After two years of red-hot real estate sales, the market has rapidly changed over the past few months. Still, a shifting market is presenting promo product sales opportunities for distributors.

Rising interest rates have made borrowing more expensive, and inflation has taken a significant chunk out of consumers’ savings. Both realities have cooled buyer demand and led to the number of total sales dropping.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales fell for the sixth consecutive month in July – 5.9% below June and 20.2% lower than July 2021. New construction sales are also falling; 511,000 units were sold in July, the lowest since January 2016 and a drop of 29.6% from the same month a year ago. Experts say it’s due to long construction timelines (much of it because of supply chain delays), rising costs for materials and labor, and interest rate increases.

At the same time, some distributors say they’re seeing steady or increased promotional product sales from real estate agents, mortgage firms and new-construction companies looking to enhance their marketing to potential buyers, encouraging them to shop.

Tim Holliday, owner of Children’s World Uniform Supply (asi/161711) in Sarasota, FL, says the cooling off in the Florida market is noticeable; late last year, five areas of that state made up NAR’s 10 hottest markets of 2021. While his own house sold quickly earlier this year, with multiple offers in one day, he says houses are now sitting longer on the market. That means buyers may have more of a shot on bidding successfully for a home, and agents want to promote their services to that end.

“I do promotional items for my realtor, and she’s having her whole office meet with me in a couple weeks,” says Holliday. “So, we’ll see what opportunities come from that.”

Holliday’s agent sends out branded items as a “thank you” after settlements – and to keep her name top of mind. Now, she’s beginning to send them to those who worked with her five to seven years ago, since she’s found that’s a typical amount of time for people to decide to move again. “She got a tremendous response from the recipients,” says Holliday, “so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of business she gets.”

“I do promotional items for my realtor, and she’s having her whole office meet with me in a couple weeks. So, we’ll see what opportunities come from that.” Tim Holliday, Children’s World Uniform Supply

Meanwhile, rising interest rates – and a recent increase in cash-only deals to successfully bid on homes – has affected mortgage companies’ revenues. Holliday says that in July, one of his clients, a multistate mortgage brokerage, had processed about 10% of the loans they did in 2021. “They’re still doing promo items to keep their name out there for referrals and to thank clients, just not nearly as many,” he says. “I’m not sure when or if their business will pick back up to what it was before.”

In some areas, sales remain high for the time being. Jodie Carlson, owner of Proforma ETG (asi/491771) in Blue Ridge, TX, who last spring managed seven e-commerce stores for title companies, has since added seven more due to healthy home sales in Texas. “We’ve grown our business by about 20% this year,” says Carlson. “Sales are up, so title companies are booming. Then they refer us to real estate agents.”

Karen Hunt, owner of Head of the Hunt in Springfield, NJ, says realtors have been adjusting to the statewide ban on single-use plastic bags which went into effect in May. She recently ordered hundreds of nonwoven totes for agents, including insulated ones for trips to the grocery store or farmers market.

“They’ve ordered other items too, but the totes have been popular,” Hunt says. “They include their brokerage logo, name and contact information, and then distribute them at local outdoor events, like golf outings.”

Karen Hunt recently ordered 300 insulated grocery totes (Y2KC1315) from American Ad Bag Co. (asi/35290) for real estate agents.

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As sales slow in other areas, agents who recognize the importance of getting their name out there continue to buy promo. Cheryl Bodette, owner of All In The Details (asi/117299) in Swanton, VT, says that even as home sales slacken in her state, one of her real estate agent clients just ordered more branded cutting boards as gifts for buyers at closing.

To encourage business, real estate brokerages and developers are getting creative with eye-catching direct-mail items. Awesome 3D Cards (asi/30304) in Austin, TX, recently created stock and custom pop-up kirigami cards (a type of origami) for brokerages, developers, mortgage firms, loan processors, banks, remodelers and contractors. Inside each card is a miniature residential home, commercial property or city skyline made of folded and cut paper.

“Among our top five clients is a Keller Williams brokerage here in Austin,” says Harlow Russell, founder and president of Awesome 3D Cards. “They use the cards for a sales team with more than 50 agents for business development and the holidays.”

Card with Austin skyline (A3D035) from Awesome 3D Cards (asi/30304).

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Suppliers are also serving sustainability-minded clients with eco-conscious items like seed paper. Boulder, CO-based Bloomin Promotions (asi/40646) has been doing brisk business with real estate agencies, residential and commercial lenders, builders and property technology companies.

“Many builders, for example, are LEED- and Green Star-certified,” says Breeze Holmgren, Bloomin Promotions sales and marketing manager. “They spend thousands of dollars to achieve these certifications, and seed paper is a wonderful way to promote those initiatives.”

Seed paper postcard (PSP-Mailing) from Bloomin Promotions (asi/40646).

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Holmgren says eco-conscious individual agents also send them as mailers as part of “coming soon,” “new listing,” “just sold” and “welcome to the neighborhood” campaigns. “People get lots of slick, glossy, non-eco junk mail,” she says. “A natural, handmade, colorful postcard embedded with seeds gets a much higher response rate than traditional mailings.”

Builders out West are also looking for ways to promote new luxury properties in the mountains. Cultivator Advertising & Design (asi/172248) in Denver services this market with high-end merchandise for condominium complexes.

“We use branded materials strategically to give to prospects, brokers and new owners,” says Matt Neren, owner of Cultivator. “The sales team’s apparel is also carefully branded to ensure everything we do is perceived as absolute quality, and we also sell items to the public.”

One client has even added a line of custom branded products, in addition to the traditional promo offerings; cashmere sweaters, hats, scarves, candles, jewelry, playing cards, stuffed animals and kids’ coloring books are available for sale.

Branded items promote Founders Place, a new luxury condo complex in the mountains of Utah that caters to skiers.

“These multimillion-dollar condominiums often have a one- or two-year wait until they’re completed, so the branding is a critical aspect of the sales process,” says Neren. “Our goal is for prospects and future owners to fall in love with the brand while the homes are under construction, and branded merchandise is an essential component of that.”

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