Category: Monday Market Minute With Carrie McCormick

In our April episode of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick of At Properties, Carrie discusses how in grade school she was able to tell an emotionally engaging story about a seashell during show and tell and how she uses that same principle today to list properties. D.J. talks about how you can partner with third-party management companies to send your clients virtually over to their leasing consultants and earn a commission along the way!

If you’d prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on YouTube!

Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Please follow Carrie on Instagram by clicking here.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00
This episode of Keeping it real is brought to you by gogos bootcamp Are you a real estate agent looking for the best social media training program on the planet? Gogo Beth key is considered the top Instagram Realtor in the country. And her step by step training program will take your social media game to the next level. She’s so confident there’s a 30 day money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose keeping it real listeners receive a special discount, so please visit Gogo podcast.com That’s Gee oh, gee, oh podcast.com for your special discount, and now on with the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real, the largest podcast made by real estate agents and for real estate agents. My name is DJ Parris. I’m your guide and host through the show. And today, we are speaking once again with Carrie McCormick for our Monday market minute. If you’re not familiar with Carrie, she’s actually been with us since the very beginning almost four years on the show. We’re so grateful to have her she’s one of the top real estate agents in Chicago. And just to tell you how big a deal that is. There are over 44,000 Real estate agents in Chicago, she is always in about the top 15 Out of those 44,000, sometimes top 10. She’s been a top producer for over 20 years, she’s with AP properties, and just an amazing broker. And if you want to find her online, please visit her on her website, which is Carrie McCormick our e.com Again, Carrie McCormack ar e.com. And also please follow her on Instagram. She has an unbelievably wonderful Instagram account and it’s a great it’s a great model for how real estate agents probably should do Instagram so you can find her at at Carey McCormick real estate again at Carey McCormick real estate. Carrie once again. Thanks and welcome.

Carrie McCormick 2:13
Well thank you. It’s a wonderful intro. appreciate it as always. So hope you’re doing well hope everyone out there is staying safe and sane right through this time. But I wanted to chat today to talk a little bit about marketing. Right now obviously, times have changed and I wanted to bring everybody back to your grade school days. So do you remember your show and tell days at school? Yes. What all you know, it was a nerve wracking time, but I remember show Intel and while I’m asked her that really early on in my years, and I never thought show Intel would you know be part of my professional career. So just a quick little backstory about Carrie. When I grew up, I was actually a tomboy. And I remember my show and tell days at school or by date that came and I was at home, feverishly looking for something to bring to school and being a tomboy. You know, I didn’t, I was afraid that the girls were going to judge me or the boys were going to judge me and my favorite toy was the General Lee from the to

D.J. Paris 3:23
Sure. And that was a favorite toy of mine as well.

Carrie McCormick 3:27
So my mom convinced me not to bring the generally to school. But what she did tell me she she brought me this, this shell and she’s like remember this, you know, the C shell that we got when we were in Florida. And she started telling me the story about the day that we found this, this shell and how we’ve kept on to it. And you know, it’s just it’s been in our house ever since. And you know, she was such a good storyteller. It just made me think it made me feel like happy, you know, hearing that story and just kind of remember at the beach and how the sun felt that day and the sound of the waves and the seagulls and you know, brought a smile to my face. I’m like, Yeah, you know, I’m gonna bring this shell to school and, you know, so I go to Show and Tell day and, you know, I get up in front of the class and, you know, my hands have got this shell. And, you know, I can just kind of feel like the classroom looking at me like, Oh, God, you know, shell you like really, you know, and so I got up in front of the class and I started you know, just not talking about the shell. But I was talking about the day I found the shell and how it made me feel and just created this story around the shell. And I do remember at some point, you know, the classroom just kind of like leaning in, right? Like, you know, like, I want to hear more about this and you know what happened next and so it just it didn’t become a story about the shell. It just became a story of emotion and how it made me feel and You know, I mean, really fast forward to now, that’s what we have to do. Right? So we can’t show properties for the most part, we can, but you know, a lot of people aren’t out. So we have to know, tell people about the properties, right? We need to turn our listings into consumable virtual content now, and we have to think beyond this visual, we have to engage people. And we do that through storytelling, you know, so I think our, our descriptions of the homes and you know, our marketing just has to change. A few years ago, I came up with this marketing campaign. And if you look back to my, my Instagram, you’ll see that I had this ad that said, every home has its own story. Yeah. And our job is to tell the story of this home and make it come alive. I think we’ve been inundated by these images of homes, right? You just start clicking through these homes. But what a story does is it engages somebody in it tells the history and the personality of the home, right? You start engaging and connecting with people’s emotions. And I mean, think about even those like Budweiser commercials. If you remember, those are some of these commercials that make you feel a certain way. Yeah, yeah. So what we have to do, so not only now, are we real estate agents, you know, we’ve got to be storytellers and marketers. One thing that I’ve done is when I sit down with a seller is I asked them, you know, their perspective of their home, like, what’s, what’s their favorite, you know, design of the home, the architecture, the history of the home, even sometimes quirks of the homes and have them tell you a story. So if it’s, you know, you know, my kids loved it, you know, hiding out under the stairs, they would play, hide and go seek there. I mean, that’s when you do showings. And when you could talk about that when someone else storage under the stairs, just be like, Oh, I got a funny story. My, you know, my sellers, kids used to, you know, play hide and seek down here. Again, it’s sharing moments, it sharing the history of the home that really makes it come alive.

D.J. Paris 7:10
I have a friend who bought a home recently, and it had a lap pool in the back I, you know, I’m not a practicing realtor myself. So I haven’t really seen one before. And, and it’s really unusual, it’s just a long, thin pool. And, and I said, What’s the story behind that, and he had bought the home, it was there when he bought it. And he told me this story about how the guy was training for this. It was some sort of triathlon, and he was so into it, that he built this into the backyard. And anyway, it created a story because I think you’re right, like what happens when someone buys a home, and their friends come over for the housewarming party as they look at something that might be unique about the home or unusual? And they’re like, what’s the story with that? What happened there? And so you’re right, like, when you have a listing, you now have the ability to tell those stories, and people love to know the history of of a place or what’s unique about it. And, and you’re right, I think so often Realtors FORGET TO to incorporate that. And that’s also one thing that the disruptors in particular the the algorithms, you know, the companies that are trying to, you know, just automate, a lot of the home buying selling process really can’t do. They can’t tell that story. They can show pictures, they can tell you the facts. So I think you’re right, they call that story selling, I think, this idea of Yeah.

Carrie McCormick 8:33
So another thing is, you know, as you’re talking to your sellers, and you’re writing your story about the home, make sure that you include key terms that buyers are likely to be searching, right, you have to think about all buyers searching, and you know, you can take advantage of a little SEO as well. So as people are, you know, Googling certain terms or certain aspects, you know, like lap pools, a good example, you know, I mean, that’s kind of broad, but you know, at least you know, you have some sort of descriptions to that give a little bit of history about it. Also, I’ve started doing a little bit more perspective of the homes from the outside. So because clients aren’t going out as much, you know, they don’t know, excuse me, they don’t know, like, what the street scene looks like. Right. What’s next? We take our pictures, we take a just at the front of that house. Yeah, you know, we don’t know what the neighbors look like. And Google Earth is become a very helpful tool, but also just, you know, videoing coming down the street coming into your, you know, front door, what does it look like to the left to the right. So definitely have more pictures, just in general, but I’d say also start incorporating some pictures from the outside as well.

