After years of denying that they have any intention of displacing real estate agents, some agent groups and attorneys believe, Instant Offers®, is the smoking gun that shows Zillow’s true intent. Instant Offers essentially gives would-be home sellers the opportunity to solicit offers directly from buyers (mostly investors), thus circumventing agents from at least part of the process. Zillow says that investors would be required to use an agent to represent them in the transaction, but critics say this policy could easily change at some point. As the head of a real estate organization, I am required to represent their professional interests however, whether it is Zillow, Ten-X, Amazon or one of a hundred other aggressive tech companies, technology will transform the housing market the way it has transformed dozens of other industries. My advice to agents is to learn as much as possible about e-commerce and information technology and find ways to benefit from impending changes. Like all things in business, there will be winners and losers – find a way to be a winner. Rule of thumb – if a new technology makes things substantially cheaper and/or more convenient for consumers, there is a very good chance it will succeed. NAHREP 2017 President, Leo Pareja, and I will be discussing much of this during a general session at the NAHREP National Convention & Latin Music Festival in Dallas in September.
It has been long understood that a nation of stakeholders makes for a strong union, and for that reason, closing the minority homeownership gap has been a goal and a topic of discussion for decades.
Between 2008 and 2012, more than six million people lost their homes to foreclosure, property values lost almost 40%, and non-distressed home sales fell to all-time lows. It was, without question, the worst real estate market since the great depression. Not surprisingly, the historic dip in the market was followed by a decade-long bull market, the likes of which we have never seen before. Residential real estate is a cyclical market. The...
There is a saying that goes “when the tide rolls back, you can see who is swimming naked”. When the market is strong, it covers a lot of weaknesses. With interest rates moving up, inflation on the rise, and the economy heading towards a possible recession, we’ll find out soon how solid the foundation of the real estate market has been, and more importantly, which companies and agents have built a strong, recession-proof business.