Tech consolidations, 3 winning tech strategies + breaking down the tech space
In addition to the articles, here are a few items we are reading from across the internet.
The average time homeowners owned their home dipped to 13.2 years in 2021, down from 13.5 years in 2022, according to a Redfin analysis of county records. This is the first year-over-year dip since 2012 (10.1-year tenure) the first year presented in the Redfin study. The pandemic undoubtedly spurred migration in the country. Homeowner tenure in 2022 will reveal if the trend continues.
Real estate sales in the metaverse – the digital realm that major tech companies are working to establish and monetize. Projected sales in 2022 are for nearly $1 billion. The metaverse remains far out, but with major tech companies such as Facebook investing millions into the arena, it’s too soon to dismiss, as strange as it appears now.
A federal judge has suspended Oregon’s ban on homebuyers providing letters to sellers that accompany their offers. The state had banned the letters as it posited that they could help contribute, unknowingly or not, to Fair Housing violations as they could tip off sellers to characteristics of buyers that could support biases. Other jurisdictions throughout the country have considered similar bans. Indeed NAR, itself, has stated these homebuyer notes could lead to Fair Housing violations. While a preliminary injunction has been issued, this issue is far from settled.
Utah-based Homie, which operates an alternative finance (AltFin) real estate model in which it looks to streamline real estate transactions with innovative finance options for consumers, laid off a third of its staff in February. Estimates put the number of staff let go at approximately 100. The AltFin landscape, as T3 Sixty investigated thoroughly in the 2022 Swanepoel Trend Report chapter, “The Real Estate Financing Revolution,” is a fast-moving one. Companies are testing and innovating new ways for consumers to finance homes using a variety of new tactics. Many have yet to prove out, and companies such as Homie – and, most notably Zillow Group with its iBuying shutdown last year – are having to pivot as they find their way forward.
National home prices rose to $278,630 in 2021, an 18.9 percent jump over 2020 prices, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. That’s the largest year-over-year increase in the index’s 34-year history. Inflation, years of huge demand and scarce inventory are swirling to create a dynamic housing market in 2022.
In January, 70 percent of the offers Redfin agents wrote experienced bidding wars. That’s the highest percentage since the national brokerage began tracking the stat in April 2020. In addition, Redfin data shows that in the four weeks through February 13, 57 percent of homes that went under contract did so within two weeks of listing. The housing market remains blazing hot as the spring selling season just begins to kick off. Mortgage rates will likely balance the market more than in the past two years, but time will tell exactly how much.
A pair of Black California homeowners sued an appraisal company alleging violations of the Fair Housing statutes when another appraisal company valued their home for approximately $500,000 when all indications of race were removed from the home. The DOJ rejected the appraisal firm’s motion to dismiss. Housing discrimination has played a big role in how communities have been shaped. Lawsuits like this one and an increased awareness of the discrimination still present in the industry will hopefully create a more equitable housing landscape.
Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose past the 4 percent threshold in late February, the first time they rose above that amount in over two years. With inflation running rampant in the U.S. economy and the economy at large giving off healthy signals, mortgage rates are rising again after reaching all-time lows in 2021. This could signal a begin to a more balanced supply-demand market after years of severe low inventory.
The lockbox service provider SentriLock, owned by NAR, has sued rival Supra, alleging theft of technology. Lockboxes and the technology that supports them are a key, compelling part of the MLS and local Realtor association industry. These companies often obtain exclusive agreements with MLSs and/or the local Realtor associations that operate them, which can create downstream challenges for users. This suit may shed some light on this important industry tech.
NAR membership swelled to 1.6 million members in 2021, the highest for any year in the association’s over-100-year history. The ranks swelled by over 156,000 in just 2021 alone. With a blazing housing market, great price appreciation and the pandemic shifting the job market, many professionals turned their eyes to a real estate career and saw the appeal. While the industry is riding high right now, the ranks will shrink again when the market cools. Indeed, they make shrink further than in years past as a maturing industry demands more from agents than ever before.
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