D.J. Paris 9:45
You know, that’s a really that’s a really good idea, because I know that when I am looking to move, I want to see what’s nearby, and especially now when it’s not as easy to get out and be mobile, and actually go visit the properties. Now is the time For the realtors out here, let me show you what the neighborhood looks like. Let’s show you if you’re in the city, like what’s nearby what cool shops and restaurants and, and retail establishments. So it’s a and what the scenery looks like nearby.

Carrie McCormick 10:11
And now that the trees are budding and you know, everything’s starting to look better. So it’s really a good time to start, you know, doing some outside shots and more neighborhood shots. So, you know, the market is the market. And, you know, I think first and foremost, we have to, you know, worry about everyone’s safety and, and health. But also, you know, real estate is important, because it’s our home, you know, and we obviously, everyone’s spending more time in our homes. And and I do think that in times of uncertainty, you know, real estate can bring a tangible solution, and breathing room for people who are changing crate or craving change in their life. So I think it’s really an important aspect. And, you know, it’s our job to bring it to them.

D.J. Paris 10:59
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. I mean, I know I’m feeling I don’t know how you’re feeling. But I’ve started to think about, you know, maybe it’s time for me to upsize. Maybe it’s time for me to when, when this all when we return to normal, and maybe even before we return to normal, us to really get serious about you know, I’ve spent, I do, I’m lucky enough to be able to go into the office still. And I’m lucky most people don’t get to do that. But even with the amount of time I’m spending at home, which is more than normal, I’m still feeling confined. And I suspect a tremendous number of people are feeling that same way and, and are, you know, I think now more than ever, and people are also looking online to I think we’re maybe just have a little bit more time and we’re feeling you know, like, oh, maybe it’s a little too too close for comfort. And, you know, now’s a great time to reach out to those clients. And obviously check in to see how they’re doing, but maybe even wait for them to tell you hey, you know, it’s good thing you called I’m actually thinking about maybe maybe finding a bigger space or just a different space,

Carrie McCormick 11:58
right? Especially work from home, you know, people are going to be working from home, they need their own space. So it’s an interesting time, and it’s our job to you know, to help keep the real estate market moving forward and doing the right thing.

D.J. Paris 12:13
Yeah, I also wonder too, and I don’t know much about the commercial world we have we’ve had commercial brokers on the show before but I’m curious and how many people once you know were able to return to work, I wonder how many employers are going to say you know, this work at home things works pretty well. And so I think from the residential side, there are going to be a lot of people going and I don’t really have a dedicated space for our home office. And this might be more of a you know, regular thing for me now or maybe at least some of the days of the week I’m going to work from home. And so I think there’s gonna be a lot of movement when every thing returns and rates are so low and it’s such a great time if you are looking to buy to to just be doing that and so I think now more than ever realtors are so important just staying in touch with the clients you know waiting for them even to reach out saying you know, I think I need to upgrade so I agree. I agree. So here’s my marketing tip of the of the month and you know, this might not necessarily apply to everyone listening so I apologize for that in advance but I think this will apply to most most broke Most brokers and when I say brokers I need to remember that not everywhere. Realtors are not always called brokers. So agent broker, realtor, whatever it is, you call yourself real estate professional. But here in Chicago this is quite popular and I imagine in many metropolitan areas, even maybe more rural areas you can still do this. So in you know we all know about the MLS and the MLS. I’m going to be talking about rentals just for a moment of course the MLS has lots and lots of rentals. Typically these are owners who are looking to rent out properties that they have two potential tenants but there’s also another side of rentals which are third party management these would be companies that either own or manage buildings or, or units that they typically don’t list on the MLS and a lot of times Realtors forget that their these opportunities exist because they’re not on the MLS and so often we’re tied to the MLS and thinking that’s the inventory. Well that is the inventory but there’s also this non MLS inventory so here in Chicago at least there are dozens of big property management companies that never list any of their units on the MLS and so if you’re a broker in an area and you have renters you know you can oftentimes feel limited by what’s available on the MLS. So if you can reach out to these, these these properties, you just call them and ask say hey, do you work with with realtors are you willing to pay a commission if I bring you someone and right now it’s actually kind of a you know, realtors don’t have to do as much work because a lot of these these management companies have their own in house leasing staff. They love it when brokers call they love taking right now they’re not getting calls, either they’re there, the phone’s not ringing as much. So if you have somebody that’s looking for an apartment, now it’s, you know, it’s probably in some ways easier than ever to pass them over to some of these leasing consultants, you still obviously earn a commission, and they’ll do the virtual showing, or if they’re able to go see the property that’s possible to, but just remember, these opportunities exist. And really, it’s as simple as just, you know, going online doing a search for apartments, if you’re a realtor, and just reaching out to the management company and say, Hey, I don’t know if you if you partner with agents or not, but I have somebody that would really love to see this property. Do you guys accept those kinds of referrals? And you’ll find more often than not that those, especially right now, and things are slower, those firms want your calls. And so reach out, you can pass it over to their leasing consultants, they’re the best ones to do the showings anyway, you can maybe be there on a virtual, you know, in the background, or just turn it immediately over. And I’ve heard from a lot of management companies right now saying, Please, please, please have your realtor’s call us we need tenants. So great opportunity. And if you’re in an area that you’ve never done that before, great opportunity to reach out to those management companies and build a relationship and say, Hey, I do get renters, and I would love to send them over your way. So that’s great. I agree. Awesome. Well, if anyone out there is listening who would like to work with one of the top Realtors in the Chicagoland area which by the way we are the second largest real estate market in the country are second or third. This is a big deal. Carrie is legitimately one of the very top Agents Brokers. She is well respected. She’s been doing it for 20 plus years. Carrie, what’s the best way a client can reach out to you or somebody who’s looking to work with you?

Carrie McCormick 16:49
Sure. So call I love when people call so it’s 312-961-4612 or you could shoot me a quick email at Kerry ca RR ie at@properties.com.

D.J. Paris 17:03
Also, please follow Kerry on Instagram, you can find her at Carey McCormick real estate I I’m oftentimes not impressed always with how Realtors promote themselves on social media. Carrie is the exception, she just does it. so unbelievably well, she does it all herself too, which is even more impressive. So if you want to see what a really impressive and wonderful Instagram account looks like follow her there Carrie McCormick real estate and also if you want to see a really great realtor website as well, Carrie McCormick R e.com is where you can go and learn more about Carrie. But definitely reach out to her if you are interested in finding a top agent to work with. Or if you’re just interested in learning more about Carrie. Well, Carrie, thank you so much. I’m glad to know that you and your family are safe and healthy. And you are still going strong. Thank you. Oh, God, I lost you for a second. Yeah, thanks. Thanks again. And we will, we’ll see you next time I want to on behalf of Carrie and myself, we want to thank the listeners for continuing to support our show. We’re now four years in and we’re going as strong as ever, and we have the most number of listeners we’ve ever had, which is so so we’re so grateful for that. And also please tell a friend think of one other agent that could benefit from watching or listening to these episodes and sending them over our podcast. And also please follow us on Facebook, you can find us@facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod and behalf on behalf of the listeners and myself. Carrie, once again, thank you for taking time we’re doing this on a Sunday morning, by the way. And that’s how dedicated Carrie is so kind to be on our show on taking time away from from her business and family to share with our listeners. So thank you so so much. Thank you. All right, we’ll see you next time.

