Updated 20 September 2026: first published on Elite Agent in April 2025. The article has been refreshed as an AI basics guide to writing a useful local market update.
Over the years, I’ve had plenty of conversations with agents about what makes a great weekly market update. My starting point is still the same: choose a format you can actually finish and send consistently.
But consistency needs something useful behind it. Your community can find the headlines anywhere. What you can add is a considered explanation of what the figures mean locally, alongside what you have actually observed.
If you are starting with AI, this is a manageable first task. You supply the evidence; it helps organise a draft.
What should I give AI before it writes my market update?
Choose one audience, such as local homeowners considering a move. Then collect:
- Two or three checked figures from reports you are permitted to use, with source links, area, property type and reporting period.
- One or two observations from your own week, clearly labelled as your experience.
- A question that audience is asking, and one useful next step you can offer.
Keep house and unit figures separate. Don’t compare a monthly figure with an annual figure as though they describe the same period. An asking price is not a settled sale price.
Your open-home notes can be valuable, but a busy Saturday at your listings does not establish a suburb-wide trend. Remove client names and private circumstances before putting those notes into an AI tool approved for your work.
Try this beginner market-update prompt
Help me draft a real estate market email for [AUDIENCE] in [AREA].
Reporting date: [DATE]
Checked figures, with source, period and property type: [FACTS]
My own observations, with dates and scope: [NOTES]
Reader’s question: [QUESTION]
Useful next step I can offer: [NEXT STEP]
Use only this material. Ask me about missing or conflicting details before drafting. Do not invent sales, prices, quotes, buyer activity or rental yields.
Write about 300 words in a clear, conversational voice. Open with a supported local insight, explain why it matters to this audience, include one observation if relevant and finish with the next step.
Keep reported facts separate from my interpretation. Do not turn an observation at my listings into a claim about the whole market or predict future prices. Retain source references and reporting dates. Finish with a separate checklist of claims I need to verify.What does useful local context look like?
Here is a fictional example of the difference. It illustrates writing style, not current market conditions.
“Three visitors at our Saturday open home asked about settlement flexibility” gives you a specific observation to discuss. “Buyers everywhere now demand flexible settlement” takes that small observation much further than the evidence allows.
The useful follow-up might be: “If you are planning a sale, it is worth talking through which settlement arrangements would suit you before negotiations begin.”
That connects an observation to a practical conversation without pretending it proves a trend.
For investors, supply checked rental information. For first-home buyers, explain the evidence relevant to their budget and next decision. Changing the audience should change the emphasis, not create new facts.
Check the draft before sending
Read each number against its original source. If AI search helped find it, open the underlying report yourself and check its date and coverage.
The screenshot below is from the original article. Interfaces change; the source-checking habit matters more than the button.
Read the draft aloud. Replace generic commentary with your judgement, trim anything you would never say over coffee and make the invitation specific enough to answer.
Keep a running note of useful questions during the week. After sending, look at the replies and follow up. Those conversations can help you decide what to explain next time.
The original version appeared in Samantha McLean’s AI Powered Agents newsletter. Read the refreshed source article on AI Powered Real Estate by Samantha McLean on Substack.