LeadingRE Adds Roomvu to Solutions Group Program
Roomvu provides hyper-localized and relevant social media content. CHICAGO – (April 2, 2024) – Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® welcomes Roomvu to its Solutions Group program of preferred business resources for its global network of 550 market-leading real estate firms. Roomvu helps real estate professionals sustain an impactful social media presence by automatically posting local, relevant, and timely content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Roomvu creates and publishes content while also ensuring high visibility for all posts. Guaranteeing 5,000 weekly views for content, Roomvu makes sure posts are highly visible across all platforms. Additionally, they assist with email marketing by sending visually appealing newsletters and listing advertisements. According to LeadingRE Vice President, Sales/Partnerships Jeff Kennedy, "Roomvu sets itself apart with its advanced marketing strategy, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed to elevate your marketing efforts. Roomvu's video customization capabilities empower you to create compelling visual content tailored to your specific needs, enabling you to captivate and resonate with your audience like never before. With Roomvu, you can rest assured that your marketing needs are fully met, allowing you to focus on what you do best – serving your clients and growing your business." Learn more about Roomvu at Roomvu.com. "We are thrilled to announce our latest collaboration, a milestone that underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence in the real estate industry. Aligning with LeadingRE has empowered us to seamlessly adapt our services to accommodate brokerages of all sizes. Our enhanced platform now offers branded content across various channels, including sophisticated social media management, dynamic email newsletters, and impactful listing advertisements – all designed to scale," said Sam Mehrbod, CEO of Roomvu. Learn more about Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® at LeadingRE.com. About Roomvu Roomvu is a pioneer in video marketing solutions for real estate agents and mortgage brokers. Endorsed by the National Association of Realtors, Roomvu delivers tailored content to over 150,000 agents throughout the USA and Canada. Leveraging hyper-local content, Roomvu streamlines social media marketing, email campaigns, CRM, and digital advertisements. By providing small real estate professionals with the tools of industry giants, Roomvu empowers the bottom 90% of the market to rise to the top 1%. About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE.com) is a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 138,000 sales associates in over 70 countries. LeadingRE supports its members with powerful connections to other market leaders and access to innovative, performance-driven programs. LeadingRE is also active in commercial real estate, with over 200 firms in 20 countries specializing in the commercial arena.

Equity Angels Partners with Blueprint to Spotlight Emerging Startups at Global Industry Gathering
Leading conference producer supports diversity-focused accelerator through its annual gathering of built world visionaries BELLEVUE, WASH. – Mar. 18, 2024 – Equity Angels — a social impact organization dedicated to advancing diversity for success in technology startups — announces a strategic alliance with Blueprint, the real estate industry's largest global gathering of industry innovators and investors, leading the charge in changing the built world, from construction to transaction. "Blueprint is all about new ideas, innovation and connections, which is why we are thrilled to welcome the emerging startups coming through the Equity Angels program," stated Martin Kelly, President of Blueprint. "Katherine Winston and Kenya Burrell-VanWormer are building a strong foundation for their early-stage founders and we are happy that Blueprint Vegas can provide the platform for them to present alongside the top executives, investors and startup entrepreneurs from across the industry." Thousands of investors, founders and executives gather at Blueprint Vegas and the attendance has increased exponentially within just three years, demonstrating the growth of this sector. Covering more than 8,000 deals, recent research by venture capital firm A/O shows that $17.7 billion was invested in built world technology in 2023 and continues to outperform the wider venture market despite a broader VC downturn. In its 4th edition, Blueprint Vegas will feature 250+ leading voices in real estate, finance and tech, including: Jeanne Casey, Global Head of Proptech and Innovation, Nuveen Pat Dodd, Chief Executive Officer and President, CoreLogic Mike DelPrete, Real Estate Tech Strategist Clelia Peters, Managing Partner, Era Ventures John Poe, Chief Operating Officer, Pritzker Realty Group Spencer Rascoff, General Partner and Founder, 75 & Sunny Ventures Betsy Reed, SVP Technology, Starwood Capital Group David Weiden, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Khosla Ventures "Given the trillions of dollars under asset management and top investors in attendance, hosting our Demo Day with Blueprint was an easy decision," remarked Katherine Winston, Founder and Managing Partner of Equity Angels. "Our goal is to help our startup founders be at the right place and right time, with the right people. There is no better opportunity than Blueprint Vegas." Blueprint Vegas 2024 will be held on September 17-19 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. For more information: www.BlueprintVegas.com/EquityAngels. About Equity Angels Equity Angels is a social impact organization dedicated to fostering fair access to innovation and opportunity. Its mission is to advance diversity, equity and inclusion within the real estate technology startup ecosystem, through accelerator programs, executive placement and resources for growth. For more information: www.Equity-Angels.com.

RealReports, AI-Powered 'Carfax for Homes,' Now Available on the MoxiCloud
The latest member of the MoxiWorks partner program offers comprehensive reports on every home in the U.S. SEATTLE, Wa. (March 12, 2024) – MoxiWorks, your tech partner in real estate success, announced today a new partnership with RealReports. By aggregating a wide array of data from over 30 best-in-class providers, RealReports provides AI-powered, comprehensive property reports with deep insights for every home in the U.S. Home reports cover everything from permits and zoning, to climate risk, rental potential, valuation, liens, financial history, and much more.   RealReports, which says it's "like a supercharged Carfax for homes," equip agents with critical property information to win more deals, generate leads, streamline property research, and build trust with clients. The reports are powered by an AI copilot, Aiden, which analyzes tens of thousands of data points from within each RealReport to answer any property question in real-time. "In this market, the more you know about a property, the more competitive you are," said RealReports co-founder, Zach Gorman. "RealReports give agents all the information they need in one place, streamlining research and adding significant credibility in the eyes of their clients." Similar to MoxiWorks, RealReports was created by real estate for real estate. The RealReports team is made up of previous brokers, MLS directors, and technologists with deep experience with many challenges that agents face in competitive markets. RealReports has set out to create a one-of-a-kind solution using cutting edge technology to empower agents to meaningfully grow their business. "These days it's more important than ever for real estate agents to be able to stand out and show their value," said Krista Hannahs, MoxiWorks' Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships. "The MoxiCloud partner program is always looking to grow and offer the best tools on the market, and RealReports is no exception. The level of detail their reports provide are going to be a gamechanger to help agents offer even more value to their clients who will be armed with all the information they need to make the best decision possible on their home purchase." RealReports also come with lead generation capability, which allows agents to receive contact information, activity, and insights any time someone views their reports. The integration between MoxiWorks and RealReports will allow MoxiWorks users to receive user engagement activity directly in their MoxiEngage CRM, as well as contact syncing and lead delivery. "RealReports has a wealth of critical information for our agents," said Stephen Meadows, COO at Coldwell Banker Premier. "Now, thanks to the MoxiWorks integration, generating, managing, and converting the leads from this amazing tool will be even easier." The MoxiCloud partner program is a one-of-a-kind partner marketplace for MoxiWorks clients to access the incredible power of more than 150 different technology partners. With a range of integrations MoxiWorks clients can add their other favorite proptech platforms all under one roof with their MoxiWorks suite of tools. The RealReports and MoxiWorks integration is now live, to learn more visit www.realreports.ai. Interested in joining the MoxiCloud? Visit moxiworks.com. About RealReports RealReports provide comprehensive property information for every home in the United States, powered by data from 30+ best-in-class providers and Aiden, an AI real estate copilot, which can answer any property question instantly. RealReports are the ultimate tool to help real estate agents win more deals, generate leads, and build trust with their clients. About MoxiWorks MoxiWorks, a real estate tech platform that has revolutionized the industry for more than a decade, powers more than 800 brokerages and 400,000 agents to be more productive with an easier and faster marketing and management experience. Flexible, stackable, and tailored MoxiWorks solutions make the day-to-day of running a brokerage less daunting so real estate rockstars can shine. Find out more and supercharge your growth at moxiworks.com.

Zonda Will Acquire BDX and the Leading Consumer Website for New Construction Home Listings
Zonda will simplify the new home shopping journey for consumers and home builders by integrating its data and tech platform with the leading new home listings portal NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. , Feb. 21, 2024 — Zonda, the leading provider of data-driven housing market solutions for the homebuilding industry, today announced it will acquire Builders Digital Experience (BDX), which includes NewHomeSource.com, the largest new construction home listings platform in the U.S., and Envision, the leading new home design platform. Founded in 2000, BDX is owned by a group of 24 leading home builders in the U.S., including Lennar, PulteGroup, KB Home, and Beazer Homes, with more than 1,200 builders active on the platforms today. NewHomeSource.com is the largest portal for new construction listings, and Envision is used by major U.S. home builders to help buyers visualize their future home and customize finishes based on their budget. The demand for new construction remains clear – especially as homeowner needs evolved following the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly one in three homes on the market in the U.S. last year were a new home. Historically, newly built homes made up just 10-15% of total inventory. This acquisition marks a significant step in Zonda's mission to streamline the new home shopping journey by helping consumers find homes easier, and, in turn, helping builders grow their business and generate more connection with home buyers. Zonda also operates Livabl, Canada's leading new construction home listings portal. "By combining a new home listings portal with Zonda's deep dataset, we'll be able to better serve the unique needs of home shoppers, ultimately driving more connections with buyers and awareness for home builders," said Jeff Meyers, CEO of Zonda. "We know that consumers shop for new homes and communities differently," said Meyers. "With the help of Zonda's data, consumers will soon be able to find, tour, and compare specific homes within a new home community — a far more dynamic experience than seeing a model home listing and sample floor plans. This is a game changer for the industry and will not only create a more engaging platform for consumers, but will yield incredibly rich data for builders to inform their business and pricing strategy." "This acquisition is a historic moment in the new home industry that will drive more leads and awareness for builders and their homes," said Kevin Krone, CEO of BDX. "Zonda, with their deep data and technical experience, is the ideal choice to take our vision to the next level. As builders race to keep up with consumer demand for new homes, we're excited to have Zonda take our tech platform to the next level and ultimately fuel growth for the entire industry." Additional Benefits of the Deal For Home Shoppers: Timely Listings Data: Consumers will be able to view the most complete catalog of new homes and communities in America – updated from direct builder feeds and Zonda's data platform. Community Maps: With Zonda's map integrations, home shoppers will be able to see listings for specific home sites within communities, as well as listing status, floor plan options and community layout. Most listing portals today provide information on only a few homes or floor plans within a community. 3D & 2D Floor Plans: Visualize homes with fully integrated renderings of builder floor plans in both 3D and 2D. Design/Customization Tools: With the Envision platform, consumers will be able to customize their new home before they move in using a fully immersive online design center. Consumers will be able to select their home's finishings from more than 225 product manufacturer brands, see structural and floor plan modifications, and preview how it will look in an integrated visualizer. Self-Guided Tours: With Zonda's integration with UTour, consumers will be able to schedule tours and preview homes on-demand and enjoy interactive, self-guided tours without a salesperson. For Home Builders: More Leads: Higher quality leads and the ability to drive deeper engagement with buyers throughout the entire home shopping lifecycle. Benchmarking Data: With Zonda's builder dashboard, builders will have access to new benchmarking analytics and insights into consumer buying habits and trends. Lead Conversion Stats: Builders will gain deeper insights into the lifecycle of their leads, lead volume, and geography trends for home shoppers. Industry Experts: With Zonda's team of industry experts, builders will have access to more educational opportunities to gain insights about market dynamics and more. About Zonda Zonda provides data-driven housing market solutions to the homebuilding industry. From builders to building product manufacturers, mortgage clients, and multifamily executives, we work hand-in-hand with our customers to streamline access to housing data to empower smarter decisions. As a leading brand in residential construction, our mission is to advance the home building industry, because we believe better homes mean better lives and stronger communities. Together, we are building the future of housing. About BDX The BDX mission is to be the premier destination for connecting consumers with builders and providing an unparalleled digital experience for dreaming, finding, and designing a 'new' home. The company's flagship website, NewHomeSource.com is the leading online destination for consumers as they search for new construction communities and homes. The company brings home builders a variety of solutions for lead generation, visual content, and e-commerce. In addition to NewHomeSource, BDX also offers the Envision online design center, and a variety of visual content solutions like renderings, interactive floor plans, 3D home tours, visualization and virtual reality. Home shoppers ready to search for new construction communities and homes can visit www.newhomesource.com. Home builders interested in connecting with home shoppers will find more information at www.thebdx.com.

