This article is part of our series of pro tips, scripts, and secrets for creating real estate videos as an agent. You can also check out our Guide to Agent Bio Videos and Guide to Neighborhood Tours.
Tips for Real Estate Market Reports
1. Use Visual Data
One of the great advantages of real estate market report videos is that you can use visual data published online without copyright issues.
If you’re writing a blog article, you have to recreate and install charts, graphs, etc. That can be very time-consuming, require deep WordPress expertise, and potentially land you in copyright issues.
With market report videos, you can screenshare as you visit reputable websites with excellently designed visual data. The same is true for real estate news articles and downloadable PDF content.
2. Keep It Simple
The biggest mistake I see real estate agents making in market report videos is overwhelming the viewer with a flood of stats and figures. Keep it simple, or viewer interest (and retention rates) will fall.
Especially when you show lots of visual and numerical data at once, the viewer will try to digest this information while trying to listen. The visual learner in most people will put your audio on the back-burner and focus on the visual content.
If you show multiple visual metrics simultaneously, speak quickly, use industry jargon, make caveats, and/or jump straight into interpretation, you create a recipe for confusion. By the time viewers have digested the visual data, you’re so far ahead that you’ve lost them.
Here’s an example of what not to do. Start the video below at 1:15.
Unfortunately, Jason shows several visual metrics that are hard to digest, then immediately makes a series of caveats using terms like “seasonally adjusted and annualized”.
At this point, he’s already alienated a significant amount of viewers. That’s true despite his explanations of the jargon.
P.S. I definitely don’t mean to throw Jason under the bus! He has plenty of great content. I find many successful agent YouTubers making this mistake on occasion.
How to Keep Market Reports Simple
More than any other kind of real estate video, market reports require you to put on your teaching hat. Here are some tips to guide your viewers.
- Start with a single, easy-to-understand piece of data.
- Only show visual data relevant to your current talking point.
- Never jump back and forth between topics.
- Always use first-time homebuyers as your model audience.
- Tell a story or use real-life examples to demonstrate your point.
- Enunciate well and speak slower.
- Always provide a read-along text when you quote articles.
The best data to begin is either inventory or median housing price. Also, consider blurring irrelevant data when using market report articles. Finally, reshoot if your train of thought wanders.
Here’s a great example of these tips in practice. You can skip the first 40 seconds.
By following these examples and slowly building to slightly more complex data, Bern invites viewers to follow his talking points. Use this stepping-stone method for every video.
3. Be Radically Transparent
Paradoxically, content that recommends not moving to your area or not buy a house right now tend to be the most effective for converting leads. I don’t think that’s reverse psychology tactic. We’re all bombarded with marketing and advertising trying to persuade us to buy.
Very few strategies are more trust-building than saying, “Hey maybe this isn’t in your best interest right now.” Check out this video from the powerhouse Dan Parker.
Ultimately, Dan’s conclusion is not that everyone should rent over buying. But he clarifies through real-life scenarios why some people should not be handing him a commission check in the current market.
My own marketing follows this strategy through thick and thin. And it works.
4. Provide Different Opinions
A great technique to launch a real estate market report is to provide 2-3 opinions about the current or future market. You can pique interest by citing well-known figures like Elon Musk. Provide a full-screen or picture-in-picture screenshot of the source material.
5. Provide Multiple Summary Sections
I don’t see this technique nearly often enough. Recap sections are highly valuable. Include summary sections with 1-3 key takeaways as often as possible.
Speak and write the key takeaways for maximum effect. Even more importantly, tailor them specifically to home buyers and home sellers.
Fill your market reports with these phrases:
- “For home buyers/sellers, that means…”
- “It’s a good/bad time to…”
- “Why that’s important is because…”
- “So to quickly recap…”
- “You’re probably thinking…”
6. Use “Meme-Style” Content
By meme-style content, I actually mean a variety of things. Funny images, GIFs, and clips from movies and series are a great way to create lighter, more engaging content. A good editor can source these for you.
Pro Tip: If you want to source these yourself, type a phrase from your script into Giphy.com.
The search function will collect great ideas for you to use, especially great media clips. Then you search for the clip on YouTube, download the video, and splice the clip in.
To be fair, it’s probably best to leave this time-consuming task to an editor.
Make sure you follow correct use for copyrighted material. The primary key is to use clips less than 5 seconds long.
