Digging
for
new
business

During
the
height
of
the

COVID-19
housing
market
in
May
2022,
the
90-day
average
median
list
price
in
the
Boise
metro
area
rose
to
nearly
$650,000
—
up
more
than
$250,000
from
May
2019,
according
to

HousingWire
Data.

Additionally,
its
market
action
index
score
was
above
60
for
nearly
18
months
from
early
August
2020
through
late
May
2022.
HousingWire
Data
considers
any
market
action
index
score
above
30
to
be
indicative
of
a
seller’s
market. 

“To
be
successful
during
the
pandemic
you
just
had
to
have
a
pulse,”
Kelley
said.
“You
got
a
license,
and
if
you
were
a
member
of
the
PTA
or
involved
in
your
church
or
anything
in
your
community,
you
were
suddenly
getting
all
of
these
referrals.

“But
when
that
referral
valve
shut
off,
they
realized
that
they
didn’t
know
how
to
get
business
other
than
having
it
handed
to
them.
You
need
to
be
consistent
with
your
marketing
and
advertising
if
you
want
to
maintain
and
grow
your
business.” 

For
Kelley,
this
involves
a
deep
commitment
to
marketing
through


Zillow’s
Premier
Agent
program,
which
has
been
her
main
source
of
business
for
the
past
eight
years.
After
generating
more
than
$500,000
in
income
during
the
first
few
years
of
her
career,
Kelley
wanted
to
push
herself
even
further
and
aimed
for
a
seven-figure
salary. 

“I
was
working
really
hard,
and
I
thought
that
I
would
have
to
work
twice
as
hard
or
have
this
massive
team
in
order
to
earn
$1
million.
But
then
I
understood
that
I
had
to
spend
money
to
make
money
and
I
decided
to
go
all
in
on
Zillow,”
she
said. 

In
2023,
this
strategy
led
her
to
close

71
transaction
sides
for
$39.8
million
in
sales
volume,
according
to
the

2024

RealTrends
Verified
Rankings.
As
the
housing
market
in
Boise
slowed
(its
market
action
index
score
is
now
hovering
at
40),
Kelley
said
she
has
not
changed
her
business
strategy.
But
she
acknowledges
that
getting
cold
leads
from
Zillow
is
not
for
everyone. 

“You
have
to
be
very
tenacious
and
you
have
to
want
to
convert
that
business.
…
I
have
not
lost
steam
or
energy
for
it,”
she
said
said. 

Sphere
of
influence

Holly
Maloney
has
a
different
strategy
centered
on
going
back
to
the
basics
and
building
strong
relationships
with
clients.

Maloney’s
home
market
of

Cincinnati
is
currently
plagued
by

low
housing
inventory.
As
of
April
18,
2025,
there
was
a
90-day
average
of
2,239
active
single-family
listings.
That
was
up
from
a
post-pandemic
low
of
about
1,400
in
May
2022
but
well
below
the
figure
of
4,100
in
April
2019,
according
to
HousingWire
Data. 

According
to
Maloney,
these
low
inventory
conditions
—
combined
with
the
mortgage
rate
environment
and
the
fallout
from
the

commission
lawsuits
—
has
created
“pandemonium”
among
buyers
and
sellers. 

“We
have
leaned
into
this
challenge
and
see
it
as
an
opportunity
to
be
more
visible
to
our
prospective
buyers
and
sellers,
and
we
have
made
sure
that
we
are
being
proactive
and
not
reactive
by
preparing
them
for
what
the
current
market
looks
like,”
said
Maloney,
an
agent
with


eXp
Realty. 

Given
how
confusing
things
have
been
for
consumers,
Maloney
said
she
has
“doubled
down”
on
client
communication
and
education,
especially
within
her
sphere
of
influence.
By
staying
top
of
mind
with
people
who
“love
and
trust
us,”
as
Maloney
put
it,
she
has
been
able
to
generate
a
steady
stream
of
referral
business.

Like
Kelley,
Maloney
also
deals
with
her
fair
share
of
cold
leads.
These
mainly
come
from
open
houses
and

first-time
homebuyer
education
events
she
co-hosts
with
local
lenders,
she
said.

“A
lot
of
buyers
and
sellers
are
confused
by
the
commission
lawsuit
settlement
and
the
mandatory

buyer
representation
agreements,”
Maloney
said.
“So
we
are
seeing
both
buyers
and
sellers
walk
into
our
open
houses
just
looking
for
information
on
the
business
practice
changes.

“If
you
are
proactive
and
are
able
to
educate
them
and
answer
their
questions,
we’ve
been
able
to
generate
an
abundance
of
business
that
way.” 

Her
strategies
have
paid
off
as
she
earned
a

top
10
ranking
in
Ohio
after
closing
94
sides
in
2023,
according
to
RealTrends.

‘Lean
into
your
experience’

Up
in

Boston,


Coldwell
Banker
Realty
agent
Rich
Hornblower
has
taken
a
similar
approach
to
generating
business.

