Skip to main content

Big Hits, Big Trends & 3 Keys to Success in 2026: Real Talk Featuring Justin Benson

Published Date

In this Real Talk episode, Joe Skousen (CEO, Inside Real Estate) and Justin Benson (CEO/Co-founder, Shilo) have a candid conversation about what’s actually shaping real estate right now—and what isn’t. They unpack the current “bottom of the U” market cycle, why consolidation across portals, brokerages, and tech is accelerating, and how much attention agents should really pay to headlines like Google entering home search.

The conversation goes deeper into execution and performance, especially where AI fits (and where it doesn’t). Justin shares insights from analyzing millions of real estate conversations, explaining why conversation quality, not lead volume, is the biggest missed opportunity for teams today. The episode closes with practical, non-theoretical guidance agents can apply immediately to improve conversion, clarity, and consistency going into 2026.

Key themes covered:

  • Current market conditions and why recovery is slow but moving in the right direction

  • Real estate consolidation: portals, brokerages, lawsuits, and power shifts

  • Why Google’s real estate headlines aren’t the threat they’re made out to be

  • The difference between activity metrics and performance metrics

  • How AI should augment agents, not replace them

  • Conversation quality as the most under-optimized growth lever in real estate

  • Practical fundamentals that top teams are using to increase conversion without more leads