Coldwell Banker agent on how to differentiate in today’s market

HousingWire

On this week’s episode of RealTrending Tracey is joined by Michelle Billings, Coldwell Banker agent and the President of Ohio Realtors.   Michelle has some great advice on how real estate professionals should be differentiating themselves in today’s market, from proactive education strategies to leveraging past client interactions. She also talks about affordability, current housing legislative efforts in Ohio, and how agents should be using their knowledge of market trends and dynamics to help in their business.   Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:   Michelle Billings has been in the industry for over 23 years.  Affordability is a major concern in the current real estate market but education is the key for agent success.  The role of real estate professionals is evolving due to increased consumer access to data.  Understanding market nuances helps to advise clients effectively.  Legislative efforts are underway to address things such as rising property taxes.   Related to this episode:   Ohio REALTORS  https://www.ohiorealtors.org/  Michelle Billings | LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebillingsgroup  HousingWire | YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXDD_3y3LvU60vac7eki-6Q   Enjoy the episode!   The RealTrending podcast features conversations with the brightest minds in real estate. Every Monday, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts join us to share their secrets to success, trends, and the lessons they’ve learned. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.

Transcript

00:00Have you ever had that one piece of advice that you got and it changed the way you did

00:05business or the way you worked with buyers and sellers?

00:09My next guest, Michelle Billings, president of Ohio Realtors and an agent with Coldwell

00:14Banker Real Estate, got that advice from her mom and she shares it on the podcast and it's

00:20advice that anyone can use in their business.

00:23Michelle, welcome to the Real Trending Podcast.

00:26Thank you, Tracy, for inviting me.

00:29Yeah, so we met at Ohio Realtors and I thought I need to get this person on my podcast.

00:36So I want you to first talk a little bit about your real estate experience.

00:41I know you're with Coldwell Banker, but you're also the president of Ohio Realtors.

00:46So tell me a little bit about your journey.

00:48Yeah, so I am a licensed realtor and I'm actually, although I'm the president of Ohio Realtors,

00:55I'm actually licensed in both Ohio and Kentucky.

01:00I've been licensed for 23 years, so it has been quite the journey and very enjoyable.

01:07And like you said, I am the 2025 president of Ohio Realtors.

01:11Yeah, so with your dual jobs, I'm sure you're seeing a lot that's going on in the industry

01:17right now.

01:18So what are you seeing as some of like the major industry trends happening?

01:24Yeah, there's always something happening in our industry.

01:27I think the biggest thing right now, we're seeing affordability and we're watching how

01:33that plays out.

01:35The gap between housing costs and income growth have created some market pressure and thereby

01:40driving the need for more policy changes and interventions, as well as increased discussions

01:48about alternative models.

01:51And then also because consumers have an unprecedented access to market data, the role of the real

01:57estate professional has changed as a result of that.

02:01And then last but not least, I would say the acceleration of technology and the adoption

02:07has changed everything from how properties are shown, how they're marketed, to how transactions,

02:14how we're transacting and how things are analyzed.

02:17Yeah, there have been some recent studies that basically post-settlement, the top agents

02:24are actually listing even more.

02:30They have more of a share of the listings, but they also, their commissions have stayed

02:34relatively stable.

02:37I know it's the buy side that will probably suffer a little bit moving forward.

02:42And I know we've got this whole clear cooperation going on where a decision will be made by

02:48NAR soon.

02:50So we've got a lot going on in the industry.

02:53We do.

02:54It's the ever-adult moment.

02:56So how have you prepared for some of the changes and how do you, through your leadership with

03:03the Realtor Association, how are you working to help other agents prepare for just the

03:09shift in the market and a new administration making policy changes?

03:14And like you said, some of the challenges of affordability and that.

03:18Yeah, I mean, I would say like change is inevitable, right?

03:23And this is not the first major shift our industry has gone through, but I would also

03:29say that it's important that agents and brokers and people that are in the industry educate

03:36themselves and make sure that they are getting the correct information and that they're also

03:42sending and giving their consumers the correct information.

03:47At Ohio Realtors, we've prepared pretty well.

03:50I think what I mean, what we found is that if we communicate early and often and arm

03:56our members with the information, that has helped tremendously.

04:01Yeah, absolutely.

04:02I think the Realtor Associations have done a lot with just not only building the new

04:10forms that need to be done, but holding classes and doing education sessions on everything

04:17that they need to know moving forward.

04:21And most agents and brokers are really looking for practical ways to build a better business.

04:28So what are some tactical strategies or habits that you recommend to help real estate professionals

04:34kind of thrive in this competitive market?

