T3 Insight

2023 Mega 1000 Live, the brokerage concentration trend + rethinking ‘independent brokerages’

Articles in this Edition

In this edition of T3 Insight, T3 Sixty's latest monthly analysis of the residential real estate brokerage industry includes articles on 2023 Mega 1000 Live, the brokerage concentration trend + rethinking ‘independent brokerages’. Take a deep dive below.
Released April 27, 2023

VIDEO: Inside the 2023 Mega 1000

by: Jack Miller, Paul Hagey

A digest of the trend of brokerage concentration

by: Paul Hagey

Rethinking the term ‘independent brokerage’

by: Paul Hagey

What We're Reading

In addition to the articles, here are a few items we are reading from across the internet.

A tumultuous time for buyers – and sellers

Buyers are grappling with high prices, rising interest rates and low inventory, while sellers face price peaks and the prospect of higher mortgage rates on their next home. The effect is a topsy-turvy market in which both buyers and sellers face significant hurdles to meet their real estate needs. In times like these, brokers and agents need to provide savvy advice and insight to clients to successfully realize their real estate goals.

  • New York Times
CoStar Group reports 1Q revenue growth

CoStar Group, which owns real estate portal Homes.com and real estate agent marketing tool Homesnap, reported first quarter revenue of $584 million, a 13% increase from the same period in 2022. Its net income of $87 million in the quarter represented a slight decrease from $89 million in first quarter 2022. The company, which acquired Homes.com in May 2021, reported that Homes.com achieved 27 million unique visitors in March, more than 4X the 6 million it had when it acquired the portal. The company has expressed big plans for the portal as it reworks the product into its well-established advertising-based portal playbook. https://www.realestatenews.com/2023/04/25/costar-beats-expectations-increases-revenue-by-13

  • Real Estate News
Homeownership builds wealth, but not all groups benefit equally

Homeownership rates closely track with income but the benefits differ by race, according to a recently released NAR study. Just 47% of low-income households (defined as income no greater than 80% of area median income) own their home. That number rises to 69% for middle-income households and 87% for those at the upper-income level. With homeownership rates of just 44.9% and 48.5% respectively, Black and Hispanic households continue to significantly trail the rates of white and Asian households, which are currently at 74.5% and 61.9%, respectively.

  • NAR
Opendoor cuts 22% of staff

Opendoor announced a cut of 560 employees, about 22% of its staff, in mid-April. It had already cut 550 employees in November. The pioneer iBuyer is attempting to find its footing as it works to reorient its company around a new marketplace initiative and leans into its Exclusives strategy, in which it lists homes it owns on its site first before listing in the MLS.

  • Real Estate News
FTC works to block acquisition of MLS tech provider Black Knight

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission seek a preliminary injunction to stop the $11.7 billion acquisition of mortgage tech provider Black Knight by Intercontinental Exchange. The FTC wants more time to investigate acquisition – it is planning to begin review of combination on July 12. The investigation centers on Black Knight’s loan origination system and the potential reduction in competition if ICE completes the acquisition. Black Knight, a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the BKI ticker, makes the popular Paragon MLS system.

  • Inman
Median home prices see largest annual drop in over 10 years

Median home prices in March fell 3.3% from a year ago to $400,528, the largest annual median home price drop since 2012, according to a Redfin analysis of home prices. The effects of inflation, rising interest rates and a market throwing mixed signals is playing out in full force in this spring selling season. At a time when prices rise and demand peaks, this spring reveals cooler prices.

  • Redfin
Constrained supply restricts sales

Existing-home sales dropped in March from February as buyers grapple with low inventory across the country. The annual rate of home sales in March was 4.4 million, down 22.0% from the year previous. The market faces serious uncertainty as the typically busy spring selling season approaches summer. Real estate has long anticipated a return to normal, but this year may prove to be a tumultuous interlude than once anticipated.

  • NAR
Relocation heats up

Companies are offering bonuses and perks to potential employees to get them to move closer to offices, according to a new analysis of the trend in the Wall Street Journal. The volume of relocation picked up in 2022 more than many expected as well as the budgets companies had to spend on it. Relocation has long been a key service of large real estate brokerage companies. A growing demand by employers of workers at offices will add some valuable demand to the market as they seek housing near their jobs.

  • The Wall Street Journal