Research Tea with Jessica Lautz

NAR’s Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research, Jessica Lautz, spills the tea on all the real estate research on this episode of the RealTea Podcast! We talk about mortgage rates, how migration trends are impacting Tennessee’s housing market, housing affordability, and what homebuying trends were seeing by different generations. Plus, she highlights different programs and strategies helping first time buyers be successful in today’s competitive market.

Transcript
    • Welcome to the Realty Podcast, brought to you by Tennessee Realtors. I’m your host, Angela Shields. This podcast is created for Tennessee Realtors to get the T on all things real estate in Tennessee. We’ll bring you engaging conversations with esteemed guest in the real estate industry and cover a wide array of topics including current events, governmental affairs, education, and legal updates.
    • 00:00:30:03 – 00:00:46:20
    • Angela
    • All right. We are extremely honored today to have Doctor Jessica Louts, who is the Deputy Chief Economist and the VP of research at the National Association of Realtors. And Jessica, I want to thank you for joining us today.
    • 00:00:46:22 – 00:00:52:04
    • Jessica
    • Thank you. I’m really excited to be with you. I think this is going to be a great conversation, I can’t wait.
    • 00:00:52:06 – 00:01:11:09
    • Angela
    • Absolutely. I’m going to guess you probably haven’t seen our podcast, but our podcast is called The Real Realty Podcast. And we have this fun thing that we do with all of our guests when they come on. And because it’s called the Realty, we, we like to ask everyone, what is it that you take in your teacup?
    • 00:01:11:11 – 00:01:23:06
    • Jessica
    • Oh, okay. So I’m a sleepy time tea person in the evenings with a paper book, and so I don’t take anything in my sleepy time. Tea. But in my coffee in the morning, I put protein shake into it just to get more protein.
    • 00:01:23:08 – 00:01:35:12
    • Angela
    • Wow. Wow. That’s interesting. My husband likes to do the sleepy time type teas as well at night, so no caffeine. I I’ve given him the caffeine before and it keeps him up all night, so.
    • 00:01:35:14 – 00:01:37:22
    • Jessica
    • I have to I have to be quiet and go to bed.
    • 00:01:38:03 – 00:01:40:01
    • Well, yeah. Same.
    • 00:01:40:03 – 00:02:17:23
    • Angela
    • Well awesome. That’s. It’s just a fun thing we like to do, kind of playing off our name, so. But I know that our listeners are going to be so excited to hear all the information that you’re going to bring, and we are catching you at a perfect time, because I know you just released some information, so I’m so excited, but let’s just dive in because I think the very first thing that I want to ask you is, what are some of the key indicators that you are watching right now that Tennessee Realtor should pay attention to and make sure that they’re honing in on?
    • 00:02:18:02 – 00:02:53:22
    • Jessica
    • Yeah, well, it’s not going to be a surprise. We’re obviously watching mortgage interest rates and how that really reflects with housing affordability too, because of course, it’s not just mortgage interest rates, it’s home prices. And it’s how that impacts particular homebuyer coming into the market. So thinking about their particular income locally. And then of course thinking about inventory, which has been the really big problem when we look across the housing market for several years, it’s not something that’s new, but it’s something that really was exacerbated during Covid and we have not rebounded, honestly, from the Great Recession.
    • 00:02:53:22 – 00:03:02:10
    • Jessica
    • So we have a lot of building that we need to do to bring us to a point where home buyers can come into the market and have an available product.
    • 00:03:02:11 – 00:03:08:02
    • Angela
    • Yeah, it’s really a struggle for especially your younger.
    • 00:03:08:04 – 00:03:19:13
    • Angela
    • The people that are younger in there interested. And it seems like I know watching your stats that that number of when people are able to enter into the market just keeps getting higher and higher.
    • 00:03:19:15 – 00:03:36:12
    • Jessica
    • It is right. So first time homebuyers and our data, when we’re looking at primary residence buyers who both paid cash and they financed. So we have both of those in the in the market. When we look at that share, we can see that primary residence buyers who are first time buyers dropped to an all time low. It’s just 21% of the market today.