Carrie McCormick 18:56
Awesome. You’re the best. Thanks. Thanks

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

In our March episode of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick of At Properties, Carrie discusses how she’s adjusting to running her business from home and provides tips on how to stay productive during this challenging time. I provide a marketing tip about how to deepen connections with your sphere of influence and current clients through a simple text message.

If you’d prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on YouTube!

Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Please follow Carrie on Instagram by clicking here.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00
This episode of Keeping it real is brought to you by gogos bootcamp Are you a real estate agent looking for the best social media training program on the planet? Gogo Beth key is considered the top Instagram Realtor in the country. And her step by step training program will take your social media game to the next level. She’s so confident there’s a 30 day money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose, keeping it real listeners receive a special discount, so please visit Gogo podcast.com That’s Gee, oh, gee, oh podcast.com for your special discount, and now on with the show.

Welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made for real estate agents and by real estate agents. My name is DJ Parris. I’m your guide and host through the show, and today is our monthly episode called the Monday market minute with Carrie McCormick. This is their first time doing a video podcast. So you might be watching this, or you might be listening to it. But if you aren’t watching it, you can follow us on Facebook where you can see these videos. These episodes being recorded live which is@facebook.com forward slash key material pod. But let’s get to our our co host Carrie, if you’re not familiar, she is a top 1% producer for over 20 years at at properties. Carrie is very well respected and regarded in the industry. She’s one of the very, very she’s not only top 1%, she’s top 1% of 1% We’re so thrilled to have her every month she comes on the show to tell us what is going on in the local Chicago market and what realtors and our listeners should be thinking about and what they should be telling their clients. So it’s nice to see you for the first time in a couple of years doing an episode. It’s very awkward for both of us. But it’s nice, and I appreciate you, you being on the show, especially in this trying time. So what’s going on out there?

Carrie McCormick 2:07
Yeah, it’s I mean, it’s first of all, I just want to say that I’m thinking about you, DJ, and your family and all your loved ones. And you know, everyone listening. It’s, you know, everyone’s trying to stay healthy. And we’re trying to be creative during our quarantine time. So it’s I hope everyone’s doing okay.

D.J. Paris 2:25
Yeah, me too. Thank thanks for saying that.

Carrie McCormick 2:28
So, you know, right now what I’m telling my clients and you know, everyone’s very anxious, of course, given the market and, you know, to answer anxiety is is best with information, right? Smart, accurate, vetted information. And as everybody knows, by now, Illinois entered our shelter in place to create, which requires all of our non essential businesses to close, and also to severely limit our time out of our homes. And it’s, it’s dramatic. But of course, we all think it’s necessary to measure in the, you know, this time, so we’ve got to make this change. And it’s going to be tough, and we’re gonna get through it all together. But the good news is for real estate agents, we’ve been deemed an essential business. So it allows us the flexibility to continue our businesses, title companies are open mortgage companies are open movers are able to move and contractors are able to, you know, still work on home. So we’ve been lucky that we’re able to do this still.

D.J. Paris 3:30
And you’ve been in the industry for 20 years. Yes.

Carrie McCormick 3:33
So been in for a long time, which is, you know, it’s it’s been a great ride. And I’ve been through many of the ups and downs in the market. And, you know, I would always, always say just anything in life, the downs always make you stronger personally and professionally. So I was through the 2001 crash, I was only two years in the business at the time. And, of course, everyone, it’s hard to forget the 2008 financial crisis. It’s where we saw both the stock market and the housing market drop in tandem. And it was it was devastating. It was a devastating time. And usually the housing market crash. It doesn’t, it’s not tied to the stock market because people don’t buy housing as investments, right? People usually buy a house because it’s a basic need. And the decision to buy is usually prompted by entering a new stage in life. So 2008 was was a crazy time. And I feel like you know, this is just another crazy time that we’re going to have to go through.

D.J. Paris 4:35
Yeah, I really couldn’t agree more. It just seems like this is this is a tough time. It doesn’t seem like we’re doing as many showings. People aren’t as active looking. People are just sort of staying put, I guess.

Carrie McCormick 4:51
Yeah. And, you know, we started off 2020 started off really strong. We had, you know, historically low inventory. We had rock bottom mortgage rates. It’s, well, we did you know, up until like a week ago. And that usually sets the stage for a very competitive home buying season. And while recessions normally have a minor effect on the housing market, this virus is making life and the markets anything but normal, as you just said, like sellers don’t want people in their homes, buyers don’t want to go into other people’s homes. So it really makes our job very challenging. So what I would say is, we have to use technology to help our clients, you know, and let’s face it, we as professionals, we have to protect ourselves, we have to protect our families, we have to protect our clients. So we have to do what it takes to continue the housing market going because it’s our responsibility to, to make sure that, you know, our industry stays up to par as well. So it’s, it’s a balancing act to have, you know, with the showings, you know, bacon homes are very easy to show, obviously. But when someone lives in a home, and we have a buyer that wants to see it, it’s you know, it’s a fine line that we have to walk, so we have to be cautious about it.

D.J. Paris 6:04
Yeah, I just curious, before we move on have Have you thought to? Or have you heard of brokers, doing virtual showings where maybe it’s a home where maybe the seller doesn’t really want people in there, but but maybe they feel comfortable with the realtor, and they could do a virtual showing. I don’t know how effective those are. But I imagine people are starting to get more creative.

Carrie McCormick 6:27
Yeah, we’re definitely right up. And the good news is that we do a lot of video work with all of our listings. So we already have the video walkthroughs. And of course, floor plans, and still pictures and different methods for it. But you know, buyers really just want to get inside and feel the home. So we’re doing everything possible, you know, to make it work. But we’ll we’ll see how the market reacts in the next week or two. Ultimately, DJ Chicago is you know, born and raised here. It’s truly a resilient city, the people here we care we work together, and especially in the real estate community, and we watch out for each other. And, you know, we’re here to help each other. And like I said, Chicago’s very resilient will bounce back from it.

D.J. Paris 7:13
Yeah, I mean, how do you have you started putting more emphasis on social media right now to stay connected to your clients to your sphere of influence, just to sort of keep people up to date?

Carrie McCormick 7:24
Yeah, so definitely using social media, in that. But you know, again, we got to walk a fine line, because no one wants to be sold to at this time, they want to be educated, you know, but, again, we’re walking the fine line of promoting our clients properties, and, you know, again, sending a caring message out to them. But through social media, what’s been interesting is that I feel like we’re all staying very connected with each other, and across the world, not only just here in Chicago, right, we’re, we’re seeing what’s happening in China, Italy, and Spain. And we’re seeing how they’re coping with this. There’s been some really funny memes and videos going around just to keep laughter in the air, which I think has been great. And just again, staying connected, and seeing how everyone’s coping with it. So I think really, ultimately, what these downturns do is they bring everybody together, right? It’s just it’s a way to stay sharp in your business be effective, but also to come together, you know, as a community and across the world.

