🚀 Real talk: You probably aren’t buying or selling right now. And half of you are my competition (hey, love ya anyway). But you 100% know someone thinking about moving, buying, selling, or just frustrated with the process.
So, do them a favor. Forward this email. Better yet, connect us directly with a quick intro email. It’s the single best way you can help your family, friends, and neighbors.
If they’re serious, they’ll thank you. And I’ll owe you coffee (or whiskey, depending on how this market keeps going).
Who’s the first person that comes to mind? Go on—hit that share button. I triple dog dare you. 😉
Modern Day Magic Eight Ball: ChatGPT and Me
If anyone’s chatted with me about my writing process at any length, you’ll discover I’m a heavy ChatGPT user. Both my Friday Footnote real estate market reports and my Monday Blueprint stock market economy posts are greatly enhanced through ChatGPT.
The software is not really that great at composing anything beyond paragraph length. And, you need to feed the machine a lot of detail. So I initially compose the paragraph or the sentence, and I’m walking along the writing when all of a sudden I run into a problem. The problem normaly consist of me realizing that what I wrote makes absolute perfect sense me, but put that phrase in front of anyone else, and they’re going to think that I lost my marbles a long time ago. Or sometimes my grafs get really really wordy and I know I’ve stuck to many words into a sentence or something like that. I have two choices at this point: 1) I can struggle with a solution, or 2) I can throw it into ChatGPT.
So this is my prompt: “This is clunk: blah blah whatever I wrote here.”
Then the LLM spits out this:
Ahh, but Steve, you say, there’s nothing engaging about that revision. The robot removed the soul, and youd be right.
The software isn’t great at composing longer than a paragraph, and even then it requires a lot of input. My writing problems normally center around clarity and verbosity. In either case, I have two options: 1) wrestle with the fix myself or 2) toss the graf into ChatGPT and see what the thing spits out.
Hopefully, you noticed a distinct difference between the first paragraph, the second ChatGPT production, and the third and final version.
I also work through data analysis with ChatGPT. Last summer, I sent out anywhere between 200 to 400 marketing letters through the mail in search of people who wanted to sell their homes. I’ll be doing that again this year, but that direct mail approach can be expensive if you’re not paying very closely to the market and targeting specific neighborhoods. ChatGPT was excellent at pinpointing specific streets that would see future high turnover rates in the housing market. Yes, I said streets. Not blocks, not neighborhoods. Streets.1
Oh, and the new thing I’ve been doing after a two year hiatus is sending out my short stories to literary journals again. The amount rejection you must deal with sending out stories is incredible. When I was in the thick of sending, I managed three publications to 978 no’s. ChatGPT has streamlined this process by researching the best journals to send my fiction. The robot “reads” the story, and then provides me a targeted list of journals that publish similiar work. Since I’ve just begun this journey, it’ll be interesting to see if this changes my yes numbers in comparison to my no numbers. So far though, Smokelong Quarterly has turned me down for the third time.
Also, and this last thing I do with ChatGPT is rather embarassing. Often, I can’t sleep at night. I have all this stuff in my head, so I dump it out into ChatGPT and have a conversation.
I can’t really say that it’s a conversation. I mean, sure it feels like a conversation but it’s not necessarily real in the way a human to human conversation is. All I know is the process empties my brain and helps me fall asleep, and if that works better than a sleeping pill, sign me up. The point behind me sharing this is Nate B Jones, who I follow on Substack and TikTok posted this the other day:
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ChatGPT can you make me a mindmap of all the conversations we’ve had?
Whoa! Right? Parts of the map are difficult to read, sure. I’m a little disappointed that ChatGPT didn’t point out my recent obsession with Babylon 5. It did, however, say:
That mind map covers about nine months of our conversations, starting in May 2024 and running up to now, February 2025.
It's a pretty detailed snapshot of your evolution over time—from your focus on residential real estate to considering commercial, your deepening engagement with Wicked Moxie, your shifting thoughts on financial planning, and your bigger-picture business ideas like the coffee shop/bookstore. It also reflects your ongoing efforts in networking, branding, and personal development.
That was kind of like a fun exercise, but John a few months ago, I remembered also posted this video:
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So, way back in October, I took up the guantlet and asked, “ChatGPT, what do you know about me that I might not know about myself based on our previous interactions?”