    • 00:03:36:12 – 00:03:53:22
    • Jessica
    • In a healthy market, it would be 40%. So we can see just how far down we are and the median age of that first time home buyer at 40. So a lot of young adults really want to come into the market. That pent up demand is there and they are struggling to get there with housing affordability and really limited housing inventory.
    • 00:03:54:03 – 00:03:54:18
    • Angela
    • Yeah.
    • 00:03:54:22 – 00:04:18:22
    • Jessica
    • If I if I throw in a local data point for y’all in Nashville, it’s actually really struggling because if you have a household income under $100,000, you’re going to really struggle to be able to find a home in some areas of the country. We’re talking about $75,000 being that threshold. So seeing it in Nashville, being at that level, I think really speaks to how difficult it is locally for folks to be able to find a property.
    • 00:04:19:00 – 00:04:29:00
    • Angela
    • Right. And it seems like that number just keeps getting wider across the state. It’s just it’s just crazy here in Tennessee.
    • 00:04:29:02 – 00:04:47:21
    • Jessica
    • Absolutely. And we know that a lot of it’s driven by migration flow, attracting a lot of people into your state. But unfortunately the building I think is not keeping pace with that migration flow that’s coming in. And Tennessee continues to be one of the top states that people are attracted to that are moving to. It’s a positive job situation.
    • 00:04:47:21 – 00:04:54:23
    • Jessica
    • And I, Tennessee as a whole, gained 64,000 people last year. That’s a lot. That’s a lot of people coming into your state.
    • 00:04:55:01 – 00:05:13:18
    • Angela
    • Yeah. Yes. And I know we are attracting a lot of companies that are coming in. We are constantly seeing we just saw Whataburger move, not Whataburger I’m sorry. In and out burger that is moving here from California and Texas would kill me for saying what a burger.
    • 00:05:13:20 – 00:05:16:02
    • Angela
    • But but we have a lot.
    • 00:05:16:03 – 00:05:24:10
    • Angela
    • Of companies that are constantly moving into Tennessee. So I think you just see the migration of the people coming with those companies.
    • 00:05:24:12 – 00:05:48:12
    • Jessica
    • Absolutely. And if we think about housing affordability, Tennessee used to be a relatively affordable place to move to, especially some pockets of the state. Right. So Chattanooga and Memphis, Memphis still having affordability there, but even Chattanooga, if we look at just the transformation that’s happened over the last decade with Volkswagen coming in great for jobs, great for population growth, really hard.
    • 00:05:48:12 – 00:05:54:08
    • Jessica
    • When you talk about housing affordability and the ability to relocate to a place and be able to raise a family.
    • 00:05:54:10 – 00:06:01:22
    • Angela
    • What are some of the other areas nationally that are you that you’re seeing that are similar to what we’re seeing here in Nashville?
    • 00:06:01:23 – 00:06:25:12
    • Jessica
    • Well, certainly Texas has attracted a lot of companies positive tax situation for many of those companies to move to. But then we can also think about the mountain states where it’s not just companies, it’s people. And so people are unfortunately leaving places like California, like New York, where it’s really expensive to move to. So they found relative affordability in places like Idaho or Montana.
    • 00:06:25:12 – 00:06:40:10
    • Jessica
    • And then you watched those local areas and unfortunately they became less affordable. So Bozeman, Montana is a great example of that, where homes are very expensive. Now in Bozeman, where if we had looked at the two decades ago, that would not have been the case.
    • 00:06:40:10 – 00:06:48:03
    • Angela
    • So is there a particular area that you’re finding is more favorable for first time homebuyers nationwide?
    • 00:06:48:05 – 00:07:11:02
    • Jessica
    • Certainly, the Midwest continues to show favorability. They actually relative affordability. You don’t have to save as long for a down payment. So one of our economists, Nadia Evangelos, did a great analysis that looked at how long you have to save for the typical down payment based on local incomes, based on local home prices. And she found the shortest periods of time, really in the Midwest.
