Now that Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed an update of the real estate license act into law, many changes are technically effective now. While some provisions will need to be complied with immediately, other portions of the law will require rules committees to hack out the details in the coming months. Learn what you need to know to stay on the right side of license law.

Virtual staging has become a popular tool for sellers and agents to drive buyer traffic, especially for vacant listings. But there are some very important best practices, ethics guidelines and technological caveats that will make this process smoother. Learn how to use this economical marketing tool in a way that will boost your business.  

Auctions have changed a great deal in the last decade. Do you know what you need to know to represent your clients in this environment? A local real estate attorney offers advice for agents looking to get into this niche.

In a way, auctions can be seen as another form of marketing. Find out how targeted ads and other online tools are helping buyers and sellers who choose auctions as a method of property exchange.

Because like-kind exchanges don’t always work out, sometimes clients end up paying all the capital gains tax they were trying to avoid in the first place. Learn how utilizing a Delaware statutory trust in conjunction with 1031 exchanges can solve many of these issues while providing clients with multiple benefits.

A new Harvard study finds half of all homeowners are looking to install smart-home tech in their homes in the next three years, meaning real estate agents and their clients can expect to see more of it in pre-owned homes in the years ahead, not just brand-new models. Are you prepared? Learn who’s more likely to include smart technology into their home improvement projects and more.

In our latest tech roundup, BoomTown introduces new lead-gen tools, a new agent promotion feature launches on Nextdoor and a transaction management platform enables smoother digital payments for agents.

Anyone who’s bought a home knows that it’s usually only a matter of days after closing that their mailbox is inundated with marketing materials. The idea from Amazon is to give consumers an incentive to use an agent through one of Realogy’s brands, while giving Amazon a reason to attract customers who, presumably, will come back for more as they set up their new homes. 

Video isn’t always the best answer to a marketing challenge. Agents and brokers may find expanding their horizons and thinking through the many multimedia tools available for marketing a given property can help them find a better strategic fit.

Brokerage-wide video platforms can be useful recruiting tools, but they’re also part of a larger strategy, bringing particular benefits to real estate companies that aren’t possible with other media.

When creating videos, it’s important to keep in mind that both the Illinois Real Estate License Act and National Association of Realtors’ Code of Ethics set forth specific rules regarding what you need to include in your videos and what you can’t show.

A transaction management company and CRM/website provider join forces, and a Google-backed company that matches sellers with agents and cash buyers announced it’s acquired a lending startup.

Even if they have a great experience with you as their agent, traditional buyers and sellers only have a reason to work with you once or twice. Investors, on the other hand, buy again and again. If you help them grow a portfolio, you become a critical part of their operation. Here’s how.

Get inside the minds of sellers. A new study shows that a disconnect still exists between consumers putting their homes on the market and real estate agents, despite market forces that are making an impact on prices.

There’s always the potential for problems as a transaction wraps up. Thankfully, there are many checks and balances real estate professionals can institute in their processes to side-step such issues. 

Real estate professionals who set annual goals often have concrete numbers to reach and strategies for achieving them. We’re now halfway through the year, and it’s time to check up on how agents have fared with meeting their targets and executing their business plans.