Episodes

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Justin Helmus, a top 1% producer in Tampa Bay and an NAR 30 Under 30 honoree who has sold the highest-priced condo on Clearwater Beach and the highest-priced home in Belleair for their years. They cover why he ignored the advice to let business come to him, how he wins luxury and investor clients, and the plan he would follow in a first 12 months. What you’ll learn Know the market better than anyone. At 25, Justin knew he couldn’t out-...

Watch this interview on YouTube. Live from Zillow Unlock 2026 in Las Vegas, D.J. Paris sits down with Mischa Fisher, Chief Economist at Zillow. They cover why some markets are rising while others cool, the one number agents should check every month, how to talk to buyers about today’s rates, and what to plan for before spring 2027. What you’ll learn Check one number a month. Mischa’s pick is the change in Zillow’s home values, because it shows the balance of supply and demand better than sold ...

Watch this interview on YouTube. Kim Rittberg, a speaking and video coach for real estate agents and founders, and a former TV producer and media executive who worked at Netflix, joins Keeping It Real for a short solo episode on AI. She explains why generic AI content makes agents look the same, and how to use AI and video to show clients who you are. What you’ll learn AI exposes generic content. If your posts are something anyone with an AI account could make, or just what your brokerage hand...

Watch this interview on YouTube. Sarah Maslowski, a real estate agent who says she has closed over $140 million in real estate directly from YouTube with no paid ads and no cold calling, hosts this solo episode of The YouTube Lab on Keeping It Real. She takes on the fear that stops most agents before they press record, and answers the most common excuses one by one. What you’ll learn Successful channels aren’t polished. The agents getting leads and closings from YouTube were regular agents tal...

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Anna Kara, a loan officer who started as a receptionist and built her own mortgage company by age 20, and who works with borrowers in all 50 states. They cover how to talk to buyers who want to wait for lower rates, why the monthly payment matters more than the rate, how she helps self-employed borrowers, and how to build a brand people remember. What you’ll learn Waiting for lower rates creates competition. Anna says a house with five...

Watch this interview on YouTube. In this month’s Better Your Business With Ben, D.J. Paris sits down with Ben Lalez, who leads the Ben Lalez Team, a Chicago team of about 30 agents. Ben explains why his team calls the fourth quarter “separation season,” why the next 90 days are about planting seeds for 2027, and how to find the activities that actually produced your past deals. What you’ll learn Q4 is when agents separate themselves. Many agents take their foot off the gas, and for the next tw...

Watch this interview on YouTube. In this Monday Market Minute, D.J. Paris sits down with Carrie McCormick, who leads the Carrie McCormick Luxury Group at @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in Chicago. They cover how to answer “how’s the market?”, what luxury buyers want right now, how to price a listing this fall, and how clients are using AI to challenge agents. What you’ll learn Answer “how’s the market?” with a question. Each neighborhood, building, housing stock and price poi...

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Brenton Miebach of Southwest Florida Lifestyle Living with eXp Realty in Cape Coral, Florida, a former Army National Guard military police officer who built his business from scratch in Orlando and then again in Cape Coral. They cover buying internet leads, learning a market fast, the AI system he built in Claude, and how a Facebook page grew from about 150 followers to nearly 3,000 in about 10 days. What you’ll learn Learn the market ...

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Bill Melnick, a luxury agent with Harney Real Estate in Litchfield County, Connecticut, who spent 28 years at Ralph Lauren and rose to chief merchandising officer before switching careers. They cover how a lifestyle-merchandising mindset shapes his listings, how he sold Ivan Lendl’s estate for a county-record $12 million, and why second-primary buyers are changing his market. What you’ll learn Sell the lifestyle, not just the house. Bi...

Watch this interview on YouTube. D.J. Paris sits down with Alex Maldonado, a Los Angeles agent with Circle Real Estate who serves South LA, East LA, Northeast LA and Long Beach, works with first-time and first-generation buyers in English and Spanish, and also runs Maldonado Marketing. They cover how to close the gap when a buyer has the down payment but not the closing costs, how to keep an offer with credits competitive, and how Alex generates leads. What you’ll learn Cover closing costs wit...

Watch this interview on YouTube. In this month’s Unpopular Real Estate Opinions, D.J. Paris sits down with Chris Linsell, Chief Marketing Officer at the Mitten Group, a Michigan brokerage group based in Traverse City. They cover how AI will split the agent profession in two, why organic social is out-converting paid leads for his brokerage, and what Zillow and Compass mean for independent brokerages. What you’ll learn AI rewards relationship builders. Chris says agents whose value is relations...

Frances Katzen talks about how the discipline and resilience of a professional ballet career shaped the way she approaches business. Frances shares how she built the Katzen Report into a powerful marketing tool, established herself as a trusted voice in the media, and learned to stand out by having a real opinion rather than trying to please everyone. She also explains why she’s willing to tell clients “no” when she believes they can do better, and how honesty, consistency, and genuine relations...