D.J. Paris 8:28
Yeah, I agree. I agree. It’s in a weird way. It’s sort of the same thing. It’s sort of a sad, darker thing to say. But it’s true that they say weddings and funerals and bringing people together, as well. And obviously, this is this is a dark moment for for the world. But maybe, maybe one silver lining, if there is one is that, you know, we’re thinking about what’s most important to us, we’re staying connected, reaching out to those people that otherwise we’re too busy in our lives to always remember to do. And so now we all have a little bit more time to think about what’s most important and remember those connections, right?

Carrie McCormick 9:04
And we are staying stronger together. And in this time of complete uncertainty, and there’s going to be a new strength and when it’s done, it’s going to translate into very positive energy. And we’re going to be happier and more successful than ever when it’s over.

D.J. Paris 9:19
So how are you managing your business now that you’re, you’re regulated to your home? Most of the time? What are you doing? How are you managing that?

Carrie McCormick 9:29
Yeah, it’s for many of us, you know, we’re used to this hustle and we don’t know what to do with ourselves. You know, it’s interesting, I find myself I cannot sit down I find myself pacing around I’m always doing something so it’s important to keep a little bit of a regimen so what I say to people is limit your distractions you know, during your your work hours, you know, try to stay focused and limit your distractions. I’ve been eating much healthier because as a realtor, we’re always on the run. And I’m always picking up something bad and eating a candy bar here and there, you know, just something bad. So eating healthy during this time is going to be important. Maintain just normal hours, you know, it’s easy to get distracted and start binge watching TV or doing laundry or whatever it is, but just maintain your normal hours. And like I’m here in my home office. So I have a dedicated workspace I’ve got everything here that I need. So it’s nice when I come into my office, I, you know, I feel like I’m really at work and I can stay focused, but I’d say most importantly, get dressed in the morning. Put your bras on, put your pants. Yeah, just, you know, our around in your pajamas or

D.J. Paris 10:44
things. Yeah, I agree. It really does set set the stage for how you’re going to act throughout the day. If you you know, I know if I if I lay around if I keep pajamas on during the day? I don’t I’m not as productive. You know, just I’m just not.

Carrie McCormick 10:59
I agree. Yeah. So, you know, and, you know, just stay connected with each other. Right. And you know, it just as always, if anyone has any questions, comments, just wants to talk. I’m always available, you know, so always pick up the phone and give me a call or send me an email. And

D.J. Paris 11:18
yeah, let’s let’s share that. What’s the best way someone can call you or email you? Yeah, so

Carrie McCormick 11:23
call me 312-961-4612. Or you can email me at Karis, CA, r r i e@properties.com. Or you can you know, we can chat on social media, there was something new that a client of mine sent to me, let me just look, it’s on my phone. It’s called Marco Polo. I just downloaded it. She said it’s the new Snapchat for adults, so Oh, interesting. I don’t know, I don’t know much about it. But she just sent me a message through Marco Polo. So it could be a new. Yeah, I’ve

D.J. Paris 12:00
never heard of it. I will also say Carrie also is very active on Instagram, you can direct message her there as well. So definitely follow her. It’s Carrie McCormick real estate. So you can check out her on Instagram. Great way to stay connected. And that leads me to my sort of marketing minute idea, which is this. If you’ve been listening to every episode, you’ve heard me say this a few times. So I apologize for that. But for our new listeners, or people that are just picking up this episode, maybe missed a few. This is a great opportunity to really deepen the relationships you have with your sphere of influence and your existing clients. You know, this is the time to let them know you’re thinking about them. You know, I was talking about this the other day on a podcast, where I was thinking about all the services that I subscribe to and pay fees to, there’s financial advisors, there’s insurance agents, lenders, you know, dentists, there’s, you know, hair Hair, hair cut, and actually, my hair person did reach out to me, but she was the have that that was a couple nights ago. But before that no one else had reached out individually. Now I don’t need people to I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t expect my insurance agent to see how I was doing. She has 5000 clients. And I’m just one. So I understand that this is not an easy thing for everyone who has lots and lots of clients or sphere of influence to do but what a great opportunity to go that extra mile. And even if it’s just send a text to everybody who’s in your sphere of influence, and just say, Hey, I’m thinking about you, I hope you and your family are safe. My friends have done that. And my now the person a woman who cuts my hair has done that. And she and I are friends. But I really haven’t received any other messages. I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people where they’re blinking out saying here’s, you know, here’s what I think about, you know what’s going on, and that’s fine. But I always think a little personal touch is really what wins the game. So, you know, for everyone listening, you know, it’s Sunday, if you’re not super busy, you’re probably not, this is a great opportunity to you know, if you have 200 people in your database, that’s a lot. But you know, maybe knock out 50 or 50 text messages today and just let the people know you’re thinking about them or give them a call or leave them a voicemail or, you know, shoot them a message on social media and just say hey, I’m thinking about you, I hope you’re good. I will tell you that I would be I would be so thrilled if any of those providers did that wouldn’t I’m not gonna stop using them because they didn’t and I understand, you know, I’m just one client, but it makes people feel special and it’s something that that is free and easy to do. And we all have time to do it and everyone is a little scared out there right now people have anxiety, this is a great way for them to feel a little less alone, especially if they’re, you know, stuck at home maybe there’s they’re you know, they’re not living with anyone and they’re really are alone. So a great way to make them feel a little bit less alone. So anyway, that’s a really simple, simple message but I think a good one for now. And again, I want to thank Carrie on behalf of our listeners for for being our our oldest co host and our most favorite co host Because people love these Monday market minutes, we’re so thrilled that you were able to find time to do this. Even throughout this, you know, potential challenge we’re all dealing with. So for everyone out there, Carrie, we’ll be back next month. Again, please follow her on Instagram, you can find her Carrie McCormack real estate, you can connect with her there, you can chat with her there, you can also email you can call her. And also just reach out and stay connected to everybody. Because now’s the time to do that. And on behalf of Carrie and myself, we think the listeners if everyone could out also think about just one other realtor that could benefit from watching updates like this, to know what’s going on in the local Chicago market. Send this podcast over to another friend we’d appreciate it. You can follow us on on Facebook facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod or visit our website you can download every episode we’ve ever done, including every Monday market minute we’ve ever done with Carrie and that’s keeping it real pod.com But I guess I’ll see you next month. Hopefully, things will be better and you know will might be back to normal but who knows right?

Carrie McCormick 16:05
Stay healthy everybody and please reach out if there’s anything that you need.

D.J. Paris 16:10
Alright, thanks. Thank you

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Welcome to the January edition of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick from At Properties!

In our first Monday Market Minute of 2020, Carrie discusses the real estate market both nationwide and locally in Chicago. She also talks about the importance of making a home look as close to perfect as possible before listing it – buyers are demanding it in the Instagram and HGTV era! I provide a tip about how to send mailers in a way that adds HUGE value.

Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Please follow Carrie on Instagram by clicking here.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00
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Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made for real estate agents and by real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host and guide through the show and today we have another one of our Monday market minute which is our regular feature a regular episode we do every single month with a Chicago legend Carrie McCormick from App properties. If you are not familiar with Carrie, she is one of the top top top producers in Chicago the top 1/10 of 1% Out of over 46,000 brokers in the city. She has been a top producer for over 20 years. And by the way should all check out her new website which is Carrie McCormack r e.com. And also follow her on Instagram. She has the very best Instagram account I’ve ever seen for a realtor, which is Carrie McCormick real estate. So go to Instagram, look for Carrie McCormick real estate. We’ll also link to it in the show notes. But once again, welcome Carrie, thanks for being on the show.

Carrie McCormick 1:53
What an intro. Thank you so much for having me. As always, this is one of my favorite things to do.

D.J. Paris 1:59
Well, we’re super excited to have you and the fans and the listeners love it. And you just bring so much great content, you’ve actually are our oldest guests, you’ve been on the show for several years. Like oldest, no, not oldest in that way you are since the beginning. You stuck you were with us when we had no listeners. And now you have 1000s and 1000s of people who listen to every episode. So we’re super grateful that you’re with us, and the fans. Love you. So we’re glad to have you.

Carrie McCormick 2:24
Awesome. Well, thank you very much. And I appreciate that. And I always like to start by saying, you know, it’s about giving back in our community as well. You know, and so if there’s any listeners out there, whether you’re a broker or not a broker, if there’s any questions that you have, you know, always, always here and available to answer any questions that people have or just bounce some ideas off of. So always feel free to reach out to me directly as well.

D.J. Paris 2:48
Yeah, it’s amazing how, how approachable Carrie is, you know, for how busy she is. Her numbers are beyond incredible. She ever worked seven days a week, and yet still finds the time to help give back on this show and a lot of other ways as well. So this is really, really honored to have you. Well, thank you. You’re welcome. What do you want to talk about today?

Carrie McCormick 3:11
Yeah, just a few things. So just a little bit of forecasting into 2020. Since we’re, of course, you know, kicking off the year. And I wish I had a little bit better news. And I read a lot of different articles. And of course, I’m engrained in the real estate market, but it just seems like it’s going to be a little bit more of the same as last year. So it’s going to be a little bit boring. But the forecast shows that we’re going to have slight dips on in the market. And but it’s there’s such small dips, that it’s essentially just gonna be a flat market. So we’re not going to see much different here in Chicago. So it’s kind of like we’re just going to be steady here. In a lot of that. Last year, as everyone knows, there was a few things that attributed to our market. And the number one thing that people talk about is, of course, is the taxes, you know, here in Chicago, so that’s been a big a big issue. And then, you know, some talks of the pensions, you know, so and just our local politics and our local issues that we have here. So, you know, between taxes, pensions, local issues, people just were, you know, extremely hesitant about making purchases and or selling. So it just it became a little bit of, you know, tough talks last year. And I do predict that we’re going to see a lot of that the same this year. The good news about this year is, you know, predictions are hard. But you know, as far as in articles that I read in people that I talked to, you know, there might be a few other or a few more interest rate drops, which they’re so low right now, but it would be good to see a little bit further dip in the interest rates. I think that’ll get some of our buyers off the fence, right? Yes. So once we see them come off the fence. We’ll Pick up some, you know, some more activity in in the marketplace. There’s also been talks about uncertainty of the US economy as a whole. And believe me, this is not my forte, but I’ve got a ton of clients in the financial arena. And, you know, they’re pretty excited about the market as a whole, you know, they don’t really see they think that 2020s can be a great year for for the US economy. So I hope that that is correct. So I think, you know, in our stock markets, and just more of the big picture, the economy is going to do well, I think just you know, Illinois has got to deal with their, their local problems here. But, you know, there’s some areas like, I always think of Chicago is a market within a market, right, so like the West Loop versus, let’s say, Linkin Park, or Lakeview or Bucktown, they all are very different, you know, the housing stock is very different. The absorption rate in each of these markets are very different. So when you look at Chicago, even as a whole, you’ve got to take a look at all the different we’ll call them sub markets within Chicago, like, for example, the West Loop, right, that’s one of our hottest neighborhoods right now. And we’re seeing bidding wars in in the West Loop. But then you go over to I’m not gonna pick on Linkin Park, but you know, you’ve got some, you know, two $3 million homes and Linkin Park, that their market times are hitting 200 days, you know, so it’s, they’re all just, it’s all very different. So when you’re working with buyers and sellers, you’ve really got to concentrate and dig down into each market.

D.J. Paris 6:36
Yeah, I think that’s right. And remember that, you know, real estate is hyperlocal. So you need to know those trends you need to know more than your clients about those particular neighborhoods. Now, do you know of any cities outside of Chicago that I’ve seen been seeing decent growth?

Carrie McCormick 6:52
Oh, a lot. So, you know, when my sellers are selling, they’re doing one of three things. They’re either one moving completely out of Illinois, which is sad. They’re either renting or they’re staying in, you know, local, you know, whether downsizing or upsizing. So there is a big push out of Illinois and the places that are seeing the biggest growth to answer your question is Arizona, so Tucson, Arizona saw a 10% growth? And this one will shock you? Boise, Idaho? Wow. 11% increase in 2019?

D.J. Paris 7:33
What is it? What’s in Boise, Idaho?

Carrie McCormick 7:37
I have no idea. I haven’t really looked into it. But my guess is, you know, when people are moving out of Illinois, it’s, you know, jobs. So wherever some of the tech industries are, which, you know, I’m seeing a lot of Nashville, Austin, not so much California. I mean, they’ve got a lot of, you know, great tech industry out there. But I think the cost of living out there is a lot. Sure. You know, Arizona, as I mentioned, Oregon, Portland is a big one. You know, but I don’t know with Boise, Idaho, they saw 11% growth. So I’m kind of curious of what’s going on in Boise, Idaho.

D.J. Paris 8:10
Wow, that yeah, that’s, that’s amazing. It is, it is interesting that, you know, Illinois has seen I think negative growth over the last several years, and our taxes are high. And a lot of people move down like Florida, where their taxes are much different. So, yeah, it’s one of those things that I think Realtors need to need to be abreast of and be able to answer those questions when their clients.

Carrie McCormick 8:31
So you know, I feel as a realtor, I’m, you know, from Chicago, I’ve lived here my entire life will probably never leave Chicago, this is my home. And, you know, I feel a little bit of a responsibility of what do we do and just educating our buyers and sellers and, you know, having them stay here. So one big trend that’s been happening to help our clients and to help our sellers is understanding our market and what the buyers want. So right now, buyers don’t have time, everyone is so busy. buyers don’t have time to come into a house and renovate, right? They want to walk into a house that is at least 95% done meetings. They just don’t have time to do it. And they don’t have the vision to do it. And I blame that on my Instagram account. I blame it on I blame it on, you know, HDTV, you know, we’re showing all these beautiful, great things and people that they get that in their mind, which is great. And so when they walk in the house, they’re saying well, you know, this isn’t what I want. So now what sellers have to do is sellers have to do the work, right. So if they have a house that has you know, older finishes, you know, it’s just it’s not going to fly in this market. So either a they’ve got a price it lower or the seller has to do the work. And just as buyers don’t have time sellers don’t have the time so what I’ve seen my Roll has turned into is very much a concierge service like I’ve got an army of professionals that can come in and, and do these jobs. And I’ll just, you know, a few of them that I use just to share with everyone. One is a company called renovation sells. The owner, his name is Mike, I’ve met with him one on one amazing guy. And you look at some of the work that they’ve done. You know, he’ll come into a house, he’ll give a quote, and he just he sends his guys in, and gals in just to do the work. So it’s done. So renovation sells, there’s a company called Kirby Oh, that does the same thing. I met with the owner, Tom of FIX IT people another fabulous company, where they you know, especially with like punch list or inspection items, you know, they’ll come in and take care of everything. But my point of all of that is, is sellers don’t have the resources, or they don’t have the time or both. So our job is to help coordinate all of that, because if we can get all of, if we can get the home market ready. And we can get the price up, it’s just going to help overall help our statistics here in Chicago market times will end up going down prices will kind of bump up a little bit. So you know, we’ve got a responsibility as well of helping kind of boost our market, as well.

