Effective storytelling is the key to appealing to the world’s most discerning buyers with your luxury real estate marketing, Mike Collins writes.
Forget the usual suspects of Sydney and Melbourne – Australia’s property market has thrown up some truly astonishing surprises, with new, exclusive research pinpointing the nation’s real hotspots where homes are flying off the shelves and prices are soaring.
And if you’re looking for a property goldmine, you’re probably looking in the wrong states.
A new Hotspotting analysis has unveiled the “hottest” property markets across the country, revealing that three states – South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia – are dominating the top performers.
Crucially, these aren’t the traditionally expensive capital cities, but rather more affordable areas that are delivering exceptional returns.
MORE NEWS
RBA’s cold Christmas gift: Nothing!
Aus’s backyard dream crushed by soaring land prices
$1m+ down in 3mo: Aussie suburbs take major hit
Hotspotting Director Terry Ryder explained that their research meticulously considered locations boasting a powerful combination of factors: low days on market, minimal vacancy rates, solid rental yields, and a consistent history of property price growth.
“With the exception of Crafers in the Adelaide Hills, all of the other suburbs have median prices below $1m for houses, and well below that again for units,” he said.
Notably, all top performers are located outside of New South Wales and Victoria.
Source: Hotspotting.com.au
Leading the charge, in a tie for the number one position, are units in Douglas, Townsville. These units are being snapped up in an average of just 13 days on market, boast a median unit price of a mere $350,000, and have seen an impressive price growth of nearly 17 per cent over the past year.
Sharing the top spot are houses in Joondalup, Perth, also recording a blistering 13 days on market.
With a median house price of $901,000, these homes have experienced nearly 12 per cent median price growth in the past year.
MORE NEWS: Aussie caravan maker hits road with budget homes
Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills featured prominently on the list. Picture: Brenton Edwards
Other standout performers include Hawthorndene in Mitcham, South Australia, with homes selling in just 14 days, and Doubleview in Stirling, Perth, where properties are on the market for an average of 16 days.
Mr Ryder’s findings strongly support his long-held hypothesis: it’s the more affordable property markets and regions that consistently deliver the best price growth over the medium to long term.
“It’s highly unlikely that many property pundits picked Acacia Ridge in Brisbane or Port Willunga in Adelaide to be market outperformers a few years ago, but here we are,” he said.
“Not only are all of these markets currently hot, but they have recorded above average annual median price growth over the past five years – ranging from 7.18 per cent in Douglas to 15.88 per cent in Port Willunga.
MORE NEWS: The secret weapon driving Brisbane’s property surge
Brisbane and regional Queensland, including Townsville, were also flagged as “hot” suburbs.
“Every single property buyer and investor would be very happy with this type of property growth but many probably bought in much more expensive markets.”
PIPA Chairman Lachlan Vidler highlighted another critical aspect of these booming markets: their incredibly tight rental conditions.
“Another telling element of this research is the fact that each one of the top locations has a vacancy rate of less than two per cent with some, such as Hawthorndene, Doubleview and Shaw, recording a vacancy rate of zero,” he said.
“A vacancy rate of three per cent is considered a balanced rental market and these top 10 areas are nowhere near that level, which is why their rents also increased over the past year, including 17 per cent in Acacia Ridge and 28 per cent in Crafters.”
Mr Vidler said more investors were also taking a nationwide view when considering where to purchase next.
“Working with qualified property investment professionals, who are appropriately licensed in the states and territories they operate in, as well as having plenty of experience and successful results for their clients, is imperative to prevent costly mistakes when purchasing in unfamiliar or interstate markets.”
The post Property market shock: Australia’s real estate winners exposed appeared first on realestate.com.au.
219-221 Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach
A pair of identical luxury homes on a prized beachfront block sold under the hammer for $23.445m at the state’s richest auction of the year.
Four buyers drove fierce bidding for the 809sqm parcel at 219-221 Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach, which was marketed by Kollosche agents, Michael Kollosche and Harry Kakavas.
On the market for the first time in almost 30 years, the distinctive villas were built on property once owned by former Queensland politician and rugby player, John Fihelly.
Four buyers registered for the auction
The villas positioned along the Gold Coast’s richest beachfront strip
Records show the homes last transferred to property developer Leonid Eshchenko in 1998.