    • 00:07:11:04 – 00:07:26:05
    • Angela
    • That’s interesting. So if you’re looking at strategies, what strategies are helping buyers succeed in today’s market? When you’re when you’re talking about the affordability issues that we’re having.
    • 00:07:26:07 – 00:07:48:22
    • Jessica
    • Well, I think we can look at Gen Z buyers. So they’re really young. They’re just 18 to 26 years old and they’re still a very small share of home buyers. Overall, it’s just 4%, but a whopping 14% of them actually use government programs. So I think they’re becoming savvy. When we think about the housing market, they’re taking advantage of low down payment programs that are researching what options are out there for them.
    • 00:07:48:22 – 00:08:10:23
    • Jessica
    • And these are a higher income young adult who’s able to come into the housing market. But they are looking at these programs, and I think that’s something that gets overlooked is a lot of people who are renters right now, we’re doubling up with parents or family. They may not know about FHA options or VA options. And so they’re not even on their radar.
    • 00:08:11:00 – 00:08:22:14
    • Jessica
    • They’re thinking they have to save 20% down. And we can see that repeatedly. And different survey work that people are not aware of these programs. So getting that onto the radar I think is really important.
    • 00:08:22:16 – 00:08:38:11
    • Angela
    • I think that’s a great point in something that makes the realtor so valuable, because they have that information, and that is something that they’re able to bring to the table and make sure that they’re communicating and talking about, because there are so many great programs out there.
    • 00:08:38:13 – 00:08:57:14
    • Jessica
    • Absolutely. And places like the down payment resource, it actually provides an interactive website where you can go and explore, and perhaps that’s based on income level or career level or career options, but that actually gives you an idea of what you could qualify for, not just the blanket VA loan or the loan that are out there.
    • 00:08:57:16 – 00:09:15:04
    • Angela
    • I know that your team does a lot of research on the types of buyers and what they’re looking for and who’s actually buying, and here recently you just released one on the generational makeup. Can you talk a little bit about that?
    • 00:09:15:06 – 00:09:35:22
    • Jessica
    • Yeah. So I talked about Gen Z. But I’m going to give you one other Gen Z fact. Just because it’s so striking is that more than half of them are actually single buyers. And some of that could have to do with their age. They are still very young, so they could get married later on, but I do think it separates them a little bit from millennials when they were at a similar age where most of them were actually partnered.
    • 00:09:35:22 – 00:09:55:00
    • Jessica
    • So we can see some differences here. For young adults coming into the housing market today for millennials, we found that unfortunately, they’re still having a hard time in the housing market. But it’s different for each group of millennials. So for young millennials, they absolutely are struggling. They have a smaller share of first time homebuyers than we have seen historically.
    • 00:09:55:00 – 00:10:17:03
    • Jessica
    • They’re grappling with housing affordability. For older millennials, though, they’re actually the highest income earners among all home buyers today. So they’re heading into their 40s if they’re not in their 40s. Yet many of them are repeat buyers. They have housing equity. They’re actually doing okay if they’re active in the housing market. So we can see a different trajectory for depending on the age.
    • 00:10:17:03 – 00:10:30:02
    • Jessica
    • And frankly, we’re seeing them move into the burbs and they’re acting like their parents. So they may not have wanted to act like a baby boomer, but there and there, this is at the point in their life where they are transforming into the.
    • 00:10:30:04 – 00:10:49:16
    • Angela
    • I can remember hearing you speak at one point, and this may be older data, but I remember you talking about the features that were important to some of the various different homebuyers. I remember one time it was about their pets. Are their striking features about the home that are important today?
    • 00:10:49:18 – 00:11:18:01
    • Jessica
    • Well, the pets are still really important. 16% of buyers are factoring in their pets into their neighborhood choice, so they’re still thinking about those walking neighborhoods, the funds, the dog park, all of those things being very important. I think what’s interesting is today, regardless of generation, whether you are Gen Z, the youngest buyer or whether you’re the silent generation, as an active retiree at this point in your life, we are seeing the majority of buyers are purchasing single family homes in the burbs.
