KGCI: Real Estate on Air - AI That Actually Saves You Time: Smart Tools for Real Estate Pros with Carrie Soave

Starting point is 00:00:01 We have been told our entire careers, we should be doing A, B, and C, ourselves, and everything else in our business should be leveraged out to people. Now we're just replacing people with AI. This is KGCI Real Estate on Air Live, your weekly deep dive into the strategies, trends, and tools shaping the real estate industry, from market updates to actionable strategies and exclusive interviews with top agents. We are here to unlock your full potential and help you through. Five. Thousands of agents trust KGCI every week. Now it's your turn. Let's go live. Here's Ian Wheatley.

Starting point is 00:00:43 Good morning and welcome to Real Estate on air live. I'm Ian Wheatley. And yeah, this week we are watching the spring market take a little bit of a deep breath because it might be a little unpredictable, but your strategy doesn't have to be. Tariff tensions have cooled, at least for now, by our confidence is shaky but stabilizing. And while rates are stuck above 6%, signs of Ford motion are starting to appear. But here's the thing. Forward motion don't mean fast. The market is slow, sticky, built for agents who know how to show up, stay organized, and stay focused. And that's where we're headed today, straight into systems, strategies, and tools that can help you make the most of your time using AI. I'm joined by Carrie Sovey, top producing agent and

Starting point is 00:01:29 AI strategist who's been saving agents hours every week by using smart workflows. not shiny objects. Plus, we'll be breaking down this week's housing headlines from rate forecasts to affordability crunches. We'll be wrapping it all up with some real estate confessions that prove everyone still figuring it out. But before we get into the housing headlines, did you see this?

Starting point is 00:01:54 I saw this when it got listed a year ago. And I'm shocked. There's a 40,000 square foot Disney-themed mansion out in Utah that's hit the auction block. This thing, it's got a jungle cruise dorm, it's got a car-style racetrack, near and dear to my heart, it's got Star Wars tunnels, yes, literal tunnels.

Starting point is 00:02:16 It's even got an enchanted teakie room. But just, I was thinking about this. Just imagine being an agent on this tour. And here we have the Jedi meditation room, ideal for your morning affirmations. But real quick, to you sitting there in Utah, I never saw when this, thing got listed, an IG Reels of someone saying, this is the way, while walking through

Starting point is 00:02:41 the Mandalorian hallway. And I was disappointed then. And I'm disappointed. I haven't seen it since. It had been listed for a $34.5 million, didn't sell. Now it's off to auction starting at $8 million. And if this thing doesn't sell, I think you and I, my friend. I think we should go have Ziz. Or half of a percenties. Whatever works. We'll find a way. Because this is the way. All right, let's buckle down. Time for housing headlines here on Real Estate on air live. Well, a tariff truth is offering a little bit of a relief, at least for now.

Starting point is 00:03:20 A temporary easing of U.S.-China trade tensions is bringing a moment of calm to housing market watchers. Why? Because 27% of imported building materials comes from China, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Now, tariffs have been squeezing supply chains, slowing builds, starting to see a increase in costs. This 90-day pause, it may not last more than that 90 days. Analysts are warning that we're still in a high-tariff environment and facing other headwinds like inflation, budget cuts, and federal layoffs.

Starting point is 00:03:53 So, agents, if you got new construction clients, this is your window to act. Builders may have a moment of some price flexibility before cost pressures return. Also, we're looking at consumer confidence still being a little bit of a wildcard, even with some policy shifts. factor driving housing behavior is currently job security. Report out of Realtor.com shows that if people fear job loss, they pause their big purchases. And intuitively, that makes sense. And that fear alone, unfortunately, can stall home sales.

Starting point is 00:04:26 So agents be paying attention to your local job market. A strong labor story can be your best tool in keeping buyers and sellers motivated. We also have a spring market that may finally turn the corner, according to Altos, research total home sales are still trailing 2024 by about 3% year over year. But researchers are starting to point out that May and June comparisons should start to look a little bit better because last year at this time, you may recall, those mortgage rates peaked and the market started to dry up a bit. So that means that we could start seeing week-over-week sales gains again as early as possibly next week.