Auctioneer Justin Nickerson said the sale was an “epic result”, becoming the most expensive property in Queensland sold under the hammer in 2025, but behind the auction record of $24.8m set in 2023 for a Southport mansion.
Mr Kollosche said the unique holding was “an incredible piece of real estate”, while the sale represented the depth of the beachfront market, where demand outweighed supply despite a spate of recent eye-popping transactions.
An architecturally designed mansion at 127 Hedges Ave changed hands just weeks ago for $27.5m in an off-market deal, marking a stunning uplift from 2021 when it had previously sold for about $15m.
The property had not been on the market in about 30 years
Luxury dual living was on offer at twin four-storey villas
Another holiday house at 75 Hedges on a 405 sqm block was also snapped up off market in September for $11.45m, while in August, a beachfront pile owned by the Smorgons, one of Australia’s wealthiest families, sold for $12.3m.
Features of the most-recently traded villas at no.219-221 included marble finishes, ornate ceilings and hand-painted frescos over each 742 sqm floorplan, with a lift to all levels.
Each villa had four bedrooms, including a top-floor master with walk-in robe, spa ensuite and private balcony, along with a three-car basement garage.
Marble finishes and ornate ceilings were among features
Each villa has a lift, alongside the feature staircase
MORE NEWS
How Seinfeld cast spent their millions on property portfolios
Chippie’s leap: From $5k to $250m property empire
Qld hotspots driving real estate boom
“This absolute beachfront allotment is as unique as it is enticing,” according to Mr Kollosche’s listing.
“It offers lavish dual living, a lucractive investment potential or a luxury redevelopment, renovation, or a bespoke rebuild opportunity that capitalises on uninterrupted beach and ocean vistas.”
Mr Kollosche said Hedges Ave, known as Multimillionaire’s Row, was the Gold Coast’s most prestigious beachfront address.
“It’s so tightly held due to the exceptional lifestyle it offers,” he said.
PropTrack data shows house prices in Mermaid Beach were up 10.3 per cent over the past 12 months, to a blistering median of $3.75m.
Waking up to this …
There’s eight bedrooms over the total property
The post Four buyers drive stunning $23m-plus beachfront auction appeared first on realestate.com.au.
October’s home auctions began with a bang in Brisbane, featuring a massive turnout for a derelict home and a sale that blew past its reserve price by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Brisbane’s inner city suburb of Bulimba saw a derelict two-bedroom unit smash price expectations, selling way over the reserve on Friday October 2.
4/103 Brisbane Street, Bulimba, is a derelict two-bedroom unit with carpets ripped and walls and kitchens stained – but its auction still managed to draw a crowd of 100.
The apartment at 4/103 Brisbane St was described as “a true renovator” in the listing with Queensland Public Trustee, featuring ripped-up carpet and stains across the walls and kitchen.
But its location and expected sale price meant a crowd of around 100 people gathered, packing the area for a wild auction.
The home sold for a whopping $750,000 after the auction had concluded. Zoran Solano from Hot Property Buyers Agency was in attendance, saying it showed the current strength in the Brisbane market for “renovator units in premium locations”.
The home sold for an incredible $750,000, blasting past the expected reserve price.
Meanwhile, a five-bedroom home set to sell with a reserve of $2.1 million managed to go $240,000 over that price on the auction day.
93 Nelson Street, Kalinga saw seven registered bidders with Place Ascot, with three of those bidders raising offers all the way until the final bid.
Agent Drew Davies said by the final few bids, offers were coming in at increments of $1,000 at a time.
“This was the definition of a bidding war,” he said. “The competition was fierce from the very first call, and to see it come down to $1,000 increments shows just how determined buyers are to get into suburbs like Kalinga. The range of demographics shows this pocket appeals to everyone. The energy was electric.”
93 Nelson Street, Kalinga, was another home that shot past the expected reserve – this one by $240,000, selling for $2.34 million.
After 53 bids, the home finally sold to a family in their 40s for $2.34 million. Mr Davies said other interested buyers included young professionals, families, downziders and interstate movers.
According to new Place Advisory data, bidder numbers across Brisbane have doubled on average since last year.
Currently, their research shows auctions are averaging from 4.5 to 5 registered bidders per auction, as opposed to the average in 2024 at 2.5 bidders.