    • 00:11:18:01 – 00:11:39:14
    • Jessica
    • So that still is the most popular type of home that is being purchased. It probably has to do with what we actually have available right now, as housing stock in America is generally that townhouses are more popular among single women. Not a surprise. Probably less upkeep needed there, less maintenance, but also thinking about a smaller space, probably being wanted, appreciated.
    • 00:11:39:14 – 00:11:48:19
    • Jessica
    • And also she can get there a little bit easier with housing affordability. So those are some of the big findings that we found from this Generational Trends report this year.
    • 00:11:48:21 – 00:11:57:08
    • Angela
    • And are you seeing anything that speaks to the open floor plan or the closed. So you have closed rooms that are.
    • 00:11:57:10 – 00:12:23:16
    • Jessica
    • Still don’t go into that much detail. What I will say is that we are still seeing a really solid share of multi-generational buyers. And I always think when I look at that data, you better have closed rooms because otherwise you’re going to hear everyone’s screen. That being said, I don’t know that that’s necessarily true. I think the big concern for many of those multi-generational buyers, because many of them are purchasing with an elderly parents, is thinking about safety features within that home.
    • 00:12:23:16 – 00:12:59:13
    • Jessica
    • So thinking about the entrance into the home, how many stairs do you have? Are your hallways wide enough for a walker or a wheelchair if needed, and is the bathroom safe? And so like those are probably really big concerns. One of the things that I’ve heard to talking about multigenerational is just how technology can really solve a lot of the problems and concerns that many elderly parents aging in place may have, like just consulting your phone to have the lights turn on and off, adjusting the heat so you don’t have to worry about it, and make steps that you may not have to actually make.
    • 00:12:59:15 – 00:13:09:13
    • Angela
    • That’s so interesting. So as you’re doing some of the research that points to that type of data, is there anything that has surprised you that you just found really interesting?
    • 00:13:09:16 – 00:13:25:22
    • Jessica
    • Well, I do think that every time we kind of dig into it, it’s kind of like a box of chocolates. You don’t really know what the data is going to tell you until you get into it. It’s always a surprise. So some of those surprises, certainly those single Gen Z buyers, the strength of the single woman buyer continues to be very strong.
    • 00:13:25:22 – 00:13:48:23
    • Jessica
    • So it’s a quarter of first time home buyers overall are single women. It’s really pretty extraordinary when we look at the data. The other things I think are really interesting to or baby boomers continue to be the biggest generation of home buyers overall, even though they’re a smaller generation, they’re the biggest share of home buyers. One of the funny ones from this year when I was looking through the report.
    • 00:13:48:23 – 00:14:08:01
    • Jessica
    • If data can be funny, this one was funny to me is that younger baby boomers are in their 60s. Tell us one of the big motivational factors of why they sold a place and they moved was to downsize. And then you look at the data and they didn’t downsize at all. There was no difference in the median square foot, so I’m sure some of them did, but there was really no change.
    • 00:14:08:01 – 00:14:09:21
    • Jessica
    • They still want their space.
    • 00:14:10:02 – 00:14:12:09
    • Angela
    • Maybe they just wanted to get rid of their stairs or something.
    • 00:14:12:09 – 00:14:14:18
    • Angela
    • And they just got it in a different layout.
    • 00:14:14:20 – 00:14:26:01
    • Jessica
    • Yeah, totally possible. Is a change in layout a newer home when they don’t have to worry about as much? Absolutely possible. But as far as less space, fewer of them.
    • 00:14:26:03 – 00:14:31:11
    • Angela
    • Is there a particular trend that realtors need to pay a little closer attention to?
    • 00:14:31:13 – 00:14:51:18
    • Jessica
    • Well, I think just not discounting different groups. Right. So seeing that single woman so strong, seeing the baby boomers so strong, I mean, we probably discounted both of those thinking, well, millennials are the biggest generation. So they’re probably out there as the force now they’re having a hard time getting there. So I think thinking about those ideas is certainly helpful.
