Unlocking the secret to becoming 'the' local market expert

If you’re serious about being the recognized local expert in your market — the one who knows every property, recent shifts in supply and demand, and inside information that buyers and sellers can’t find on the internet — then you need more than just surface-level insights. You need gold standard property intelligence.

Meet Realist®, your data superpower.

Realist from Cotality™ covers 99.99% of U.S. properties and turns complex data into simple, client-ready insights that position you as the trusted advisor who brings clarity and confidence to the buying or selling process. With Realist you can instantly access sales history, mortgage info, property characteristics, assessment and tax history, AVMs, off-MLS comps, and Sell Scores — all in one place.

The best part? Nearly 70% of agents receive Realist as an MLS member benefit, so there’s a good chance you already have access. Look for it on your MLS dashboard and make the most of this powerful resource to accelerate your business in 2026.

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Realist Premium Reports can help you stand out

Realist also gives you access to Premium Reports — deep market and property insights like building permits, school data, neighborhood trends, and risk assessments. Client-ready reports, available for just $9.99 or less, give you detailed insights that other agents simply don’t offer. These insights not only impress buyers and sellers—they set your listing presentation apart.  

Report availability may vary by market.

• Premium Neighborhood Reports:

• Economics & Demographics: Help homebuyers understand the demographics of the neighborhood including household income trends, employment opportunities, and population dynamics.  

• Real Estate: Give your clients a clear view of the market with median home values, median real estate taxes, neighborhood homeownership rate, and average market rental rates.  

• School Data: Includes district information, school quality ratings, and test scores.

• Trends & Forecasts: Identify up-and-coming neighborhoods, and guide clients on investment strategies, with insights that highlight regional growth projections, and future market forecasts spanning real estate, demographics, education, and economic indicators.  

• Building Permits Report: Access 175 million+ building permits revealing contractor information, past renovations, job values, and permit numbers.  

• Hazards & Risks: Identify potential property risks including earthquakes, wildfires, wind and storm, crime, regional hazards, distance to nearest fire station, roof age, and more. Provide clients with valuable insights into risks as well as insurance and mitigation options.

• Premium Flood Map: Go beyond standard FEMA flood maps with Realist Premium Flood Map reports. Get property-level Flood Risk and Flash Flood Risk Scores based on riverine, coastal, and rainfall data.

Each Premium Report draws from Cotality’s professional-grade sources and proprietary data and risk models, which are also used by the mortgage and insurance industry.  

That’s how you differentiate yourself in a crowded market: by showing up with information no one else has and delivering it with clarity and authority.  

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‍Leverage the most advanced prospecting tools

If your current prospecting strategy is still centered and is not data-centric, it’s time to upgrade. Realist’s advanced prospecting tools help laser-focus your marketing efforts on the people most likely to move and skip the ones who won’t.

• Move signals: Sell Scores identify owners 5x more likely to list in the next six months, and Ownership Time highlights long-tenured owners who may be downsizing. You can also target renters.

• RealMailers integration: Export up to 1,000 targeted leads, select address types, and (in select markets) generate postcards via RealMailers. Available in participating markets.

Currently, RealMailers is offering a free 6-month trial and affordable monthly pricing, making it easy to market. Whether you're farming a neighborhood or nurturing long-term leads, this integration helps you stay visible, build trust, and fill your pipeline with ready-to-move homeowners. You can learn more here.  

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Planning for 2026

Now is the perfect time to plan and assess the Realist tools and data you can leverage in 2026, before the busy spring season comes. Here’s a checklist to get ready:

• Get comfortable with all the premium reports in Realist

• Build your farm list using Sell Scores

• Create a RealMailers drip campaign

• Use the dashboard to explain shifting market dynamics

• Start using Realist Premium Reports to enhance each CMA

If you master your tech tools now, you’ll be the agent with the sharpest presentations, and the most listings, when the spring rush hits.

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Becoming ‘the’ local market expert isn’t optional anymore

Today’s clients expect more than just MLS information. They want a real estate advisor who understands risk, local market velocity, inventory trends, and neighborhood dynamics.  

That’s where Realist gives you the edge.

It helps you become the local expert and real estate advisor that everyone turns to — the one who can answer the toughest questions with confidence and clarity, backed by data that provides proof, transparency, and reassurance.  

From Premium Reports to predictive prospecting, from mobile access to easy client-ready visuals, Realist doesn’t just make you better informed: it makes you indispensable.

This winter, use Realist to sharpen your insights with Premium Reports, polish your presentations, and build a pipeline for 2026 with higher-quality leads.

And if you don’t have access to Realist or some of the premium report features? Ask your MLS to bring Realist or the premium reports to your market.  

That’s the secret to becoming the local market expert. Realist can help get you there.