Affordable housing is one of the most talked-about topics in real estate—and one of the most misunderstood.

In this episode, veteran real estate professional Yvonne Arnold breaks down the real forces shaping today’s housing market, including mortgage rates, 50-year mortgages, government-backed lending, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage-backed securities, REO bulk sales, institutional investors, and housing supply constraints.

This episode explains how housing cycles repeat, why financing solutions don’t fix affordability, what happens to foreclosures behind the scenes, and what Realtors and consumers need to understand about where the market is headed next.

Designed for real estate agents, homebuyers, sellers, and anyone looking for clear, fact-based insight into housing policy, affordability, and market cycles—without hype and very little politics.

Connect with me HERE https://stan.store/YvonneArnold

Welcome back to Martinis & Mentors Podcast with Yvonne Arnold — the place where real estate pros come to cut the fat, fix their business, and actually grow.

In this episode, we’re talking about why most agents are working harder than ever… and still not getting paid like they should — because they’re following noise instead of numbers.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re busy all day but profit isn’t moving, or you’re wondering what’s actually worth your time in this market, this episode is for you.

David Caldwell (real estate data king, brokerage owner, and straight-shooter) breaks down how to make decisions the way CEOs do: based on economics, not ego.

What You’ll Learn Today:

✅ How to use data to pick high-probability actions (and stop wasting time on low-return “busy work”)

✅ How to evaluate marketing + lead sources by profit, not popularity (including the real cost of paid leads and “viral” content)

✅ A simple framework to simplify your business so you can protect margin, reclaim time, and stop chasing a bigger scoreboard

✅ Why most agents overcomplicate growth — and how “less but better” produces more income and more freedom

✅ The #1 question to ask your sphere right now to generate referrals in a tight market: “Who do you know who tried to buy or sell this year and couldn’t?”

✅ How to run smarter listing conversations using market stats (active vs pending, price band tracking, and the truth about overpriced homes)

Work With Yvonne:

Want help building a real estate business with real systems and real profit?

📥 Discovery Call with Yvonne [Click here]
💬 Built To Profit (Skool Community) [Click here]
📌 All Links + Offers → [Stan Store]

Let’s Connect:
📸 Instagram: [@yvonnearnold_]

Like this episode?
Subscribe, leave a review, and send this to that agent friend who needs help with their business. 🛠️🍸

We need to talk about a belief that sounds responsible… but quietly drains profit.

“If I just work a little harder, things will fall into place.”

In this Final Sip Friday episode of Martinis & Mentors, Yvonne Arnold breaks down why hard work isn’t the problem—and why unfocused, unsupported, and unmeasured effort is costing smart, busy professionals time, money, and sanity.

If you ended the year busy, available, and saying yes—yet profit didn’t move and life didn’t get lighter—this episode is for you.

You’ll learn:

• Why effort without structure creates exhaustion, not growth

• How “toleration” quietly keeps businesses stuck

• What to subtract before you add another goal, hire, or platform

• The belief shift that actually creates momentum and profit

This isn’t motivation. It’s clarity.
Less hustle. Better decisions. Real leverage.

🎁 Download the End-of-Year Reset Worksheet linked in the show notes
📅 Join Yvonne and industry leaders on January 16 for a live, 2-hour Plan to Profit working session

Cheers to doing less, better, and on purpose. 🍸

Welcome back to Martinis & Mentors Podcast with Yvonne Arnold.

In this episode, we're talking with Andy Mulholland, founder of Simple Numbers, who went from producing agent to building a 200-300 home-per-year team, then walked away completely. Now he's on a mission to eradicate real estate agent poverty by teaching agents how to actually run their business like a business — not just sell real estate.

What You'll Learn Today:

✅ Why agents are dying broke — and the #1 mistake that keeps you stuck in production even when you're "successful."

✅ The 5-section financial model every agent needs — How to structure your business so you actually keep money (hint: it's all about the size of your "pie pieces")

✅ The solo agent vs. team profitability breakdown — Why higher revenue doesn't mean more profit, and how to know if you're overspending or giving away too much in splits

✅ How to pay yourself correctly as a producing team leader — The 3 ways Andy says you should be compensated (and why most agents are doing it wrong)

Bottom line: If you're making high income but have nothing to show for it, or if you're building a team but making less than when you were solo, this episode will change everything.

Want more content like this?...

Join Andy and I along with our friends Will Draper and Kalie Kinsella on January 16 at 9:00 am PST for a 2 Hour Webinar: Plan To Profit REGISTER HERE

💬 Join me inside Built to Profit Community →⁠⁠JOIN NOW⁠ ⁠

Let’s Connect: 📸 Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@yvonnearnold_⁠⁠⁠

Spotify Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Martinis & Mentors on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcast: ⁠Martinis & Mentors on Apple

Like this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and send this to the agent who needs to stop "trying everything" and start building repeatable results. 📬🍸

“How a cinematographer became a multi-state mortgage builder, top agent, and real estate entrepreneur.”