    • 00:14:51:20 – 00:15:10:12
    • Jessica
    • The other thing that I would say is the flip side to all of that research, means that there’s opportunities for those folks who are not in the market to actually bring them in. So thinking about single men, where are they? We need them in the housing market. They have the ability to purchase a home, and they could build wealth just like those single women can.
    • 00:15:10:14 – 00:15:28:17
    • Jessica
    • So I think bringing them into the housing market, thinking about the flip side of that, that there is an opportunity for millennials if that housing stock, that affordable housing stock is available to. So every time we see that discounted buyer, the buyer who is being shut out, there’s an opportunity to bring them in.
    • 00:15:28:18 – 00:15:59:03
    • Angela
    • So turning the attention a little bit in a different direction. I know we recently had you come and speak to the region four leaders in region four. For anybody who’s listening would know is the status of not just Tennessee, but Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina. And you shared some really good information just about our region specifically. Do you mind kind of sharing a little bit about kind of what’s going on with this, the four states?
    • 00:15:59:05 – 00:16:26:01
    • Jessica
    • Yeah. So the biggest thing that I’m seeing for your for state is actually a really strong pocket of migration flow. So knowing all of those narratives about migration flow, having enough inventory but being attracted to positive job situation. So each one of those states having a really strong job market that not only was strong for the last five years, it’s continued in last year where a lot of the states, unfortunately have had job losses.
    • 00:16:26:01 – 00:16:55:03
    • Jessica
    • You all have really still had a strong attraction of talent. And so I think that’s important. A lot of people being attracted to those areas for positive weather situations, a pull from family to relocate there. And so we’re seeing those patterns across the four states. But of course locally everything’s going to be so completely different. One of the things that I thought was interesting to is that the share of all cash buyers, and I’m hopefully don’t butcher this.
    • 00:16:55:04 – 00:17:19:09
    • Jessica
    • Hickory linear, Morgantown nearly 56% of buyers were actually all cash buyers. That’s an extremely large share of all cash buyers in Bowling Green. 63%. All cash buyers thinking about perhaps retirees moving there, the ability of populations moving from other places to purchase with all cash, I think is unique to to your states as well.
    • 00:17:19:11 – 00:17:30:09
    • Angela
    • Yeah. We kind of figure they’re coming from somewhere like California, that the prices are so much higher. They can come here for what they’re selling for out there.
    • 00:17:30:11 – 00:17:44:07
    • Jessica
    • Certainly. Yeah. And I California and seeing that that unfortunately that population loss over the last couple of years it’s slowed but it is still happening just because of I think affordability conditions. Yeah.
    • 00:17:44:08 – 00:18:03:21
    • Angela
    • Yeah you mentioned weather, but all four of our states get that extreme weather with the tornadoes. And we even had the hurricane that came through. I was trying to think like just the flooding, all of that type of thing. Do you ever see any patterns with that being a negative impact on like this region?
    • 00:18:03:23 – 00:18:23:19
    • Jessica
    • Certainly. I mean, there are positives and negatives to everything, right? And so as we look at that, insurance can be one of those things that is hit. And then of course if there’s extreme weather conditions that can be a temporary reduction in actual homes to and seeing people move into the rental market, and certainly both of those things can be impacted.
    • 00:18:24:01 – 00:18:50:13
    • Jessica
    • And looking at your your local areas too. We’ve actually recently done in our department as well, an analysis on the increase in escrow. So looking at how both taxes and insurance costs have increased over both a one year and a four year or a five year period, brother. And seeing that in insurance is one of those things where it’s really hit harder.
    • 00:18:50:15 – 00:19:06:16
    • Jessica
    • So Columbia, South Carolina, for instance, looking at a 27% increase over five years, but that compares to Greensboro at a 40 more than a 40% increase. So you can see just locally how things can be different as well with weather patterns.
