The 2021 SP 200, the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation + unlocking T3 Intel
In addition to the articles, here are a few items we are reading from across the internet.
As companies expand their purview of the residential real estate industry, rentals are a valuable opportunity both as a tool for small landlords but also as connection with consumers who may grow into homebuyers. Zillow shows it’s building out a strong, multifaceted residential real estate ecosystem service.
The heat is turning up on the way homebuyers and homesellers pay commissions to their agents. Stiff competition from discount brokerages, the recent lawsuit and settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and NAR around commissions and the other pending large class-action antitrust lawsuits related to commission are not only contributing to a downward trend in commission rates consumers pay agents, but could shake up the long-standing tradition of sellers (and their agent) setting and paying buyer’s agent commission.
The company will join a crowded field of large public brokerage companies when it officially lists. The industry is waiting anxiously to peak into the company’s performance when it files its S-1 as this document will reveal more details about the finances behind one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry’s history.
Already a years’ long trend before the pandemic, low inventory remains one of the driving factors in real estate throughout the country. It is pushing prices to all-time highs,forcing average days on market down and, overall, acting as the limiting reagent on a housing market ready to explode with activity.
The consolidation trend in real estate continues. The great influx of capital into the industry over the last decade has forced a professionalism, an economy of scale and a sophistication that makes it harder for regional brokerages to compete on brand, technology and services.
This is the second bump in a money-raise to increased demand in 2020. In June, it raised $550 million after initially hunting for $400 million. Based on a strong 2020, as profiled in the 2021 Swanepoel Trends Report chapter (read this now on T3 Intel here) that analyzes the company in depth, the firm’s performance has improved and investor demand has consequently gone up.
NAR came up big for members in 2020 and McGhahn, who took over from Bill Malkasian in 2020 as NAR chief advocacy officer, has her team ready to roll this year.
Large companies continue to get bigger as the industry continues to mature. While the releases did not make clear (nor the companies), these were acquisitions by the look of it. United Real Estate operates an agent flat-fee brokerage model in which it charges agents set fees in lieu of a commission split.
The fast-growing company says the split -- which will reduce the cost of each share -- will make owning shares more accessible for more agents and investors. EXPI shares rocketed from a $7 last March to over $100 last week. An analysis of eXp was included in the 2021 Swanepoel Trends Report chapter (now available online at T3 Intel).
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