3 Tourmaline Road, Logan Reserve had 12 registered bidders from within and outside of Queensland, selling for $842,000.
Homes such as 3 Tourmaline Rd, Logan Reserve saw big turnouts on the day, with 12 registered bidders and competitors both inside and outside of the state.
The four-bedroom home in the far south of Brisbane was sold by Ray White Rochedale for $842,000, with a local winning with plans to upgrade from their old residence.
Meanwhile, the townhouse at 3/1 Jerdanefield Rd, St Lucia, managed to get a whopping $1.31m sale with only 4 registered bidders, three of them active.
3/1 Jerdanefield Road, St Lucia was a townhouse that managed to score a sale well over $1m, coming in at $1.31m after four registered bidders fought it out.
Ray White Indooroopilly agent Jamie Smith said there was no small turnout in person to watch the bidding war, with 30 groups of people attending on the auction day alone.
“We had active bidding from $900,000 to $1,050 million,” he said. “[Eventually, there were] $5,000s all the way through from $1.298 million to our sale price of $1,310,000.”
The winner had managed to snag the home on behalf of their mother, taking it from a seller who had owned it for more than three decades.
Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said homes beneath the $1m bracket were selling wildly successful sales, with their company recording 646 auctions across September with a 74.8 per cent clearance rate.
The post Home auction frenzy overtakes October’s first weekend in Brisbane appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Richard and Regine Fuertes knew land prices were only going upwards, so when the chance came to buy in Tarneit, they grabbed it.
“We could see the way land prices were moving,” Mr Fuertes said.
“We realised that by next year, property values were only going to keep rising. When this opportunity came up, we didn’t want to wait. It feels like the right decision for our future.”
For the couple from Melbourne’s west, the purchase marks their very first step into the property market.
They had never seriously looked before, but when the federal government announced it was adjusting the First Home Guarantee, Mr Fuertes said timing was suddenly working in their favour.
MORE: $4.95m Melb coastal hideaway set to turn heads
New Aus hotspots driving property boom
Shock surge: Melb’s new $1m hotspots
Richard Fuertes with his family Rayven, 7, Reign, 11 and Regine have recently purchased in Tarneit. Picture: Josie Hayden
“Honestly, this was our very first attempt at buying, we hadn’t been through the process before,” he said.
“But we were fortunate, the government changed the scheme at just the right time, and it made all the difference. We feel blessed and excited it’s worked out.”
The Fuertes family also knew they didn’t want to compromise on location.
While some buyers are being pushed further out to the city fringe, they were determined to stay close to the people and places that mattered most to their family.
“We didn’t want to move away,” Mr Fuertes said.
“This is where our life is, and it made sense to stay.”
The Fuertes were determined to stay close to the people and places that mattered most to their family. Picture: Josie Hayden
But Mr Fuertes said the smaller block didn’t faze him.
“For me, the size doesn’t matter too much,” he said.
“What mattered most was having a home we could call our own. That was the dream, and now it’s happening.”
With sales volumes surging and developers winding back incentives, experts warn prices could climb again by early 2026 which Mr Fuertes said added to the urgency of making their move now.
“It’s such a relief,” he said.
“We’re very excited, it feels like a new beginning, and we can’t wait to start building memories in our own home.”
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Hammer frenzy: Melb homes go wild
‘Tears and tension’: $861k Oak Park auction
Melb couple smash property odds amid brutal market
david.bonaddio@news.com.au
The post Why first home buyers rushed to buy Tarneit land appeared first on realestate.com.au.
President Donald Trump called on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to spur more homebuilding in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
“Before I became President, “OPEC” kept Oil prices high. It wasn’t right for them to do that but, in a different form, is being done again — This time by the Big Homebuilders of our Nation. They’re my friends, and they’re very important to the SUCCESS of our Country, but now, they can get Financing, and they have to start building Homes. They’re sitting on 2 Million empty lots, A RECORD. I’m asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to get Big Homebuilders going and, by so doing, help restore the American Dream!”
It’s not clear how Fannie and Freddie might create more incentive for homebuilders. The two government sponsored enterprises buy loans from mortgage lenders to ensure liquidity in the market and repackage those into investment products. They also set the standards for creditworthiness and ability to repay for mortgage loans. While they offer several construction products, those support lenders and homebuyers, not builders.
HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami has written extensively on what could trigger more homebuilding and weighed in on Trump’s statement. “The builders’ completed units for sale is simply too high for them to start issuing new permits. The best thing Trump and Pulte could do is get lower rates — the rest will take care of itself.” Mohtashami also talked about this subject on CNBC last month.
Housing inventory reached a historic low in 2022 but has risen this year to give buyers more choices. HousingWire’s latest Housing Market Tracker, which uses weekly data, shows national inventory for existing homes rose to 863,972 homes last week. The latest inventory of new homes, released by the Census Bureau on Sept. 24, showed 490,000 new houses for sale at the end of August. This is 1.4% below July estimates and 4% above August 2024 numbers.
As Mohtashami wrote after the Census numbers came out for August: “The builders have seen a significant drop in the monthly supply from recent highs this year, which some would say is beneficial, as it now allows them to build more homes. However, the builders still have a substantial number of completed units for sale and homes that they haven’t started construction on yet, so I wouldn’t be cheering the monthly supply drop story yet. Completed units for sale are still over 120,000 — a number that for decades has been a red flag for the builders and usually means permits are declining.”
Trump has put housing at the top of his priority list since taking office, issuing an executive order for emergency price relief for housing on inauguration day. Since then he has run a pressure campaign against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to reduce interest rates or be fired/resign, and looked to replace voting members of the Federal Reserve Board by launching investigations into individual members.
Regarding Fannie and Freddie, FHFA Director Bill Pulte, at Trump’s direction, has made sweeping changes to the GSEs’ boards, fired top execs and cut staff. Pulte has also implemented VantageScore 4.0 and spearheaded the GSEs’ acceptance of crypto-backed mortgages.
Trump wants to release Fannie and Freddie from conservatorship, something he initiated but was not able to accomplish in his first term. He has been setting the stage since May, and ramped up speculation in July when he met privately with big banks about the topic.
Read all of Trump’s actions related to housing in this continuously updated article.
One Adelaide homeowner has pocketed an extra $220,000 on the sale of his Modbury North property just three years after he bought it.
The 1970s-built four-bedroom home at 20 Ellwood Ave was snapped up under the hammer for $830,000 – well above the $610,000 the seller purchased it for in September 2022, according to property records.
Selling agent Alex Ghinis, of Ray White Woodville, said it was a clear sign of the market’s strength in the area.
“We’re still seeing anywhere between 15 and 18 per cent growth in the last 12 months,” he said.
MORE: Shocking trashed rental set to make owner huge windfall
The Modbury North home at 20 Ellwood Ave sold at auction for $830,000.
The seller purchased it just three years ago for $610,000.
The home was move-in-ready, which is why it attracted so many prospective buyers.
“The seller bought the house three years ago and it was fully renovated when he bought it.
“It just shows how move-in-ready homes are always going to attract the most amount of interest.
“Every buyer who came through was a young family because it was move in ready.”
Mr Ghinis said a combination of rising costs and extended wait times for tradespeople to undertake renovations, as well as people being time poor were making move-in-ready homes so attractive.
Six prospective buyers registered to bid on the home at auction after about 40 groups inspected it in the lead up, Mr Ghinis said, with the buyers being a young family.
MORE: Whopping eight-figure sales raise the bar for million-dollar suburb
The seller purchased the home after it was renovated.
It has four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The home is on a 590sqm block.
Seller Adam said after the auction that he sold the property as he’d bought another smaller home.
“I have bought a new house to be closer to my daughter so she can walk to high school,” he said.
“There were a lot of buyers here, but really only one bidder in the end and Alex negotiated with them after the auction stalled at $800,000.
“He did all he could, he really did an exceptional job for the result.”
Latest PropTrack data shows the median house price in Modbury North is $770,000.
The post Modbury North homeowner earns $220k profit in just three years appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Every day, the team at OBrien Real Estate help buyers find their perfect homes, places that become sanctuaries of security and shelter.
But, for a heartbreaking number of Australians, a safe place to call home wasn’t a reality.
According to figures from the 2021 Census, on any given night, more than 122,000 people were experiencing homelessness with the vast majority hidden from plain sight, couch surfing or living in cars.