    • 00:19:06:18 – 00:19:24:07
    • Angela
    • And I would imagine with everything going on just with cost of building supplies and all of that would would go to affordability about how much it’s now costing just to build houses and that being passed on to the consumer as well.
    • 00:19:24:12 – 00:19:46:21
    • Jessica
    • Absolutely. And builders will tell us there’s a whole host of reasons why they’re having a hard time building homes, whether it is the availability of skilled labor. We know we need more people to to consider the trades and move into that, but then also the cost of goods. And then sometimes it comes down to just looking at impact fees.
    • 00:19:46:21 – 00:20:00:15
    • Jessica
    • So how much does it cost to put a shovel in the ground before you buy anything or hire anyone to actually do that? And that can be very steep. The homebuilders estimate that it’s about a quarter of the total cost of a home, and that can vary locally as well.
    • 00:20:00:21 – 00:20:15:18
    • Angela
    • Right? That’s something we are constantly looking at in our state as the the pass on cost of the impact fees and what that means for affordable housing and always trying to educate our, our legislators on that impact.
    • 00:20:15:23 – 00:20:16:19
    • Jessica
    • Yeah, absolutely.
    • 00:20:16:21 – 00:20:17:08
    • Angela
    • Your research.
    • 00:20:17:08 – 00:20:20:11
    • Angela
    • Always helps. So thank good.
    • 00:20:20:12 – 00:20:30:05
    • Jessica
    • It’s good when we we can give research and we can try and influence policy with actual hard data as opposed to vibes. Right. So that’s a good thing.
    • 00:20:30:06 – 00:20:30:20
    • Angela
    • Yeah.
    • 00:20:30:21 – 00:20:42:01
    • Angela
    • So if you’re looking out I know you don’t have the crystal ball, but if you’re looking out for 12 to 18 months, what what is it that you’re focusing on. What is it that you’re seeing and thinking about?
    • 00:20:42:06 – 00:21:01:05
    • Jessica
    • Yeah. So I think the big questions today are thinking about the inventory. And so yesterday we released our existing home sales data. And it actually showed the highest level of inventory that we’ve seen for several years for for the month of April. And that’s definitely good news. But we have a ways to go. And it’s not universal at every price point.
    • 00:21:01:05 – 00:21:22:07
    • Jessica
    • And that’s of course, where the big concern comes is bringing those new buyers in to have that movement in the housing market. The lock in effect for low interest rate mortgages is certainly real, but we know that there is some separation of that because people have obtained mortgages in the last few years. So there’s there’s becoming more mortgage holders who actually have mortgages at a higher rate.
    • 00:21:22:09 – 00:21:36:04
    • Jessica
    • So they’re less influenced by that, that lock in effect. So as we watch that moving forward, hopefully we’ll have that healthier movement in the housing market. But it could take time to actually get to that point to.
    • 00:21:36:06 – 00:22:01:01
    • Angela
    • And I know I’ve personally seen you on many of the the TV programs, the media. You do a fabulous job. I’ve seen Doctor Yun, he does a great job representing our industry. What is it that the media is most interested in right now? What are they? They use your research a lot. So what again? What is it that they are most interested in hearing about?
    • 00:22:01:03 – 00:22:36:00
    • Jessica
    • Well, the most questions that I’m getting out right now are all about multigenerational buyers. So I think there’s a really big interest in this segment of home buyers right now. And I think there’s the idea of the silver tsunami of passing on wealth among baby boomers. And one, is that going to happen? So I think there’s a lot of questions around the baby boomer generation and seeing the changes and the movement that that could have to the housing market, either a multigenerational buyer or that silver tsunami or how are people going to age in place?
    • 00:22:36:02 – 00:22:46:18
    • Jessica
    • I think those are the big question marks that I’m hearing a lot of right now. And I think it’s interesting because that’s going to transform realtors and how they’re doing their business. And I know you all are already seeing that already.
    • 00:22:46:19 – 00:22:52:21
    • Angela
    • Yeah. Do you get a lot of questions about the mortgage rates? Are they.
    • 00:22:52:23 – 00:22:53:15
    • Angela
    • Are they asking.