Inside Real Estate Announces the Acquisition of Folio by Amitree, a Patented AI Email Productivity Solution
Inside Real Estate's addition of Folio by Amitree expands their end-to-end suite for brokers, teams and agents by leveraging patented AI to streamline transaction workflows and create a better consumer experience. MURRAY, Utah, Feb. 16, 2024 -- Inside Real Estate, one of the fastest-growing independent real estate software companies and a trusted technology partner to over 400,000 real estate professionals, announced today the acquisition of Folio by Amitree, an AI-powered email productivity solution that securely detects a real estate professional's transactions and organizes them in real time, making order out of the chaos of email. Today Folio helps compress the email workflow for over 100,000 real estate agents, enabling them to streamline their processes and close more deals. To date, the company has organized over 2.5 billion emails and saved professionals over 3 million hours. "Folio by Amitree has helped solve the massive email productivity and data security problem in our industry," said Joe Skousen, Founder and CEO of Inside Real Estate. "They follow the same innovation mindset we do at Inside Real Estate: deliver an enhanced consumer experience on behalf of the agent and build technology that works the way agents work, not the other way around. Folio couldn't be more naturally aligned to our vision for a single end-to-end platform experience and our results-driven technology mission. We are thrilled to welcome them into the Inside Real Estate family." Folio by Amitree is a patented smart transaction assistant that meets agents where they work (their inbox) overcoming the agent adoption challenges of traditional transaction management systems. Over 95% of all transactions are conducted over email and Folio helps turn this unstructured firehose of emails into a powerful and secure business organizer, resulting in greater productivity, faster offers, and an improved client experience. Folio by Amitree helps agents and teams: Automatically organize unstructured transaction emails into patented Smart Folders Generate a branded timeline of closing activities that will impress buyers or sellers Customize their own service providers to enable clients throughout their closing journey Collaborate on deals with colleagues to improve team productivity Detect fraud and compile correspondence to add security and compliance over email Save time by summarizing real estate documents with DocGPT "This is an exciting new chapter for us, and our joint customers," said Jonathan Aizen, Founder of Folio by Amitree. "Inside Real Estate continues to lead the industry with powerful, results-minded solutions. We couldn't have asked for a better technology fit and partner. The additional resources from Inside Real Estate will provide unparalleled innovation and help us continue with the highest levels of support, security and reliability our customers expect." The Folio team will continue to serve Folio clients as part of the Inside Real Estate family, paired with additional resources driving even faster innovation and greater service options. About Inside Real Estate Inside Real Estate is a fast-growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 400,000 top brokerages, agents, and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable, and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create its own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations, and high-quality add-on solutions. Recent strategic acquisitions have expanded the company's technology portfolio further, including BoomTown, Brokermint, and AmpStats solutions, which solidifies Inside Real Estate as the leading technology partner in the real estate industry. With an accomplished leadership team and its talented staff, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale, and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base. To learn more visit insiderealestate.com. About Amitree Amitree leverages state-of-the-art machine learning to enable professionals to do what they do best by automating the tedious parts of their jobs so they can focus on delivering value. The company's core technology analyzes and extracts critical data from email, deriving unique insights and enabling professionals to drive the best outcomes. Its flagship product, Folio, utilizes this technology to compress the email workflow of over 100,000 real estate agents, enabling them to streamline their processes and close more deals. To date, the company has analyzed over 2.5 billion emails and saved professionals over 3 million hours.

Sisu Unveils Sympli Brand to Enable Real Estate Team and Broker Owners to Launch Business Ventures in Mortgage, Insurance and Title Services
Empowering Real Estate Teams and High Performing Brokerages with Innovative Tools for Business Expansion and Revenue Growth Kaysville, UT – January 23, 2024 – Sisu, a trailblazer in providing software solutions that streamline and automate the entire real estate transaction; bringing all real estate agents, vendors and clients together, is excited to announce the launch of Sympli, a pioneering initiative designed to assist Sisu clients in establishing their own mortgage, insurance and title businesses. This strategic move marks a significant step in reshaping the real estate landscape, offering a comprehensive business and technology solution for real estate teams and high performing brokerages to enhance their ancillary revenue streams. "Sympli is more than just a business partnership; it's a catalyst for transformation in the real estate industry," states Brian Charlesworth, CEO and Founder of Sisu. "By empowering our clients to start their own mortgage, insurance and title businesses, we're opening up new avenues for growth and profitability." This initiative stems from Sisu's commitment to innovating in the real estate sector. Sympli offers a streamlined approach for real estate team and broker owners to diversify their services, thus enhancing their value proposition and client experience. "Our vision with Sympli is clear – to empower real estate teams and brokerages to take ownership and legally monetize the entire transaction process, while providing a better experience for their customers," said Frank A. Felice, CRO of Sisu. "In today’s times of commission compression, ever increasing lead platform success fees and the anti-trust lawsuit, smart teams and high performing brokerages need to focus on how to set up RESPA compliant ancillary businesses to diversify their income and strategically set them apart from their competition. This initiative is about providing our clients with the tools, technology, and team necessary to succeed in a competitive and ever-competitive, compressed market." The business venture proposed by Sympli is tailored to meet the evolving needs of the real estate industry. It addresses the challenges teams face in integrating ancillary services like mortgage and title into their offerings. With Sympli, Sisu clients can expect a comprehensive, compliant, and profitable approach to business expansion. For more information about this innovative venture and the opportunities it presents, please visit https://getsympli.com or contact Frank Felice at [email protected]. About Sisu Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Kaysville, UT, Sisu has rapidly emerged as a frontrunner in real estate workflow automation. Driven by a mission to revolutionize the real estate industry, Sisu delivers state-of-the-art tools and solutions that streamline the transaction process, enhance team efficiency, and boost revenue generation. Sisu's suite of services includes advanced lead and transaction analytics, transaction and back office management, sales contest platforms, a customer branded client portal and more, all designed to empower real estate professionals in a competitive market. With a keen focus on innovation and customer success, Sisu continues to lead the digital transformation of the real estate sector, offering unmatched value and support to real estate teams nationwide. For more information, visit sisu.co. About Sympli Sympli, a strategic extension of Sisu's vision, is dedicated to setting new benchmarks in the mortgage, title and property insurance industry. Launched as a collaborative initiative, it provides a unique technology and business platform for real estate teams and high accountability brokerages to establish their own mortgage, property insurance and title business joint ventures.

