Happy Opening Day, friends! That’s right: Today, Wednesday, March 25, the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants—led by new manager Tony Vitello, who is well known to Tennessee baseball fans for leading the Volunteers to a national championship three years ago—will inaugurate the 2026 Major League Baseball season.

If ever there was a sure sign of the arrival of spring here in America, baseball’s Opening Day is one that fits the bill.

It’s hard to believe March has flown by so fast, and we’re almost ready to turn the calendar into April, with its traditional showers that bring May flowers.

REALTORS typically use the month of March to launch their spring marketing campaigns, focusing on themes like the first day of spring (we just passed it by, March 20), Opening Day (yep, today!), St. Patrick's Day (we hope you enjoyed the festivities last Tuesday and didn’t get pinched for a lack of green attire), and preparing for what tends to be a busier market in this “shoulder season” leading toward summer.

March is a crucial month for brokers and agents to build momentum for April, May, and June by checking in with prospective clients, following up on leads, and securing listings as things begin to heat up—literally and figuratively.

Let’s pause for a moment to be clear on one key point: Our EMTAR members are ready year-round to walk alongside buyers and sellers throughout the complex process of navigating a transaction. The REALTORS we know and love don’t need a ramp-up period to be prepared to provide the kind of top-tier, time-tested, ethically sound, tireless, dedicated service that their clients expect. Our folks don’t take an off-season.

That said, springtime does present some fresh energy and motivation for all of us out here in the world, as temperatures warm, grass starts growing and turning green, flowers bud, birds return with their morning songs, and people all across Eastern Middle Tennessee shake off the winter chill and get moving again in their neighborhoods.

In light of that, let’s look at some ways that REALTORS are leveraging March as a gateway to a vibrant spring buying and selling season. These steps include securing listings before inventory surges in April and May, refreshing digital marketing, hosting preparation workshops, and brushing up on their own continuing education (CE). REALTORS can:

1. Launch Listings Early: REALTORS often actively encourage sellers to list in March (or soon after) rather than waiting for the peak season, to face less competition among other sellers, and to reach more motivated, high-intent buyers at this time of the year.

2. Shore Up Curb Appeal and Property Preparation: As the weather warms—we have already hit the mid-80s this weeks!—REALTORS emphasize cleaning, decluttering, and increasing curb appeal (through landscaping and lawn care) to make listings even more attractive.

3. Host Insightful and Educational Workshops: REALTORS, brokerages, and teams often conduct webinars or workshops for prospective buyers and sellers regarding market conditions, pricing strategy, tips for staging, and more.

4. Update Their Marketing Took Kits: This is an ideal time for REALTORS to refresh their digital profiles, update their websites, and revamp the video content they post (on social media and elsewhere) in advance of property showcases.

5. Help Consumers Understand Market Dynamics: REALTORS also use March (and into April) to help clients understand the importance of speed, price, and the condition of a listing, as competition starts to increases for homes in high-demand areas like Eastern Middle Tennessee.

6. Engage in Strategic Outreach: Our REALTOR members take time this month to position themselves as local experts by sharing content that explains the shift from a winter market to a faster, higher-urgency spring season leading toward summer.

7. Update Their Own Educational Chops: Finally, REALTORS can take part in a full menu of CE courses that EMTAR hosts—many of them either at no charge to members or at reduced rates—designed to help them meet licensure requirements set forth by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC) as well as to increase their knowledge base as they assist buyers and sellers. (EMTARs ongoing Education calendar of classes is available here.)

Yes, this is an exciting and eventful time of year to be part of the real estate world!

As the local REALTOR Association for Wilson, Smith, and Dekalb counties, EMTAR is in our 57^th year of serving alongside our members as their “partner in success.” Our volunteer and staff leadership takes pride in helping REALTORS to stay sharp, savvy, connected, inspired, and up to speed in all areas that help them deepen and broaden their expertise and excellence. And it is our honor to see them thrive as they work hard every day to serve clients well and strengthen our communities.

Thanks for joining us for this four-part blog series! (You can catch all of the posts on the main News page of our website here.) We truly hope you are enjoying some of the “March Gladness” that we have written about in these posts—whether you are a buyer, a seller, a property owner, and/or one of our highly valued and cherished EMTAR members.

Let’s all keep springing ahead!

About EMTAR: Chartered in 1969, our Association’s 1,200+ REALTORS are a proud part of the 36,000+ members of Tennessee REALTORS and of the 1.5 million+ members of NAR, all working to serve the public and protect the rights of America’s property owners. EMTAR members are known not only for their unmatched real estate excellence and high ethical standards, but also for being generous, hospitable, others-focused, loyal, hardworking, and eager to help wherever and whenever help is needed.