To all the agents in the house,
I did something this week I have never done before at HousingWire, which is to meet people in person.
I'm at the RealTrends "Gathering of Eagles" conference in altitudinous Colorado Springs (HW Media bought RealTrends last year), and residential real estate executives and brokers are talking to each other in person, without masks, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
There's an array of golden nuggets gathered from actually meeting with people face-to-face, including their mannerisms when they deny (or tacitly admit) acquisitions that were hammered out in a lumber-rich lodge on a mountain peak with oil paintings of bears. United Real Estate CEO Dan Duffy confirmed that his brokerage just bought a company with a "great training program" but would not name the outfit. And after three years of scaling back acquisitions under CEO Ryan Schneider, Realogy franchise network CEO Susan Yannaccone said the country's No. 1 brokerage by sales volume is taking another look at M&A.
Deal making aside, here's two important takeaways from the conference, ones that I think might shape real estate in the coming months:
* The buzz phrase of the conference is "buyer fatigue."
"For my clients," said Mary Groven, broker at a Keller Williams network in Odenton, Maryland, "The stress level is way too much."
A Long & Foster agent, also in Maryland, acknowledged that buyers are sick of putting their names down for 15 to 20 homes as if they were applying for prestigious medical schools. Buyers are also weary of compromises they're making, this agent said, like waiving home inspections.
Will this fatigue reverse the low-inventory, high-demand market of the past year? We shall see, but brokers consistently reported about 5 to 10% more inventory in their local Multiple Listings Services.
* Consolidation is king
Independent brokerage heads were in conversations throughout the week with brass from Realogy, RE/MAX, and other larger outfits. Maybe they were talking about the local scenery, injuries affecting the NBA playoffs, or Taylor Swift's plans to tour again.
But the conference seemed replete with these established brokerages figuring out how to compete with not just Compass (who Realogy has sued) or eXp (who RE/MAX has sued) but also Zillow and Redfin.
During a panel talk Tuesday, Duffy of United Real Estate acknowledged that Zillow and Redfin will "probably figure out" how to do end-to-end home purchase services, which may upend traditional brokerage. Until then, the established players scramble for what market share they can.
I am curious to hear the thoughts of any Gathering of Eagles attendees reading this, about whether this jibes with your impression.
Also, what are you seeing in terms of buyer fatigue, or acquisitions?
Email me anonymously at mblake@housingwire.com.
Sincerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate Reporter
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