New Delta Media Survey Shows Widespread AI Adoption Reshaping Real Estate Despite Persistent Anxiety Over Safeguards
CANTON, Ohio, Jan. 17, 2024 -- The popularity and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in real estate has become nearly ubiquitous among America's leading real estate brokerages, with 75% already using the technology and almost 80% reporting that their agents have adopted AI tools. But concerns remain about safeguards keeping pace with AI's rapid integration, according to the 2024 Delta Media Real Estate Leadership Survey released today. The comprehensive survey by Delta Media Group, a leading technology partner for more than 80 LeadingRE Affiliates and over 50 top-ranked brokerages nationwide, provides an in-depth profile of AI's current landscape and future trajectory based on responses from more than 130 top brokerage leaders representing firms responsible for two-thirds of all real estate transactions nationally last year. It also uncovers worries about risks related to unchecked AI usage. "AI has become one of real estate's fastest-adopted technology tools, embraced by brokerages and agents at a breakneck speed," said Michael Minard, owner and CEO of Delta Media. "But our survey shows legitimate concerns about reducing AI risks by having proper controls in place. As AI reliance grows, brokerages need assurance that their tech partners providing these tools have sufficient safeguards to protect them from the potential downsides. Managing risks remains an imperative even as competitive pressures make adoption table stakes," he added. The Delta study discovered how real estate agents employ AI in their day-to-day business, primarily leveraging this technology to craft property descriptions (82%), followed by generating blog posts, emails, and letters (67%), social media content (60%), website content (44%), and writing personal bios (43%). More significantly, the reliance on AI is not just present but growing, with executives rating its current importance to the industry at 5 out of 10, which surges by 40% when asked about AI's importance in the "near future." The enthusiasm for AI is growing, with leaders noting they plan to leverage AI in the future; digital marketing (73%) and social media (72%) are the leading anticipated uses. While some experts predict 2024 will be the year of AI personal assistants, only 23% of brokerage leaders see AI used for front-office or admin support this year. Remarkably, one in ten (11%) have "No plans to use AI" this year. Despite the early adoption and widespread use of AI in the real estate industry, as Minard points out, the Delta survey found that a persistent fear of AI remains. More than half of the top brokerage execs said they are "worried or very worried" that AI "does not have the appropriate guardrails" to limit their risk or liability around it. Gender dynamics Female leaders recognize AI's importance more, especially in mid-sized brokerages with substantial transaction volumes. A greater percentage of female leaders (85.3%) utilize AI in their businesses than male leaders (70.4%). Female-led brokerages, particularly those with medium to large agent teams and high transaction volumes, are the most likely to use AI. The youngest and oldest male leaders, overseeing smaller brokerages, are less inclined to integrate AI. The typical profile of a leader using AI today is an experienced senior executive, predominantly male, helming a mid-sized brokerage. This contrasts with the characteristics of brokerages most actively using AI, often led by women aged between 31-39 or 50-59 years, managing a considerable number of agents and overseeing substantial transaction volumes. Concerning the apprehension of AI, more than half of the executives worry about the lack of "appropriate guardrails," with female leaders slightly more concerned than males. The highest level of worry is among brokerage leaders aged 60 or older, especially those managing smaller teams and lower transaction volumes. Conversely, middle-aged leaders of large brokerages with massive transaction volumes exhibit the least concern. Other survey highlights: Older male leaders of mid-sized firms are most bullish on future AI importance Larger brokerages with female executives are more likely to have agents using AI Smaller brokerages led by older executives have the highest AI worry levels Larger brokerages with middle-aged leadership are least worried about AI Learn more about Delta Media at deltamediagroup.com. About Delta Media Delta Media Group, Inc. is one of America's largest real estate technology solutions providers for real estate brokerages. Located in Canton, Ohio, it is the inventor of DeltaNET, considered the industry's most advanced CRM-based, all-in-one digital marketing platform. The largest family-owned business in its space, Delta is the trusted technology partner for many of the best-known real estate brands, including more than 80 LeadingRE Affiliates and over 50 top-ranked brokerages nationwide. Discover more at deltamediagroup.com.

Global Survey Reveals Affluent Home Seekers Expanding Reaches and Sustainability Is Top of Mind
Sotheby's International Realty Releases 2024 Luxury Outlook Report Uncovering New Hot Spots for Global Investment, International Destinations With Enticing Tax Incentives, and How Cities and Suburbs Continue to Fare Post-Pandemic NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2024 — Today, Sotheby's International Realty published its 2024 Luxury Outlook report, a comprehensive exploration into high-end real estate markets across the globe. Following several years of residential real estate frenzy, the report reveals that buyers have begun to acclimate to a new normal of higher interest rates, with high-end home seekers expanding their reaches to more parts of the world with Australia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey poised for growth. The report explores the trends shaping real estate investment decisions in the year ahead, from the intergenerational transfer of wealth, to pinpointing parts of the world where tax incentives are increasingly enticing. "Our goal for the fourth edition of the Luxury Outlook report was to couple the expert insight of our agents with the perspectives of leading global institutions on the trends affluent buyers can expect in the months ahead to help them make opportunistic transactions in 2024," said Bradley Nelson, chief marketing officer, Sotheby's International Realty. "Despite higher interest rates, demand remains strong in many corners of the market, as people move both because they're going through major life events—such as new children or new jobs—or simply because they want to upgrade their home and, with it, their lifestyle." The Sotheby's International Realty 2024 Luxury Outlook report was compiled by surveying Sotheby's International Realty agents around the world who transact in the US$10M+ price category. This information was complemented by gathering supporting data from other leading industry experts, including UBS; The Brookings Institution; McKinsey & Company; and property technology and security firm, Kastle Systems; in addition to art and luxury experts at Sotheby's, the famed auction house, to round out luxury trends in the year to come. Key findings featured in the report include: The international market remains robust; policy and regulatory changes are closely linked with real estate markets and are driving investment decisions High-net-worth individuals being more mobile than ever – maintaining multiple residences – and looking at transactions with a modified perspective in light of higher taxes, new government incentives, or in the face of a changing climate The real estate industry using the synergy of the real world and the cyber world to market and sell homes The dominance of telecommuting and hybrid work shifting the demands of affluent homebuyers Sustainability moving from a niche interest to now being top of mind for many buyers A historic rise in mortgage interest rates translating into a higher percentage of all-cash deals around the world Owners needing to be strategic to minimize the tax impact of their wealth transfer given a strong appreciation of real estate values in recent years and the looming drop in the estate tax exemption More than 80% of leading Sotheby's International Realty agents said AI is likely to have the biggest impact on the real estate industry in the next five years vs. virtual reality or blockchain "As we continue to navigate shifts in the real estate market, Sotheby's International Realty agents from 83 countries and territories around the world continue to lead the way," said Philip White, president and chief executive officer, Sotheby's International Realty. "Luxury Outlook offers our clients unparalleled and trusted expertise as they seek to make informed real estate decisions in the year ahead, whether buying, selling, or investing, wherever they may be." Click here to read the complete report. Sotheby's International Realty Sotheby's International Realty was founded in 1976 as a real estate service for discerning clients of Sotheby's auction house. Today, the company's global footprint spans more than 1,100 offices located in 83 countries and territories worldwide, including 48 company-owned brokerage offices in key metropolitan and resort markets. In February 2004, Anywhere Real Estate Inc. entered a long-term strategic alliance with Sotheby's, the operator of the auction house. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby's International Realty name and the development of a franchise system. The franchise system is comprised of an affiliate network, where each office is independently owned and operated. Sotheby's International Realty supports its affiliates and agents with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Affiliates and agents also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby's auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.

Homebuyers' Monthly Payments Drop to Lowest Level in Nearly a Year, Bringing Back Some House Hunters
The median U.S. housing payment is down nearly $400 from its October peak, enticing some sidelined buyers to get back in the game SEATTLE — The median U.S. mortgage payment was $2,361 during the four weeks ending December 31, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's down $372 (-14%) from October's all-time high to its lowest level in nearly a year. Early-stage homebuying demand is starting to pick up as buyers take advantage of lower rates and more homes to choose from (new listings are up 10% year over year). Redfin's Homebuyer Demand Index—a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents—is up 10% from a month ago to its highest level since August. Pending sales are down just 3% annually, the smallest decline in two years. "There have been more tours and more offers on my listings since mortgage rates started declining," said Las Vegas Redfin Premier agent Shay Stein. "It's all about perspective: Two years ago, buyers would have cried about a 6% mortgage rate. Now, they're happy they've dropped down to the mid-6's." Leading indicators Key housing-market data View the full report, including charts, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with same day tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home in certain markets can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Customers who buy and sell with Redfin pay a 1% listing fee, subject to minimums, less than half of what brokerages commonly charge. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.5 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

JPAR - Real Estate Expands Its Footprint to 30 States in 2023 and Launches Growth Plans
Known for its agent-centric model and cutting-edge tech platform, the company touts its continued growth and announces plans for rapid expansion in 2024! PLANO, Texas, Dec. 30, 2023 -- JPAR® - Real Estate, a leading real estate brand, is pleased to report on its annual growth and achievements in 2023 and reveal its plans for continued expansion with an aggressive, agent-centric market positioning. In 2023, JPAR® was recognized as the #1 low-cost franchise brand, celebrated new locations in many key markets throughout the United States, launched a successful wellness program on the path toward comprehensive agent benefits, all while empowering its brokers and agents with one of the most powerful marketing, technology and training platforms in the industry. JPAR is led by industry-veterans, Chris Sears, President, JPAR® - Real Estate and Laura O'Connor, President and COO, JPAR® Affiliated Network. Both leaders were recognized for their transformative leadership and growth. "The JPAR® Affiliated Network has added several new affiliates to our network this year and we are poised for success in 2024. Our flexible, agent-centric franchise model continues to attract entrepreneurs who are ready to take their business to the next level," said O'Connor. JPAR® - Affiliated Network Office Openings in 2023: JPAR® - Magnolia Group: Mt. Pleasant, SC JPAR® - Platinum: Littleton, CO JPAR® - Iron Horse Real Estate: Pleasanton, CA JPAR® - Corona Luxe: Corona, CA JPAR® - Gulf Coast: Orange Beach, AL JPAR® - 5 Star Properties: Columbia, MD JPAR® - Duke City: Albuquerque, NM JPAR® - Premier Destination Realty: Providence, RI JPAR® - Southern Charm: Florence, AL "Our +JPAR® model is tailor-made for brokers seeking to uphold their market identity while benefiting from industry-leading technology, training, and marketing support," added O'Connor. +JPAR® Brokerage Partnerships Launched in 2023: Shelly Wagner and Associates +JPAR®: Shreveport, LA Western Home Realty +JPAR®: Casper, WY Coming soon to New York! In addition to the brand expansion, JPAR® also made a difference under O'Connor's leadership with its W.E.L.L. (Women Empowering, Listening, and Leveraging) Interview Series. The series amplifies the voices of women leaders who are making a difference, fostering collaboration, and driving meaningful change in the real estate industry. Initiatives like this and others contributed to the brand being recognized as a top franchise for diversity, equity, and inclusion by Entrepreneur Magazine. With JPAR's Whole Health Organization, its 3,700 agents now have access to three programs aimed at improving their whole health: JPAR® Wellness, JPAR® Health, and JPAR® Wealth. JPAR® Wellness launched in October 2023 in partnership with Avibra to bring free life and AD&D insurance to JPAR agents in addition to a slew of other benefits. JPAR® Health allows agents to consult with health advisors to shop a marketplace of reduced cost ACA and self-employed health insurance plans. The initial stages of JPAR® Wealth were rolled out in 2023 including a partnership with Tongo allowing agents to access pending commissions via a line of credit and a recruiting revenue sharing plan available in select offices. The brand expects to continue to bolster its Whole Health Organization offering for all of its agents nationwide in 2024. JPAR has improved its technology offering for its agents and affiliates in 2023 through a number of new offerings. In March, the brand announced that all agents would receive premium licenses for Dotloop in its initiative to align with vendors who promote stronger integrations across JPAR®'s technology suite. The brand has also provided all affiliates with licenses to MoxiBalance, an industry-leading back office accounting software to provide leaders at all levels of the organization with relevant production data. JPAR® 's partnership with CubiCasa marked one of the vendor's first partnerships with a residential real estate brand, and the companies have joined in executing a vision to bring a floor plan to every listing. The brand has also worked with Inside Real Estate to bring a new design center, social media management tool, and marketing automation tool to JPAR® Connect by kvCORE. The appointment of Chris Sears as President of JPAR® - Real Estate's brokerage operations in Texas, currently comprises 27 company-owned offices across the state with 2200+ Texas-based agents where he is poised to drive innovation, foster growth, and further solidify JPAR®'s position as a leading real estate force in the Texas market. JPAR® will continue to innovate by creating groundbreaking partnerships in the industry with a clear focus on creating the best environment for an agent to thrive as a business owner. About JPAR® JPAR® – Real Estate is a full-service real estate brand and franchise platform offering a highly competitive transaction fee-based model and agent-centric culture. The JPAR® platform provides agents seven (7) days-per-week support, a comprehensive tech stack, marketing, lead generation, training, and mentoring. JPAR® affiliated owners benefit from compliance review, 1-on-1 consulting, recruiting support, and a peer network of influential industry leaders. The company boasts 3,700 agents operating in 75 offices across 30 states and closes $7.8B annually in sales volume. JPAR® is a forward-thinking real estate brokerage focused on empowering real estate professionals to deliver exceptional service and achieve outstanding results. With cutting-edge technology, comprehensive support, and a customer-centric approach, JPAR® is committed to transforming the real estate experience for agents and clients alike.