Megan Walters breaks down how she built a seven‑figure real estate business without buying leads or cold calling. She shares her people-first approach – working from coffee shops, leveraging FSBO/expireds with value-packed drop-offs, and running four open houses every weekend. Next, Megan explains her daily 4 a.m. routine, CRM systems, and strict financial discipline, plus how consistent short-form video and personal branding drive 90% of her business and fuel a 50+ door investment portfolio. I...

Bobby Kerr, founder of LOC8 My Business, reveals why Google Business Profiles are becoming one of the most powerful, and overlooked, marketing tools for real estate agents. Bobby explains how hyper-local content, strategic reviews, and geographic keywords can help agents stand out in Google Search and Maps while increasing their chances of being recommended by AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini. Bobby also shares five practical tips for getting better reviews and turning your Google Business P...

Chris Wands shares how he built a powerhouse Miami luxury real estate business by embracing the fundamentals: hard work, showing up, answering the phone, and treating every client and transaction as an opportunity. Chris explains why rentals have been a major driver of his team’s growth, how a $1,000 rental can eventually lead to a multimillion-dollar client, and why agents should never underestimate the value of smaller deals. Last, Chris also opens up about building a team, using AI and CRM sy...

Welcome to our monthly feature Learn With A Lender with Austin Clarence. In this episode, Austin breaks down the lending strategies agents can use to help homeowners move without giving up the low mortgage rates they locked in years ago. Next, Austin explains how turning a current home into a rental, using bridge loans, HELOCs, and tapping into home equity can create new opportunities to purchase a next home or start building an investment portfolio. Austin also shares how AI is streamlining th...

Sam Burke, 2026 NAR 30 Under 30 honoree, shares how he built a top-producing real estate business before turning 30 through disciplined systems, relentless prospecting, and a relationship-first mindset. Sam reveals the daily habits, cold-calling strategies, and client experience that helped him stand out early in his career, while also explaining how he built his own real estate investment portfolio along the way. He also dives into his YouTube and social media strategy, showing why creating lif...

In our August episode, Carrie McCormick shares how AI is transforming the way buyers search for homes, how agents build their brands, and why hyper-local expertise has never been more valuable. Carrie also explains why today’s buyers are shopping for a lifestyle rather than just square footage, and why the agents who embrace content creation, education, and trusted relationships will thrive in the AI era. Plus, Carrie shares five bold predictions for how AI will reshape real estate over the comi...

Vija Williams explains why AI isn’t replacing great real estate agents but it’s redefining their role. Vija shares how today’s consumers research home values, cash offers, and market data long before speaking with an agent, making it more important than ever for agents to become trusted advisors and problem solvers. Vija also breaks down how cash offer leads and iBuyer partnerships can create a powerful new seller lead source while helping agents win more listings. If you’d prefer to watch this...

In this episode Real Estate Video Coach Kim Rittberg breaks down how real estate agents can leverage both long-form and short-form video, plus her “2C’s” framework by sharing personal summer moments and powerful client wins. Kim also describes how to turn your downtime into content that builds trust, showcases your expertise, and keeps you top of mind with your sphere. If you’d prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on YouTube! Sign up for Kim’s “5 Videos Every Real Estate Agent Mus...

Kelsey Caputo 30 under 30 honoree – class of 2026 breaks down how AI is transforming real estate without replacing great agents. Next, Kelsey explains why niche, local expertise still beats generic AI valuations especially around boating access, seawalls, zoning, and short-term rental rules in a complex second-home market. Kelsey also shares how she uses AI to prep for appointments, anticipate objections, build ideal buyer profiles, and target ultra high net worth clients more precisely. Last, K...

Welcome to our series “Coffee Talks with D.J.” Nearly one in seven home sales falls apart after going under contract, but what if the difference between closing and canceling comes down to how you communicate? In this episode of Coffee Talks, D.J. breaks down why so many deals fail during escrow and share a simple three-step system to keep buyers confident, reduce fall-throughs, and turn signed contracts into successful closings. If you’d prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on Y...

Welcome to our series Better Your Business With Ben. In this episode Ben Lalez dives into why most real estate agents are losing deals not to the market, but to silence, those three-day gaps where clients hear nothing. DJ and Ben break down a simple, daily follow-up rhythm that keeps buyers and sellers feeling supported from first contact through years after closing, turning databases into real volume. They also explore how AI is changing real estate, where it genuinely helps (speed, efficiency...

Welcome to another episode of YouTube Lab with Sarah Maslowski. In this episode, Sarah breaks down proven strategies for creating click-worthy titles, designing high-performing thumbnails, and building a streamlined workflow that saves time while maximizing views. Sarah also shows you how to batch-create photo assets, leverage AI, and know when to outsource so every video has the best chance to reach the right audience. Sarah provides practical tips can help you stand out in a crowded feed whet...