D.J. Paris 11:26
Yeah, it’s so important that homes are ready to show and it used to be I think, many, many years ago, the prevailing thought was keep it pretty empty. So people can visualize their own stuff inside of various rooms. And I think that’s gone away, as you said, with all of the, you know, television, programming, HGTV, Instagram, where everyone’s showing their food and how perfect everything looks, it really does I walk, I walk into places that I expect them to look perfect to. And that’s what’s so great as a realtor is there are these these companies that will come in and make adjustments and fixes their staging companies. And they can they can do that for your client. And this, this statistics, I don’t have any in front of me, but I know, doing that, you know, sells homes faster. And for more money.

Carrie McCormick 12:10
It does, it does. So you know, again, a part of our job is to, you know, to be more of a concierge service and get all of this done for our sellers. So that would be my recommendation is get your army of people behind you. And you know, when you’re talking with your buyers and sellers, again, even with a buyer, if you tell the buyer, you know, we can buy this house at a great price. I’ve got the people that can come in and do this for you, Mr. Mrs. Buyer, you know, let’s put an offer in and get the work done. And then you kind of have to help facilitate that.

D.J. Paris 12:41
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And that’s that’s something that I mean, it’s, it’s, you know, there are some brokers that still don’t even use professional photography, and they’re in their listings, which, which is insane. So, you know, you need to go one step way beyond that, which is, you know, you need to have an honest conversation with the sellers and say, look, I can sell this home for, you know, more than what you know, of home that wasn’t staged or wasn’t fixed up, you know, could be. So let’s, let’s get that rolling. And I think sellers really tend to appreciate that sort of level of honesty, although those conversations can be difficult.

Carrie McCormick 13:14
Absolutely. But you know, you do it once or twice, and you’re golden.

D.J. Paris 13:19
Yeah. And it also really separates you from all the other real estate professionals out there that just want to get the listing will do anything, the seller says and is so desperate for business that they aren’t willing to have the find the courage to have those conversations, and then the home sits on the market for for you know, a lot longer of time. And then that realtor is blamed anyway. So you might as well do it right from the beginning and have that conversation. And that’ll really separate you and probably win you more business ultimately. Great. So I have so this is my marketing minute, for this month. And I was just talking to Carrie about this offline. So we had a I got a mailer. I’ve been getting a mailers from a former guest on the show Michael Rosen lives, I want to credit him because I think this is a really, really cool idea. And I imagine it takes a bit of work, but I appreciate the work that he’s put in. So he happens to be the realtor who sold the most homes in my building. The reason I know that is I get a mailer from him a flyer once a month that says that any you know, which is a very awesome thing for him to have accomplished. But here’s what he does on top of that, that is incredibly useful. So for everyone out there who’s doing mailers, flyers, I thought this was such a good idea because we get mailers and flyers all the time from tons and tons of Realtors, but but mostly they’re just one offs. Maybe I get one a quarter, maybe one a year, and I often just forget. And I you know I tossed it away but with Michael we get them every single month and here’s what he does, which is really cool. He lists on the front of the of the flyer all of the homes that have currently sold or that recently sold in I think the past three months and he lists the type of weather It’s one bedroom, two bedroom, and then the the price and the square footage. And then he also says, Here are the ones that are currently on the market. And that’s all on the front page. And he his face. I’m not even sure his face is on the front page or his name. And then when you turn it over, it’s got his name. So I thought, wow, that is so cool. Because everyone who lives in a building, in my case, it’s, it’s a, I guess it’s I don’t know, if it’s technically a high rise, we’re at 2020, some floors, but it’s there’s a lot of there’s over 200 unit owners in our building, every one of them is always curious what homes are on the market. And we always forget that the average person isn’t really paying attention to that unless they’re in the market to buy or sell a property. They’re probably not going on Zillow, and looking up to see what’s available in the building. So this is a great way within five seconds, I looked at this paper and I went, Oh, I know exactly what’s going on sales wise, and I’m in the business. And I don’t know what’s going on in my own building. And I thought that is really, really smart. And then I turned it over. And then there’s Michael and and the other thing I want to mention that he did for anyone out there thinking, Well, gosh, that sounds expensive. And I’m sure it is expensive. But it was co branded with a lender. So for those of you who are going well, I don’t really want to spend that kind of money. Well, I don’t know what the situation is with Michael and his lender. But I assume that the lender helped cover some of those costs, because the lender also wants some advertising. So on the back it says Joe’s Michael and then whoever the lender is that he used with it. So I just thought, Wow, what a smart idea instead of just a flyer saying, Hey, I’m a realtor, I’d love to work with you. This was actually I thought a real item of value, as like the people from Brian Buffini would say, I thought boy, that is so smart. So I just wanted to give a shout out to our former guests for for doing something that from a marketing perspective. I thought boy, that is smart.

Carrie McCormick 16:43
That is great. I love it.

D.J. Paris 16:46
Well, I think that wraps up our Monday market minute. Once again, we had the great Carrie McCormick on the show, I want everybody to do two things, I want you to go visit her website because talking to Carrie about this on offline just a few minutes before we started. And I love it because it’s simple. It’s clean, it tells the story of what who Kerry is what she’s all about. And it’s just I think the perfect example of what what I build websites. So the idea of her website is just so so smart. So go visit Carrie McCormick, r e.com. This will also be a link in the show notes. But more importantly, check out her Instagram that is a living breathing thing she posts. She creates posts almost every single day. They always are amazing. They’re not only informative, they’re funny, sometimes they look good. And they’re exactly what a broker should really be modeling. If they want to build an Instagram following and she’s got over 6000 followers, she gets tons of engagement on her posts, which is which is really the goal of Instagram is so that people can react to things. So please check out her Instagram, which is Carrie McCormack real estate. And then Carrie, if we have any buyers, sellers, investors who are interested in work with you, or maybe other brokers that would love to talk about maybe even joining your team, what’s the best way that someone should reach out to you?

Carrie McCormick 18:07
So I always say just call me 312-961-4612 Call text email Kerry at@properties.com. And everyone who knows me I respond very quickly. And we’d love to hear from everybody.

