With commission suit changes, quickly evolving AI and ever-changing algorithms, there’s no doubt that 2025 was a year of adjustment for real estate agents. If you felt like you were playing catch-up all year, you weren’t alone.
As the head of Inman’s contributor program, I have the privilege of reading all of the smart, practical strategies that our contributors are seeing, using and sharing with our readers.
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At Inman, we want to make sure you start the new year on the right foot, armed with strategies to better your bottom line in 2026. As such, we’ve curated some of the best advice we’ve published over the past year, including many of our top 10 advice articles of 2025, organized by category for easy reference.
26 how-tos to future-proof your business in 2026
Listings
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1. 7 proven ways to revive a listing without dropping the price
A price drop is not your only option when the market’s slow or the listing’s stale. Darryl Davis offers strategies to reboot and relaunch that property.
2. 6 low-cost listing strategies that actually work in today’s market
Jimmy Burgess and Listing Leads co-founder Jimmy Mackin provide budget-friendly strategies for generating listing leads now.
3. 6 tech tools to elevate your listing presentation on a budget
Want to land the listing? Marketing expert Alyssa Stalker offers tech tools designed to help you make a big impression on potential clients.
4. I lost a listing to AI. Here’s how I’m making sure it never happens again
After a painful conversation with potential sellers, learn how broker Josh Ries renewed his commitment to personal communication.
AI
5. Want AI to recommend you in online search? Do these 7 things
SEO isn’t dead, but generative engine optimization is changing the rules of engagement. Jimmy Burgess shares strategies to stand out online.
6. 7 AI prompts that will help real estate agents win big in 2026
The agents who embrace artificial intelligence, build local authority and deepen their value will dominate the next market cycle, Jimmy Burgess writes.
7. The ChatGPT prompt every agent needs (but 99% will never use)
What if the fastest way to break through your biggest blocks was asking AI to call you out? Real’s Drew Thompson explains how.
Lead gen
8. Text your way to momentum: 5 messages agents should send
Initiate, don’t wait, to build momentum in your business, Jimmy Burgess writes. Here, he offers five texts to send and see results.
9. 7 ways to generate high-intent leads (without paying a dime)
You don’t need to feed the machine to succeed, coach Darryl Davis writes. You just need a smart lead-gen strategy, a service-first mindset and a little hustle.
10. 5 copy-and-paste emails that will wake up your database (and fill your listing pipeline)
These five emails start the right conversations with the right people, Jimmy Burgess writes, and they are cued up and ready to go to work for you right now.
11. 9 real estate lead-gen mistakes that are killing your ROI
Profitable lead generation for real estate agents is about understanding timelines, systems, communication and conversion, Josh Ries writes.
12. Breaking ‘phone-phobia’: 5 practical shifts to boost conversion
Cure phone-phobia by combining accountability, goal-based training, warm-up strategies, value-first outreach and real conversion metrics, Josh Ries writes.
Marketing
13. How to spy on your real estate competitors (to improve your ads)
It’s OK to spy on your real estate competitors, Josh Ries writes, not to copy what they do, but to understand how to differentiate your message.
14. Why your real estate email campaigns aren’t converting (yet)
If your database feels cold or your emails aren’t converting, try one or more of these five strategy shifts from Josh Ries. The results might surprise you.
15. Here’s the real secret to increasing your lead conversion rates
If you want better lead conversion rates in your real estate business, stop chasing volume and start delivering real relevance, Josh Ries writes.
16. Your city just got ranked. Now put it to work for your business
Buyers are paying attention to “best-of” rankings. Are you? Troy Palmquist teaches you to add this leverage to supercharge your real estate business.
17. 5 ways to cut your marketing spend (without losing leads)
Josh Ries offers strategies to help you create a leaner, more efficient real estate business without cutting into your lead generation or hampering growth.
Social media
18. 5 types of social posts that are filling agents’ pipelines right now (with examples to copy)
Model your social media content marketing on these examples for real estate lead gen that’s useful, local and human, Jimmy Burgess writes.
19. How I script, edit and caption real estate videos FAST using AI
Once you build structure into your process with the help of AI, you can focus on storytelling instead of logistics, Josh Ries writes.
20. Head of Instagram: You’re missing reach if you don’t do these 5 things
Instagram rewards the people who adapt, experiment and show up consistently, Jimmy Burgess writes. Use it to create momentum in 2026.
Habits
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21. 6 bad habits great real estate agents avoid (and what to do)
Ready to change your life and your business? It starts, Jimmy Burgess writes, with changing the negative patterns you’ve fallen into.
22. 7 real estate strategies that died (but agents keep doing them)
Now is a great time to take a hard look at your daily activities and see if there may be adjustments you can make that will lead to more success, Jimmy Burgess writes.
23. The 9 podcasts agents should be listening to right now
Great podcasts provide better ideas and consistent inspiration, Jimmy Burgess writes, two things every real estate agent needs going into 2026.
Real talk
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24. 7 no-BS steps to grow your real estate business in 2025
Ready to get growing in the new year? Jimmy Burgess shares practical, actionable strategies to help you meet your goals.
25. 13 negotiation questions every agent must learn to ask
Rather than telling your clients what you think they want to hear, Bernice Ross writes, ask the right questions, and get them talking about what matters most to them.
26. 10 ways to set the stage for offers that actually win
Writing a winning offer isn’t rocket science, team leader Carl Medford writes, but it takes attention to detail, an understanding of best practices and a willingness to communicate.
Want to become a contributor at Inman? Reach out to Dani Vanderboegh.