To help tackle this homelessness crisis, the team at OBrien Real Estate will be putting their weight behind the new A Home for All Foundation.
It’s a crisis the property industry was well placed to help solve and OBrien is among numerous real estate and property groups leading by example.
“At OBrien Real Estate, we believe that having a safe and secure home is the foundation for everything else in life: stability, wellbeing, and opportunity,” OBrien Real Estate’s marketing and events manager Gemma Mintern said.
“Knowing that over 122,000 Australians go without this basic need drives us to take action.
“We want to use our voice to raise awareness and our network to raise funds, and to work with the broader property industry to be part of the solution.
“We don’t just want to talk about the issue; we want to help lead meaningful change and inspire others in our industry to do the same.”
Homelessness in Australia has been far less visible than most of us assumed.
“The biggest misunderstanding is that homelessness is only what we can see,” Ms Mintern said.
“Most people I think would picture someone sleeping rough on a park bench or in a doorway, but that represents just a small fraction of the issue.”
The sobering statistics confirm this hidden reality: 94% of people experiencing homelessness were living in insecure situations, such as couch surfing, living in cars, or moving between temporary accommodation without security.
“The single mother working tirelessly just to keep a roof over her children’s heads, the young person couch surfing from friend to friend’s house, or families living in unsafe, temporary accommodation,” Ms Mintern said.
“These stories are largely invisible, which means the scale and urgency of the problem are often underestimated.”
This is why the property industry’s collective action was so crucial and Ms Mintern believed the sector had a responsibility to take the lead.
“We believe the property industry has a unique role to play in solving homelessness,” she said.
“Collectively, we have the insights, networks, and resources to drive real change. Tackling homelessness isn’t just a social issue; it’s a housing issue, and our industry should be part of the solution.”
OBrien’s commitment will be showcased through the foundation’s first major campaign, A Night Without Home.
Taking place in October, the initiative has invited participants to experience, in a small way, the challenges faced by those without a safe place to sleep by spending a night away from their usual home comforts.
“As a launch partner we will be participating by holding office-led sleep-outs to help raise both money and awareness,” Ms Mintern said.
“Our team will experience, in a small way, what it means to go without the comfort of a bed for one night.
“The goal is to not only raise funds but also to foster a deeper sense of empathy and understanding. If this foundation inspires only a few people to take action in any form, I think we will achieve something truly meaningful.”
Obrien have a strong legacy of giving back, primarily through their foundation, which has supported more than 20 different groups and collectively donated more than $250,000 directly and indirectly.
This community focus was highlighted earlier this year when the foundation ran its first charity ball, raising an impressive $25,000 for Monash Children’s Hospital.
“Home is at the heart of everything we do,” she said.
“This partnership allows us to extend that purpose beyond our clients and into the wider community, ensuring that more Australians have the opportunity to experience the security of not just a house but a home.”
The post ‘Largely invisible’: How real estate is shining a light on homelessness appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Ernie Graham began his career as a hardware and software engineer but ultimately found his calling in real estate, managing hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions in Telluride, Colorado. That hands-on experience gave him the insight to return to technology, co-founding SocialBios (acquired by realtor.com in 2011) and later launching Homebot in 2015 to engage homeowners across the full lifecycle of homeownership.
In this executive conversation, Graham explains how lenders can transition from reactive to proactive engagement, leveraging private and personalized experiences to create meaningful consumer interactions. He demonstrates how building long-term relationships positions lenders and real estate agents as trusted wealth advisors, emphasizing that understanding the average consumer’s experience in real estate is crucial for designing technology that truly serves real estate agents, lenders, and homeowners.
HousingWire: What does ‘winning the discovery game’ actually mean, and how did you arrive at this strategic insight?
Ernie Graham: ‘Winning the discovery game’ means shifting from traditional home search – where consumers actively filter for what they want – to discovery, where listings and content proactively find them. Zillow mastered this by building engagement across the entire homeownership life cycle, not just at the point of transaction. By sustaining attention for years, they positioned themselves to influence the next buying or selling decision, creating a model that’s difficult to compete with head-to-head.
The strategic insight is that while most lenders can’t replicate Zillow’s top-down approach, they can win from the bottom up. By leveraging financial insights for their existing clients and prospects, curation of homes gets curiously interesting. Affordability and wealth building opportunities hiding in plain sight can now be discovered. This discovery helps lenders strengthen relationships and maximizes their databases.