D.J. Paris 18:24
Yeah, I want I really encourage our listeners to to reach out in particular. Specifically, if there’s anybody who’s looking for a realtor, Carrie is literally one of the very most successful realtors in Chicago she would she earned, which is a very impressive thing. So everyone should be checking out Carrie go to her website, go visit her on Instagram and follow her there as well. So carry on behalf of the listeners, I want to thank you for being with the show for several years now. I was saying in the very beginning, and I used a poor choice of words, but you are the guest that has been with us the longest and that’s really no surprise because of your reputation of being somebody who gives back in the industry. She’s constantly speaking, giving her time to help other realtors and of course her clients as well. So thank you so much. And on behalf of Carrie and myself I want to thank the listeners for you know, being supportive and paying attention to our show and also sharing it with a friend if you know any other realtor that could benefit from listening to people like Carrie, definitely pass the information pass the podcast over because the more you pass over, the more episodes we can do and the more people we can help. So thank you to everyone and Carrie we will see you next month.

Carrie McCormick 19:38
All right, bye bye

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Welcome to the December edition of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick from At Properties!

In our final Monday Market Minute of 2019, Carrie talks about how the real estate market has performed both nationwide and locally in Chicago. She also mentions how important staging a home prior to listing is in this era of Instagram. Carrie makes some predictions for 2020 and I provide a tip about how to demonstrate care to your clients in the new year.

Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00
This episode of Keeping it real is brought to you by Quicken Loans real estate professionals. When you work with Quicken Loans, you have an agent relationship manager available to you and your team. These dedicated experts are part of the agent relations team. They serve as your single point of coordination, so you can count on them to keep you in the loop throughout your client’s entire home buying process, call 888-980-2891 or go to real estate dot Quicken loans.com. Today, call for cost information and conditions equal housing lender licensed in all 50 states NMLS consumer access.org Number 3030. And now onto the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made by real estate agents for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host and guide through the show. And today as we do every month we have our Monday market minute with guest host and superstar producer in Chicago, Carrie McCormack of add properties. Carrie is one of the top real estate brokers here in Chicago out of 46,000. She’s routinely in the literally the top 20 At any given moment. That’s how big of a producer she is. And she’s been in the business for over 20 years. And we are so excited to have her on the show. And once again, welcome Carrie,

Carrie McCormick 1:36
thank you so much, you always give me such a nice introduction. So I appreciate that. But I’m really happy to be on the show. And I will say that, you know, after we we do the show, and throughout the month, I do get calls from some of the listeners in emails with questions. So I want to just start off the bat by telling everyone I appreciate that. And I think, you know, part of our job as realtors in the community is you know, giving back as well. So feel free to call me email me whatever it is, you know, with your questions. I love to hear from everybody and love to help anybody out.

D.J. Paris 2:10
And what’s the best way that one of our listeners can reach out to you if they do have a question?

Carrie McCormick 2:14
Yeah, I’m always accessible. That’s my motto, I’m 100% accessible. And it’s true. I mean, people call me all time. But really, it’s call me 312-961-4612. Or you can always email me, I look at both my email and my text messages all the time. So Kerry, CA RR ie at@properties.com.

D.J. Paris 2:37
Wonderful. Well, what are we going to talk about today?

Carrie McCormick 2:40
So I thought, since we’re at the end of 2019, to summarize, kind of the economy as a whole, because the economy, you know, it drives our real estate market, and just you know, how people are feeling. So I just wanted to touch on a few points. To summarize, you know, 2019, which is just our economy. First of all, our overall, it’s still looking very real robust, we’ve had a great economy, the word recession, which I hate that word, but you know, everyone talks about it, and no one can predict it. But really, you know, I’ve got a lot of wealth managers, and, you know, people in the financial markets that I talked to, and I would say 95% of them. Again, no one can predict, and I’m not predicting either, but they say a recession is not likely, there will be an adjustment in the market. And even if, you know, there’s a big adjustment in the market, that our real estate market should not be affected dramatically. That’s what I’m hearing. Strong grab job growth, of course, low unemployment. So when you have a good job market, of course, your consumer confidence, you know, is up and when consumer confidence is up, people like to spend money. We’ve got increasing wages, low inflation, low mortgage rates, so all of that stuff is good. And again, this, this type of environment leads to people to spend money. Just talking about the low mortgage rates and interest rates, houses have become very affordable for people. As a lot of Chicagoans know, our rent, prices have risen dramatically. And when that is starts to happen, which it did this year, people will turn and look to buying a home because again, they can potentially purchase a home for the same amount of money as they’re paying in rent, sometimes even less. So we’re seeing a little bit of shift from renters becoming homebuyers because of that environment. And then lastly, in some areas in Chicago, we’ve got very low inventory and just kind of the general demand, economics of supply and demand. When inventory is low home prices will rise. So we are seeing that in some areas of show cargo as well.

D.J. Paris 5:01
Yeah. What about our market here in Chicago? You know, what do you see is challenges predictions, you know, for the upcoming year?

Carrie McCormick 5:10
Well, it’s hard to predict. But I can just talk about from my experience, and what I saw over 2019. And what I predict for 2020. And keep in mind, this is just my, you know, my thoughts on it. And, first of all, there’s just not enough product for first time homebuyers. I see a big gap in the market where there’s this very high end luxury market. And then there’s the middle road product. But we’ve got a lot of first time homebuyers coming in, and there’s just not a ton of inventory for them. So I see that as a challenge here in Chicago moving into 2020. Also, this is the biggest challenge that I see is that there’s not enough what I call a quote unquote, moving ready, inventory. And what that means is, the buyers today have become extremely picky, and they want what they want. And they want the white cabinets, the dark floors, the gray walls, you know, the move in ready, just move in and do nothing. We’ve got a lot of inventory that’s on the market, that’s, you know, 1015 year plus homes, and they haven’t been updated granite, they’re great properties, right? The bones of the house are great, but they’ve got maple cabinets and Ooba, Tuba countertops and maple floors. And buyers just don’t want that anymore. So we’ve seen this big shift, all different brokerages have come up with their own program of renovations. Right. So now we’re becoming consultants to help renovate a home and bringing in a third party, to paint the cabinets to redo the floors to paint the walls, all of that stuff. So you know, what buyers are demanding and what they want, sellers are going to have to make a shift and give the buyer what they want. Also, buyers don’t have visions, I’ve walked into a property that’s had, you know, red painted bathroom or green bedroom, and a buyer just cannot visualize this house. So you know, we’ve got different techniques that we use, whether it’s different digital software, or like I just mentioned, we’ve got a company that comes in and paints for them. So renovations have become a big deal in 2019. And I see that that’s going to happen in 2020 as well. It’s just a challenge for us as brokers is to again become a consultant for the sellers on how to get their market ready. Just a prediction on pricing. Home prices in Chicago, in 2019 in Chicago is made up of all different neighborhoods, as we know, and I call it a market within a market, it depends on which neighborhood you are in depends on what type of housing that you have. But just to give a blanket statement, you know, prices kind of flatlined in 2019. And I’m not saying that’s for all neighborhoods, but just as a whole. And I think in 2020, we’re going to see a lot of the same. And not that it’s a bad thing that it flatlines. But it just means we’re not gonna see any big highs, we’re not gonna see any big lows. So I think just, you know, remaining steady is not a bad thing. Luxury markets here still, you know, seem to be a little bit of a challenge. And I think the pricing of the luxury homes, and when I say that I’m thinking 2 million plus, they’re gonna have to shift a little bit, especially if it’s not new construction, they’re gonna have to shift to the market. And last but not least, I hate even saying these words, but I am seeing a lot of people unfortunately leave Illinois as a whole, not just Chicago, but just Illinois, you know, our political climate here has has Danford a lot of people’s viewpoint on Chicago, and they’re choosing other markets to make as their permanent home because of taxes, because of the politics because of the pensions that are coming up. So there’s a lot in our political marketplace that that is driving people out of our cities. So I think we as Realtors as a community need to, you know, advocate for people staying here and buying more properties here.