HomesUSA.com Debuts 'Breakthrough' Tech Platform for Builders
Automated SpecDeck elevates MLS listings in Houston, San Antonio and Austin Dallas, TX – December 14, 2023 – HomesUSA.com, the No. 1-ranked US brokerage for new home sales, announced the debut of its new, groundbreaking Multiple Listing Service distribution platform for home builders in Houston, Austin and San Antonio, and will also launch in Dallas-Ft. Worth, set for early 2024. Called SpecDeck, its cutting-edge technology empowers builders to replace their in-house MLS listing process. SpecDeck uses strategic automation to create a more streamlined and simpler way for builders to have their listings fully managed, and it's the first time automation has been fully leveraged in the MLS listing process. Most importantly, according to HomesUSA.com, SpecDeck more than pays for itself, generating hundreds of additional dollars in profits on average for every listing when production builders enter all their listings into the platform. Builders who sell more than 100 new homes a year – also known as production builders – continue to struggle in maintaining their MLS home listing data, which is often the core distribution source for other home sales channels, like Zillow, Homes.com, BDX, realtor.com, and other real estate portals. "HomesUSA.com built SpecDeck as a breakthrough MLS listing and data distribution process for builders," said Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com and creator of SpecDeck. "Through automation and human verification, SpecDeck manages 52 different automated validations for every new home listing as it advances from the lot stage to construction and completion phases. It's the most accurate, advanced MLS system for builders available today." Now in Beta rollout in three of the largest home building markets in Texas – and the US – SpecDeck is already being embraced by HomesUSA.com's top builder clients. The No.1-ranked real estate agent by transaction sides and dollar volume each year since 2013, Caballero calls SpecDeck "the most important technology advancement for builders" since he debuted his HomesUSA.com service in 2007. Research shows that, depending on the builder and market conditions, HomesUSA.com delivers builders $700 to $1,100 more in profits per listing versus non-clients. "The day of builders trying to manually manage their listings in the MLS needs to end because it is too costly," added Caballero. "Why would a builder waste money on a manual MLS system when they can make money with SpecDeck?" he asked rhetorically. SpecDeck features a modern dashboard, intuitive navigation, an aesthetically pleasing graphical interface, improved speed, and, perhaps most importantly to top builders, strong security. After the builder's data is transferred, SpecDeck manages the entire MLS listing process, keeping all information updated and current to promote new home listings accurately through the MLS and all other sales channels. The three-time Guinness World Records title holder for "Most annual home sale transactions through MLS by an individual sell-side real estate agent," Caballero and his HomesUSA.com brokerage exclusively works with more than 60 builders in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Learn more about HomesUSA.com and SpecDeck online at homesusa.com. About Ben Caballero and HomesUSA.com® Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, is a three-time Guinness World Records title holder for "Most annual home sale transactions through MLS by an individual sell-side real estate agent." Ranked by REAL Trends® as America's top real estate agent for home sales since 2013, Ben is the most productive real estate agent in US history. He is the only individual real estate agent to exceed $3 billion in residential sales transactions in a single year (2022), the first agent to exceed $2 billion (2018, 2019, 2020), and the first agent to exceed $1 billion (2015, 2016, 2017). Ben, an award-winning innovator and technology pioneer, works with more than 60 home builders in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. His podcast series is available on iTunes and Google Podcasts. Learn more at HomesUSA.com | X: @bcaballero and @HomesUSA | Facebook: /HomesUSAdotcom.

Williston Financial Group deploys Milestones to deliver value beyond the closing
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 07, 2023 -- Milestones, the industry's premier homeowner engagement platform, today introduced Williston Financial Group ("WFG"), a full-service, national provider of title insurance, underwriting and escrow services for residential and commercial real estate transactions, as a user of its groundbreaking homeownership portals. WFG selected Milestones to help the company stay connected and engaged with its clients, help them build wealth, and manage their homes. "WFG has long pursued its 'customer-for-life' goal with repeat and referral customers," says Dustin Gray, CEO of Milestones. "WFG places a premium on relationships and the use of technology to enhance those relationships beyond the transaction in meaningful ways." Milestones seamlessly integrates a suite of consumer features into the home management experience, offering resources within its portals for understanding home value and building wealth, scheduling home maintenance, maintaining a directory of local home repair professionals, and much more. "Best of all, the client is a click or a call away from the team that helped them buy the home. Their agent, lender, and title professionals are embedded inside the hub so that clients can easily access them for anything they need," says Gray. Since its founding, WFG's leadership has assertively sought to take time and cost out of the real estate transaction, while enhancing the customer experience. With the introduction of Milestones' functionality, WFG's real estate agent and lender clients, and the consumers they serve, will experience enhanced efficiency, transparency, and engagement. "We are enthusiastic to partner with Milestones," said WFG EVP, Director of Strategic Initiatives Justin Tucker. "The alignment is completely in sync with our focus on enhancing the customer experience, continually adding value, and staying connected to all parties long after a closing takes place. It's never the wrong decision to do something that benefits our customers, and Milestones will help us do that," Tucker said. About Milestones Milestones is a homeownership solution that delivers personalized client portals ("hubs") specifically designed to engage consumers at every stage of the decade-long homeownership journey – from buying, selling, moving, and managing a home. Milestones hubs give consumers access to a wide array of home service providers, insights into home value, and much more, positioning real estate professionals to stay connected, educate, and add value to create forever clients. Learn more at Milestones.ai. About Williston Financial Group Williston Financial Group® (WFG®) is the Portland, Oregon-based parent company of several national title insurance and settlement services providers, including WFG® Lender Services and WFG National Title Insurance Company®. One of only six national underwriters, WFG achieved a national footprint faster than any title insurance provider in history. The WFG family of companies offers full-service title insurance and settlement services for use in residential and commercial mortgage and real estate transactions nationwide. For more information, visit www.wfgtitle.com.

Restb.ai AI-powered computer vision technology offers lenders, appraisers image validation solution designed for GSE-compliance
Dallas, Texas – November 30, 2023 – National banks and mortgage lenders are scrambling to incorporate image recognition into their appraisal review process, as the leading Government Sponsored Enterprise announced it will use "image recognition" to detect incorrect quality and condition ratings. Restb.ai, real estate's leading AI-powered computer vision solutions provider, offers mortgage originators and appraisal management companies (AMCs) a GSE-compliant image validation solution with its computer vision technology. GSEs require appraisal reports to include interior and exterior photos of subject properties. However, they only require one exterior front photo for each comparable. Recently, Fannie Mae analyzed more than a million appraisals using image recognition technology to compare appraisal reports to interior photos of comparables for comparing condition ratings. The differences in ratings were so significant that Fannie Mae is now using image recognition to detect condition errors. With the GSE moves, mortgage lenders and appraisal firms seek to reduce condition errors by adopting computer vision technology into the appraisal process. Recently, Fannie Mae noted image recognition technology was able to identify appraisal defects with 98% accuracy and significantly increase its efficiency, noting the new technology found "many defects that were previously impossible" for it to detect, adding that incorrect condition ratings can lead to missing or faulty adjustments to comparable sales, resulting in unsupported, inaccurate appraisals. "When the GSEs talk, lenders and appraisers listen – and act," said Tony Pistilli, General Manager, Valuations for Restb.ai, an appraisal industry veteran and respected valuation expert. "Image recognition is now a must-have. If Fannie Mae is doing it, appraisal providers and lenders need to be doing it too," he added. The significant shift by the secondary market to evaluate internal photos for quality and condition has resulted in rejecting appraisals when comparables are used without the appropriate adjustments. "Lenders and AMCs can immediately benefit by reducing the number of appraisal corrections, mitigating loan repurchase risk, and improving appraisal turn times and increasing appraisal quality by adopting our computer vision solution," said Nathan Brannen, Chief Product Officer for Restb.ai. "Computer vision can be a trusted source for quality and condition ratings, identifying property damage, home features not mentioned in the appraisal, and most importantly, protect the lender and appraisal provider by validating information in the appraisal," he added. In August, Restb.ai launched its Valuation Product Suite, which leverages its deep expertise in computer vision for real estate to offer an array of solutions designed to expedite the modernization of property appraisals. Details about the Restb.ai computer vision solutions and its Valuation Product Suite are online here. About Restb.ai Restb.ai, the leader in AI-powered computer vision for real estate, provides image recognition and data enrichment solutions for many of the industry's top brands and leading innovators. Its advanced AI-powered technology automatically analyzes property imagery to unlock visual insights at scale that empower real estate companies with relevant and actionable property intelligence. Restb.ai is like having a real estate expert instantly research and provide a deep insight into each of the 1 million property photos uploaded daily.