7. Focus on Simple Metrics
Stick to these data points:
- Median sales price
- Inventory
- Interest rates
- Time on market
- Price drops
- Price hikes
Anything beyond these metrics probably doesn’t provide the average homebuyer enough value given their complexity.
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Powerful Headlines for Market Report Videos
Generally speaking, housing market video headlines should follow a formula based on the current keyword research. In other words, it’s best to focus on the most searched keyphrases. I’ve taken the guesswork out for you by providing a table of the highest traffic keyphrases.
I chose to use national keywords based on Google search. That way we have the largest data pool to see which terms people use to search for market data.
Market Report Keyphrases by Traffic
| Target Keyphrase | Monthly Searches |
|---|---|
| Real Estate Housing Market | 335,000 |
| Housing Market(s) | 312,000 |
| Housing Prices | 37,000 |
| Housing Market Crash | 32,000 |
| Housing Market News | 16,000 |
| Real Estate Market(s) | 14,350 |
| Housing Market Predictions | 12,000 |
| Housing Market Forecast | 5200 |
| Housing Market Trends | 2300 |
| Real Estate Market Predictions | 2300 |
| Housing Market News | 1900 |
| Real Estate Market News | 1900 |
| Real Estate Market Trends | 1000 |
| Real Estate Market Report | 400 |
| Housing Market Report | 350 |
Keyword Research Takeaways
Let’s break down the most important conclusions we can draw from the above data.
- “Housing market” has 2200% more traffic than “real estate market”
- “Crash” has much higher traffic than all 5 keywords listed below*
- “News” has 543% higher traffic than “report”
- “Trends” has 230% higher traffic than “report”
- “Predictions” has 231% higher traffic than “forecast”
Pro Tip: For the term “crash,” I’d like to note that you’ll want to be careful about staining your brand with super clickbaity headlines. Concerning “predictions” and “forecasts”, it’s important to create restrained content that doesn’t pretend to know what the market will do.
Housing Market Headline Examples
For this section, I’m going to steal 10 examples directly from Dan Parker. Honestly, he’s so good at housing market headlines I don’t think I could produce better examples. His headlines are especially clever because they target a wide range of keywords beyond “housing market trends”.
- Why San Diego Home Prices Haven’t Crashed… Yet
- Is NOW The Time For A Buyer’s Market in San Diego?
- MASSIVE News for Buyers and Renters Living in San Diego
- The San Diego Housing Market is ON FIRE
- San Diego’s 2023 Outlook – Home Values & Top Neighborhoods
- Will the Fed CRASH the San Diego Housing Market?
- Should You Wait Until 2023 To Buy A Home In San Diego?
- Housing Market Predictions For San Diego – What To Expect in 2022
- The REALITY of the 2023 San Diego Housing Market
- It’s Over! Why the San Diego Housing Market is Screwed
- Why San Diego is in for a BIG Housing Market SLOWDOWN
When analyzing and adopting these example headlines, be sure to pay attention to the use of keywords, capitalization, the year, and questions. It’s also important to use these headlines to create a wide variety of angles to analyze the housing market.
When to Create Housing Market Reports
Many dedicated real estate YouTubers create monthly or quarterly market reports. Monthly reports tend to be 5-7 minutes long, while quarterly reports often sit in the 10-15 minute range. Both monthly and quarterly housing market reports are recommendable depending on your priorities.
However, another strategy is to create reports according to trends. Both interest in real estate reports and the YouTube algorithm itself are trend-based.
For that reason, it can be wise to time your real estate updates reports whenever market changes create a stir of interest.
This strategy can create a stronger ROI in terms of views and conversions vs. time invested. Significant changes in the market and the resulting flood of predictions, concerns, and/or optimism also make for more engaging video titles and thumbnails.
However, the downside is that you’ll have to remain aware and pro-active about catching the wave before it breaks. A third scheduling option is to create quarterly market reports for consistency and trend-based reports as necessary.
Pro Tip: Don’t make promises about your production schedule. They don’t add much value to the content. If you deprioritize making market reports and skip a couple, you’ll only succeed in appearing less organized and trustworthy. That’s especially true if you have a highly inconsistent market report playlist on your YouTube channel.
TLDR: Scheduling Options
Here’s the “Too Long, Didn’t Read” version of our advice about scheduling market update videos.