Starting point is 00:05:04 So agents now is a good time to re-engage those sideline buyers. Mark, it's not roaring by any stretch of the imagination, but it is quietly plotting along. And I said something last week that got a couple of you ruffled. It was the idea that interest rates may remain at 6% period. And I am back again with more data showing that 6% plus mortgage rates may very well be the new normal, despite pressure from the housing industry and continue to foreshunders, affordability concerns most economists are now expecting that mortgage rates are going to stay above 6% through at least the end of the year and well into 2026 if they ever move down.

Starting point is 00:05:50 And here is why the Federal Reserve remains committed to its 2% inflation target. They've doubled down on that. They've reiterated that. And until inflation cools meaningfully, rate cuts are going to be unlikely. And even if the Fed reduces the federal funds rate, later this year. Mortgage rates may not fall proportionally due to all of the other global market uncertainty, the Treasury yields, and also lender risk pricing. And we're also starting to now see shifts in forecasting. Redfin and the Mortgage Bankers Association have both revised

Starting point is 00:06:27 their forecast recently. Redfin predicting 6.6% average through Q4 2025, the Mortgage Bankers Association, calling for 6.3% to 6.6%. 0.5% as the likely trading range. So agents, here's what I want you to know. Coach your clients off of the rate dip fantasy. 3% is gone. It's nisalgia.

Starting point is 00:06:53 5% ain't likely soon. And the winning strategy now is focusing on monthly affordability and revisiting refinancing when rates eventually ease. And that's check of your housing headlines here on real estate on air live. I'm Ian Wheatley.

Starting point is 00:07:13 AI powered agents will thrive. Those that don't will die. I wrote that at EXPCon in Miami, big bold letters, not one, not two, not three, but seven underlines under that note. Because that's what Carrie Sovey said, host of everything they never told you about real estate. She was presenting from that EXPCon stage.

Starting point is 00:07:34 She joins us now. Carrie, thanks for checking into Real Estate on Air Live. Thank you for having me. It's been a while, Ian. It's been a minute. It's been a minute. So, look, you've been named real estate's AI queen. You're presenting on these conference stages all around the world.

Starting point is 00:07:51 And when an agent tells you about the hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of time that they waste in any given week on things that you know AI can do better than them, how do you react at this point? I just tell them that there's a better way or I shake my head. I you know I can save so much time and and people are used like some of the things that they're showing me the tools that they're using is actually saving them any time and I am listen there's going to be tools out there that will boost performance and optimize everything and then those that save time and then then those that save money why can't we have all three I feel like if we don't have all three. What are we doing? I don't disagree with you there. I don't disagree with you there. So when we're thinking about business development, business operations, what are some

Starting point is 00:08:48 of those AI plugins that are actually saving agents time right now? Okay. So I've got a really cool one. Ready for this one? What do we hate doing? Okay, one of the most important parts of our job, the most important part of our job is our relationship with our clients, right? Yes. But nobody's documenting the way they should after conversations. Why? Because they have to go to their computer. They have to open an app, a CRM.

Starting point is 00:09:22 They have to type. I don't even type to my AI anymore, guys. I just talk to it. Okay. So. Okay. Tell me more, please. Yeah, because data and knowledge is power,

Starting point is 00:09:35 the more, the better. the better. So what if you can be shopping with your daughter or at your son's baseball game and be able to talk to your AI like an assistant? Like, hey, I just got an offer. I'm sending it over to you. I'm at a baseball game right now. Can you give me a quick rundown of what's in this offer?

Starting point is 00:09:56 And then can you email that to me? But then email it to my seller too. Her name's Jane. You're going to see her in my database. Let her know I'll be there at 11 a.m. to present. Thanks. Do I mean? Like these are the things you should be using AI for.

Starting point is 00:10:11 That would be awesome. Or Ian, we, how about this? You're in the grocery store and you run into your client. And this is a repeat client. He's going off telling you how our kids got accepted to this university. They got a new dog. His name is blah, blah, blah. Okay.

Starting point is 00:10:32 What are the chances you're going to remember to even write that down? You don't have to be tough. Hi, AI. I'd like you to note under Jane's profile that she might be vegan because she was buying almond milk. And her daughter got accepted to like Michigan State. And they got a new dog and named them Jack. Like why do people get their dog names? This kind of stuff.