Similar
to
Cincinnati,
Boston
is
also
dealing
with
constrained
inventory,
with
just
over
2,000
active
single-family
listings
in
the
Greater
Boston
area
as
of
mid-April.
In
comparison,
there
were
nearly
6,000
active
listings
in
April
2019. 

“To
get
listings,
you
have
to
be
consistent,
and
make
sure
that
you
show
your
value
proposition
and
lean
into
your
experience,”
Hornblower
said.
“With
buyers,
you
have
to
educate
them
on
what
to
expect
from
the
market,
which
may
differ
depending
on
the
time
of
year,
and
just
make
sure
they
are
putting
in
strong
offers,
so
you
need
to
know
the
market.” 

Hornblower
said
he
does
his
best
to
make
sure
his
clients
have
a
positive
experience
working
with
him,
which
has
helped
him
create
a
strong
referral
pipeline.
He
has
also
leaned
into

social
media
as
a
way
to
keep
in
touch
with
past
clients,
ensuring
that
he
stays
top
of
mind. 

These
strategies
are
paying
off
for
Hornblower,
who
was
the

No.
2
ranked
agent
in
Massachusetts
in
2024
by
transaction
side
count.
He
closed
105
sides
for
$33.7
million
in
sales
volume
in
2023,
according
to
RealTrends
data. 

Further
down
the
East
Coast,
Kamil
Andrukiewicz
—
a
New
Britain,

Connecticut-based
agent
for

New
Haus
Group
—
is
also
dealing
with
tight
inventory.

Like
Hornblower,
he
has
focused
on
making
sure
prospective
clients
are
well
informed
about
what
to
expect
in
the
current
housing
market.
But
with
inventory
being
so
tight,
it
has
required
him
to
be
more
creative
in
helping
sellers
find
places
to
move,
if
they
haven’t
found
a
new
home
before
their
current
one
sells.

“We
are
finding
them

rentals,
doing
home
sale
contingencies
on
offers
and
even
doing
leasebacks
as
part
of
the
contract,”
Andrukiewicz
said. 

As
much
as
Andrukiewicz
remains
focused
on
current
clients,
he
said
he
does
his
best
to
stay
in
touch
with
past
clients
and
keep
his
lead
pipeline
flowing.

“I
feel
like
the
No.
1
mistake
that
every
agent
makes
is
they’re
very
oriented
on
the
transaction
that
they
have
currently
and
they
forget
about
their
past
clients,”
Andrukiewicz
said.
“Studies
have
shown
that
five
or
six
years
down
the
road,
buyers
forget
who
sold
them
their
house
unless
their
agent
has
stayed
in
touch.” 

In
addition,
as
inventory
has
become
tighter,
Andrukiewicz
said
he
hasn’t
been
afraid
to
branch
out
of
his
core
market
if
a
client
is
looking
to
buy
something
further
away.
His
willingness
to
log
extra
miles
helped
him

close
81
sides
in
2023,
good
for
sixth
place
in
Connecticut,
according
to
RealTrends.

“I’ll
go
to
other
parts
of
the
state
if
I
have
a
client
that’s
looking
for
an
investment
property.
I
had
a
lot
of
clients
look
for
lake
houses
last
year,
so
I
was
driving
all
over
the
state,”
he
said. 

Keep
it
simple

In
contrast
to
having
a
willingness
to
travel,
Blair
White
has
concentrated
his
business
solely
to
downtown
Naples,

Florida.

After
a
pandemic-era
boom,
the
housing
market
in
Naples
has
cooled
drastically,
with
inventory
back
up
to
2019
levels
and
the
median
list
price
down
to
2022
levels.
Despite
these
challenges,
White
said
his
business
has
remained
strong. 

“I
have
business
partners
that
cover
other
parts
of
the
metro
area
who
I
trust
to
serve
those
clients
well,
but
I’ve
found
that
not
spreading
myself
too
thin
and
just
being
a
true
expert
in
my
market
has
done
wonders
for
my
business,”
said
White,
an
agent
with

John
R.
Wood
Properties
Christies
International
Real
Estate.

“Knowledge
is
power
and
having
that
knowledge
of
my
area
not
only
builds
my
confidence,
but
it
also
builds
my
clients’
trust
in
me,”
he
said.

Like
top
agents
in
other
markets,
White
said
he
focuses
on
treating
his
clients
well
and
making
sure
they’re
properly
educated. 

“It
sounds
cliche,
but
it
is
really
as
simple
as
treating
people
the
way
you
would
want
to
be
treated
and
being
as
transparent
as
possible,”
White
said. 

White’s
straightforward
strategy
led
him
to
the

No.
6
rank
by
transaction
side
count
in
Naples,
after
he
recorded
36
sides
and
$35.5
million
in
sales
volume
in
2023.
And
while
his
strategy
may
differ
from
others,
he
too
believes
there
is
no
single
key
to
an
agent’s
success. 

“It
really
is
about
keeping
it
simple
and
doing
what
you
do
best,”
White
said.