    • 00:22:53:15 – 00:22:54:05
    • Angela
    • You to predict.
    • 00:22:54:05 – 00:22:55:21
    • Angela
    • What you think is going to happen?
    • 00:22:55:23 – 00:23:22:08
    • Jessica
    • And it’s impossible to predict. It’s impossible to predict for mortgage interest rates. Of course, there’s lots of questions about that right now. And certainly we are watching that too. I will say on mortgage interest rates, there’s definitely some encouraging things that we are seeing. It’s not all rosy, but we are lower than a year ago. We are under 6.5%, I think at least when we were started recording this podcast, by the time it’s out, it could be in three minutes.
    • 00:23:22:08 – 00:23:43:11
    • Jessica
    • They’ve gone up, but at that moment they were. So that’s definitely encouraging, but there’s absolutely room for them to go down and create more movement. And one of the things that we were able to do to is actually look about how mortgage interest rates, if they move from 7% to 6%, how would that change the housing market locally around the country?
    • 00:23:43:11 – 00:24:00:02
    • Jessica
    • In Nashville, it would bring in 4500 new buyers over the course of the 18 months. It really does make a difference because it changes housing affordability for first time homebuyers, but it also separates for repeat buyers, those who would make that housing trade and actually brings them back into that market.
    • 00:24:00:04 – 00:24:21:17
    • Angela
    • Right. What is it that you think that rather than focusing so highly on the mortgage rate? Because I think so often people go back to. Oh, this is what it was during Covid and they get fixated on that. But rather than getting so fixated on the mortgage rate, what is it that they should pay closer attention to?
    • 00:24:21:19 – 00:24:44:21
    • Jessica
    • Well, I think for repeat buyers, for current homeowners, they should be looking at their housing equity. And I think that gets a lost a lot in the narrative. They’re thinking about the current mortgage interest rate. They’re thinking about what they could finance at their next property. But when we look at the housing equity that is being held by homeowners, I do think that that is lost in the conversation among them.
    • 00:24:45:02 – 00:25:07:17
    • Jessica
    • And if we look just in the last five years in Nashville, the typical homeowner has gained $160,000 in equity. That is a lot of buying power for the next property. That is a substantial down payment. In Raleigh, we can see $186,000. So it’s going to vary locally. And just five years seeing that growth really does make a difference.
    • 00:25:07:17 – 00:25:25:09
    • Jessica
    • And you know, I can get plenty of stories, but I have certainly heard stories about people who have purchased their first home during the pandemic. They locked in a low interest rate. And then they said, well, I was a first time homebuyer. Then I locked in a 30 year fixed. So I have to be here for 30 years, right?
    • 00:25:25:11 – 00:25:46:12
    • Jessica
    • They do not. And so I think sometimes getting out those common misconceptions and getting the narrative out of something that is so bread and butter to realtors can be really helpful to bringing in people who should make a housing trade, who have a long commute, or have a change in their family situation that would be better in a new home, right?
    • 00:25:46:13 – 00:25:53:00
    • Angela
    • Again, another great value of the realtor, because they are in the position to be able to educate.
    • 00:25:53:02 – 00:25:53:21
    • Angela
    • The public.
    • 00:25:53:22 – 00:26:20:23
    • Angela
    • The consumer and everyone that they have that knowledge and they can help guide people through that. You all have so many resources on your website. You have so many statistics, all the research that you do. Can you talk about what realtors can use that would help them and be a value that they may not even realize as they are for them?
    • 00:26:21:02 – 00:26:41:09
    • Jessica
    • Yeah, absolutely. Well, I would say the first thing is, if you’re not following the Na research social media accounts to do that, because that’s the easiest way that I know that everyone’s on social media. Realtors especially, you’re constantly in touch on social media. So I would say following the Na research accounts, they’re separate from the main feed and they are chock full of nerdy information.
