T3 Insight

MLS Innovation, the T3 Brokerage Tech Profile + a deeper look at homeownership

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 MLS Innovation, the T3 Brokerage Tech Profile + a deeper look at homeownership. Take a deep dive below.

Released October 28, 2022

Analyzing homeownership rates and their demographic characteristics

by: Dr. Paul Bishop

The T3 Brokerage Technology Profile

by: Michael Phelan

VIDEO: Exploring New MLS Models

by: Clint Skutchan

What We're Reading

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

CoStar Group reports $557M in 3Q revenue

CoStar Group, the commercial real estate giant who’s the relatively new owner of Homes.com and Homesnap, reported $557 million in third quarter revenue, up 12 percent from the same period in 2021. The industry is anticipating announcements from CoStar about how it is developing and plans to deploy Homes.com and Homesnap. Recently, Homesnap and the Broker Public Portal parted ways from the joint venture they had formed in which the tech company powered the initiatives national public-facing real estate portal.

Real Estate News

Mortgage rates continue to rise

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit 6.7 percent in October, approaching a two-decade peak. Last year at the same time, rates were at 3.1 percent, which reveals the significant change the market has experienced. Of course, brokerages, agents and consumers across the country have been feeling this change acutely for months as the market shifts from an extremely hot seller’s market to one that is more balanced.

Yahoo Finance

Compass makes more cuts

In an effort to weather its current financial turmoil, Compass initiated another round of layoffs in late September, cutting 10 percent of its staff, many of whom were on the tech team. The company still has 700 employees in the tech division, down from approximately 1,500 in February. The company has made big bets on its tech vision for real estate. As brokerage leaders know, implementing a tech strategy is an extremely difficult exercise, but one that can bring many rewards. Compass is still betting big on its vision.

Bloomberg

Broker Public Portal + Homesnap split

The Broker Public Portal, the initiative from brokers and MLSs envisioned as a national consumer-facing portal, and Homesnap, the tech company the group partnered with to execute the vision, have split. The 50-50 joint venture will dissolve at the end of October. Homesnap’s new owner, CoStar Group, which acquired the firm in mid-2021, had proposed some new terms that the BPP board could not sign on to. CoStar has a well-defined playbook for operating portals, which includes charging brokers and agents for premium placement on its sites. This reportedly was one of the sticking points for the two groups as CoStar explored applying a similar approach to Homesnap. For more on CoStar’s vision and operation, see the 2022 Swanepoel Trends Report chapter, “CoStar Group: Inside Residential Real Estate’s New Heavyweight.”

Inman

Agent-matching auction marketplace startup raises $15M

A startup looking to apply a twist on the classic agent-matching vision for tech companies has raised $15 million. BidMyListing allows homesellers to field “bids” from listing agents looking to win their business. The bids from listing agents can include offers of cash to sellers, commission details, listing term, details on why the potential client should work with them, and more. Sellers then choose from the agents that bid to represent them in their sale.

NewsDirect

Court orders Anywhere Real Estate to hand over commission docs

A court hearing the Nosalek commission lawsuit has ordered Anywhere Real Estate to hand over documents related to its nationwide implementation of NAR’s compensation rule. This latest development shows the scope and potential wide-ranging impact this and other investigations into real estate’s compensation structure could have. Read the chapter “Evaluating Real Estate’s Compensation Structure and Its Future,” in the upcoming 2023 Swanepoel Trends Report.

Inman

Multifamily construction reaching a half-century high in 2022

The US is on pace to construct over 400,000 new multifamily units in 2022, the most built in any year since 1972. New York, Dallas, Miami, Austin, Texas, and Houston, are among the cities with the most multifamily construction activity through September. Multifamily, of course, reflects ongoing rental demand, which ties into larger trends within the residential real estate brokerage industry, including the growing presence of single-family investors. Learn more about how these connect in the chapter “Analyzing the Increasing Presence of Single-Family Home Investors,” in the upcoming 2023 Swanepoel Trends Report.

Multi-Housing News

CEOs bracing for downturn

The head of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Jamie Dimon, shared in early October he believes the US is heading for a recession. He’s not alone. A recent survey of CEOs found that the majority are preparing for a downturn. Brokerage leaders have been sensing a market shift for months as larger, macro-economic developments, like the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, impact all parts of the US economy. Time will tell how this unfolds, but caution is the watchword for now.

Perchwell gets another MLS investor, user

Perchwell, the MLS tech provider, has signed REcolorado, Colorado’s largest MLS, as a customer and as an equity investor. Perchwell received venture funding from CRMLS earlier in 2022. It is rolling out its platform to CRMLS in the first part of 2023 and with CincyMLS and REcolorado in 2023. MLSs are increasingly looking to own their technology future by operating key technology themselves or by taking equity stakes in technology as CRMLS and REcolorado have done with Perchwell.

Inman