D.J. Paris 9:16
Yeah, I think I think the solution to that is for all of us listening is to get involved in whatever way you can with your community and advocate for the things you believe in that you think would be helpful to the community at large. And, you know, it’s not to sit passively by and let other people make those decisions. Right.

Carrie McCormick 9:33
Right. And I’ve there’s different tax software out there to or different tax attorneys that you can connect with to because if there’s a property that I’m working with right now that their tax bill is $48,000 and it’s been a it’s been part of the reason why this house isn’t selling, you know, because no one wants to take on this tax bill in this particular price point. So, you know, we’ve been Working with a tax attorney to reduce the taxes and you know, we’ve had to do a little marketing around that. And, and it’s become a, you know, part of how do we sell this house. So again, as our jobs as realtors, we have to be more advisors in all different areas. Again, we can’t, I’m not a tax professional, I’m not an attorney, I am not a contractor, you know, but I definitely have my resources that I have to use as kind of consultants to come in to get a house sold. So you’ve got to be a little more creative in our job.

D.J. Paris 10:33
Well, yeah, and those are the things that will stop somebody from placing an offer, obviously, the taxes are a huge thing. And that’s where you know, the conversation with the seller needs to happen, but probably pre listing or right when it’s listed. So here’s what’s going to happen the moment somebody sees that $48,000 Bill, which I’m sure you had that conversation, but for all realtors out there. Don’t be afraid to have that conversation, have somebody on your team, that’s a good tax attorney that you could say I’ve got somebody that you need to talk to. And we really need to, and oh, by the way, you have a red bathroom. And here’s what’s going to happen the moment somebody sees that, yes, of course, they can change the color. But we live in an Instagram world where everything looks perfect. And people are constantly seeing perfection, perfection, perfection, they aren’t using their own imaginations as much to fill in the gaps. We need to make this look perfect. And here’s what we have to do. And I think oftentimes realtors are afraid to have those conversations. But the reality of it is it’s the truth. And you need to always share the truth with your sellers. Right?

Carrie McCormick 11:29
Absolutely. And I don’t know, if I mentioned to I was at the luxury Connect. Conference in California, I think there’s now about two months ago, you’re right with this Instagram world that we live in. And you know, I’m a big advocate, and I love Instagram as well. I tried to pepper in some Instagram, I tried to pepper in real photos, and you know, befores and afters and all of that good stuff, but it is our, our consumers are just they go and they see these beautiful homes. And when they walk into some properties here, they’re just they feel like, I can’t live here, you know, because they’ve, they’re living on their phones and seeing all this other stuff. So it’s, it’s very interesting. And I think we need to embrace this. And again, you know, help educate our sellers, and what the buyers want. And if the sellers are not willing to do that, then it has to be priced accordingly. And it has to be priced where a buyer will come in and see the value of what’s there and want to take on the work themselves. So it’s, it’s interesting, but I see a lot of that happening. And 2020, I think it’s going to be a good year, I don’t think we’re going to have anything super negative here, I think we all are just gonna have to work a little bit harder, I think we’re all going to have to also work as one big Chicago real estate team and help each other out to help make the market move.

D.J. Paris 12:50
Yeah, remember, all every broker listing it is called a cooperative commission, supposed to be cooperative. So everyone should always keep that in mind. So you guys can get deals closed. Well, thanks, Carrie, that that was awesome. And I am going to spend just a minute. And I’m going to keep my marketing minute very brief and short. So I have as we’re getting into the end of the year and thinking about our business plans for next year, I have just one idea. And it’s very simple. But it’s something I think every broker should consider for their sphere of influence their previous clients, anyone in their contact database is think about instead of thinking of what are my marketing campaigns for next year, which of course you’re going to do think of this and this may be the most important mark, important marketing campaign of all is, how am I going to show each one of the people in my database that I care in 2020 about them. So instead of just how many mailers am I going to send out how many postcards how many, you know, email newsletters, which of course is all fine. Think of just one way how you know that you’re going to know one thing about each one of your contacts, that is important to them, and you’re going to somehow show them that you care about that for them into 2020. And make a list to have every person in your database and say what’s most important to this person and you might not know right? You might not know what’s really important well get on social media, start looking at their profiles, look on Instagram, you know, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, see what they’re up to find out what they care about, you probably already know, maybe it’s their kids, maybe it’s their career, maybe it’s vacations, maybe it’s food, whatever their hobbies are find. Or maybe it’s a cause that they’re involved in something that’s important to them, write it down, put it in your CRM, and make sure that you think about okay, what can I do in this next year to show them that I I noticed what they care about, because I will promise you that everybody wants a real estate professional that cares about them. And if you can show them that, you know, boy that’ll that’ll always win the game. So as you think about that over the next few weeks as we wrap up the end of the year, just think about each one of your players people and how can you show them that you care because that will get you the Business. And it’s also fun to do that too. Right? So

Carrie McCormick 15:04
that’s awesome. That’s a great tip. Yeah, thank

D.J. Paris 15:06
you. Well, with that being said, we’re gonna we’re gonna wrap up this year in the Monday market minute. And Carrie is, of course, going to be on board, hopefully next year until, I mean, she is so busy and oh my god, I only want to ask her how many listings she currently has, because it’s so nasty. Don’t ask that many. It’s not many.

Carrie McCormick 15:25
There’s a lot. But that’s a lot. There’s it. This has been a great year. And I appreciate all the time that you spend with me to on this show. And I appreciate everyone that listens to this. And I’m looking forward to 2020. And hopefully, I’ll get to work with some of the listeners one on one.

D.J. Paris 15:41
Well, I know if I was a listener and I was looking to buy or sell a home, I would want to choose you. So if somebody’s out there listening or maybe some a broker who’s interested in looking at your team, maybe as an option to join, what’s the best way a buyer or a seller or an investor or even another realtor might reach out to you? Let’s say that again?

Carrie McCormick 15:58
Absolutely. So just call me 312-961-4612 Or email me, Kerry at@properties.com. Or you can also go to my Instagram account. I’ll do one last plug for it. Yes, it’s, it’s awesome. So it’s Carrie McCormick real estate. Feel free to check it out comments, give me any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you.

D.J. Paris 16:20
And Carrie is probably on her way to another showing so we’re gonna let her go so she can go do her job. But from the bottom of all of our hearts, all the listeners we thank you for being part of the show. And on behalf of Carrie and myself to the listeners we thank you guys for supporting us to support Carrie reached out to her and we’ll see you next year Carrie

Carrie McCormick 16:39
sounds great and happy new year. Happy New Year.

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