04:37Yeah, you know, sometimes we get caught up on the new shiny objects.

04:43What I've been telling people is to really get back to the fundamental basics, things

04:49that we did in the past, like making sure you're building those relationships.

04:53I understand that we were in a very fast moving market over the last several years.

04:58That has calmed quite a bit.

05:00And so building those relationships, also maybe stop waiting on the client to ask for

05:08the updates and be proactive and you communicate with them at an early stage of the transaction,

05:15as well as communicate with them more.

05:18On a marketing stand front, I would just say build your content around life transitions.

05:25You know, people don't wake up and decide to move.

05:28They have things going on.

05:29They're getting married.

05:30They're having kids.

05:31They're changing jobs.

05:33Create content that speak to those moments.

05:36Yeah, that's great information.

05:39And you've been in real estate 23 years now.

05:42So what do you feel like is your superpower as an agent and just working with clients

05:48or work, you know, lead generation marketing?

05:52Yeah, I really think my superpower is the ability to meet people where they are and

05:59also give them the information that they need and making sure that information is timely.

06:05I always tell clients that my job is not to make the decision for you, but my job is to

06:10give you good, bad and ugly.

06:12So that you can make an informed decision and people respect that.

06:16Do you have a specific niche that you work like first time homebuyers, luxury properties?

06:21Yeah, I used to love first time homebuyers.

06:26I don't see that many of those anymore.

06:30I specialize in a lot of luxury, relocation.

06:35I'm really good at fostering those relationships within my sphere and my database.

06:40And so I tend to focus on those areas.

06:44And lately, I've been getting into some light commercial.

06:47Okay.

06:48And when you say like, you're really good at fostering relationships, what are some

06:52things that you do or some tips that you can provide agents who are really struggling to

06:57kind of move further from the transaction to a relationship?

07:03Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm not a real big, you know, Facebook, Instagram, all of those

07:12things are very important.

07:13Social media is very important.

07:16A lot of times I'm looking at what's going on in social media, and I'm taking those conversations

07:21off of social media.

07:23So if I see a client that is getting married, or they've had a baby or someone's sick in

07:28their family, I'm taking those conversations off, off of social media.

07:34And I'm really fostering that by picking up the phone and calling them.

07:38Sometimes it's a simple text.

07:39If I see an article, you know, I may send them a text and say, Hey, I saw this, congratulations,

07:46or what have you.

07:47And I think that means a lot to clients, I would say I was in a listing appointment yesterday.

07:53And the reason why they reached out to me was because I had taken a conversation, they

07:59had a new baby.

08:01And I had reached out to them and said, congratulations, I did not know that they were thinking about

08:07relocating back to where their family was.

08:10But those are the type of things that happens.

08:13Yeah.

08:14And you know, it's so funny, because, you know, it's such a simple thing, or it seems

08:19simple to just pay attention and spend a couple hours a day just looking through social

08:24media and making phone calls.

08:26But it's so hard to do.

08:30You always find something you can do different, you know, oh, I'll do my taxes, you know,

08:37rather than do that, but it makes such a big impact.

08:42It does.

08:43I mean, you know, we all get distracted, because there's so many distractions now.

08:49And I think the biggest, the biggest thing to that is that you really have to be intentional,

08:55you have to time block and you have to, you, frankly, you just have to make a choice.

09:02Either you're going to, you know, stay focused, and be consistent and do the things that you

09:08need to do to move the needle.

09:10Or you're going to allow these distractions to move you in a different direction.

09:16But the problem with that is, you know, a month or two months down the road, you're

09:21looking and you're saying, hey, I haven't closed anything.

09:24Yeah, that's a problem.

09:27That's a problem.

09:29So the big buzzword now, post settlement is really value and it's expressing your value

09:35to buyers and sellers.

09:37What are some things that you're doing, you know, that you're doing differently that maybe

09:42you didn't highlight some of the things that you did, or maybe when you solved a problem,

09:48you didn't tell them because you just wanted it to be smooth.

09:51You know, so what are some ways that you're providing value or really communicating value

09:59differently today?

10:00Yeah, I think it's important that in our industry that we get really comfortable with

10:07communicating our value, with explaining, hey, this is a problem that I solved, or I

10:14had a similar situation and this is how we resolve that.

10:18All too often we get caught up on, you know, hey, I sold this many houses per year.

10:25Or I sold this in volume.

10:27Well, first of all, the consumer does not understand that.

10:31And so you have to start really listening to the consumer, listening to their needs,

10:37and finding ways to communicate things that will help them, that's going to problem solve.

10:43And then let them know that you've done this.

