In this 2026 YouTube video, Kevin Ray Ward challenges real‑estate agents to choose between extra cash in December or a lingering credit‑card bill in January. He explains that the next 90 days—Q4 2026—will determine cash flow, even as the market cools and interest rates sit at 7%. Ward outlines two market dynamics: a 25% drop in transaction volume during the winter months, yet 80% of agents will hibernate, drastically reducing competition. He argues this gap is the best opportunity of the year, lasting only about 90 days. Drawing on his own 1999 experience—where he prospect‑ed daily after a Mike Ferry event, set aggressive yearly goals, hired a coach, and closed 8 deals in January—he shows how disciplined Q4 effort can produce a cash‑rich December and a strong start to 2027. Ward then presents a concrete 92‑day plan: (1) set clear targets (listings, sales, commissions), (2) lock a work calendar for the 60‑day active period, and (3) commit to daily lead generation/follow‑up and a personal‑circle holiday outreach (e.g., pie giveaways, cards, calls). He stresses executing these commitments relentlessly, regardless of market conditions, and guarantees results for those who do. Finally, he invites viewers to a free, live 3‑hour business‑planning workshop on Monday, September 28th, where participants will build their 92‑day plan with his guidance.
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One question. Do you want more cash in your bank account this December, or do you want a credit card bill in January you're still paying off in April? And that gets decided in the next 90 days, not on January 1st. It gets decided right now. And in this video, I'm gonna lay out for you a path and an exact plan to make the 4th quarter of 2026 your best quarter ever, even with the market slowing down and even with interest rates at 7%. Okay. Because here's what's gonna happen in your market, and I'm gonna give you both halves of it over the next 90 days. I'm also gonna give you an invitation to join me for a free business planning workshop. Details are gonna be in the description of the video, so you can check that out right now. And I'll tell you more about that in a few minutes. But here's what I wanna talk about right now, and I wanna tell you what's gonna happen over the next 90 days in real estate market and what you can do to take advantage of it. Because here's what happens. About 25% of the business in the real estate industry disappears between now and January. That means fewer homes are gonna sell. It's real. A quarter fewer homes are gonna change hands in November, December, and January than at the peak of the year. But 3 quarters of the business is still there. So for example, last year, last November, December, and January, over 860,000 homes sold in the United States. That's not a dead market. Okay? Now here's the other half. So that's one half of it, 25% less business during the winter months. But the other half of it is this, and I've been watching this happen for 28 years. About 80% of the agents around you are about to go to sleep. They're gonna stop prospecting, they're gonna stop following up. They're gonna tell themselves that nobody's moving until after the holidays, and then they're gonna spend the next 2 months dabbling around in stuff that doesn't put a dime in their pocket. And basically they're gonna be like a bear and they're gonna hibernate. So there's 25% less opportunity in the market. Yes, but there's 80% less competition. And my friend, that gap is the best trade you will ever get in this business. And it's only open about 90 days of the year. And I know because I took advantage of it. And this happened to me in 1999. It was my second year in the business. I was doing 42 deals that year. And that October I went to a Mike Ferry event in Baltimore, Maryland, and it got me focused. It got me fired up. And what I did out of that changed the game for me and led to my biggest business jump ever. So here's basically what I did. After I went to the event, I committed I'm going to prospect every single day for the rest of the year. Now, that was starting at the very end of October while other agents were shutting down, going for their long winter's nap. I said, I'm going to double down on my work. I'm going to prospect like never before. And I also set goals for the next year that I was going to do 100 deals. Not only— I was only going to end up with 42 deals that year. I was going for 100 the next year in 2000. And with that, I also included what goals I had for November and December. And I'm gonna tell you why that is so important here in just a moment. And then the next thing was I did is I hired my first one-on-one coach, and that accountability and that support changed everything for me. But here's what I did not realize. What I didn't realize was how powerful it was that I did all of this in the 4th quarter of the year, because while most agents were sitting at home getting ready for the next year, I was crushing it right now. And which is the 4th thing that I did that changed the game, and that is I actually did the work. I didn't just set goals and say, I'm gonna do this. I actually went home and did it. Now understand, I took Thanksgiving off, I took Christmas off, I took New Year's off, I took the holidays off. I never worked a Saturday. I never worked a Sunday. I'm not asking you to give up your holidays, but every day that I was working, I worked. I role-played every day. I prospected 3 hours every day. I did my lead follow-up every day. And yes, there were people that were gonna wait till the next year, but there were also people that were ready right now to move. And so I was out taking listings while most agents were sitting around griping and complaining about how the market was slowed down and nothing was happening till January. And so what happened for me, because of what I did in November and December— now remember, this was the end of October, I went to the event. So it was the end of October when I really upped my game. And then what I did in November and December set me up in January of 2000. I closed 8 deals, which was my best ever month. Before that was 5 deals. I closed 8 deals in January in the slowest month of the year. And I netted $12,000 more in my bank account than my best previous month ever. Now understand that this was 26 years ago in a market where my average sales price was $120,000. And out of that, over the next 12 months, that set me with a momentum and a trajectory that I went from 42 deals one year to 108 deals the very next year. Now here's why it worked and here's why it'll work for