March Update

George Laughton
Apr 1
4 min read

Hey team,

I want to start this month's update with something I probably don’t say often enough: Thank You!!

Q1 has wrapped up, and before I get into what's ahead, I want you to know that I see the work you're putting in. This market hasn't handed anyone anything over the last few years every deal you've closed, every client you've served, you earned.

You Should Feel Good About the Market — Even When It Throws a Curveball

The momentum we've been building in Greater Phoenix is real. Contracts are now up over 10% year over year, outperforming the last couple of years at this point in the season. A few weeks ago, rates briefly touched 5.99%, and buyers who locked in during that window are now in contract. Then the world threw us a curveball. The conflict with Iran has pushed mortgage rates from 5.99% back up to around 6.4%, and gas prices in the Valley are approaching $5 a gallon. Once again, an external shock is testing buyer confidence. But here's what matters: the fundamentals underneath our market are strengthening, not weakening. Buyer demand, while still below normal, has improved from 24% below normal last August to just 13% below today. Homes that are priced right are still moving. Most forecasters expect rates to ease back toward 6% in the second half of the year as conditions stabilize. The agents who help their clients see through the noise (gas prices, headlines, rate swings) and focus on the opportunity in front of them are the ones who will win this spring!

A Strategy Worth Adopting: Coming Soon Listings

If your social feeds look anything like mine right now, you've seen the battles being fought over exclusive listings. Based on Compass’s own data 96% of the properties listed on their private portal end up hitting the MLS. That’s essentially just a premarket strategy! I've been pushing this for a reason, and I want to explain the thinking. I know most sellers want to hit the market immediately…and I get it. But I believe what's going to emerge from all the noise around exclusive listings isn't more off-market deals. It's going to be a standard pre-market strategy that the best agents use on every listing. Coming Soon is that strategy.

Here's why. I believe “Coming Soon” listings will eventually syndicate to the major portals, which means your seller gets real marketplace exposure. Buyers see it, agents see it, and demand starts building before you're officially on the clock. For the seller who wants to "test the market," this is a gift. You can track online views/saves, gauge interest, and show them real data on how the market responded to their price without the hit of accumulating days on market. For the seller where you're not quite aligned on pricing, this changes the conversation. Instead of debating opinions, you agree to launch as a Coming Soon, let the market speak, and then adjust together based on what actually happened. It protects the listing, it protects the seller, and it positions you as the agent with a real strategy not just a sign in the yard.

If you're not using Coming Soon as part of your listing presentation yet, start. This is going to become the standard playbook for agents, and I want us ahead of it.

Speaking of Pre-Market…Zillow Preview

Here's what you need to know: we're actively working through the operations to get our listings on Zillow Preview, and the opportunity here is worth paying attention to.

Here's why it matters for you: The display page for a Zillow Preview listing will have two call-to-action buttons. The first is "Contact Listing Agent" and that lead goes directly to you. No referral fee.

The second button is "Schedule a Showing," which routes to a Zillow preferred agent. If that buyer ends up transacting on any property through that preferred agent, we receive 10% of GCI as a referral. So even on the leads you don't handle directly, there's revenue flowing back.

We'll share more details as we finalize the process for getting listings live on Zillow Preview. For now, just know that this is on our radar and we're moving on it. Between Coming Soon and Zillow Preview, the pre-market phase of a listing is becoming a valuable tool in your business.

Shoutout to Pipeline Builders

(I pulled this data about a week ago. Sorry if I missed anyone or if the info is slightly off) These 23 agents have 3 or more pending transactions right now. That's 113 deals heading to the closing table in the coming weeks. Lots of familiar names on this list and some emerging performers. Congrats to all! This is what momentum looks like:

Next 30 Days — Mark Your Calendar

We have Tina Tamboer from the Cromford Report coming to speak to the full team next month. If you don't know Tina, she's one of the most respected housing market analysts in Arizona. She's the person that brokerages, investors, and media outlets go to when they want to understand what's actually happening in our market. Getting direct access to her insights is a real advantage. I'd encourage everyone to be there. Details coming soon.

What I’m Reading

I’m almost finished with this one and it’s been great! It has helped me hone in our team AI Mission Statement which I’ll be sharing next month in my message. Still putting all of my thoughts together. “While you know AI is the future, current demands leave you with no time to explore its benefits. Meanwhile, your competition is gaining an edge by integrating AI. The time to act is now.”

Worth a read:

We want to be at the forefront of normalizing AI adoption among our team members. So much so that we plan to host Hack-a-thons in the coming months where we can share ideas on how to use AI for more than marketing copy and content creation.

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