NAHREP is hosting its National Convention and Housing Policy Summit on March 16-18 in Washington DC. Almost everyone I speak to these days is talking about how technology is affecting the real estate industry, and especially how it is changing the way real estate agents prospect and conduct the sales process. For years, companies like Zillow and Realtor.com generated traffic and sold leads to agents. This model is being phased out and replaced with a more efficient process where lead generators make initial contact, pre-qualify buyers or sellers, and hand a warm lead to an agent in real time. This is better for the customer and better for the agent. However, it will drastically reduce the number of agents that are needed nationwide. NAHREP will host a session where executives from some of the top online firms will discuss these trends and which agents are likely to succeed the most. For information about the NAHREP convention and other sessions for lenders and agents, visit www.nahrep.org/convention.
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.