Option 1: Create monthly or quarterly reports
Option 2: Create impromptu, trend-based reports based on significant market changes
Option 3: Blend quarterly reports with trend-based reports
Local vs National Market Updates
It’s probably safe to assume that anyone creating market update videos has a YouTube channel. If so, you may be tempted to create videos covering a national or regional market beyond the area you service.
Think twice about national real estate market report videos. The more they succeed, the more your subscriber pool will belong to areas you don’t serve. In turn, a smaller percentage of your subscribers will engage with your best content for converting leads.
Those deflated metrics will cause YouTube to push your hyperlocal content less to your lead pool.
Malcolm Lawson, a highly successful real estate agent YouTuber, mentioned on a podcast that going national was one of his biggest mistakes. He increased subscribers and views, but those signals actually had a negative effect on his channel as a lead conversion machine.
The San Diego housing market is not only competitive on the ground, but also on YouTube. So Bern’s success is no fluke. He deeply understands what both the algorithm and viewers really want. Fortunately, he agreed to answer some of my questions about market update videos.
RN: What are your best tips for someone creating their first YT market reports, especially on a low budget?
BG: The research aspect of this takes the longest. I basically will go through the MLS monthly reports looking for changes in the market. I also google “San Diego Housing Market” for other people’s opinions, and then I give my opinion on what I am seeing in the housing market, usually by giving a story about one of my clients or how busy open houses were the last couple of weeks. Use B-roll a lot, especially if you are reading the info. I try to hide it as much as possible.
RN: What are the mistakes to avoid?
BG: My biggest challenge is energy. I’m relatively soft-spoken, and sometimes when I go back and watch, it lacks energy. So I’m always trying to be conscious of that. Housing market videos aren’t very exciting, so if you don’t have any energy people will tune out. Teleprompters help with market reports, as the reports are very data-driven most of the time. I like to go between stories and data to keep people’s attention, and my market updates usually go between 5-7 minutes. I may try a longer one to see how it performs. Practice reading it 2-3 times before you record as you get better each time I find.
RN: Do you know which of your market reports actually convert the best and why?
BG: I wouldn’t say my market reports are where I get the most clients. My neighborhood tours most likely get me the most clients, as I think it shows your personality more. Market reports will get you the most initial views but long term, the neighborhood video performs the best.
RN: A lot of market reports seem very rapid-fire. Do you recommend slowing down?
BG: So I agree a slower-paced video would be able to understand and digest, but I’ve found that the retention rates aren’t quite as good on them. And those videos would most likely be longer. Although I haven’t done a longer drawn-out video in a while, so it may be worth trying and seeing how people respond. I think a lot of realtors that do these videos use terminology that the typical home buyer doesn’t know what they mean, so I try to explain things like ‘Months Supply of Inventory’ which probably means nothing to the common homebuyer.
RN: Do you use a teleprompter?
BG: I do use a teleprompter for the market updates. I try not to make it look like I’m reading it, but with so many stats, it’s hard to do without a teleprompter.
END INTERVIEW
If you’d like to learn more from Bern’s YouTube expertise, I’d recommend analyzing the videos on What’s It Really Like Living in San Diego?
Best Examples of Housing Market Vidoes
1. The REALITY of the 2023 San Diego Housing Market
San Diego is one of the most competitive spheres nationwide for YouTube real estate content. There are at least 5 highly successful YouTube real estate agents competing for views and leads. Dan Parker’s video below is a great example of the best of the best.
What Works
- Baseball analogies to make market trends understandable
- Simple, non-distracting visual data in the corner
- Sticks to basic, essential metrics like inventory, median house price, and interest rates
- Consistently frames data for what it means for buyers and sellers
- Viewers can read along with his article quotes
- Uses a variety of authoritative opinions for market forecasts
- Provides real-life examples, including from his own life
- Consistent reminders that he’s an agent who wants to work with his audience
What Could Be Improved
- Written summaries of the key takeaways
- Pace and complexity of information (At one point, Dan asks, “Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense.” That’s a sign that he’s probably overwhelming some viewers.)
2. What's Next for the San Diego Housing Market?
Bern is another all-star real estate YouTuber succeeding the same competitive San Diego market. Here’s another great example of a housing market overview video.
