th straight week of year over year declines in new listings. Homeowners are increasingly anxious about participating in the market regardless of the high levels of equity because most sellers (approximately 75%) would also need to buy a home. In addition, increasing mortgage rates is inhibiting sellers' ability to trade up to larger or newer homes without increasing monthly housing costs.

• Inventory continued to increase and was 29% higher than where it was a year ago. The balance of sellers and buyers in the housing market are changing due to current financial conditions and there are more homes available for purchase as compared to 12 months ago. Nevertheless, inventory is still not back to pre-pandemic levels with the active listings trailing 2019 levels by 40%. The swift pace of improvement in inventory could have had the market back pre-pandemic inventory levels by year end, but with sellers growing increasingly reluctant to participate in the market, a return to that mark is probably not going to happen for another year or more.

• The median asking price of for-sale homes grew by 13.3% over last year. Home prices are still increasing faster than is typical, however the market usually shifts in the fall causing prices to cool. Case in point: the average listing price was down $23,000 in September from June's record high of $450,000.

• Homes are selling over two weeks faster than they did before the pandemic but are sitting on the market longer as compared to this time in 2021. Buyers must still be prepared to act on opportunities quickly by getting pre-approved for a mortgage loan before searching for a home. Even though most in-demand homes will continue to sell quickly, buyers could have more time to make offers on some properties than they have over the last year.

There are glimmers of hope even though inflation, higher mortgage rates, and an unsettled economy have forced many buyers to the sidelines and caused some sellers to hesitate. With rising inventory and more negotiating wiggle room, a return to normalcy is within sight.

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