10:47I mean, I think that's so important because I know for me, when working with an agent,

10:51I want to know what problem they're, you know, going to solve for me.

10:54I don't really care.

10:55I mean, I guess I do care how many transactions they had or their experience, but then again,

11:01I don't necessarily care if they seem like the right person for the job.

11:06And I just want them to convince me of that without telling me a bunch of numbers, you know?

11:12Yeah, I mean, I think we do ourselves a disservice, not only to consumers, but to people entering

11:21the industry, because a lot of us, we do, we make it look very easy.

11:28And it's not.

11:29It is work.

11:31And sometimes you're working very long hours.

11:34And our job sometimes is not necessarily, they may not, there may not be a problem,

11:40but before there is a problem, communicate that to the client.

11:43So if you're in a situation where they may be in a multiple offer situation, and you

11:49know that if they go over this price by a certain amount, and it may cause an appraisal

11:55issue, tell them.

11:57Yeah.

11:58I mean, I think that communication is so important.

12:02I want to move on to some of the other issues you brought up, which is housing affordability.

12:08You know, we've got higher interest rates, home prices have remained high, which is all

12:12good news for the industry.

12:16Not the interest rates, but the home prices.

12:19But it's tough on buyers.

12:20So how can realtors support clients who are really navigating those challenges?

12:25And you know, do you have any creative solutions for helping to kind of solve for that issue?

12:32Yeah.

12:33I mean, I think, A, you really need to understand the market.

12:38You need to know what's going on in the market.

12:42You also, again, you need to listen to your customer or the consumer.

12:47And if they say, hey, we want to live in this, in this area, and we want to only pay this

12:53for this, you need to know that market and you need to be able to have those hard conversations

12:59and be able to offer them alternative solutions.

13:02The other piece to that is understanding, okay, what financing options are out there?

13:09How can we creatively write the offer?

13:11Do we ask the seller to pay for a temporary buy-down for the buyer to help them get into

13:20that home?

13:21Because it could be in a couple of years, you know, they can refinance or they can afford

13:26that bump.

13:28What down payment assistance programs are out there?

13:31What grants are out there that can help them?

13:35And are you at Ohio Realtors, what are some of the legislative proposals that you have

13:42going on?

13:43Do you have any related to housing affordability or, you know, what are some of the things

13:48you're really working on?

13:50Yeah, we do.

13:51We do.

13:52Actually, our legislative day in Ohio is at the end of the month.

13:57And so we're preparing for that.

14:00One of the things that we're working on is trying to stave off the rising pressure of

14:04the property taxes and the municipal income taxes.

14:09What we found is that there were 41 counties that underwent re-evaluation in 2023.

14:16And I think another 20 or so have just undergone evaluation, which in some cases have risen

14:24prices up 40%, or at least we've seen housing prices go up 40% in the market values in some

14:31areas, which have increased property taxes.

14:35And in some instances, people are being priced out of their houses, especially those people

14:41that are on fixed incomes or what have you.

14:45That can also, you know, affect someone's ability to afford a house.

14:49So we have legislation that we're making proposals to that.

14:54The other thing is with the inventory bansula, which that's also creating pressure as far

14:58as housing prices.

15:01We have, we're rolling out what we call a pattern book, where it gives municipalities

15:06some options to where they don't have to deal, undergo the cost of architects or zoning and

15:14building things.

15:15So we have these pre-approved plans, which we hope will help cost-wise.

15:20The other thing that we're doing is supporting private property rates and short-term rentals,

15:26because of course in some municipalities and areas, the short-term rentals are under attack.

15:31So.

15:32Yeah.

15:33Yeah.

15:34Here in Florida, our legislator sessions are, they're in session right now, however I said

15:40that.

15:41So, and I know one of the things they're floating is no property taxes.

15:46Now eliminating property taxes.

15:49I don't know how you do that in a state that doesn't have a state income tax.

15:52I would love for them to eliminate property taxes.

15:56That would be wonderful.

15:57I don't think it's going anywhere, but, but it's, it's something that our governor has

16:01floated and, and hey, if they could do it and not take money away from schools or, or,

16:08you know, other, other things, then great.

16:11Yeah.

16:12I've been watching that one.

16:14I've been watching Florida for a number of reasons, have a lot going on, but yeah, I

16:22had that same question.

16:23Like, well, how does that work?

16:25Yeah.

16:26Now does Ohio have a state income tax?

16:28We do.

16:29Okay.

16:30I thought so.

16:31So, yeah.

16:32So I want to get personal a little bit here and I want to talk about, you know, I found

16:37that, you know, people have a lot of aha moments, personal or professional, but what

16:42was the most impactful aha moment that you've had in your career?

