If this is the year you've decided to focus on your SRES® designation and use it to raise your profile in your community, here are five strategies for connecting with locals.

If you haven’t explored the benefits that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can have on your business, now may be the time. A recent realtor.com® story outlined how real estate practitioners use ChatGPT to generate content. Three examples include: Writing listing descriptions Brainstorming topics for email drip campaigns Developing blog, social media posts, and video scripts Using AI can free up time that you could devote to activities that bring in more money—prospecting for new listings, improving customer service, and making deeper community connections. Learn more: ChatGPT, Google Killer? The

Now is the time of year when you’re sketching out your 2023 business goals and deciding where to concentrate your dollars and attention for professional growth. The new course, Intro to Sustainability & Resiliency: What REALTORS ® Need to Know, may give you a start in developing a new business niche serving the growing population of consumers focusing on sustainability in their homes, communities, and personal habits. For instance, more homeowners and homebuyers are asking for -- and are willing to pay for -- properties with sustainable features. Such features bring benefits like lower utility

Clients may look to you for advice when they discover a home health problem or when a home inspection reveals the presence of lead paint or some other hazard. To get up to speed on such issues, visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the guide . It provides information sheets (see page 11) on common home health hazards, including asbestos, lead, and mold, and their health effects. The guides are a quick way for you to become more knowledgeable about such topics and provide the best guidance to your clients. The information also is worth sharing – in blog posts

When communicating in writing with your older clients, remember that fonts matter. One finding from a new study, “Towards Individuated Reading Experiences: Different Fonts Increase Reading Speed for Different Individuals” ( https://www.nngroup.com/articles/best-font-for-online-reading/ and https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3502222#d1e6100 ), indicates that three fonts – Garamond, Montserrat, and Poynter Gothic – were better for older readers. So, consider how best to design your reading materials for your age 55+ buyers and sellers. Here are some tips ( https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fyti

As the spring buying season gets into full swing, you want a grip on market drivers so you can make the best plan for your business. Plus, clients likely will pepper you with questions about who’s buying and those buyers’ motivations and wants. A recent Lending Tree survey https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/considering-move-survey/ gives you a big-picture market view and statistics you can use during chats and presentations with buyers and sellers. Lending Tree’s highlights include: How big is the market? About 40% of Americans are considering a move in 2022. How is the pandemic

You probably have an army of pros – locksmiths, cleaners, and painters – that you refer to clients. For your senior clientele, why not consider adding a tech guru? After all, the tech industry has made strides in developing smart technology that helps with aging in place, whether that’s detecting falls, monitoring health conditions, or letting seniors call for help. Yet, many seniors find installing, using, and maintaining smart home technology challenging and frustrating. According to research ( https://www.ageinplacetech.com/files/aip/Future%20of%20Smart%20Homes%20and%20Older%20Adults%202021

When you’ve been dealing with a hot market and a steady stream of clients, it’s hard to keep your eye on the technologies that will help your business and clients in the future. The “2021 Technology Survey” by the National Association of REALTORS® gives you a glimpse at what technologies will have the most significant impact on REALTORS®’ business during the next two years. Among them are drones (37%), cybersecurity (34%), 5G (31%), and virtual reality (30%), according to the report that surveyed NAR members about their technology usage and views. During the last year, eSignature (78%), local

If you’ve been looking for ways to market your skills to aged 50+ buyers and sellers and find ways to help seniors who need accessible housing, read Ray Abichandani’s commentary in the July-August 2021 edition of REALTOR magazine. He talks about the accessibility challenges homeowners continue to face, despite the fact that the country celebrates the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this year. The need for housing that accommodates physical limitations will only become more acute as the population ages and fewer find senior care facilities appealing. Abichandani points

Clients look to you to help them understand all the livability features that will contribute to their well-being in a prospective neighborhood. Thanks to a collaboration between AARP’s Livability Index ( https://bit.ly/3wdmRvA ) and the National Association of REALTORS ® Realtors Property Resource ® ( https://auth.narrpr.com/auth/sign-in ), you now have easy access to a wealth of data to give your baby boomer and senior clients a complete picture of a given neighborhood and address their questions about a particular zip code. AARP’s Livability Index data now is accessible on the RPR ® website