Ricky Carruth: Why 2025 might be your BEST year in real estate
Are
you
afraid
of
failing
out
of
real
estate
in
2025?
If
you’re
not,
maybe
you
should
be.
Red
flags
are
everywhere.
Case
in
point:
an
updated
list
of
the
dizzying
number
of
Trump’s
executive
orders
that
impact
housing
is
one
of
HousingWire’s
most
popular
stories
of
2025.
Politics
aside,
If
you’re
not
at
least
a
little
worried,
you’re
probably
not
paying
attention.
A
storm
—
maybe
even
a
perfect
storm
—
is
coming
for
the
real
estate
industry.
Ricky
Carruth
isn’t
worried.
He
thinks
2025
might
be
the
best
year
ever
for
real
estate
agents.
Once
you
learn
his
story,
it’s
easy
to
see
why.
Carruth
built
his
career
in
real
estate
during
the
Great
Recession.
In
2007,
he
was
so
broke
he
was
crashing
on
a
friend’s
couch.
17
years
and
over
1,000
transactions
later,
Carruth
is
one
of
the
country’s
most
sought-after
real
estate
coaches.
We
sat
down
with
Carruth
to
learn
why
he
is
so
calm
while
(almost)
everyone
else
is
panicking.
He
gives
his
hard-won
advice
on
making
the
most
of
what
might
be
your
best
year
ever
in
real
estate.
Something’s
gotta
give,
and
soon
While
wild
cards
such
as
on-again,
off-again
tariffs
and
the
NAR
lawsuits
are
concerns,
Carruth
pointed
to
big-picture
secular
market
trends
that
indicate
a
deluge
of
homes
coming
onto
the
market
soon.
The
takeaway:
More
inventory
equals
lower
prices
and
more
closed
deals
for
hungry
agents.
Here’s
Carruth:
“The
birth
rate
shot
up
in
the
90s.
We’ve
got
more
30-something-year-olds
now
than
we’ve
had
in
decades.
You
have
all
these
sellers
sitting
on
3%
to
4%
interest
rates
that
are
dying
to
move.
They
just
financially
can’t.
Well,
that
dam
is
going
to
burst
when
rates
get
to
a
certain
point,
or
some
mortgage
product
comes
out
to
save
everybody.
And
those
sellers
who
are
dying
to
move
will
make
a
move.”
Is
he
right?
Will
we
see
an
increase
in
listings
in
2025
and
lower
prices
along
with
them?
It’s
hard
to
say.
Ask
five
economists
when
they
think
something
will
shift
in
the
housing
market,
and
you’ll
get
10
answers.
If
Carruth
knew,
he’d
be
retired
on
a
private
Caribbean
island.
His
key
point
is
that
it
will
happen
and
that
you
need
to
be
ready
for
it.
Commission
rates
are
more
likely
to
go
up
than
down
Many
agents
are
concerned
that
their
commissions
will
decline
in
2025.
They
think
AI
technology
and
regulations
will
shrink
their
future
commission
checks
and
make
buyer
agents
obsolete.
While
Carruth
doesn’t
have
a
crystal
ball,
he
was
quick
to
point
out
that
commission
rates
fluctuate
over
time
and
are
more
likely
to
rise
in
2025.
You’re
probably
wondering
how
that’s
possible.
Aren’t
homeowners
armed
with
more
of
the
information
they
need
to
successfully
sell
their
homes
without
an
agent
than
at
any
other
time
in
history?
Yes,
obviously.
But
Carruth
thinks
this
is
precisely
why
they
will
choose
to
use
agents
more
—
leading
to
higher
commissions:
“50%
of
buyers
think
their
agent
worked
15
hours
for
them
on
the
deal.
In
reality,
they
work
87
and
a
half
hours.
So
when
you
take
a
commission,
take
out
all
the
expenses
and
divide
what’s
left
by
87
hours,
you’re
not
too
far
from
minimum
wage.
The
more
buyers
and
sellers
choose
not
to
use
an
agent,
the
faster
they
learn
how
hard
our
jobs
are
to
do
on
their
own.
A
buyer
or
homeowner
representing
themselves
has
the
skills
of
a
brand-new
agent.
I
always
ask
them,
would
you
trust
a
brand
new
agent
to
sell
your
home?
Because
that’s
what
they’re
doing.
They’re
hiring
themselves,
and
they’ve
never
done
a
deal.
They’re
putting
the
transaction
in
the
hands
of
someone
with
zero
experience.”
AI
won’t
replace
you
this
year
(but
an
agent
using
AI
might)
Take
a
deep
breath.
Carruth
thinks
AI
is
just
another
tool
and
won’t
replace
agents
in
2025
or
any
time
soon.
He
likened
agents’
paranoia
over
AI
replacing
them
to
the
fears
agents
had
over
Zillow
and
iBuyers
replacing
agents.
