Three Ways to Give Back Locally
Are you ready to make a positive impact on your community? Blending a charitable element with your real estate business has never been simpler. All it takes is some creative thinking and knowing where to look. Here are three ways to support local charities and people in need through your real estate work:

Real Estate for Rehabilitation.
Ask clients who are moving to donate items they don't want to the Salvation Army's Real Estate for Rehabilitation program. Profits fund the charity's rehabilitation centers.
Giveback Homes.
Help build homes and mobilize volunteers through Giveback Homes. This group of committed real estate professionals works for social good across the globe.
Charitable Agents.
Sign up to make financial donations through Charitable Agents. The network of real estate agents essentially enables clients to designate part of their fee to a charity of their choice.1

Fair Housing Rules Headed for First Makeover in Decades
Fair housing rules are about to get their first overhaul since 1995. The new changes would strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act's anti-redlining practices (redlining is when money is not invested in minority areas). The goal of the act is to ensure banks and real estate agents support their communities. While some mortgage lenders grumble that the financial costs outweigh the benefits, affordable housing groups say it has led to equal housing improvements.

There are a few simple rules of thumb that can help you avoid unintended redlining. For example, review your marketing plans to see if there's a difference in approach between areas and populations of people. By evaluating your practices on a regular basis, you can help your business and clients continue to thrive.2

Three Tips for Boosting Referral Cash Flow
More than 2,500 referrals pass between real estate agents nationwide every day. This reality can become a huge revenue stream for you. Potential clients are moving to many different areas. And it's a proven fact that their confidence grows when they are referred to a professional by another one. Here are three tips for building your referral income:

Connect with other like-minded real estate agents.
Remember to reach out to agents in neighboring states. Tell them you can be a resource for their clients looking in your destination area. Then, remind your clients that you have relationships nationwide to help their friends and family.

Grow your top producer network.
It's no secret that other top-producing agents can create big revenue streams. Cultivate them if you're in a region close to other states. And don't forget to regularly update these VIPs with changes in your area that their clients would be interested in.

Check out this new tech platform.
Do you need help jumpstarting your referral network? If so, visit the new platform ReferralCloud.co (Note: That's .co not .com). They've created an automated system for giving and receiving referrals to grow your income faster.3

Three New RE Tech Companies to Watch
New real estate tech companies pop up every day, offering innovative ways for you to upgrade your listings and services. Here are three companies to watch and a brief explanation of what they do:

1. Cubicasa generates a detailed 2D property floor plan using smartphones, harnessing technology to address a problem that many in real estate face.

2. Domotics combines Zillow with Zoom to provide a creative presentation platform, giving your clients the opportunity to make decisions faster.

3. Inspectify helps take the stress out of buyer-requested property inspections. Simply put, this innovative company makes scheduling inspections faster and easier...complete with free repair estimates when a property requires them.4

A Housing Correction May Be Coming, Not a Crash
Almost everyone is wondering if a housing crash is on the horizon. However, most experts think the real estate market is headed for a softer landing. It's true that the market has slowed over the last few weeks. In fact, 12% of homes for sale had a price drop in the four weeks ending April 3 based on recent data. That's up from 9% as compared to 2021. Rising mortgage rates are also putting some would-be homebuyers' plans on the backburner. But as the real estate market cools, its foundation of record-high home equity and housing prices is probably going to keep the market relatively healthy.5

Sources: 1mckissock.com, 2cnbc.com, 3realtytimes.com, 4theclose.com, 5businessinsider.com