Meet the future of real estate: Lone Wolf unveils massive plans for 2024
Technology leader raises the curtain—and the bar—on groundbreaking platform for all real estate DALLAS, TX and CAMBRIDGE, ON – November 1, 2023 – Fresh off the press at the 2023 T3 Sixty Tech Summit, Lone Wolf Technologies, the leader in residential real estate software, is thrilled to introduce the future of real estate software: A new generation of Lone Wolf solutions, starting in 2024 and meticulously constructed to run on Lone Wolf Foundation, a connected platform designed to transform the way everyone in real estate works. "For too long, we've known that the real estate industry would reach a boiling point in terms of the software available, and we're quickly reaching that point," said Jimmy Kelly, CEO of Lone Wolf. "In our recent joint study with T3 Sixty, we discovered that the average brokerage uses over 20 different pieces of software every day, nearly double what they were using in 2020. It isn't sustainable, and that's what we're targeting with the new generation of software for real estate: The fact that real estate doesn't need more software, but that it instead needs more from the software it has." Among earlier initiatives to transform popular brokerage software into flexible online solutions, including previous releases of the Market Share and Proficiency Metrics modules in BrokerMetrics, this new generation will bring key software from every milestone in the real estate process to a new online platform. The first phase of this initiative, showcased at T3 Sixty Tech Summit, introduces: The new Lone Wolf Back Office The new Lone Wolf Transact Workflow The new BrokerMetrics by Lone Wolf The new Lone Wolf Foundation The reveal also hinted at future initiatives, including a planned transformation of real estate CRM solutions. Since 1989, Lone Wolf has supported countless real estate professionals, businesses, and organizations in everything they do. Through these 35 years of experience, the company has created a powerful blueprint for the years to come—building on decades of user behavior, customer feedback, heat maps, and shifting demands to build software that works the way both users and clients need it to. "We are so excited about the reveal of our new generation of real estate software and the upcoming introduction of Lone Wolf Foundation," said Sean Wheeler, CTO at Lone Wolf. "We have spent years learning exactly how the real estate industry works and adapts to shifting circumstances, and have designed that same flexibility right into the solutions that will support real estate professionals—and their clients—through all the years to come." Currently, the first releases of the new generation of real estate software are planned for a phased delivery throughout 2024. More information will be available soon! About Lone Wolf Technologies Lone Wolf Technologies is the North American leader in residential real estate software, serving over 1.5 million real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. With cloud solutions for agents, brokers, franchises, MLSs and associations alike, the company provides the entire real estate industry with the tools they need to amaze clients, build their business, and improve profits-from transactions to back office, insights, and more, all in one place. Lone Wolf's head offices are located in Cambridge, ON, and Dallas, TX.

Matterport Launches Pro Series Camera Rental Program in North America to Deliver Flexibility and Scale to Customers
In partnership with Matterfix, the new rental program provides affordable and flexible access to Matterport's state-of-the-art 3D cameras and digital twins SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 24, 2023 -- Matterport, Inc. announced a new camera rental program to simplify and expand access to Pro3 and Pro2 cameras and accessories. The new program creates flexibility for new and existing Matterport customers, offering turn-key rental packages, as well as options to scale for existing Matterport customers. Created in partnership with Matterfix, a trusted Matterport camera repair partner, anyone in North America can rent a Pro2 or Pro3 starting as low as $149, providing cost-friendly access to Matterport's state-of-the-art 3D cameras. In addition, all rentals come with an included 30-day Professional SaaS plan, allowing customers to upload and store capture data, create interactive 3D floor plans, add tags and notes, as well as access cloud storage, video creation tools, and other features of the Matterport platform. Matterport's Pro Series Camera Rental Program provides customers with the opportunity to test out a Pro Series camera and Matterport subscription before making a long-term investment, or flexibly scale their existing equipment to suit the job's capture requirements. Rentals are available in the form of two kit configurations for each of the cameras. Essentials Kit: Includes Pro2 or Pro3 Series Camera, 30-day Professional SaaS plan, protective case and relevant power options (batteries or charger vary by device) Complete Kit: Includes everything in the Essentials Kit, plus a tripod and tablet capture device. "Matterport's Pro Series Camera Rental Program is a fantastic opportunity for anyone to experience the full power of Matterport's technology," said Abhijit Limaye, Sr. Director Product Management, Matterport. "This program provides customers maximum flexibility to scale their tools for whatever the job requires, at a price that meets every budget." To learn more about the program and how to get started, visit: matterfix-staging.webflow.io/rental. About Matterport Matterport, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTTR) is leading the digital transformation of the built world. Our groundbreaking spatial data platform turns buildings into data to make nearly every space more valuable and accessible. Millions of buildings in more than 177 countries have been transformed into immersive Matterport digital twins to improve every part of the building lifecycle from planning, construction, and operations to documentation, appraisal and marketing. Learn more at matterport.com and browse a gallery of digital twins.

FinLocker and Milestones Announce a Strategic Alliance to Enable a Seamless Homebuyer-to-Homeowner Experience
The integration of Milestones and FinLocker will provide mortgage lenders with a comprehensive solution to attract, nurture, and retain homebuyers. AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 16, 2023 -- Milestones, the all-in-one home management solution specifically designed for consumers to buy, move, own, sell, manage, and access mortgage services for their home seamlessly in one centralized portal, has announced its strategic alliance with FinLocker, a pioneer in digital, consumer-permissioned personal financial fitness tools focused on homeownership. This partnership will provide mortgage lenders with an end-to-end engagement solution to attract, nurture, and retain homebuyers and ensure their consumers have a smooth transition from initial interest, through the preparation for a mortgage, to closing and beyond. FinLocker provides mortgage lenders and their originators with a hyper-personalized engagement platform to attract early-journey homebuyers to their business and nurtures them with personalized data-driven journeys using the financial tools and education embedded in the platform to achieve mortgage readiness and sustain homeownership. Milestones complements this approach by guiding these educated leads throughout the decade-long journey of homeownership with online home management portals “hubs” that deliver a wide array of home services, such as home service providers, home value insights, home maintenance tasks, home document storage, and much more. Together, this comprehensive solution will revolutionize the way consumers navigate the complex journey of homeownership by educating and empowering them from planning to closing, resulting in increased customer retention, and reduced customer acquisition costs for mortgage lenders. "FinLocker is excited to partner with Milestones as the platform provides an extension of our financial fitness platform to prepare first-time homebuyers to qualify for a mortgage," said Brian Vieaux, President and COO of FinLocker. “Mortgage lenders who use Milestones will now have an all-encompassing solution to attract, engage, nurture, retain and reactivate clients in their database.” FinLocker and Milestones combined boast a myriad of features catering to both pre and post-transaction stages, ensuring a holistic and supportive homeownership experience. 1. Pre-transaction Credit monitoring and credit score-building tools Goal setting and budgeting for down payment saving and debt reduction Financial Education Homebuyer mortgage readiness assessment and guidance Home Search Streamlined mortgage application management 2. Post-transaction Home Education Knowledge Base Home Value and Home Equity Monitoring Home Maintenance Task Reminders Suggested Home Improvements to Build Equity Home Document Storage Home Services Vendor Marketplace About FinLocker Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, FinLocker provides a secure financial fitness app that aggregates and analyzes a consumer’s financial data to offer personalized journeys to build and monitor their credit, manage their financial accounts, receive their net worth and cash flow analysis, create goals, save and budget to achieve loan eligibility for a mortgage and other financial goals. Within the FinLocker app, consumers can take a readiness assessment before applying for a mortgage, begin their property search, and securely store personal and financial documents, which can be shared with a lender directly from the app to start their loan application. Mortgage lenders and financial service providers use their white-labeled FinLocker to generate and convert leads, gain market share, cross-sell value-added products, reduce loan processing costs, decrease risk, and create customers for life. For more information, visit FinLocker.com. About Milestones Milestones is a homeownership solution that delivers personalized client portals (“hubs”) specifically designed to engage consumers at every stage of the decade-long homeownership journey – from buying, selling, moving, and managing a home. Milestones hubs give consumers access to a wide array of home service providers, insights into home value, and much more, positioning real estate professionals to stay connected, educate, and add value to create forever clients. Learn more at Milestones.ai.

RESO to Anchor Global Real Estate Standards Forum in Paris
RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 28, 2023 -- Industry leaders who shape practice and policy in more than 32 countries will be in attendance at the International MLS Forum: Global Real Estate Standards at Pullman Montparnasse in Paris, France, December 1–2, 2023 - mlsforum.org. Event partners include CEPI, the European Association of Real Estate Professions; local and national real estate associations from across Europe; the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA); National Association of REALTORS® Global Ambassadors from the European Union and West Asia; and international government officials focused on real estate issues. The event will explore the 100-year legacy of the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in the U.S. and its budding potential for international real estate landscapes. The featured speakers for the event will be Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) CEO Sam DeBord, CEPI Director General Guy Valkenborg and President Jan Boruvka, and CREA Vice President and RESO Director, Patrick Pichette. In addition to RESO leadership, there will be speakers and attendees from leading international technology and MLS organizations including a growing list of RESO members such as Realtyna, Styldod and Stellar MLS. Topics of discussion at the event will include: The correlation between real estate associations and MLSs for international scaling Insights from the U.S. MLS model for application to local real estate associations around the world The power of interoperability for unlocking access to billions of dollars of investment in existing RESO-compatible MLS software and technology platforms The crucial distinction between MLSs and portals Collaborative strategies and regulation roles with insights into the foundational purpose of CEPI This groundbreaking event is designed for leaders in real estate associations, brokerages, MLSs, and policymaking bodies driving innovation in the international real estate industry. About RESO RESO provides the foundation for streamlined real estate technology through the creation and certification of standards. Our member organizations include MLSs, brokerages, REALTOR® associations and technology partners serving more than one million real estate professionals. | reso.org