This is the bullet point list:
Just to take this another step further as an experiment, one of my all-time favorite books before I even knew who Gary Keller and Jay Papasan were is The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.
This is the question I asked: “in consideration of that mindmap, what's my one thing? And what should be my one thing?” ChatGPT responded:
Your current "One Thing"—based on that mind map and our conversations—is real estate. More specifically, it’s the lead generation, networking, and market positioning required to sustain and grow your business. You’ve structured everything (your social media, Wicked Moxie, networking events, and even potential commercial expansion) around this central focus.
However, your "One Thing" should be:
Building an ecosystem where your real estate, writing, and community influence reinforce each other to create long-term wealth and impact.Right now, you’re treating real estate as the revenue driver, writing as the passion project, and networking as a necessity. But these aren’t separate lanes—they can be fused into a powerful, self-sustaining ecosystem where each element feeds the other.
Here’s what that looks like:
✅ Lead generation through storytelling → Wicked Moxie and your networking efforts build your audience and credibility.
✅ Real estate as the financial engine → It funds your long-term goals, but it doesn’t consume you.
✅ Content as the multiplier → Your blog, social media, and newsletter position you as the go-to person—not just for real estate but for community connections and business insights.
✅ Delegation to create space → Hiring a VA, automating marketing, and refining your CRM workflows free you to focus on strategic growth.
✅ Long-term play: Coffee shop/bookstore & real estate school → These aren’t just future dreams; they are extensions of what you’re already building.So instead of thinking:
🔹 “Real estate is my One Thing.”
Start thinking:
🔹 “How do I turn my influence, content, and real estate into an ecosystem that runs without me grinding 24/7?”That shift lets you stop working inside the business and start building the machine that powers it all.
AI can clean up clunky sentences, generate market insights, and help me send short stories into the void with a bit more strategy. But what’s been far more valuable—and far more unexpected—is how the machine rewires the way I think.
I hadn’t framed my work the way ChatGPT did. I never would have articulated that my real One Thing is a coherent ecosystem, or maybe I would have figured it out eventually, but in months, years? Instead, in one conversation, ChatGPT handed me a clearer vision of my own trajectory.
Sure, not everything ChatGPT says is gospel. I know for a fact that not everyone admires me (some folks definitely think I’m an insufferable bastard), and I know I’m not burning through relationships at a reckless speed.
AI is not about replacing human creativity or thought but about accelerating the realization of ideas you might have never considered or would have taken years to arrive at. It’s a tool for expanding the possible.
What tools do you use to spark creativity or self-reflection?
(Are you a journaler? A mind-mapper? Do you rely on conversations with friends, AI, or something else entirely?)Have you ever had a tool—whether AI, tarot, or something else—give you insight about yourself that you wouldn’t have reached on your own?
(A moment where you went, “Damn, I never thought about it that way”?)If you could ask an AI (or a magic eight ball, or whatever) one big question about your life or career, what would it be? And why haven’t you?
Have you ever realized that parts of your work or life you thought were separate were actually connected? Maybe you saw your creative passion feeding your career, or your side project influencing your main gig in unexpected ways. What was the moment that made you see those connections differently?
In the real estate market
Dover’s housing market isn’t just tight—it’s a full-blown Thunderdome battle arena. And to explain that market fully, I took almost 3000 words, which is way way too long for this email. So this is the shorthand version.
You can grab the full version here.
With only 20 homes for sale and prices pushing into the stratosphere, buying in Dover feels like a high-stakes game where only the wealthiest contenders walk away with the prize. The median home price sits at $1.03 million, but before you panic, there’s more to the story.
Six of the highest-priced homes aren’t even built yet, skewing the numbers skyward. Adjusting for new construction, Dover’s real median home price drops to $599,900, which is still a hefty sum but a far cry from the million-dollar sticker.
Over the last six months, 57 homes have sold in Dover with an average market time of just 13 days. However, homes are sitting longer even though inventory overall remains dangerously low, leaving buyers scrambling for limited options.
Beyond Dover, Strafford County offers some relief, with a median home price of $450,000 and more homes on the market. Yet, affordability remains a crisis across New Hampshire, where the statewide median home price of $615,000 still outpaces incomes by over 40%. The state needs at least 1,750 more homes right now just to reach a balanced market—and we’re nowhere close.
