Tag Archives: Survey

National Survey Finds Homeowners Are Happy with Their HOAs as FirstService Residential Reaches 8,000 Managed Properties

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Community Associations Institute survey results give insight into what’s driving growth and a more than 90 percent property retention rate at top property management company

Dania Beach, FL – June 7, 2018 (PRNewswire) Residents of managed communities are happy with their condominium and homeowner associations (HOA) according to the results of the Community Associations Institute’s (CAI) annual homeowner satisfaction survey. Notably, 85 percent of those polled for the 2018 national survey were satisfied with their experience living in a homeowner association. Homebuyers also seem to be seeking out HOA communities. A third of respondents indicated knowing the home they wanted was in a managed community made the property a more desirable purchase.

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Conducted biannually since 2005, the CAI survey has consistently shown Americans living in condominium and HOAs are very pleased with their communities. This satisfaction has come amidst a significant period of growth for HOA communities, and the leading property management companies, like FirstService Residential, that manage them. CAI estimates there are now more than 342,000 community associations in North America, representing an almost 15 percent increase over the last decade.

“When FirstService Residential manages a community, we strive to add value and make a difference every day for each resident we serve. It’s gratifying to see that as an industry we’re delivering a positive living experience,” said FirstService Residential CEO Chuck Fallon. “We’re also encouraged to see that CAI’s survey found more than 70 percent of homeowners believe community managers provide a service that enhances their properties.”

The results of CAI’s research also mirror the growth and overall satisfaction of the communities in FirstService Residential’s portfolio of managed properties. The company has had two decades of consistent growth, and currently manages 1.6 million units in more than 8,000 communities across North America. Moreover, by capitalizing on its scale, resources and service excellence culture, FirstService Residential has consistently retained well over 90 percent of its communities.

HOA Infographic

“Our body of research from thirteen years of studying homeowners’ satisfaction with their community association, along with the incredible growth and retention rates of industry leaders like FirstService Residential, challenges the sometimes negative narrative surrounding HOAs and condominiums,” remarked Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI’s chief executive officer. “Instead, it reveals the reality that homeowners remain pleased with the lifestyle and overall value community associations, and their managers, continue to deliver.”

To learn more about FirstService Residential and its industry-leading customer service, click here.

To learn more about the CAI survey and review this year’s results, visit www.caionline.org.

About FirstService Residential

FirstService Residential is North America’s largest manager of residential communities and the preferred partner of HOAs, community associations and strata corporations in the U.S. and Canada. FirstService Residential’s managed communities include low-, mid- and high-rise condominiums and cooperatives, single-family homes, master-planned, lifestyle and active adult communities, and rental and commercial properties.

With an unmatched combination of deep industry experience, local market expertise and personalized attention, FirstService Residential delivers proven solutions and exceptional service that add value, enhance lifestyles and make a difference, every day, for every resident and community it manages. FirstService Residential is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, a North American leader in the property services sector. For more information, visit www.fsresidential.com.

CONTACT:

Michael Radlick
Michael.Radlick@fsresidential.com
(305) 967-6670

RE/MAX Agents on Average Outsold Competitors by More than 2:1 in Survey

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REAL Trends 500 Ranks Top Brokerages by Transaction Sides and Volume

Denver, CO – March 29, 2018 (PRNewswire) RE/MAX®, the world’s most productive real estate network*, announced its associates once again outperformed agents with other real estate brands in the 2018 REAL Trends 500 survey. For the eighth consecutive year, RE/MAX agents in the survey on average outsold competing agents – averaging more than twice as many closed sales than agents at other participating brokerages.

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“RE/MAX is the #1 name in real estate**,” said RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos. “Year after year, we continue to surpass our competitors in respected industry rankings and studies. The quality of our agents enables us to say that, based on residential transaction sides, nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.”