Starting point is 00:10:56 Because why? Because knowledge is power. The more information and data you have on people, the more you can analyze it. and use it to your advantage, right? Maybe they're going to mention something that could be relative to them moving. Right. It's just the more knowledge you have, the more important and more necessary you are to your clients as well. Right.

Starting point is 00:11:21 So that's a really cool. That's a really cool assistant. Well, and that's awesome. That's AI plug it into where you're handling emails and how you're handling follow-up and making all of that far more simpler to manage. What shouldn't an agent be automating, though, at this point in time with AI? Is there anything?

Starting point is 00:11:48 Yes, the conversations that they have with their existing clients. That needs to be one-on-one. Like, that needs to be an obvious, and in-person more, I feel. And with the little AI scenario you just laid out, you have all this information, right? One of the hardest things, right, when you're in the nurture phase with somebody is those constant, those months and months and months of nurture calls where you don't necessarily exactly know what to talk about or what to catch up on. Right.

Starting point is 00:12:26 That delivers that for you right there. Yeah, you can be like, hey, remember Jane, my client, Jane. Well, I want to send them an email or I want to make a call to them. What do I talk about? Maybe because the daughters got accepted Michigan State. Maybe we should be talking about like how cheap income properties are in Michigan. Like stuff like that or, you know, they've closed on a house. What do I buy them?

Starting point is 00:12:56 How about that? Find me at closing it. my client and it's going to have all this data on them it's like and let's be honest most most agents don't use CRMs does it plug into most CRMs yes but most debt most agents don't use CRMs properly so it also doubles as your own CRM catch up with Kerry Sovey hosted everything they never told you about real estate here on KGCI real estate on air uh I immediately thought how do you stay efficient with AI without you losing that human connection with clients.

Starting point is 00:13:31 Make sure all of your in-person and phone communication with them is one-on-one, like live human-to-human. Everything else can be automated. Just as we've always done, right? That client interaction is just as we've always done. But honestly, we have been told our entire careers, we should be doing A, B, and C, ourselves and everything else in our business should be leveraged out to people, other people, right? Now we're just replacing people with AI.

Starting point is 00:14:06 That's the only difference. The story is the same. The instructions, I understood the mission here. Clearly you did. Clearly you did. There's no doubt about that. Catching up, Carrie Sovey. Also, expellebatecoaching.com.

Starting point is 00:14:21 You can subscribe to, not subscribe, but you can get coached by Carrie on all things AI AI plugins for all sorts of business development operations. You want you want to make your marketing easier. You want to make those top of funnels easier. Expleabatecoaching.com. Just search Carrie's name there. And you can join her coaching program. If you want to get started on that today, you can absolutely do that.

Starting point is 00:14:47 So Carrie, if somebody was just simply getting started with AI tools, where do they begin? without getting overwhelmed. The EXP coaching program. Bangor. Yeah. You know, there's not a lot of education out there on AI yet. There's some.

Starting point is 00:15:09 There's a lot of information, but it can be really overwhelming. There's so many tools. There's like hundreds of thousands of AI tools, I feel like, and they're mostly all garbage anyways. But how do you sift through that? Like, that's not your job. Do your job.

Starting point is 00:15:25 Sell house. and come to those of us that have made this our job and we'll help you. Carrie, it's been an absolute pleasure. Appreciate your time as always. How can our folks connect with you other than eXPL of8coaching.com, other than KGCI Real Estate on air. If somebody wanted to get in touch with Carrie Sovey, how could they do it? Instagram.

Starting point is 00:15:44 So it's Carrie Sovey and Associates. And I have all the platforms, but this is the one that I do live in. And it will be me answering you if you DM me. That's awesome. Find her on Instagram, Carrie Sovey. Thanks for joining us at Real Estate on air live. Thank you. Always appreciate having Carrie Sovey on here at Real Estate on air live. And not that it's a two-part or anything, but about a month or so ago, I had had a conversation with Carrie on some of the other ways that agents are using AI to leverage into their marketing. And it pairs very well with last week's conversation with Hallie McCrory.