HW: Let’s get tactical. What does this ‘smarter discovery game’ look like in practice?
EG: I think most lenders focus on past clients while neglecting the far larger group of past prospects—people who applied but never closed. These prospects make up about 75% of a typical database and often don’t say “no” permanently, just “not now.” By ignoring them, lenders leave significant future opportunities untapped.
Homebot helps lenders engage both clients and prospects by curating personalized listings and insights that align with each stage of the homeowner journey. Whether it’s affordability options for first-time buyers, helpful insights for homeowners that have just listed their home, or investment-driven recommendations, Homebot keeps lenders relevant without massive ad spend. This smarter discovery approach ensures they stay top of mind and positioned for the next transaction.
HW: Private search is at the heart of this strategy. How does creating a private search experience become such a powerful differentiator, and what makes it so effective?
EG: So, private search works because safety drives engagement. In public environments, consumers hesitate to explore; they know entering an email or using a tool often triggers unwanted calls, emails, and ads. A private experience removes that fear, giving homeowners control and interaction only with trusted parties, like their lender or agent. This trust allows them to click, explore, and dream freely.
Search is ultimately about dreaming—whether imagining a first home, planning a remodel, or considering upsizing. By embedding that experience in a private context, engagement becomes more authentic and meaningful. Major platforms are recognizing this trend, but what sets this approach apart is its design for lenders and real estate agents in a compliant and collaborative manner—a problem the industry has struggled to solve for years.
HW: You often say that most loan officers are sitting on a goldmine in their existing database. How does discovery turn dormant prospects into active leads?
EG: Well, it’s pretty typical of the times. Consumers don’t want mortgages; they want homes. Same with web search – they don’t want a list of websites, they just want answers. Now let’s apply this idea to traditional home search. Consumers don’t want a list of homes that can’t or won’t work for them. Filtered search using beds, baths, and square footage tend to over-index on lifestyle and overlook financial outcomes, such as affordability or appreciation, which are crucial for wealth building. Most technology to date has displaced human guidance without improving results: home sales volume and satisfaction have remained relatively unchanged for 25 years despite billions invested in technology.
Large language models change that. Buyers can now describe what they want in natural language, and the technology curates listings that match both lifestyle and financial priorities. This transforms dormant prospects into active leads. For loan officers, it shifts the focus from acquisition to retention—engaging both past clients and past prospects with personalized insights and timely recommendations, helping them make smarter home decisions, and increasing the lifetime value of their database.
Discovery becomes the bridge between a consumer’s life goals and actionable financial opportunities. That’s powerful. Another key opportunity is treating transactional experiences—such as interest rate-driven refi opportunities or annual insurance renewals—as content discovery, rather than just throw away call-to-action. By integrating these touchpoints into a personalized experience, lenders can provide value, deepen relationships, and create recurring engagement.
HW: Let’s talk about ‘Holly the homeowner’ – your guiding persona. How has focusing on Holly’s journey shaped your discovery strategies, and can you share some success stories of how this approach has transformed client relationships in practice?
EG: From the beginning, our North Star has been Holly the homeowner. She has plenty of transaction specialists in her life. But after the deal, they typically disappear, leaving her without guidance on what is often her most significant source of wealth—her home. Homebot was built to change that by making complex data simple, safe, and actionable. Through experiences like Homebot Digest and Search, we help Holly easily understand when it’s the right time to buy, sell, rent, remodel, refi…what we call “green on the screen.” It’s about giving her the confidence to make major wealth-building decisions.
For loan officers and real estate agents, this approach creates lasting relationships. Instead of fading after a transaction, their brand stays front and center by continuously delivering value. This builds trust, creates a halo effect of brand recall, and positions them as a long-term advisor rather than a one-time service provider. Focusing on Holly keeps the homeowner empowered and the professional connected, transforming client relationships into durable, value-driven partnerships.
HW: How does this discovery strategy reposition lenders and real estate agents as ongoing wealth advisors rather than one-time transaction facilitators?