16:48All my goodness, I've had several of them, but the one that has really stuck is a little

16:54bit personal for me.

16:56My mother, I was in the process of buying a upgrading houses, so it was moving up and

17:04it was quite a jump and I kept bugging my mother.

17:09I kept calling her and like, I don't know, what do you think?

17:12Asking her all the questions.

17:15And my mother said to me, she said, you know, this is exactly what your clients go through.

17:21And I, she said, so the way you're feeling right now and the, you know, the jitters you

17:26have in your stomach of making such a move, that's what your clients are going through.

17:32And I've never forgot that.

17:34And so I think that has helped me listen, listen a lot more is also helped me be a lot

17:40more patient and understand like where they're coming from, because this is not what they're,

17:45this is not their thing.

17:46They're not buying and selling every day.

17:49I've had clients that have bought four and five times, but they're still looking to me

17:54to be that trusted advisor to help them make the right decision.

17:58Yeah, that's so interesting.

18:01I mean, it is true when you're on the other side of it.

18:05And just kind of, you know, showing that empathy to the people that you're working with.

18:11That's great advice from her.

18:13So yes, definitely.

18:16Yeah.

18:17You know, in an era that when consumers have so much information online, what do you feel

18:23is the core value of a realtor today?

18:27Yeah, consumers, they do have a lot of information.

18:31And sometimes it can be overwhelming too, for the realtor to say, oh my gosh, now what

18:36do I do?

18:38They have all of this information, but our core value is, you know, we need to help them

18:44decipher that information.

18:46We need to help them analyze that information and break it down in terms where it, so that

18:52they understand it and it's relatable.

18:55We understand our markets a lot better.

18:57We understand the micro markets.

18:59We understand what's going on, what's happening.

19:05And most of us, we also know what's on the horizon, which in many aspects, they don't

19:12know that.

19:13And so it's up to us to package that and be the consultant in that manner.

19:20Yeah.

19:21I mean, there's so much information online.

19:23It is hard to know what is true, what's accurate, what should I be paying attention to?

19:30And a realtor can kind of break through all of that noise and really, it seems so easy.

19:35Oh, I found this house online.

19:37This is the one I want, right?

19:38And then you find out it's out of your budget or it's got inspection issues or whatever

19:44it might be.

19:45Yeah, there's always some nuance.

19:48It's funny because I had somebody come to me, I had a referral and I called the referral

19:56and it was a listing referral.

19:58And the person said, listen, I've already engaged an agent.

20:02I'm just going to work with this agent.

20:03And so I let the referring person know and a couple weeks later, they called me and said,

20:12we want to work with you.

20:13And it was simply because they had questions about the settlement.

20:19I've never met these people, but they had questions about the commissions and the settlement.

20:24And I took the time to explain to them and kind of tell them what was misinformation

20:33and what wasn't.

20:35And that's how I was able to gain a new listing.

20:41Have you had buyers and sellers ask you frequently about it or do you find that you're explaining

20:49it because it's part of what you have to do now, but they didn't really even know about

20:53it?

20:54No, buyers and sellers, they're definitely aware of it, but they don't understand the

21:02particulars and they don't understand the background.

21:05And so I have taken the proactive approach and taken the time to explain it because it's

21:13going to come up.

21:14Yeah.

21:15Yeah.

21:16I always wonder, you know, just the average person on the street, I'm sure they don't

21:20understand it because it's very nuanced.

21:24But just whether they even, I think most people say, oh, I heard we don't have to pay as much

21:29in commissions anymore.

21:31That's all they hear.

21:33They don't know anything else.

21:35They do.

21:37Right.

21:38So finally, my last question is really, you know, moving forward, how can agents differentiate

21:46themselves and kind of clearly communicate value in this ever changing landscape of real

21:53estate?

21:57My first piece of advice was just be authentic in your approach.

22:03Share real outcomes instead of saying, and I said this before, instead of talking about

22:10how many houses you sold, tell a specific story about how you helped a seller navigate

22:16multiple offers or an appraisal issue.

22:19Leverage your past clients more effectively, share specific problems you helped them solve

22:26and ask them to share that because the reality is their perspective will always be a lot

22:31more credible than you tuning your own horn.

22:34Yeah, absolutely.

22:36Well, Michelle, thank you so much for joining The Real Trending Podcast.

22:40We appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.

22:42Well, thank you so much for having me and hope to see you back in Ohio soon.

22:46Yeah, absolutely.

22:48Thanks so much.

22:49Thanks.

22:49Have a great day.

22:50You too.

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