I spoke a little bit last week about conversions and how tracking your conversion rates can really help you dial in your business. Far too often people are focused solely on lead generation, which is important, but they fail to track those leads through their system and use that data to improve their total conversion rates. So, this week I wanted to explore this just a little bit and give you some information to think about including in your business. Here are the main items you want to track to help you improve your conversions, as well as understanding the net result of your leads from all referral sources.

1. Referral source
2. Initial contact
3. Credit Pull/Preliminary document collection
4. Preapproval
5. Contract
6. Closed

In general, you want to track all of your leads and come to a total number for your overall conversions. However, you also want to be sure you use referral sources as individual categories so you can track specific results. These results may surprise you! You may get dozens of leads from a referral source that you spend time and money on, but close very few deals. On the other hand, you may have a referral source that sends you just a few leads, but you close a significantly higher percentage of them. More isn’t always better! In fact, more could be costing you in the long run!

You also need to look at the relationship between each stage of the process to see where people are falling off. Sometimes a good look at this and some minor adjustments to how and when you follow up can greatly improve your conversions rates! Remember, leads aren’t what puts money in your pocket; closed units are what pays the bills!

If you would like some help working through your conversion rates and how to better track your business, please feel free to reach out and set up a call, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Rents haven’t fluctuated much over the past year, rising 1% in January–a far cry from double-digit growth during the pandemic.

The median U.S. asking rent rose 1.1% year over year to $1,964 in January, the largest annual increase since March 2023, and was unchanged from a month earlier, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. While rents ticked up from a year earlier, the bigger picture is that rent growth is leveling off after surging during the pandemic and then rapidly slowing from mid-2022 to mid-2023.

Year-over-year rent growth has hovered between -2.1% and +2.4% for the past year, a much narrower range than the prior year, when rent growth was as low as 4.8% and as high as 17.7%.

Asking rents have flattened because the pandemic moving frenzy is over and landlords are grappling with vacancies due to a jump in apartment supply. The rental vacancy rate was 6.6% in the fourth quarter, tied with the prior quarter for the highest level since early 2021. Vacancies have climbed due to a building boom in recent years. The number of recently completed apartments is near its highest level in more than 30 years, and the number under construction is just shy of its record high. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather expects apartment completions to peak in 2024.

While rents have cooled, they haven’t yet posted significant declines. That’s likely because high mortgage rates continue to fuel rental demand, and because some landlords are offering one-time concessions like a free month’s rent or reduced parking costs to attract renters without having to lower asking rents on paper.

Home prices are rising much faster than rents, which is also fueling rental demand and motivating renters to stay put instead of entering the housing market.

“There’s not a huge incentive for renters to buy right now. Asking rents are stable, and while mortgage rates have dipped in recent months, they haven’t fallen enough to make the financial equation of homebuying feasible for many people,” Fairweather said. “If you’re a renter who’s interested in buying but isn’t in a rush, there’s not much downside to waiting for mortgage rates to fall and your savings to grow.”

Buying may make sense for people who can afford a large down payment and plan to stay put for at least five years, Fairweather said. Putting 20% down helps offset the cost of elevated mortgage rates and removes the cost of private mortgage insurance, and some may prefer to buy now before competition inevitably heats up when mortgage rates fall further. Of course, many Americans can’t afford a 20% down payment, though some do qualify for down payment assistance.

Rents Climb Fastest in the Midwest and Northeast

The median asking rent in the Midwest increased 4.6% year over year to a record $1,437 in January. Rents also rose in the Northeast (2.3% to $2,427) and the West (0.6% to $2,358). In the South, rents were unchanged at $1,637. The Midwest was the only region where rents hit a record high.

“Rent prices in Chicago are still out of control,” said local Redfin Premier real estate agent Dan Close. “A lot of the buyers I’m working with are people who have been pressured out of renting–if you’re paying an arm and a leg for rent, why not try to buy and build some equity? We’ll likely see this trend intensify in the spring and summer, when the vast majority of leases end.”

Rents are likely holding up best in the Midwest and Northeast because those regions haven’t been building as much as the South and West, meaning landlords aren’t under as much pressure to fill openings.

To view the full report, including charts and methodology, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/redfin-rental-report-january-2024