EG: Real estate agents and lenders have always been part of a wealth management team, but their efforts have historically been disjointed, each doing their own marketing and disengaging from each other once a transaction closes. Lenders often think long-term, positioning themselves as partners in building generational wealth, while real estate agents face the challenge of infrequent touchpoints given the long gap between transactions. Still, both have roles in a client’s broader financial journey, and the market is shifting toward more unified, ongoing engagement rather than isolated interactions.That’s where platforms like Homebot come in. By consolidating marketing and tech stacks into a single digital experience, clients engage with one trusted environment rather than a patchwork of disconnected tools. Each professional maintains their role, real estate agents for real estate, lenders for finance, and insurers for protection, while the client benefits from a cohesive journey. This transformation repositions professionals as long-term advisors, strengthens consumer trust, and creates more frequent, meaningful opportunities for engagement and revenue.
Click Here
We’ve all heard the clichés before. “Be a disruptor in your industry!” “Think outside the box.” But nothing is more prevalent in today’s always-on environment than, “Cut through the noise.”
While that adage remains true now more than ever, it becomes increasingly difficult as more creators and brands battle for attention. This is made more challenging given the financial services industry is highly regulated and doesn’t have the same appeal as entertainment or sports.
And today’s homebuyers include Millennials and Gen Z — two groups that grew up online and value authenticity, clarity and simplicity.
Cutting through the noise requires standout captions, eye-catching graphics and easily digestible video content. That often means meeting your audience where they’re at. Bringing relevance to the mortgage industry today requires making financial educational content both approachable and entertaining.
Building connections
People want to do business with someone they know and trust. Creating videos on social media is often the best way to do that today. Some of our most digital-savvy clients do that by breaking down common mortgage questions with a local perspective only they can provide.
Our Mortgage Matchup brand, for example, connects local home experts with homebuyers and borrowers, many who aren’t aware of the benefits of working with an independent mortgage broker. To share that message, we created recognizable video series — like our “Two Truths and a Lie” and “True or False” — that don’t require extensive editing and use language our audience (first-time homebuyers) understands.
Capitalizing on social media trends
Tapping into cultural moments and trends help make mortgages and mortgage brokers more relatable to the modern homebuyer. When everyone was participating in this summer’s “Holy Airball” trend, UWM’s team jumped in with our own spin. When Taylor Swift announced her engagement, UWM was there, too.
It’s important to capitalize on opportunities like these because trending content is more popular and sparks conversation and participation. Showing your personality builds customer loyalty and recognition. Our own metrics support this — we’ve seen followers increase month over month across our channels.
Whether you’re a team of hundreds or run a mighty office of one, you don’t need to dedicate your time to jumping on every trend. And you don’t need a social media team to create impactful, relatable content. When we find something, we first decide whether it aligns with our brand’s content pillars — topics we want to talk about — before determining whether we act on it.
Once you do identify the right trends to invest in, act quickly! Don’t miss a trending moment because you took too long making it perfect or because you were nervous to jump into the conversation.
Don’t just follow, lead
Jumping on every trend isn’t a sustainable strategy for making your content approachable and engaging. Every creator and every audience are different. Understanding that will allow you to create content authentic to who you are.
In my decades of marketing experience, the one constant I can share is you need to experiment without the fear of failing. Test, learn and test some more. It’s the approach UWM takes with everything. Not everything will take off, but by showing up in your audience’s feeds consistently, you’ll be able to build on that awareness, stay top of mind and find success.
Entertain and educate, then sell
We use social media to catch up with friends, stay up to date on the latest news and be entertained. We don’t want to be sold something all the time.
With that in mind, here are tips we’ve found that help us meet our audience with content they recognize.
- Keep a record of what you like. As you scroll through social media, pay attention to what makes you pause. Think of a way to bring that back to your business. You can bookmark silly sounds, clever captions or funny filters, then reference those for future ideas.
- Encourage participation. Ask questions, respond to comments or run a contest. Increase your discoverability by leveraging social media algorithms that reward those who drive conversations.
- Track your results. Look at what resonated and what didn’t. Make notes of the content type or the length of the caption. Set benchmarks, such as Instagram’s view rate or Facebook’s total impressions. You’ll soon notice what’s gaining traction and what’s not.
Creating approachable, relatable content doesn’t need to feel overwhelming. Start experimenting today and discover the impact it can have on your business.
Click Here
JKDS is a licensed New York State real estate brokerage firm. #10351200205