To all the agents in the house,
There's a lot going on. Let's break down three especially important matters:
* National Association of Realtors' legislative conference
Overlooking the Potomac River and a large ferris wheel, NAR leadership is convening this week in National Harbor, Maryland to discuss the rising costs of homes, lack of inventory, and NAR's role in defending itself in multiple antitrust lawsuits.
"People ask if I like this current market," said Felicia Mares, an agent in Oakland who appeared on stage at the conference's residential issues and trends session Wednesday morning. "Absolutely not. It's really tough."
Mares described Bay Area buyers purchasing homes for 30% higher than the listing price. And that's with some tech workers exiting the Bay Area as companies put in place permanent work from home, Mares said.
"Supply is the elephant in the room," said Bryan Greene, NAR's vice president of policy advocacy at a session Monday on what NAR is lobbying Congress about.
Actually, class action lawsuits about real estate commissions are the elephant in the room. It has been barely mentioned in these general sessions.NAR did have one courtroom victory this week, reported by Inman News as a lawsuit on behalf of buyers - as opposed to sellers - that was dismissed, for now, by a federal judge in Chicago.
* The Agency is the latest private company to expand
In my past, real estate reporting in sunny, sprawling Los Angeles, The Agency was a local phenomenon.It was a Beverly Hills brokerage and its founder and CEO, Mauricio Umansky, was an alumnus of the Hilton & Hyland brokerage, which has famously never expanded beyond Beverly Hills. Even the name seemed to evoke talent agents and firms like Creative Artists Agency.
Yesterday, The Agency announced it bought Triplemint, a consummate Manhattan brokerage. It was the latest and largest expansion they've made since Rainy Hake Austin jumped from Compass last year to become president of The Agency.
Now The Agency is taking on Compass in not just west Los Angeles but pricey markets across the country.
Going public is an option for The Agency, Austin told me, but her stated focus was more about expanding along the West Coast and in New York.
Compass went public last March and has seen its stock price sink like a stone from $19 when it first traded, to $5.50. Whether Compass's public performance is a factor, Side, Keller Williams and even HomeSmart, which put out an S-1, have seemingly cooled their heels on IPO plans.
It may be a while before another brokerage goes public.
* What's next for ZIllow?
Yes, I've asked this question a lot, but here's a new perspective: Zillow is doing a really good job unloading all its inventory! The company should be done by the end of the second quarter, John Campbell, an analyst at Stephens, told me.
So once Zillow has finalized its iBuying divorce, does it have a new animating focus? Perhaps CEO Rich Barton will address this on the company's earnings call tomorrow.
That was a lot! Agents, please email me your thoughts anonymously at mblake@hwmedia.com. Also, happy to chat if you're here at NAR. I'm around until Friday.
Sincerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate Reporter
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