Inside Real Estate Launches New Back Office and Transaction Management Capabilities in kvCORE
A deep integration between kvCORE and Brokermint's back office solution brings the front office and back office together, empowering clients to manage the entire client lifecycle. MURRAY, Utah, Sept. 21, 2023 -- Inside Real Estate, one of the fastest-growing independent real estate software companies and trusted technology partner to over 400,000 agents, teams, brokerages and top franchise brands, is thrilled to announce the launch of new back office capabilities in kvCORE through an expanded integration with Brokermint, real estate's leading cloud-based back office and transaction management software. The deep integration is powered by the unification of the data layer, allowing agents to seamlessly align the kvCORE and Brokermint platforms, and answering the need for an end-to-end solution for real estate businesses. A deeply integrated front office and back office provides visibility into the entire business transaction, ensures information is accurate, and creates a streamlined and efficient process from lead-to-close. Business owners get a birds-eye view of the entire business process, agents have the tools they need to generate leads and close deals, and back-office employees enjoy efficiency gains to move quickly and accurately through transactions. Unifying the front office and back office, and streamlining that data, closes the loop on the transaction process, and helps agents deliver more value at every step. "We are continuously focused on helping our customers create "clients for life" with tools to manage their entire client lifecycle seamlessly," said Joe Skousen, Founder & CEO of Inside Real Estate. "Unifying the front office and back office, and streamlining that data, closes the loop on the transaction process, and helps agents deliver more value at every step. This integration is deeper than any prior capabilities with kvCORE, and it creates a foundation for continued innovation and efficiency gains." The back office solution handles everything from commissions, offers, and e-Signatures, to accounting, transaction management and reporting. With the integration, back office teams can work their system while agents, team leaders, and brokers utilize kvCORE's lead generation and customer relationship management solutions, and all information is seamlessly synced. To learn more, visit insiderealestate.com/brokermint. About Inside Real Estate Inside Real Estate is a fast-growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 400,000 top brokerages, agents, and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable, and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create its own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations, and high-quality add-on solutions. Recent strategic acquisitions have expanded the company's technology portfolio further, including BoomTown, Brokermint, and AmpStats solutions, which solidifies Inside Real Estate as the leading technology partner in the real estate industry. With an accomplished leadership team and its talented staff, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale, and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base. To learn more visit insiderealestate.com.

Redfin Survey: Most Respondents Support More Homebuilding, But Many Don't Want a Complex in Their Neighborhood
Nearly 80% of respondents to a recent Redfin survey support policies that promote homebuilding. But just one-third of those respondents would feel positive about a large new apartment complex built near their home. SEATTLE -- Nearly four of every five (78%) respondents to a recent housing survey support policies that promote building more housing, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. But just one-third (32%) of the respondents who are pro-building would feel positive about an apartment complex built in their neighborhood, and 20% of them would feel negative about it. Nearly half (48%) would feel neutral. Broken down by homeowners versus renters, 74% of owners support policies that promote building more housing, compared with 80% of renters. One-quarter (25%) of owners would feel positive about a new apartment complex built in their neighborhood, about on par with 28% of renters. Two in five (40%) owners would feel negative about a new apartment complex built in their neighborhood, and 35% would feel neutral. That's compared with about one-quarter (24%) of renters feeling negative about the prospect of a new apartment complex nearby, and nearly half (49%) who would feel neutral. This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Qualtrics in May and June 2023. The survey was fielded to 5,079 U.S. residents who either moved in the last year, plan to move in the next year, or rent their home. This report focuses mainly on the 3,949 respondents (78% of the total) who indicated they are "for" policies that promote building more housing. The U.S. had an estimated housing shortfall of 3.8 million units as of 2021, and both buying and renting a home is more expensive in 2023 than it's ever been. Prices continue to rise even in the midst of elevated mortgage rates and low demand because there aren't enough homes for sale. Building more housing would narrow the gap between supply and demand, and help make housing more affordable. Policies that promote building include loosening zoning restrictions, allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and enacting tax incentives that would encourage developers to build. "Personal preferences for things like a quiet neighborhood or old-fashioned charm are often at odds with building new housing," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "Even though so many Americans believe in building new dense housing in theory, that ideology isn't strong enough to outweigh their own desires–especially when they don't stand to directly benefit from the building. That's why it's so difficult to overcome community opposition to dense new housing, even during a time when so many Americans believe in the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) movement." Most Democrats and Republicans are pro-building–but not necessarily in their neighborhood Broken down by political affiliation, the majority of both Democrats and Republicans support policies that promote building more housing. But a minority of both Democrats and Republicans would feel positive about a new apartment complex built in their neighborhood. More than eight of every 10 (83%) of respondents who identify as Democrats are pro-building, compared with three-quarters (75%) of respondents who identify as Republicans. Roughly one-third (34%) of Democrats would feel positive about a large new apartment complex to be built in their neighborhood, compared with 24% of Republicans. Just under one-quarter (23%) of Democrats would feel negative about a large complex built in their neighborhood, versus 37% of Republicans. Roughly two in five Democrats (43%) and Republicans (40%) would feel neutral. While Republicans are more likely than Democrats to be against a large new complex in their neighborhood, the South–which is made up largely of Republican-leaning states–is building far more homes than other parts of the country. States in the South issued 576,000 single-family building permits in August, more than twice as many as any other region and up 10% year over year. That's compared to 4% increases in the West and Midwest and a 5% decline in the Northeast. "There are YIMBYs and NIMBYs on both sides of the aisle," Fairweather said. "That's part of the reason it's so difficult to push through policies that promote dense housing. But all types of building ultimately help with housing supply and affordability, even building more single-family homes. The more homes that exist, the more likely it is a person can find one to fit their needs and their budget. So even though Republicans are more likely to oppose dense housing, the South is doing more than other regions to create more housing and help with affordability. Looking forward, governments in some red and blue states are prioritizing affordable housing. In Montana, for instance, a wave of bipartisan legislation to reform zoning is making its way through the government, and California lawmakers have eliminated barriers to building ADUs." Democrats are nearly twice as likely as Republicans to feel more positive if the apartment complex being built in their neighborhood was for low-income residents. About one-third (34%) of Democrats say they would feel more positive if that were the case, compared to 19% of Republicans. About half of both groups would feel neutral. View the full report, including charts and more details on the survey, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with same day tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home in certain markets can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Customers who buy and sell with Redfin pay a 1% listing fee, subject to minimums, less than half of what brokerages commonly charge. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.5 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Real Estate Webmasters Wins Google Cloud Customer of the Year Award
Thank you to Real Estate Webmasters for sponsoring this post on RE Technology: Real Estate Webmasters proudly announced its recent accolade, the 2023 Google Cloud Customer of the Year Award in the Cross-Industry category. This recognition stems from Real Estate Webmasters' exemplary use of Google Cloud's capabilities, which has substantially uplifted their company's performance and customer experience. The enhancements include quicker website load times, a refined cloud strategy, efficient maintenance, and improved customer SLAs. These improvements have empowered Real Estate Webmasters to modernize, scale, bolster security, and envision a brighter future. Amy Pye, Head of Marketing at Real Estate Webmasters, has expressed her gratitude, stating, "We are incredibly honored to receive this award from Google Cloud, which celebrates and showcases the most innovative, technically advanced, and transformative cloud deployments across various industries." Throughout the year, Real Estate Webmasters has integrated Google Cloud extensively. They adopted a fully managed GKE solution, supplemented by Google Cloud Load Balancers. This infrastructure also included the certificate manager and Cloud CDN for secure data management, all protected by Cloud Armor. To offer personalized customer experiences, each client received a dedicated namespace, which contained containers for both front-end and back-end tasks. Moreover, Real Estate Webmasters employed Google Cloud storage for front-end assets and integrated ISTIO for efficient traffic management with GKE. Brian Hall, VP of Product and Industry Marketing at Google Cloud, commented on the award "The Google Cloud Customer Awards are an opportunity to recognize the most innovative, technically advanced, and transformative cloud deployments across industries, from around the globe, built on our platform." With these advancements, REW's website availability surged from 99.5% to 99.9% with expectations to reach five nines in 2024. Additionally, the enhanced customer support SLAs have significantly boosted CSAT scores. Real Estate Webmasters focuses on generating Realtor® leads through SEO and PPC to award-winning custom real estate websites. About Real Estate Webmasters Recently honored by Profit 500 as one of Canada's fastest-growing companies, Real Estate Webmasters offers end-to-end solutions for real estate professionals, from Websites, and CRM to consulting and marketing (SEO and PPC). Recognized as the leading provider of custom website development, marketing, and software applications the company understands itself as a key technology partner to their clients and takes huge pride in serving many real estate industry leaders across the United States and Canada. Located in beautiful, downtown Nanaimo, B.C., on Vancouver Island, Real Estate Webmasters has 150 employees and serves more than 35,000 real estate professionals with their products and services. *This is a condensed version of the original blog hosted on Real Estate Webmasters' website.

Plunk and Xome Join Forces to Offer AI-Powered Real Estate Property Valuation and Predictive Remodel Analytics
Leading home auction website provides real estate investors with advanced tools to analyze the remodel potential of listed properties BELLEVUE, Wash., Aug. 23, 2023 -- Plunk, the world's first AI-powered analytics platform for residential real estate, announced it has partnered with Xome, a robust online real estate marketplace, to offer property investors AI-driven home remodel analysis. "Plunk enables investors to make more fully-informed, confident decisions," said Brian Lent, Co-founder and CEO of Plunk. "Xome is already one of the world's largest home search and investment property resources, and now investors have access to the best search, valuation and renovation analysis tools — all on one website." Real estate investors searching for an auction property on Xome.com will now be able to analyze single family homes in greater detail leveraging the Plunk Remodel Value™ tool which offers insights on the expected valuation of properties after a full-scale renovation. Buyers can also view Project Recommendations, which highlight the remodeling projects that would add the most value to a specific property. "Xome is committed to providing an informative and seamless homebuying experience, and we are excited to offer even more innovative solutions and financial insights to property investors looking for the highest returns on their real estate investments," said Mike Rawls, CEO of Xome. "With these new tools, Xome clients can examine a variety of potential scenarios as they consider both the costs and value impacts of full rehab or smaller home improvement projects." The first phase of these new tools is now available on Xome.com, with expanded coverage and enhancements already in the works. For more information, visit Xome.com. About Plunk Plunk is the first AI-powered, real-time home analytics platform leveraging next generation applications of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and image analysis to revolutionize the way homeowners, real estate professionals and investors value and invest in residential real estate. For more information, please visit www.getplunk.com. About Xome Xome Holdings LLC is a premier asset management company with a best-in-class auction platform, providing mortgage servicers, end-to-end asset marketing and disposition strategies, recapture solutions and real estate and data services. Based in Dallas, Texas, Xome is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Mr. Cooper Group Inc. (NASDAQ: COOP). For more information, please visit xome.com.

