The real estate market has felt uneven heading into Q4, and if your calendar has slowed down, you’re not the only one. Craig and Shannon look back at Q3, break down what they’re seeing across different regions of the country, and talk through what those trends could mean for real estate media companies heading into the end of 2026.

More importantly, they discuss what to do when business slows down: think in 90-day cycles, fill the funnel before you need the work, look for new ways to help your agents, and use the extra time to invest in both your business and yourself. A slower market doesn’t have to mean sitting around waiting for things to improve—it can be the time you plant the seeds for what comes next.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro 00:56 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 02:52 - REPP, PMRE & Spiro Sync 06:12 - Q3 2026 Market Update 07:14 - Craig Started Panicking About September 09:14 - When the September Bounce Didn’t Happen 17:49 - Breaking Down the Market by Region 18:24 - Where the Most Home Sales Are Happening 22:00 - South, Midwest, Northeast & West by the Numbers 23:34 - What the South Market Is Telling Us 24:58 - What’s Happening in the Northeast 27:06 - Why the Midwest Looks Different 29:07 - Challenges in the Western Market 30:40 - Don’t Call It Stagnant—Call It Opportunity 31:14 - Start Thinking in 90-Day Cycles 33:03 - Why Craig’s October Took Off 33:41 - Shoot the Fall Exteriors Before the Leaves Are Gone 36:19 - Use the Slow Season to Plant Seeds 37:37 - Invest in Yourself, Too 40:35 - Don’t Wait for Success to Be Happy 43:48 - Use the Slowdown Instead of Fearing It

RESOURCES:

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Momentum Monday: Available on Spiro’s social channels and YouTube

Questions / Episode Ideas: hello@spiro.media

A lot of real estate media owners believe the hardest part of hiring photographers is finding someone with the same “eye” they have. Todd and Craig argue that the eye isn’t magic—it’s something you build through training, repetition, feedback, and experience.

In Part 2 of their step-by-step guide to shooting a house, they break down how WoW turns years of instinct into a repeatable system: exterior composition, framing, photo order, interior shots, working around obstructions, and the little details that create consistency across a team. They also talk about why new photographers need permission to make mistakes—and why expecting perfection too early can actually slow their development.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 04:16 - REPP, Spiro Sync & What’s Coming in Spiro 08:03 - What Hiring Another Photographer Is Already Doing for the Business 12:17 - How to Shoot a House: Part 2 14:36 - Teaching Someone How to Shoot the Front Exterior 18:02 - The “Creative Eye” Is Actually Teachable 23:22 - Show Your Photographers the Finished Product 26:50 - The Right Order to Shoot and Deliver a House 33:57 - Interior Composition: Obstructions, Framing & “Zoom With Your Feet” 38:19 - Feedback, Exceptions & Learning Through Mistakes 42:09 - The End-of-Shoot Checklist You Don’t Want to Skip

Resources Mentioned

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / episode ideas: hello@spiro.media

What if the best way to win new clients was to stop walking into brokerages trying to sell them something?

Colleen Kidd of Three Palms Media shares the in-person workshop strategy that has helped her build relationships with agents, brokers, teams, and some of her company’s biggest clients. She breaks down how she gets into brokerage offices, what she actually teaches, how she turns one workshop into three visits, and why giving value before asking for business has become such a powerful client acquisition strategy.

Colleen also shares how she pushed through the fear of presenting, including one brutal early experience that nearly made her question whether she was good enough—and why she kept showing up anyway.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro 00:58 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 03:16 - Colleen Kidd Joins the Podcast 05:23 - How Three Palms Media Grew From the Beginning 06:54 - Stop Selling and Start Teaching 09:55 - Why In-Person Relationships Still Matter 11:21 - Find the Real Influencer Inside the Brokerage 16:35 - Are You Teaching Agents to Replace You? 20:48 - How to Actually Get Into a Brokerage 22:18 - Give Before You Ask for Anything 25:34 - Colleen’s Three-Workshop Playbook 30:42 - Online Gets You Seen. In Person Gets You Remembered. 31:27 - Why This Strategy Takes Patience 37:35 - Colleen’s Brokerage Workshop Resources 41:40 - Colleen Is Bringing This to Spiro Sync 44:02 - The Presentation That Absolutely Crushed Her 46:32 - “Why Not Me?” Keep Going Anyway 48:16 - When a Competitor Tried to Hijack Her Presentation 53:11 - What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

RESOURCES:

Colleen Kidd / Three Palms Media: Instagram - @threepalmsmedia

Colleen Kidd: Instagram - @itscolleenkidd

Colleen’s Brokerage Workshop Resources: https://colleen-s-site-a57b.thinkific.com/products/courses/brokerage-workshop

Colleen’s Branding Mini Session Resources: https://www.threepalmsmedia.net/links

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / Episode Ideas: hello@spiro.media