Johanna Behind Real Estate

10/07/2026

Yesterday, I walked out of six hours of continuing education feeling like half my brain had exploded and the other half was smarter than before.

Then I spotted my car’s reflection in the window, with the RE/MAX tablecloth lining up just right. I thought, “Whoa, that’s perfect.”

Apparently, I picked the right parking spot.

10/07/2026

Daily Reflection 🌱

Mortgage rates just climbed back above 7%, and the headlines are saying the same thing again: nobody's moving.

Recently, I've been reading Ninja Selling by Larry Kendall with some fellow agents at RE/MAX of Grand Rapids. This week I also listened to the latest episode of the Ninja Selling Podcast, and it put the headlines in perspective:

📊 Existing home sales are running around 4 million a year. That's down from about 6 million before rates rose, but nowhere near "no market."
📉 Even in 2010, the worst housing crash of our lifetime, about 3.2 million homes still sold.
🏡 Counting new construction, roughly 17,700 homes sell in the U.S. every single day.

Rates matter, especially for buyers who need financing. But cash buyers, downsizers with equity, and families going through births, marriages, new jobs and retirements keep moving. As the hosts put it, "Life doesn't stop happening just because rates hit 7%."

Swipe for the four quotes that stuck with me. 👉

10/05/2026

Sometimes an idea just shows up… 🍎

Our brokerage has an apple orchard event every fall, and somewhere along the way I thought: why are we not making songs about these little moments?

So I gave AI the idea, the story, and all the little details I wanted included, and we worked together on the lyrics until it felt right. Then I used AI to turn those lyrics into a song.

And of course, once I had a song, I needed a video. 😄

I dug through whatever pictures I could find, matched them to the lyrics, used AI to help fill in some of the visual gaps, and somehow our annual orchard day turned into its own little music video.

Real estate is usually listings, showings, closings, calls, paperwork and deadlines. But behind all of that are people, families, traditions and memories too.

And apparently, with a little help from AI, sometimes there are songs. 🎵

So here is my latest experiment from Johanna Behind the Real Estate: “Fall at the Orchard.” 🍎🍩🎃

Huge thank you to Rachael and our RE/MAX of Grand Rapids staff for putting this event together year after year. My family always enjoys it.

And now I’m thinking… if a real estate agent had a theme song, what would it sound like? 👀

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

So… how IS the market?

We looked at the July Grand Rapids Metro numbers during this week’s broker meeting, comparing July 2026 with July 2025.

More inventory. Fewer closed sales. Higher average prices. And still only 1.6 months of inventory.

Sounds a little contradictory, right?

Not really.

These are the three notes I wrote down because I think they explain this market better than simply calling it “good,” “bad,” “hot,” or “slow.”

Swipe through for my takeaways, and I included the actual numbers at the end for anyone who likes to nerd out on the data with me. 🤓

Notes from Behind the Real Estate

07/23/2026

There's a moment at every closing that nobody photographs.

It isn't the keys. It's about ten minutes before that, when the papers are signing and the agent finally exhales.

I know what that exhale is. Somewhere in the last thirty days, that deal nearly fell apart. Maybe twice. An appraisal came in short. A lender went quiet for four days. Something turned up on an inspection at 9pm on a Friday.

The buyer never saw any of it. That's the job.

I'm a Realtor. I still work with my own clients, and I love that part. Walking into a house and figuring out what makes it sparkle, that never gets old.

But I'm also the one behind the transaction, which gives me a seat most people don't have. I see the ins and outs. I see the agents, how hard they work when nobody's watching, and the thing each one is quietly great at.

And the longer I'm in this business, the more I notice how different they all are. Every agent is gifted in a different way. One is endlessly patient with first time buyers. One can walk into a rough listing and see exactly what it could be. One will answer the phone at 10pm and talk someone off a ledge.

It's not just the agents either. It's the title people who catch the thing nobody else caught. The photographer who makes a small house feel like home. The lender who picks up on a Sunday. The inspector who explains it so a first time buyer isn't scared.

From my seat, I mostly just feel lucky. I get to work around really good people, and every one of them is good in their own way.

That's worth showing off.

So that's what this page is. The ins and outs. The people. And me, a little creative, a little techie, still figuring it out.

I'm not the loudest person in the office. I'm the one who notices.

Let's see what's behind real estate.

Johanna Chenxing Fang · Licensed Real Estate Professional
RE/MAX of Grand Rapids

03/29/2024

Don't miss the opportunity to make this enchanting residence your own and experience the epitome of comfortable living in Alger Heights. Schedule your showing today and prepare to fall in love!

03/29/2024

Don't miss the opportunity to make this enchanting residence your own and experience the epitome of comfortable living in Alger Heights. Schedule your showing today and prepare to fall in love!"