Inside Real Estate Announces boomtownPRO (btPRO), the Only Complete Solution to Empower Top-Performing Real Estate Teams
The new, expanded solution, brings the powerful kvCORE Platform and BoomTown technologies together with a team-centric community, product, and service-level enhancements to allow top producing teams to operate their business at the highest level MURRAY, Utah, Aug. 17, 2023 -- Inside Real Estate, one of the fastest-growing independent real estate software companies and trusted technology partner to over 400,000 agents, teams, brokerages and top franchise brands, is excited to announce btPRO, created with the combined efforts of Inside Real Estate and recently acquired BoomTown, it's the only complete solution available on the market, designed specifically to drive results for top producing teams and their agents. "We are thrilled to share the first of many exciting wins the combination of Inside Real Estate and Boomtown brings to the industry," said Joe Skousen, CEO of Inside Real Estate. "The first of many releases for the btPRO solution empowers top real estate teams like never before by uniting the best technology, unparalleled services and unique experiences that allow top-producing teams to thrive and maximize their results." A powerful CRM is critical for real estate teams, but btPRO takes that further, bringing even more new enhancements to the kvCORE Platform from the top BoomTown team-centric features, along with a collaborative community that includes everything from professional coaches and industry experts who drive real results every day with their tech and their teams, to support services that offer strategic best practices and technical support, customized for each unique team's needs. btPRO includes innovative tools such as: An expansive pro-level website template library to help differentiate a team's brand, drive traffic, and empower their clients. A next-generation CMA and presentation builder to help teams and agents win more listings, close more deals, and ensure repeat business. A listing marketing suite that automatically creates elite-level marketing materials to effectively promote listings, impress sellers, and attract new buyers. A first-of-its-kind homeownership solution that places real estate teams at the center of the coveted lifetime consumer relationship. AI-powered smart CRM, Individual agent smart numbers, 20+ built-in lead generation tools, a built-in marketplace and more. btPRO also comes along with dedicated services and communities including: PRO Desk: provides team-specific strategic best practices, coaching, and one-on-one guidance that is curated to each team's unique goals and challenges. PRO Communities: exclusive access to a rich and vibrant community of professional teams, coaches, and industry experts who drive real results every day with their tech and their teams. PRO Support: prioritized access to technical support, assuring that each team's tools and systems are optimized and delivering results. "A community of support is critical for real estate success, and we are thrilled to offer the white-glove service and success network that was such a pivotal part of BoomTown, and a game-changer for top-performing teams," said Grier Allen, Inside Real Estate's Chief Strategy Officer. "Coupled with the powerful technology of kvCORE and BoomTown, btPRO offers team-specific strategizing, coaching, direct access to a community of teams, peer coaches, and industry experts ready to mastermind, and access to unparalleled support, to ensure their system is always optimized for success." btPRO will continue to evolve with more innovative tools to set teams apart from their competition, drive real business results, and ease the daily workflow. Future updates include: team accountability and leaderboard reporting with actionable, drill through results, lead assignment models, and more AI capabilities like Smart Assist. "btPRO is the solution that I've always needed and wanted for my business," said Suzie Savage, REALTOR®, Associate Broker & Team Leader of Savage Real Estate Group based in Kansas City, MO. "btPRO provides accountability reporting and team-centric features that enable me to be proactive with my agents and ultimately, my business growth, by providing tech that supports my unique processes and connects me with the best experts from within the company and within the community!" Go to insiderealestate.com/btPRO to learn more. About Inside Real Estate Inside Real Estate is a fast-growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 400,000 top brokerages, agents, and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable, and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create its own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations, and high-quality add-on solutions. Recent strategic acquisitions have expanded the company's technology portfolio further, including BoomTown, Brokermint, and AmpStats solutions, which solidifies Inside Real Estate as the leading technology partner in the real estate industry. With an accomplished leadership team and its talented staff, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale, and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base. To learn more visit insiderealestate.com.

CubiCasa Joins the RE/MAX Approved Supplier Program, Empowering 50,000 RE/MAX Agents with Digital Floor Plans
CubiCasa's Suite of Floor Plan Creation Tools Now Available to RE/MAX Agents Across the United States SAN JOSE, CA - August 15, 2023 -- CubiCasa, a leading global real estate software company, has joined the RE/MAX® Approved Supplier program. This strategic alliance will bring CubiCasa's user-friendly floor plan creation tools to more than 50,000 agents in the United States. RE/MAX is a global real estate franchisor with over 140,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories. CubiCasa equips agents with powerful resources to thrive in today's ever-evolving real estate landscape. With the vision of elevating the quality and transparency of information on real estate listings, becoming an approved supplier with RE/MAX marks a significant milestone in expanding its mission to bring a floor plan to every listing in the U.S. "CubiCasa is thrilled to join forces with RE/MAX in empowering the RE/MAX network with the essential tools to excel in their business," said Jeff Allen, President of CubiCasa. "Our mission of making floor plans an integral part of every listing aligns perfectly with RE/MAX's commitment to offering the best possible service to its network of agents." RE/MAX broker/owners and their agents will enjoy CubiCasa benefits provided via the RE/MAX Approved Supplier program, including free trial periods to create floor plans with no costs, and access to an extensive directory of real estate photographers who are already utilizing CubiCasa's platform. Madeline Hammer, Executive Director at RE/MAX, shared their enthusiasm, stating, "We are delighted to welcome CubiCasa to the RE/MAX Approved Supplier program and to offer its user-friendly technology to the RE/MAX network. CubiCasa will enable agents to seamlessly incorporate floor plans into their offerings, enhancing the buying and selling experience" This announcement follows CubiCasa's most recent success in expanding its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Partnership Program, with an impressive array of MLS organizations already onboard since the program's launch in December. MLS partners receive unique benefits, and RE/MAX agents in those MLSs will receive multiple elevated benefits through CubiCasa. The CubiCasa app, featuring its state-of-the-art floor plan scanning tools, is available for download on the App Store and Google Play Store. To learn more about CubiCasa, please visit www.cubi.casa. About CubiCasa Headquartered in Oulu, Finland, CubiCasa is the global market leader in mobile indoor scanning and is known for its fast and easy-to-use floor plan app on the App Store and Google Play Store. CubiCasa's technology is used in 172 different countries and has helped create over 1 million floor plans to date. CubiCasa provides technology for the real estate, appraisal, and mortgage industries and is on a mission to digitize real estate. Learn more at https://www.cubi.casa. About RE/MAX As one of the leading global real estate franchisors, RE/MAX, LLC is a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings with more than 140,000 agents in over 9,000 offices and a presence in more than 110 countries and territories. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. RE/MAX agents have lived, worked and served in their local communities for decades, raising millions of dollars every year for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. To learn more about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com.

Restb.ai Partners with Bradford Technologies to Accelerate Appraisal Modernization
BARCELONA, Spain, Aug. 07, 2023 -- Restb.ai, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision solutions for the real estate industry, today announced a strategic partnership with Bradford Technologies, a pioneer in providing innovative solutions for Valuation Professionals. As part of the partnership, Restb.ai's advanced computer vision and machine learning technology will be integrated into Bradford Technologies' report quality control processes. This collaboration, announced today from the Valuation Expo in Las Vegas, marks a significant step in the enhancement of appraisal modernization. Integrating Restb.ai's cutting-edge AI technology with Bradford's solutions aims to automate and bolster quality control processes, including detecting image issues such as out-of-focus images and other problematic content. "Working with Bradford, we are providing the newest and most advanced AI technology to accelerate the modernization of the appraisal process," said Tony Pistilli, General Manager, Valuations for Restb.ai and one of the appraisal industry's most respected voices. "Restb.ai's Visual Insights artificial intelligence technology takes a photo and converts it into detailed information. This is a service every appraiser needs to improve their inspection efficiency," said Jeff Bradford, CEO of Bradford Technologies. "We have been providing innovative services to our customers for over 35 years and are proud to partner with restb.ai to again, provide a trailblazing service to our appraiser customers," he added. Restb.ai's quality control solution is a key component of its new Valuation Product Suite, an innovative product lineup designed explicitly for the appraisal industry. The suite encompasses advanced technology for Comparable Properties, Data Collection, Form Pre-Population/Validation, and Restb.ai's proprietary Appraisal Complexity Score. Restb.ai is unveiling its new Valuation Product Suite at the 20th Annual Valuation Expo, held August 7-9 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Nathan Brannen, Chief Product Officer at Restb.ai and one of real estate's most experienced artificial intelligence veterans, is scheduled to speak at the expo. About Restb.ai Restb.ai, the leader in AI and computer vision for real estate, provides image recognition and data enrichment solutions for many of the industry's top brands and leading innovators. Its advanced AI-powered technology automatically analyzes property imagery to unlock visual insights at scale that empowers real estate companies with relevant and actionable property intelligence. Restb.ai is like having a real estate expert instantly research and provide a deep insight into each of the 1 million property photos uploaded daily. About Bradford Technologies For over 35 years, Bradford Technologies has been dedicated to producing innovative solutions for Valuation Professionals. Ranging from ClickFORMS, the most intuitive appraisal application available to cutting-edge Computer-Aided Appraisal Software. Bradford Technologies continues to develop trailblazing products that set the benchmark for the industry. For more information on Bradford Technologies, call 800-622-8727 or visit www.BradfordSoftware.com.