you right now in 2026 going into 2027. And I want you to write this down. Real estate runs on a 90-day cycle. What you do today doesn't pay you this week, right? It didn't pay you this month. It pays you in 90 days. So what you do this week, what you're doing right now is going to pay you in December. You wait till the end of October like I did, and you won't see a dime of that until January. And then look at what January is though. Nationally, it's the lowest closing month of the year. Every single year, about 35% fewer homes will close in January than there will in June and July. So if you walk into January, you already have deals on the board, you've already got your pipelines full. You're not just having a good month, you're having a good month and in a month that almost nobody else is. And you've set yourself up for an amazing year. And also understand this, January 1st is a Friday. January 2nd is a Saturday. The 3rd is a Sunday. And so most agents in your market, they're not even gonna sit down at their desk and show up until 4 days into the new year. Now, you wanna crush it in the 4th quarter and go into 2027 with momentum like you've never had before. Here are the exact steps that you need to take to crush it. Okay? In the 4th quarter and going into 2027. So number one, you wanna plan the next 92 days so that you have clarity about what you're actually going to accomplish. Okay? Now we're gonna be doing all this in a free live business planning workshop I'm doing on Monday, September 28th. If you're watching this video, Before then, you can go and click on the link in the description and you can register right now. And I'm gonna walk you through all of this. Okay? We're gonna spend 3 hours. We're gonna look at what you've been doing, what's working, what's not working, what you need to stop doing, what you need to start doing, and what you can actually expect to happen. And it will absolutely transform your business. Okay? Guaranteed. So click on the link below. You can register for that, but I'm gonna go ahead and give it to you right now. And in case you're watching this after the 28th. So here's the first thing. Number one is you gotta plan. Q4, that's 92 days at the end of 2026 so that you have clarity. Now, here are 3 things that you have to lock in. Number one is set your targets. What are my goals? What are my listed goals for how many listings I'm gonna take, how many sales I'm gonna have, and how much commission I'm actually going to make in October, November, and December, which will set you up for a great cash Christmas and a great January and an amazing 2027. Okay. Number 2 is you have to set your calendar. Okay. Which means right now going into Q4 is I want you to get your calendar out and look at the last 3 months of the year and decide exactly when you're going to work and when you're not gonna work. What days are you actually working and what days are you actually not working? Holidays, days off, and all of that. What is your schedule? And then lock it in. It's probably gonna be about 60 days of actual working. And then here's the 3rd and most important part. On that, and that is set your commitments. Number 1, set your targets. Okay? What's the outcome? What are you gonna do? What are you gonna achieve? Number 2, set your calendar. When are you gonna do it? And number 3, set your commitments. And that is what are you going to do on the days that you are working? And be clear on your strategy. Number 1 is your daily lead generation and your daily lead follow-up time blocked in your calendar to make sure you're doing it every day. And don't be attached. Don't worry when somebody says, we'll wait until after the first of the year. Okay. One, there's objection handlers for that, and sometimes it's better for them to do something now. Sometimes it's not. But in spite of that, what you're looking for is not the people that are going to do something sometime. I'm looking for the people that are ready to do something right now. And you've got less competition because nobody else is calling. Okay. So here was my approach for sale by owners and expireds was my main thing. So whatever your strategy is for your daily lead generation, for sale by owners, expireds, your personal circle, open house events, Whatever it is that you're gonna do, get clear on that. And then the second thing I would do on a commitment is I would have a personal circle holiday plan for all the people, your past clients, your sphere of influence, the people you have relationships with. What am I gonna do to create top-of-mind awareness and to generate business from them? And do you do this indirectly? So one of the things a lot of my coaching members have done over the years is like a pie giveaway the week before Thanksgiving, which is super powerful, or just, it can be holiday cards and calls, right? But whatever it is, get clear about your strategy so that you know exactly what you're going to do. So that's the plan. And then number 2 is the execution. And it's just this, my friend, execute as if your life depended on it. Okay? Execute as if your life depended on it. And no matter what else is happening, no matter what the weather is doing, no matter what interest rates do, no matter what other agents do, you do what you commit to do. And I'm guaranteeing you, if you'll do the work, you're gonna start getting results. In a month when most agents' businesses are slowing down, yours is going to build it up. And that's exactly what Monday is. Okay? Monday, September 28th. If you're watching this before then and wanna join me for a free 3-hour live business planning workshop for the 4th quarter, okay? 3 hours live with me, totally free. We're gonna take a hard look at your real numbers. We're gonna build your 92-day plan and put it somewhere where you'll actually open it on Monday morning instead of on a piece of paper somewhere you'll never look at it again. And 2 things that you gotta know as we do this. This is a working session, okay? It's not a webinar. You're gonna bring your numbers. I want you to bring your personal circle, your database, because you're gonna be doing the work with me in real time. There's no replay. This is live only. It is Monday, September 28th, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Pacific, 2:00 to 5:00 PM Eastern. And here's the last thing I'm gonna leave you with. 2027 does not start in January. 2027 starts next week. So register for free, links in the description below. I'll see you on Monday and let's go take your market and make this a November to remember and a Christmas to celebrate. See you there.