Starting point is 00:16:20 And I'll have both those episodes linked up in the show notes description. So be sure to check those out if you're listening. to this on demand. And if you are listening live right now, just search KGCI wherever you're listening to podcasts and be sure to subscribe. So you don't miss that. Now, if you didn't have a pen or paper handy, here were my top five takeaways from that conversation heard moments ago here on real estate on air live with Carrie Sovey. Number one's got to be AI is your assistant and talk to it like one. Carrie walks through how she uses voice to AI assistants out in the field from soccer games, the grocery store to log client notes, summarize offers.

Starting point is 00:16:56 and even draft emails on the fly. So agents, talk to your AI like it's an actual assistant. Capture everything as it's happening and let that machine organize and act. She also talked about documenting everything because data is leverage. She makes this case for capturing even the smallest client details like almond milk or dog's name and storing them for future use all through AI transcription and recall. So agents, the more your system knows about your clients, the more useful it is. And every small detail is a future follow-up moment.

Starting point is 00:17:35 She also talks about how AI can be your CRM, especially if you're not using one. If you haven't taken that to heart yet, Carrie's AI system does plug into her CRM, but even agents who don't use one properly can benefit because the AI itself functions as a second brain in record, Keeper. So agents, you don't need a perfect CRM setup, right? You just need to start recording, tagging, and accessing key client data reliably. We also talked about not automating the relationship. Automate everything else surrounded, right?

Starting point is 00:18:11 So Kerry draws this line very firmly that AI should never replace real conversations with clients, but everything around that, the follow-ups, the recommendations, the scheduling, the personalization should be automated. We've been setting buyers up on listing alerts for how many years now? Right? So agents, keep that human part, right? Keep the human part human. Let AI handle what's repetitive so you can show up where it counts.

Starting point is 00:18:40 And last but not least, at number five, the tools aren't the job. The strategy is the job. Carrie had closed with this. There are hundreds of tools. We called it out. Most of them are garbage. What agents need is not more tools, but better filters and focused implementation. Because agents, let those experts test the tools.

Starting point is 00:19:06 Our job is to use the ones that actually work consistently and with purpose. And don't forget if you want to hear this whole conversation back again, subscribe to KGCI, wherever you're listening to podcasts. And also, don't forget, we got a mobile app. If you are listening in the car, our always free, Real Estate on Air mobile app, syncs seamlessly to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and it turns that center stack of your car into a real estate business building machine. Just search KGCI in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. All right, time to lighten things up. It's time for real estate confessions. Keep in mind,

Starting point is 00:19:41 these are your confessions. These are your stories. Send us a DM on Facebook and Instagram. Just search KGCI. We'll pop right up like K gross commission income. And before we get started, we got to get one thing straight. Real estate confessions features stories from the wild world of real estate. Names and details may have been changed to protect the innocent, and occasionally the not so innocent. All confessions are shared in good humor and do not reflect the opinions of KGCI Real Estate on air, its hosts, or affiliates.

Starting point is 00:20:15 No agent's licenses were harmed in the making of this segment. Enjoy responsibly. All right, it's time for real estate confessions, because in real estate, truth is stranger than fiction. I once hosted an open house and locked myself in the garage. Someone coming through found me 20 minutes later, sitting on a paint can, answering emails. I texted a client to confirm their inspection. Only I sent it to their ex, who was not aware they were buying a house.

Starting point is 00:20:50 I was so excited about landing my first listing, I fist pumped in front of the cellar. popped a button off my shirt mid-celebration. I uploaded listing photos with a reflection of me, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. Classy! You got a real estate confession of your own. You can drop us a DM on Facebook and Instagram, and while you're there, be sure to like and follow KGCI,

Starting point is 00:21:17 Real Estate on Air, so you never miss out on what's going to be happening each and every day. Special thank you to the AI goat, Carrie Sovey. Be sure to check out her podcast, everything that ever told you about real estate, available on Apple Podcast, Spotify. You can watch it on YouTube or you can just stay tuned to us right here at real estateonair.com. And be sure to set that reminder on your phone right now because this week's Friday focus is all about the other ways that top producing agents are using AI to save hours each week in their real estate businesses. I mean Wheatley, this is Real Estate on Air Live. Be good.

KGCI: Real Estate on Air - AI That Actually Saves You Time: Smart Tools for Real Estate Pros with Carrie Soave

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