Potential bipartisan policy shifts could help, but red tape still looms large. New Hampshire’s restrictive zoning laws—often called "snob zoning"—make it nearly impossible to build enough housing at scale. Proposed bills like HB 631, HB 577, and HB 459 aim to break down these barriers, allowing denser development, detached ADUs, and residential conversions in commercial zones.
And the Fox Run Mall redevelopment is a case study in missed opportunity. Despite sitting on 82 acres of prime real estate, the project won’t include housing due to current zoning restrictions. Instead, it’s doubling down on retail and office space—despite widespread retail collapse and rising office vacancies. If HB 631 passes, sites like Fox Run could become thriving mixed-use hubs with built-in housing, but until then, the status quo holds firm.
Dover’s market is still a seller’s paradise, a buyer’s headache, and an affordability nightmare. More homes are coming, but will they actually help? Will zoning reforms unlock long-term solutions, or will the housing crisis keep spiraling?
The battle for homeownership is far from over. The full breakdown—including the hard numbers, zoning fights, and what’s really going on—is inside the full report.
The Wicked Moxie
The Man Who Keeps Showing Up—And the Place That Changes Everything
A Conversation with Steve Papajohn
For nearly two decades, Steve Papajohn has been the quiet, steady force behind the Dover Teen Center—a place that, for many kids, is more than just an after-school hangout. With a background in education and youth leadership, Steve has cultivated a space where teens find not only safety but also possibility. Originally a program linked to juvenile probation, the Teen Center has transformed into a proactive community hub, guiding kids before they reach crisis mode rather than merely reacting to problems after the fact. Under Steve’s leadership, the center has become an oasis for kids from single-parent households, those facing mental health struggles, or those simply looking for a place to belong. His presence, marked by a mix of laid-back humor and deep sincerity, keeps the doors open, the programs running, and, most importantly, the kids returning—sometimes years later, to say thank you.
But the Teen Center isn’t just about keeping kids busy. It’s about shifting trajectories. Whether it’s a troubled teen discovering a love for music, a first-generation student realizing college is within reach, or a kid learning to cook a meal for their family for the first time, the center offers moments that change lives. Programs like Food & Cooking Day and Creative Arts and Music Days provide real-world skills, while mentorship from University of New Hampshire interns expands what’s possible. For teens who never considered higher education, meeting someone just a few years older who "looks like them" and is succeeding makes all the difference. For others, simply having a place to exist without judgment—without the pressure to be "fixed"—is enough. The Teen Center doesn’t demand attendance, it invites it. And that’s why it works.
And yet, for all its successes, the Teen Center can’t prevent every tragedy. The reality is harsh: youth suicide rates in New Hampshire remain above the national average, and some kids, despite all the resources, still slip through the cracks. But the work Steve and his team do—the moments of connection, the second chances, the belief in a future beyond a kid’s worst day—leaves an undeniable mark. Steve keeps showing up because every year, there’s another kid who walks through those doors, unsure of where they fit in the world. And sometimes, all it takes is one space, one conversation, one mentor to change everything.
PROPERTY OF THE WEEK
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Estimated payment: $3,416/mo
Estimation provided by Keller Williams Realty Inc.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Everybody asks me this question. Not how’s real estate market, whatcha writing, any big plans. Nope, this is the question I get everyday over the phone by everyone who I talk with:
❝’How’s your ankle?
The same. That’s the answer! 😊 I’ll know more March 4th.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
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Oh no, Steve, you can’t just give away your real estate marketing secrets! You’ll never survive if you tell people how you actually do things! Realtors guard their strategies like dragons hoarding gold!
Yeah, yeah. Here’s the thing—I’ve been in this business long enough to know most Realtors won’t actually do the work. We’re a lazy bunch when it comes to this kind of thing. But the ones who are good? The ones who would take this and run with it? Those are the people I want to know anyway. If I can offer something of value and we end up swapping ideas over coffee, that’s a win in my book. So if you do want to learn how to make ChatGPT pinpoint high-turnover streets, give me a call: 603-617-6018. We’ll grab coffee, I’ll walk you through it step-by-step, and I’ll even print out a cheat sheet for you to take home. No excuses.
If you can’t do actual physical coffee because you live in Florida or California or just don’t want to drive up from Boston, we can even do a Zoom.