Highlights from the 2018 REAL Trends survey include***:

  • RE/MAX agents averaged more than double the number of transaction sides per agent when compared with participating competitors. Agents affiliated with RE/MAX averaged 17 transaction sides while agents with competitors averaged 7.5.
  • The RE/MAX agent average of 17 transaction sides led all national franchises in the rankings including Realty Executives with 11.1, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices with 9.4, Coldwell Banker with 8.2, Century 21 with 7.8, ERA with 8.8, Better Homes & Gardens with 6.8, Sotheby’s International Realty with 6.6, Keller Williams with 6.6, Compass with 5.2, HomeSmart with 3.9 and eXp Realty with 3.8.
  • RE/MAX once again qualified more brokerages for the survey than any other real estate brand. The 565 qualifying RE/MAX brokerages represented over one-third of the 1,752 brokerages included in the survey. The closest competitor qualified 392.
  • RE/MAX agents averaged $4.6 million in sales volume, 78% higher than the $2.6 million average of all other agents in the survey.
  • When all participating brokerages are ranked by average sides per agent, RE/MAX brokerages claim 89 of the top 100 spots. RE/MAX agents in those brokerages averaged 31 transaction sides.

REAL Trends 500 ranks the performance of top participating residential brokerage firms in the U.S. Now in its 31st year, the survey ranks real estate brands by transaction sides and sales volume for the previous year. Firms needed to close a minimum of 500 transaction sides in 2017 to qualify for the 2018 REAL Trends survey.

Entrepreneur magazine named RE/MAX the world’s fastest growing real estate franchise earlier this month in the 2018 Top Fastest Growing Franchises list. The ranking of 150 franchises placed RE/MAX in the 12th spot overall, the highest among all real estate franchises, and marked the fifth consecutive year the franchisor has been included in the annual list.

In January, RE/MAX once again held the top position among real estate brands in the annual Franchise 500® survey, also by Entrepreneur magazine. This year’s ranking marked the 15th time in 19 years that RE/MAX has been listed as the top franchisor in the survey’s real estate category.

RE/MAX is in more countries and territories than any other real estate brand. From a single office that opened in 1973 in Denver, Colo., RE/MAX has grown into a global real estate network with more than 115,000 sales associates in more than 100 countries and territories.

About the RE/MAX Network
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Over 115,000 agents provide RE/MAX a global reach of more than 100 countries and territories. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX when measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX, LLC, one of the world’s leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMCO, LLC, which is controlled and managed by RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX). With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $167 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. For more information about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit www.remax.com/newsroom.

* When measured by residential transaction sides
** Source: MMR Strategy Group study of unaided awareness
*** Source: Transaction sides per agent calculated by RE/MAX based on 2018 REAL Trends 500 data, citing 2017 transaction sides for the 1,752 largest participating U.S. brokerages for which agent counts were reported. Coldwell Banker includes NRT. Berkshire does not include HomeServices of America.

HOME Survey: Housing and Economic Sentiment on Divergent Paths in Early 2018

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Washington, D.C. – March 26, 2018 (nar.realtor) New consumer findings from the National Association of Realtors® surprisingly show that while a growing share of households in the first three months of the year feel more confident about the economy and their financial situation, those positive feelings are not translating to positive views that now is a good time to buy a home.

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That’s according to NAR’s first quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey(1), which also found that homeowners are increasingly positive about selling, and non-homeowners have anxieties about saving for a down payment and qualifying for a mortgage.

Heading into the busy spring buying season, optimism that now is a good time to buy a home is at its lowest share in the past two years (68 percent; 72 percent last quarter). Among renters, feelings about buying are further diminished (55 percent; 60 percent last quarter). Conversely, those most optimistic about buying are homeowners, older respondents and those living in the more affordable Midwest and South regions.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says extremely challenging market conditions to start the year are chipping away at homebuyer optimism. “The critical shortage of listings in most markets continues to spark a hike in home prices that is not easy for many buyers – and especially first-time buyers – to overcome,” he said. “Adding more fuel to the affordability fire is the fact that mortgage rates have shot up to a four-year high in just a few months. Many house hunters are telling Realtors® that they are dispirited by the stiff competition for the short number of listings they can afford.”

