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🤖[T]echnology: Guess What…AI?
🎓 [E]ducation: ICYMI
📝 [C]oaching: Start Small
📹 [H]ow To: Add Music In CapCut
I find cool stuff all of the time and write about a lot of it in Tech with Ty, but never really had a reliable outlet to reshare articles or posts that I stumbled on…I’ve decided Threads is going to be that outlet, so if you want to see more Tech with Ty like content more frequently.
[T]echnology:
I had the pleasure of speaking in front of a full house of an incredible group of agents in Indiana, thanks to Todd Stock and Success in Real Estate.
Usually, I try to cram a couple of hours of content into an hour-long presentation, and the crowd can quickly become overwhelmed. Yesterday, I had two full hours to run live examples of how to use AI in your workflow and answer plenty of questions.
Check it out here: ⬇️⬇️
[E]ducation:
In case you missed it:
TLDR: In a bold move, Compass is acquiring Anywhere for $1.6B.
What happens to all the old brands such as Coldwell, Century 21, Corcoran, and Sotheby’s? ⬇️
Some agents and brokers may want to keep things status quo, but is that really the smart play? 🤔 Having competing brands under one roof always felt odd to me, unless you are separating luxury from traditional.
The bigger concern is Compass’s push for “private exclusives.” On paper, sellers can “test” a price without racking up days on market. But if Compass extends this across 300k+ agents, transparency shrinks fast. Sellers risk fewer offers, buyers risk missing homes, and small brokerages risk being locked out of the inventory race. 🏇 That is not innovation, that is gatekeeping dressed up as choice.
TLDR: The same law firms that took NAR for over one billion dollars have now set their sights on Zillow.
The lawsuit alleges that Zillow deceives buyers into using Flex agents, who pay referral fees of up to 40 percent, without clearly disclosing the associated costs. If true, buyers are paying more without realizing it, and Flex agents are stuck in a pay-to-play system. Add in Zillow’s rules that force agents to post listings there first, and it looks less like a search portal and more like a toll booth. 🗳️
TLDR: A D.C. broker just filed suit calling NAR a metastasized cartel that bleeds agents dry with duplicate fees. He is paying over one thousand dollars a year and still cannot access MLSs in neighboring counties. 🤯 His ask is two billion dollars in damages, and a one fee covers all model. If he wins, it could reshape how agents pay for access. In the meantime, NAR’s credibility keeps eroding, and every new lawsuit makes it harder for members to defend why they are paying so much for so little.
So what does this all mean for us?
The lawsuits are not done yet. Compass is trying to change how listings work, Zillow is being dragged back into court, and NAR is under fire once again. 🔥 Every case adds another layer of uncertainty, and the outcomes will shape how agents do business for years to come.
[C]oaching
As I mentioned earlier, I strive to pack as much content as possible into my AI sessions, and sometimes this results in blank stares and a sense of being overwhelmed. I’ve always coached agents to take one or two key takeaways from a conference or seminar that they can implement in their business. ✏️
Yesterday was proof of that.
The two key takeaways for many agents were using AI to send their clients weekly emails and using AI to identify the age of appliances/mechanicals.
These are two very basic functions of ChatGPT, but easy to add to your workflow…we’re talking less than 5 minutes per week. ⌚
So start small with AI. Find what works for you and what you're comfortable with and evolve from there. You don’t need a 50 step automation workflow…yet.
[H]ow To: With Abby
I’ve gone into detail on the basics of CapCut before, and now I’m going to show you how to add music to your videos—specifically, how to add background music to your talking videos!
When you open CapCut, either open a previous project from the menu or click “File” > “New Project.” Once you’re on the main screen, look at the top menu and click the “Audio” button. This is where you’ll select your music. You can search for anything you’d like—upbeat pop tunes, hard rock, sound effects—whatever you feel will enhance your video.
What do I use the most?
The top two sounds I use most often are—by far—the pop sound effect, which I add whenever text pops up on the screen to make it more engaging.
The second sound I use is anything lofi hip hop. For me, this is the best background music for talking videos. It’s not boring like elevator music, and it has upbeat tones that keep the energy flowing without putting you to sleep. That said, some tracks can get a little obnoxious, so listen through and choose what appeals to you.
Once you find a sound you like, click and hold it, then drag it down to your library.
As you can see, there is now a sound wave called “lo-fi hip hop”—that’s my background music. Now for the most important part: lower the volume. Nothing is worse than obnoxiously loud music playing while you’re trying to listen to someone talk.
I usually give it a listen and adjust based on what I like, but if you want a specific number, lower it to -24.3 dB. To do this, hover over the sound wave until you see two arrows pointing up and down. It’s a little hard to explain in text, so I’ve attached a video below to show you.
Sound is one of the most important elements in a video—honestly, I think it matters even more than the picture. If your music is too loud, your audio quality is poor, or it doesn’t work at all, that’s a guaranteed way to make someone stop watching immediately.
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-Ty Morton + Abby G