Welcome back to Martinis & Mentors with Yvonne Arnold —

Today’s conversation is one for the books. I’m joined by Sergio Gonzalez, a guy whose career path looks like a highlight reel of every major real estate era of the last 25 years — film industry beginnings, subprime boom, Dodd-Frank collapse, multi-state mortgage expansion, top-producing agent life, escrow company success, and building a full-blown real estate services ecosystem.

If you’ve ever asked yourself:“How do I stay relevant and profitable no matter what the market throws at me?”…this episode is your new masterclass.

We get into identity shifts, grit, systems, data, lawsuits 🤣, building verticals, and the truth about value in this industry.

✅ Reinvention without losing your mind How Sergio pivoted from Hollywood cinematography to lending, to owning a 13-state mortgage company, to top agent, to launching escrow & title companies — and what each reinvention really required.

✅ Why skill beats marketing every time The door-knocking, FSBO, expired grind that turned Sergio into Rookie of the Year — and why agents who rely only on marketing stay stuck.

✅ The truth about building teams, systems & operational infrastructure What Sergio learned the hard way: your “next level” requires processes, accountability, and leadership… not another postcard campaign.

✅ Data: the real differentiator in 2025 and beyond How agents can use title + county data, AI, and neighborhood analytics to instantly elevate expertise and win listings consistently.

Want real systems, real accountability, and real profit in your real estate business?

💬 Built To Profit Community

Weekly operations + systems coaching to grow like an actual business, not a hobby.⁠→JOIN TODAY⁠

📌 More Courses + Offers⁠→ Check them out HERE⁠

📸 Instagram: @yvonnearnold_

Subscribe, leave a review, and send it with your agent friends

Welcome back to Martinis & Mentors Podcast with Yvonne Arnold

In this episode, we’re talking with Scott Vancea, founder of Optimize5, to talk about how agents can take back control of their brand, dominate local search, and stop losing leads to bad online visibility.

Scott breaks down how Google reviews, personal branding, and your digital footprint are now the biggest referral filters in real estate — whether agents realize it or not.

What You’ll Learn Today:

✅ Why your online presence determines if clients ever call you — even when they’re referred.

✅ How to optimize your Google Business Profile to show up where it matters most.

✅ The hidden power of reviews and local SEO in converting warm leads into appointments.

✅ Why you are the brand, not your brokerage — and how to own that in 2025’s market.

Want more content like this?...

📥 Sign up for my Newsletter → ⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE HERE⁠⁠

💬 Join me inside Built to Profit Community →⁠⁠JOIN NOW⁠ ⁠

Let’s Connect: 📸 Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@yvonnearnold_⁠⁠⁠

Spotify Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Martinis & Mentors on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcast: ⁠Martinis & Mentors on Apple

Like this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and send this to the agent who needs to stop "trying everything" and start building repeatable results. 📬🍸

In this Martinis & Mentors episode, Yvonne Arnold breaks down her 6-step business planning process that’s helped hundreds of agents turn chaos into consistency. No woowoo dreaming—just straight math and meaningful action.

You’ll learn:
✅ Why your “vision” means nothing without financial clarity
✅ How to identify your top 3–4 lead sources that actually make you money
✅ The easy way to track ROI by source and stop wasting marketing dollars
✅ How to turn annual goals into manageable 90-day execution plans
✅ The one simple metric that predicts your success — 6 conversations a day

Takeaway:
Start with your data, focus on what works, and plan in 90-day sprints. Simple. Measurable. Profitable. The vision will appear effortlessly

🎁 Download Yvonne’s free OPPS Business Plan & Net Worth Tracker inside the Built to Profit community.

Welcome back to Martinis & Mentors Podcast with Yvonne Arnold — the place where real estate pros come to fix their business and actually grow.

In this episode, Yvonne sits down with longtime friend and tech strategist Steve Olson — a real estate veteran, SaaS founder, and CRM whisperer — to unpack what’s really happening behind the curtain of real estate tech.

From Zillow’s power plays and Follow Up Boss’ acquisition, to the AI hype train and why most agents still don’t know what to do with their databases — this conversation pulls no punches.

Steve and Yvonne dig into what every agent actually needs to know about CRMs, data ownership, and how to focus on what still moves the needle: real conversations, real relationships, and real consistency.

✅ Why agents are addicted to “shiny object syndrome” and how to break it.
✅ The truth behind Follow Up Boss, Zillow Flex, and who really owns your data.
✅ Why CRMs don’t sell houses — but your conversations do.
✅ The simplest CRM setup that actually works (and won’t trap your data).
✅ Which CRMs Steve recommends — and which ones to stay away from.
✅ How to protect your business from SaaS companies profiting off your database.
✅ The weekly 100-activity rule that guarantees production (no AI required).

📥 Sign up for my Newsletter → ⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE HERE⁠⁠
💬 Join me inside the Built to Profit Community → ⁠⁠JOIN NOW⁠⁠

📸 Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠@yvonnearnold_⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Spotify → ⁠⁠⁠Martinis & Mentors⁠⁠⁠ on Spotify
🍎 Apple → Martinis & Mentors on Apple

Want to go deeper on content like this? Let’s Connect