Amidst the ongoing climb in home prices in most markets, the share of homeowners who believe now is a good time to sell increased to 77 percent in the first quarter (76 percent last quarter), which is second only to last year’s third quarter (80 percent) as the highest overall share since the HOME survey began in December 2015. A year ago, 69 percent of homeowners thought it was a good time to sell.

Real Estate Infographic

“There’s no question that a majority of homeowners have amassed considerable equity gains since the downturn. Home prices have grown a cumulative 48 percent since 2011 and are up 5.9 percent through the first two months of this year,” said Yun. “Supply conditions would improve measurably, and ultimately lead to more sales, if a growing number of homeowners finally decide that this spring is the time to list their home for sale.”

Consumers feeling more upbeat about the economy and their financial situation
Although optimism was a tad higher a year ago (62 percent), more households in the first quarter of this year (60 percent) believe the economy is improving compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 (52 percent). Homeowners, residents from the South and those from rural areas were the most optimistic about the direction of the economy.

Stronger economic confidence this quarter also led to households having improved feelings about their financial situation. The HOME survey’s monthly Personal Financial Outlook Index(2), showing respondents’ confidence that their financial situation will be better in six months, rose from 59.1 in December to 62.0 in March. A year ago, the index was slightly higher (62.6).

“The jump in optimism to start the year can be attributed to the robust job creation in most of the country, as well as the larger paychecks households are enjoying because of faster wage growth and the recent tax cuts,” said Yun. “These three positives should further ignite buyer demand. However, several metro areas with the healthiest labor markets also have the most severe supply and affordability pressures. This troublesome reality is what’s dampening moods and keeping many would-be buyers at bay.”

Income, debt and anxiety hold back some non-homeowners from buying
In this quarter’s survey, non-homeowners were also asked about the barriers preventing them from saving for a down payment. Limited income (47 percent), student loan debt (30 percent), and rising rents (28 percent) were the top three obstacles cited, followed by health and medical costs (14 percent). Only 14 percent also said that nothing was holding them back from saving for a down payment.

Non-homeowners were also asked for the potential reasons why qualifying for a mortgage would be difficult. Income uncertainty (45 percent), a low credit score (34 percent) and too much debt (26 percent) were mentioned the most. Twenty-nine percent said they lacked the financial knowledge or did not know the first step needed to qualify.

“It’s never too early for those wanting to own a home in the future to sit down with a lender to discuss their current financial situation,” said NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall, a sixth-generation Realtor® from Columbia, Missouri and CEO of RE/MAX Boone Realty. “Homeownership could be a more attainable goal once an interested buyer finds out how much they can afford to buy, as well as what steps, if any, are needed to improve their chances of obtaining a mortgage.”

About NAR’s HOME survey
In January through early March, a sample of U.S. households was surveyed via random-digit dial, including a mix of cell phones and land lines. The survey was conducted by an established survey research firm, TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence. Each month approximately 900 qualified households responded to the survey. The data was compiled for this report and a total of 2,702 household responses are represented.

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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1. NAR’s Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey tracks topical real estate trends, including current renters and homeowners’ views and aspirations regarding homeownership, whether or not it’s a good time to buy or sell a home, and expectations and experiences in the mortgage market. New questions are added to the survey each quarter to reflect timely topics impacting real estate.

HOME survey data is collected on a monthly basis and will be reported each quarter. New questions will be added to the survey each quarter to reflect timely topics impacting the real estate marketplace.

2. Index ranges between 0 and 100: 0 = all respondents believe their personal financial situation will be worse in 6 months; 50 = all respondents believe their personal financial situation will be about the same in 6 months; 100 = all respondents believe their personal situation will be better in 6 months.

Media Contact:

Adam DeSanctis
(202) 383-1178
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