Tag Archives: report

Realogy Expansion Brands Releases In-Depth Oral History Of COVID-19’s Impact On The Real Estate Industry

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“Real Estate in the Time of COVID” Utilizes Broker Insights to Provide Learnings and Observations for the Future

Madison, NJ – Feb. 3, 2021 (PRNewswire) Realogy Expansion Brands, a division of Realogy Franchise Group focused on driving growth for its brand portfolio comprised of Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate and ERA® Real Estate, has released a new industry report.

“Real Estate in the Time of COVID,” the definitive oral history of the pandemic’s impact on the industry, examines the initial reaction, the measured response and the resulting reset that is occurring as the industry continues to navigate the evolving real estate landscape. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and ERA Real Estate brokerage leaders across the country contributed to the report, providing an “on the ground” account of how the real estate industry is responding to the pandemic.

According to the affiliated brokers interviewed for the report, key observations included:

  • Despite a two-month “pause” related to the national shelter in place, initial fears of a real estate downturn went unfounded as many affiliated companies have seen notable year-over-year gains.
  • With record low inventory levels creating intense competition for listings, there was a noted increase in brokerages providing their affiliated agents with timely market statistics that allowed agents to win listings with data-driven communications.
  • The flight from major cities was real, and many made moves. However, many families with children stayed on the sidelines in 2020, which may result in increased activity in this segment in the spring of 2021.
  • The pandemic accelerated the adoption of existing technology, such as video meetings, live video home tours, Facebook® live events and digital signatures, among both agents and consumers.
  • The pandemic has showcased the inherent value of the brokerage and full-service support, the importance of understanding marketing conditions and the benefit of having diverse lines of business.
  • The COVID crisis pushed many leaders out of their comfort zones. As they took the opportunity to challenge existing norms and evaluate new approaches for the future, many created new business models and best practices that will continue for years based on learnings.

“2020 was a year we will always remember. It was critical for us to take a step back and truly understand how the pandemic impacted our industry from the early days through today and into the future. Our “Real Estate in the Time of COVID” report features a cross-section of influencers within Realogy Expansion Brands. It provides a touchstone for today’s real estate leaders by identifying trends and capturing insights that will resonate within the industry for years to come. Resiliency, resourcefulness and readiness to lead were all on display as the real estate industry demonstrated its enduring ability to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity. This oral history will serve as an essential resource for future leaders to draw upon these experiences as they contend with the emerging issues of their time.”
Sherry Chris, President and CEO, Realogy Expansion Brands

About Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is a dynamic real estate brand that offers a full range of services to brokers, sales associates and home buyers and sellers. Using innovative technology, sophisticated business systems and the broad appeal of a lifestyle brand, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC embodies the future of the real estate industry while remaining grounded in the tradition of home. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services.

The growing Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate network includes nearly 13,000 independent sales associates and more than 370 offices serving home buyers and sellers across the United States, Canada, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Australia and New Zealand.

Better Homes & Gardens® is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation licensed to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC and used with permission. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate Franchise is independently owned and operated.

About ERA Real EstateAt ERA Real Estate, we don’t adapt to change, we create it. We believe that our core business values of collaboration, innovation, diversity and growth are needed now more than ever. As a global leader in the residential real estate industry for more than 40 years, the ERA® brand was the first real estate franchise to expand internationally, the first to post listings online, and is the only national company that offers the Sellers Security® Plan program. 

The ERA Real Estate network includes more than 35,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates and approximately 2,200 offices throughout the United States and 31 other countries and territories. ERA Franchise Systems LLC (www.ERA.com) which operates the ERA Real Estate system, is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global provider of real estate services. ERA Real Estate information is available at www.ExploreERA.com.

SOURCE Realogy Expansion Brands

The Realtor.com COVID-19 Housing Market Update

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To keep up with the rapid changes COVID-19 is causing in the economy and housing market, the realtor.com® economics team provides a weekly blog and video update on the relevant real estate and economic information you need to know to navigate the housing market in these challenging times.

This week, Chief Economist Danielle Hale discusses the latest jobless claims which showed an uptick.

Danielle also highlights still-low mortgage rates and what that means for mortgage applications, both refinance and purchase applications, and home sales.

Danielle covers updates from the realtor.com® Housing Market Recovery Index, featuring insights from Javier Vivas, and the Weekly Housing Trends View, including another new high mark for home asking price growth and what rising prices mean for new construction.

Finally, Danielle gives a sneak peak at the 2020 Hottest Zip Code list which features several Northeastern markets in the top ten.