    • 00:26:41:10 – 00:27:02:14
    • Jessica
    • Then if you see something that you like, you can click on the link. But we have tons of infographics. We have reports that are exclusive to realtors. We want you to be able to use those content and to be able to use it in your business. The other thing that I would also plug is our blog. So our blog has daily content that we are putting up there, keeping a pulse on the industry.
    • 00:27:02:14 – 00:27:20:01
    • Jessica
    • It’s all unique content and it’s super easy to use and it’s all super interactive. So when our writers and our economies and our researchers are writing on there, they want to make it approachable. And so they want to put it in in a voice that is easy to read and not a dense report.
    • 00:27:20:03 – 00:27:38:16
    • Angela
    • Well, and the other thing that I would say is that if a realtor who’s a member is looking for content that’s just easy to share and get some of this information that we’re talking about out to their customers and clients, this is the easiest way to do it. You’ve made it so easy to be able to share some of this information.
    • 00:27:38:19 – 00:27:41:17
    • Jessica
    • Absolutely. Yeah. And go.
    • 00:27:41:17 – 00:27:43:15
    • Angela
    • For it. No, you go ahead.
    • 00:27:43:17 – 00:27:58:22
    • Jessica
    • If they want to become an ambassador, if they get really nerdy about it, we will actually email them twice a month. A recap of things that we think are really cool that they can easily share on their social media with actually pre-written content to. So we’ll make it super easy for them.
    • 00:27:58:23 – 00:28:17:11
    • Angela
    • Very easy. Yes you do. The other thing I was going to say is that you put out like you were talking about the generational information. So you make it so easy on how they can take that information and then use it as well with how to market. I think that is just so fabulous.
    • 00:28:17:13 – 00:28:37:17
    • Jessica
    • We want you to be able to put it into your hands and to share it with your, your consumers to, to really talk. And I can give an anecdote that someone grabbed a blog post and it had an infographic about single women, and she threw it onto her social media. She had a woman reach out to her that she had not worked with.
    • 00:28:37:18 – 00:28:54:21
    • Jessica
    • That was not a referral from a past client, and it was a single mom and she was renting and she said, wait, I can go and do this. I’m seeing a lot of women are going and doing this. And she reached out to that realtor from seeing that infographic. So sharing that type of content, it makes people feel like they are not alone.
    • 00:28:54:22 – 00:29:04:16
    • Jessica
    • I guess in the world. So it’s not just someone who adopted a dog. That dog got big and they’re like, do I need to move? They might feel like they’re crazy, but no, they probably should move and they should reach out to you.
    • 00:29:04:20 – 00:29:21:02
    • Angela
    • Right, right. Well, Jessica, believe it or not, where you are already coming to the end of the time. But before I let you go. Are there any other tips or tricks or just information that you feel like that we didn’t cover that a member should know?
    • 00:29:21:04 – 00:29:48:12
    • Jessica
    • I think just feeling confident using our data would would be great and putting it out there, sharing it, being nerdy with it. I think that’s wonderful. And also customers don’t know everything. And so feeling free to educate them I think is a wonderful thing. And we have tons of data. So if you get texted something that is bonkers, we have the data point to help you level set with what’s really going on.
    • 00:29:48:14 – 00:30:11:05
    • Angela
    • Well, again, you all make it so easy to be able to get hold of that information, but they do have to go and find it. They have to go onto the website and actually use it or onto social media. You do make it so easy by just going on to the social media. So I want to thank you because we use your information from the association standpoint and you’re always accessible like today.
    • 00:30:11:05 – 00:30:17:13
    • Angela
    • And I can’t tell you how valuable the information is. And it’s always so interesting to read.
    • 00:30:17:15 – 00:30:22:21
    • Jessica
    • Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to get it out there more into the hands of Realtors.
    • 00:30:22:22 – 00:30:30:12
    • Angela
    • Thank you. And thank you for everything you do. Thank you for being here. Thanks.
    • 00:30:30:14 – 00:30:48:02
    • Angela
    • Thank you all for joining us today on the Realty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Then visit Realtor.com to submit your questions and topics for future episodes of the Realty podcast. Thanks for listening.