As
someone
who
is
old
enough
to
remember
when
listings
were
kept
in
looseleaf
binders,
hearing
this
from
Carruth
was
refreshing:
“For
me,
AI
is
like
Zillow,
forsalebyowner.com,
social
media,
or
even
Amazon,
the
MLS
and
DocuSign.
All
these
technological
advancements
just
helped
agents
sell
more
property
in
less
time.
I
couldn’t
have
sold
100
properties
a
year
without
Zillow
because
I
would
have
been
forced
to
spend
my
time
looking
for
properties
for
my
buyers.
Zillow
took
that
off
my
plate,
and
I
was
able
to
spread
my
time
out
to
serve
more
people.
So,
Zillow
helped
me
sell
more
property
in
less
time.
It’s
the
same
thing
with
AI,
the
same
thing
with
these
lawsuits,
the
same
thing
with
all
the
advancements
that
we’re
going
to
see
over
the
next
five
or
10
years
in
technology
and
communication;
it’s
going
to
enable
agents
to
sell
more
properties
in
less
time.”
My
take?
I
agree
with
Carruth,
but
with
one
crucial
caveat.
AI
might
not
replace
you
this
year,
but
an
agent
leveraging
AI
the
way
Carruth
leveraged
Zillow
might.
Don’t
get
left
behind.
Keep
up
with
the
latest
and
greatest
AI
technology
for
agents
here:
Surviving
a
recession
cycle
will
make
you
a
better
agent
Carruth
quickly
pointed
out
that
2025
won’t
be
all
wine
and
roses
for
agents.
Like
other
pundits,
he
mentioned
we
might
see
a
50%
(or
higher)
reduction
in
agent
headcount
over
the
next
few
years.
However,
for
agents
who
stick
to
proven
success
formulas,
2025
will
be
a
golden
opportunity
to
build
long-lasting
careers
—
just
like
he
did
during
the
Great
Recession.
The
job
will
get
harder,
but
agents
who
start
preparing
now
will
thrive:
“When
the
market’s
at
its
lowest
point,
that’s
your
biggest
opportunity
to
expand
your
business
and
your
footprint
in
the
market.
When
the
market
re-expands
your
business,
you
can
multiply
your
business
by
two,
three,
four
or
even
five
times.
You
can’t
really
get
that
multiple
of
growth
on
your
business
as
an
agent
in
a
normal
market.”
A
market
downturn
will
also
force
you
to
work
harder
to
hone
your
branding,
lead
generation
and
marketing
skills.
Many
of
the
agents
you’ll
compete
with
in
2025
started
their
careers
on
quick
and
easy
deals
in
2021.
They’re
in
for
a
rude
awakening.
Many
won’t
last.
To
ensure
you
do,
hire
a
(good)
coach
and
focus
on
scaling
your
business
so
you
can
handle
multiple
deals
at
once
—
one
of
the
skills
Carruth
said
was
critical
to
scaling
your
business
in
2025.
Leverage
technology
to
get
to
the
“real”
conversations
faster
When
the
topic
of
lead
generation
came
up,
Carruth
didn’t
mince
words.
Like
many
coaches,
he
thinks
all
lead-generation
strategies
work.
Some
just
work
faster
than
others.
In
2025,
he
recommends
agents
focus
on
strategies
that
get
them
to
the
“real”
conversations
around
buying
and
selling
before
other
agents
do.
“Agents
must
learn
to
use
technology
to
get
to
the
real
conversation
before
other
agents.
I
don’t
care
what
you
use:
Zillow,
social
media,
door
knocking,
cold
calling
or
direct
mail.
It
just
needs
to
produce
enough
conversations
with
the
right
people
to
grow
your
business.
I
just
pick
out
the
exact
properties
I
want
to
represent,
call
the
property
owners,
have
a
conversation
and
create
a
relationship.
I
figure
out
what
they
want
to
do,
whether
now
or
later
and
start
working
with
them.
I
do
this
over
and
over
and
over
and
over
again.
Agents
making
social
media
content
or
paying
Zillow
hope
they
get
to
talk
to
the
person
I
already
spoke
to.
You
can
either
put
out
content
or
pay
somebody
to
wait
to
have
those
conversations,
or
you
can
just
have
the
conversations
right
now.
That’s
the
key
to
success
in
real
estate.
How
many
conversations
are
you
having
with
the
right
people?”
The
full
picture
Are
you
a
broker-owner
or
coach
with
actionable
insights
to
share
with
our
audience
of
agents
and
brokers?
We’d
love
to
hear
from
you.
Reach
out
to
us
here:
[email protected]
more
hard-won
real
estate
strategies
from
Rick
Carruth?
Send
him
a
direct
message
on
Instagram.
He
answers
every
message
personally.
Interested
in
hiring
Ricky
as
a
coach?
You
can
learn
more
about
his
Zero
to
Diamond
coaching
program
on
his
website.