What Works
- Uses time stamps divided into understandable market metrics
- Simple visual and numerical data on the side
- Camera zooms in and out slightly when filming his face to create visual interest
- Uses real-life examples to demonstrate his points
- Addresses local concerns based on his personal experience, like dealing with highly rate-conscious buyers
- Content is framed around recent scary predictions, but provides a stable counterpoint to clickbaity news stories
What Could Be Improved
- The second half of the video veers into a rapid-fire series of market data without simple visual support that some viewers will find overwhelming
3. Austin Zip Codes Saw These Huge Price Drops!
Jeremy Knight is another successful real estate agent YouTuber in the highly competitive market of Austin. I chose this video because he edited it himself while his editor was on vacation. For that reason, it’s a good model of what an expert creates without the assistance of a team.
What Works
- Injects a huge wealth of local expertise demonstrating a powerful understanding of what his audience wants and needs to know
- Dozens of actual listings demonstrating his points, but also exceptions to the trends
- Content designed for homebuyers, and more specifically investors, is a great way to make the content easier to follow. You don’t need to divide all of your conclusions into two parts for both buyers and sellers.
- Micro-analysis of individual zip codes is highly valuable.
What Could Be Improved
- It feels like Jeremy has somewhere to be. His rapid-fire delivery absolutely demonstrates local expertise but at the cost of making the content difficult to digest. On some level, his delivery may imply that he doesn’t have enough time for clients, even though that’s not true.
- Visual data has ultra-basic formatting and is sometimes not very helpful.
General Tips for Real Estate Market Reports
Real estate market reports are essential tools for real estate agents looking to provide valuable insights and data-driven information to their clients.
In this section, we will explore the key elements of designing effective real estate market reports that can be used to showcase market trends, analyze data, and position real estate agents as trusted industry experts.
1. Understand Your Audience
Before diving into the design process, it’s crucial to understand your target audience. Real estate market reports can vary depending on the clients they serve. Buyers, sellers, and investors may have different priorities and interests. For example, first-time homebuyers might be more interested in affordability and starter homes, while investors may focus on rental yield and growth potential.
2. Choose Relevant Data Sources
Accurate and up-to-date data is the foundation of any effective market report. Utilize reliable sources, such as local Multiple Listing Services (MLS), real estate associations, government reports, and reputable data providers. Consider incorporating data on median home prices, inventory levels, days on market, price-to-rent ratios, and other key indicators that reflect the current market conditions.
3. Provide a Clear Market Overview
Start your market report with an overview that highlights the most essential data points and trends. Summarize the current state of the local real estate market, including recent changes in property prices, inventory levels, and the overall health of the market. Use clear and concise language to make the information easily digestible for your clients.
4. Visualize Data with Charts and Graphs
Data visualization is a powerful tool to make complex information more understandable and visually appealing. Incorporate charts, graphs, and infographics to illustrate market trends, historical data, and comparisons. Bar graphs, line charts, and heat maps are excellent choices for displaying data related to home prices, market activity, and location-based metrics.
5. Analyze Market Trends
Interpretation is key to adding value to your market report. Analyze the data and provide meaningful insights that go beyond the numbers. Identify trends, patterns, and shifts in the market that could impact your clients’ real estate decisions. For instance, discuss the impact of low housing inventory on home prices or how economic factors are influencing market stability.
6. Include Neighborhood Analysis
In addition to a broader market overview, provide a detailed analysis of specific neighborhoods or areas within the market. Clients often seek hyper-local insights to make informed choices about where to buy or sell a property. Assess factors like school districts, amenities, crime rates, and neighborhood appreciation rates to offer a comprehensive view of different locales.
7. Incorporate Case Studies
Real-life examples resonate with clients and provide context to the data presented in your market report. Include case studies of recent successful transactions, both in the buying and selling scenarios. Highlight how specific market trends impacted those transactions and explain how clients benefited from timely decision-making.
8. Address Future Predictions
While it’s essential to base your market report on historical data, providing a glimpse of future predictions can be valuable for clients. Utilize your expertise to forecast potential market trends and share your insights on where the market might be heading. However, always clarify that predictions are speculative and subject to change based on various factors.
9. Keep It Accessible and Understandable
Avoid using technical jargon or complex industry terms that may confuse your clients. Ensure that your language is accessible to all readers, including those who might not be well-versed in real estate terminology. Use clear headings, subheadings, and bullet points to organize information, making it easy for clients to navigate through the report.
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