Redfin Luxury Report: Sales of $2 Million-Plus Homes Decline for First Time in 2 Years as Prices Tick Up

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Volatility on Wall Street and global economic uncertainty may have contributed to a decline in high-priced home sales

Seattle, WA – Feb. 6, 2019 (PRNewswire) (NASDAQ: RDFN) — The average sale price for luxury homes nationwide rose 4.7 percent annually to an average of $1,772,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a report released by Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. That’s on par with the annual growth seen in the second quarter of last year and up from a 3.2 percent growth rate in the third quarter. For this analysis, Redfin tracks home sales in more than 1,000 cities across the country and defines a home as luxury if it’s among the 5 percent most expensive homes sold in the quarter.

In the other 95 percent of the market, prices grew 4.3 percent to an average of $341,000 in the fourth quarter.

The typical luxury home that sold in the fourth quarter went under contract in 74 days, down from 78 days during the same period in 2017. Compare that with non-luxury homes: Homes that sold in the final quarter of 2018 took 56 days to go under contract, down from 63 days in the fourth quarter the year before.

Q4 2018 market summaryLuxury market (top 5%)Rest of market (bottom 95%)
Average sale price$1,772,000$341,000
Average sale price YoY+4.7%+4.3%
Average days on market7456
Days on market YoY-4-7
Percent of homes that sold above list price1.2%18.5%

SALES AND SUPPLY OF $2 MILLION-PLUS HOMES DECLINE

Sales of homes priced at or above $2 million dropped 3.9 percent annually in the fourth quarter. That’s the first time in more than two years sales of luxury homes have fallen on a year-over-year basis.

The fact that sales of high-priced homes declined as their prices grew at a relatively strong rate can be explained in part by the basics of supply and demand. Compared with a year earlier, there were 6.5 percent fewer $2 million-plus homes on the market last quarter, the seventh quarter in a row inventory of luxury homes has dropped annually.

Supply of homes priced under $2 million, meanwhile, has been on a steady upward trend since the beginning of 2018.

While domestic and global economic uncertainty may have put a bit of a damper on demand for luxury homes, the decreased supply was enough to continue to push prices up at a strong but sustainable rate just below 5 percent annually.

“In the fourth quarter of 2018 there was a lot of economic uncertainty—mortgage interest rates peaked in November, and the stock market was all over the place. This may have encouraged luxury sellers to hold on to their real estate assets and also caused luxury buyers to be reluctant to make major home purchases,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “There’s also economic uncertainty abroad. For example, China’s economy slowed down at the end of 2018, which may be affecting a segment of U.S. luxury sellers and buyers whose wealth is invested overseas.”

Fairweather continued, “Finally, it’s worth noting that when we’re examining the most expensive segment of the housing market nationwide, a disproportionate amount of the movement seen in prices and sales is driven by activity–or lack thereof– in major expensive coastal markets like San Francisco and San Jose, where sales fell by double digits while price growth slowed or reversed at the end of the year.”

BIGGEST PRICE GAINS

Cities in Florida experienced some of the biggest increases in luxury home prices. In West Palm Beach, the average sale price for the top 5 percent of homes sold in the fourth quarter was $1,628,000, up 35 percent from the year before, and in St. Petersburg luxury prices shot up 30.7 percent to $1,427,000.

“When I moved to St. Petersburg in 2006, it had a quiet downtown with one block of shops and restaurants and a very short list of luxury condo buildings—most of which were built before 1980,” said Redfin agent Brian Walsh. “As the town has grown, it has become known for its walkability, an exploding restaurant and nightlife scene and a beautiful waterfront, all of which makes it uniquely positioned to become the jewel of the Gulf Coast.”

“Now that the secret’s out, folks who have money to burn are flocking to St. Petersburg,” Walsh continued. “A few new luxury buildings have recently gone up, and spec builders are tearing down older, smaller homes and building large, modern properties that fit in beautifully with the aesthetic of the city.”

BIGGEST PRICE DECLINES

Florida cities also dominate the list of places where luxury home prices have dropped the most. Sarasota clocks in at number one with an average luxury price of $1,760,000, down 30.7 percent annually. That’s followed by Fort Lauderdale, where the average luxury home went for $2,689,000, down 26 percent from the year before.

To read the full report, complete with additional data and charts, as well as a list of the 10 highest-priced home sales in Redfin markets in the fourth quarter, visit: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2019/02/luxury-home-sales-decline-prices-rise.html.

About Redfin 
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the #1 brokerage website in the United States and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry’s lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 85 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $60 billion in home sales.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin’s press release distribution list, subscribe here. To view Redfin’s press center, click here.