WAV Group's George Slusser and Victor Lund 'Write the New Book' on Real Estate Brokerage Mergers & Acquisitions
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif., Aug. 2, 2023 -- Acquiring More Profit is appropriately named, as the primary objective of any merger or acquisition is to increase a real estate brokerage firm's profitability and overall value. However, the authors believe (and show by example in this book) that successful acquisitions are more than merely financial transactions. They must solve a problem or provide an opportunity and the outcome must be beneficial to both the seller and the buyer on many levels, including the market perception, their future roles, family, agents, and staff. Today, there are more than 106,000 licensed real estate brokerages in America yet 58 percent of brokerage owners do not have an exit or acquisition plan. Even less know the market value of their brokerage. The answers can be found in a new book — Acquiring More Profit: The Definitive Guide to Successful Real Estate Brokerage Mergers & Acquisition — by renowned industry M&A expert George Slusser, who has closed more than 700 real estate acquisitions, and Victor Lund, real estate's top consultant to leading brokerages, franchises, and brokerage-related networking organizations. This book dives deeply into the process and provides a playbook that allows brokers to create and execute action plans for successfully buying and selling a real estate brokerage. The new book is a follow up to Slusser's best-selling real estate M&A book, Acquiring Profit: The Win/Win System to Real Estate Mergers and Acquisitions, published in 1995, the first book dedicated to real estate M&A. "For years, WAV Group provided brokerage clients with M&A information from the man who wrote the book about it," Lund said, noting that in addition to orchestrating hundreds of real estate mergers, Slusser also generated thousands of valuations for broker-owners. "Real Estate firms' operations of all sizes are significantly more complex today. SaaS systems, data licenses, transaction management, affiliate services, and other elements of a successful acquisition need to be considered for the transition to work. The investment in those systems and connectivity of those systems play a major role in the value of a firm today." Some 240 pages in length with nine chapters, Acquiring More Profit is being hailed in advance reviews as the "Definitive Guide" for real estate M&As. Moreover, Slusser and Lund are offering an exhaustive supplemental guide, complete with worksheets that allow brokers to contemplate and formulate the value of their company, or a firm they would like to acquire. Top industry veteran and leader Gino Blefari, CEO, HomeServices of America, Inc., and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, said the book is for "anyone contemplating buying or even selling a real estate company." Industry innovator and broker-owner Pat Shea, President & CEO of Lyon Real Estate, said, "Finally, a comprehensive, evergreen, and incredibly easy-to-digest blueprint of M&A success in the residential real estate space." A 100-plus-page supplemental book to Acquiring More Profit, the Acquiring Profit Implementation System, is available directly from the authors at wavgroup.com/amp. The supplement is robust: packed with what the authors describe as "many valuable time- and money-saving tools," including sample prospecting approaches, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), Letter of Intent (LOI), contracts, transition plans, and samples of all the checklists mentioned in the main book. The new book is available in hardcover, soft cover, and digital starting at $40 and can be purchased online directly at wavgroup.com/amp or from all major online booksellers. About WAV Group WAV Group the residential real estate industry preeminent strategy and consulting firm, serving many of the industry's largest and most successful small businesses, including real estate brokerages, technology companies, and local, state and national real estate associations. The firm's diverse industry experience allows it to cross-fertilize ideas and bring best-of-breed solutions to its clients. More information is available at wavgroup.com.

Just 1% of U.S. Homes Have Changed Hands This Year, the Lowest Share in at Least a Decade
Redfin reports 14 of every 1,000 homes changed hands in the first half of 2023, compared to 19 of every 1,000 during the same period in 2019. The turnover rate for large suburban houses has declined even more. SEATTLE — Roughly 14 of every 1,000 U.S. homes changed hands during the first six months of 2023, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's down from 19 of every 1,000 during the same period of 2019 and the lowest turnover rate in at least a decade. In 2018, Freddie Mac estimated that about 2.5 million more homes needed to be built to meet demand, with the shortfall mainly due to a lack of construction of single-family homes. The homebuying boom of late 2020 and 2021, driven by record-low mortgage rates, remote work and a surge in investor purchases, depleted already low inventory levels. Finally, 2022's soaring mortgage rates—average rates nearly doubled from January to June—exacerbated the shortage by handcuffing homeowners to their comparatively low rates. "The quick increase in mortgage rates created an uphill battle for many Americans who want to buy a home by locking up inventory and making the homes that do hit the market too expensive. The typical home is selling for about 40% more than before the pandemic," said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. "Mortgage rates dropping closer to 5% would make the biggest dent in the affordability crisis by freeing up some inventory and bringing monthly payments down. But there are a few other things that would boost turnover and help make homes more affordable. Building more housing is imperative, and federal and local governments can help by reforming zoning and making the building process easier. Financial incentives, like reducing transfer taxes for home sellers and subsidizing major moves with tax breaks, would also add to supply." The turnover rate has shrunk most in the suburbs: 16 of every 1,000 large suburban houses have changed hands this year, two-thirds as many as 2019 House hunters searching for large homes in the suburbs have seen the biggest drop in their options. Just about 16 of every 1,000 four-bedroom-plus suburban single-family homes sold in the first half of this year, down from 24 of every 1,000 that sold in the same period in 2019. That means buyers of that home type have 33% fewer houses to choose from. "New listings normally hit the market on Thursdays, and I have buyers who are excitedly checking their Redfin app Thursday mornings, only to find nothing new," said Phoenix Redfin Premier agent Heather Mahmood-Corley. "That goes for buyers in every price range in every type of neighborhood, but what people want most are those move-in ready, mid-sized homes in neighborhoods with highly rated schools. Those are hardest to find because for people to buy one, someone needs to sell one. That's not happening, because so many of those homeowners have low mortgage rates." The turnover rate has dropped for every size home in every type of neighborhood over the last four years (though buyers will have an easier time finding something for sale in certain metro areas). The turnover rate of condos and townhomes didn't shrink as much as that of single-family homes during the pandemic. Supply of that home type wasn't depleted as much because there wasn't as much demand for them. Modestly sized single-family homes in the city are hardest to find: Just 11 of every 1,000 two- and three-bedroom urban houses sold in the first half of this year Smaller houses in the city have the lowest turnover rate of all the home types in this analysis. Roughly 11 of every 1,000 two- and three-bedroom single-family homes in urban neighborhoods sold in the first six months of 2023, compared to 14 of every 1,000 during the same period in 2019. Two- to three-bedroom homes in suburban neighborhoods are essentially tied with their urban counterparts for the lowest turnover rate, with 11 of every 1,000 changing hands this year. That's down from 16 of every 1,000 in 2019. Homebuyers have the smallest pool of options in the Bay Area: Just 6 of every 1,000 San Jose homes have turned over to a new owner this year Northern California has the lowest turnover rate in the U.S. Just six of every 1,000 homes in San Jose changed hands in the first half of 2023, the lowest rate of the 50 most populous U.S. metros. It's followed closely by Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Anaheim, all places where about eight of every 1,000 homes turned over to a new owner. The pandemic exacerbated the supply shortage throughout California, with the turnover rate dropping by at least 30% in each of those metros from 2019 to 2023. Zooming in on large, suburban single-family homes, California still has the lowest turnover rate. California historically has the lowest housing turnover because the state's tax laws–namely proposition 13–incentivizes homeowners to stay put by limiting property-tax increases. Homebuyers have the biggest pool of options in Newark, NJ and Nashville, where more than 23 of every 1,000 homes have changed hands this year Newark, NJ has the highest turnover rate in the U.S., with 24 of every 1,000 homes changing hands during the first six months this year. It's followed closely by Nashville, TN (23 of every 1,000) and Austin, TX (22 of every 1,000). Nashville and Austin are also two of the three metros (along with Fort Worth, TX) with the highest turnover for large suburban, single-family homes. But Nashville and Austin are both among the five metros with the smallest declines in turnover since 2019, posting drops of just 10% and 14%, respectively. When it comes to large suburban houses, Nashville and Austin have the second and third smallest declines. That's partly due to robust new construction in Nashville and Austin: Inventory of single-family homes for sale in both metros is made up of more than 30% newly built homes, compared to 22% nationwide. Only Milwaukee and Columbus, OH, which both saw overall turnover drop by about 8% from 2019 to 2023, had smaller declines in turnover than Nashville. Indianapolis, IN comes in fourth, with a 14% decline. Milwaukee, Columbus and Indianapolis have relatively stable turnover because they didn't experience huge homebuying demand swings throughout the pandemic. View the full report, including charts and methodology, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Customers who buy and sell with Redfin pay a 1% listing fee, less than half of what brokerages commonly charge. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

HGTV, LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio Join Forces for 2023 HGTV Ultimate House Hunt
Annual online awards features incredible homes for sale. CHICAGO – June 27, 2023 – Luxury Portfolio International® and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® announce the launch of the 2023 HGTV Ultimate House Hunt. This is the twelfth year HGTV has collaborated exclusively with Luxury Portfolio International® and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® on the popular online promotion, which generated more than 1.12 million votes last year. This year's Ultimate House Hunt, which runs through August 3 on HGTV.com, features stunning homes for sale in eight categories: Amazing Kitchens, Beachfront Homes, Countryside Retreats, Curb Appeal, Downtown Dwellings, Homes with a History, Outdoor Escapes and Waterside Homes. All featured properties are represented by members of Luxury Portfolio International® and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®. People can tour the homes selected as finalists by viewing extensive photo galleries before voting for their favorite properties. A winner will be chosen in each category based on the highest number of votes received, and an overall favorite will be awarded for the listing receiving the most votes. "We are excited to join forces with HGTV once again for the Ultimate House Hunt. We've curated an incredible collection of homes with gorgeous designs, stunning décor and breathtaking settings, which are sure to inspire HGTV's audience," said Paul Boomsma, President/CEO of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®. This year's finalists include 84 homes represented by 36 real estate companies: @properties Christie's International Real Estate; Allen Tate Company; Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks, Realtors; Ansley Real Estate; Baird & Warner; Beacham & Company, Realtors; Bluebird Real Estate; Brown Harris Stevens; Dave Perry Miller, an Ebby Halliday Company; deasy penner podley; Dickens Mitchener; Dunes Real Estate; Ebby Halliday Realtors; Harry Norman, Realtors®; Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers; Hilton & Hyland Real Estate; John L. Scott Real Estate; Lafffey Real Estate; Latter & Blum, Inc. Realtors; Lowcountry Real Estate; McEnearney Associates, Inc.; Michael Saunders & Company; Parks Realty; Pinnacle Estate Properties, Inc.; PureWest Real Estate; Reve | Realtors; Santa Fe Properties; Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate; Smith & Associates Real Estate; Vanguard Properties; Village Properties; Wallace Real Estate; William Raveis; Wilson Associates; Windermere Real Estate; and Windermere Real Estate – Utah. In addition, a special Global Homes gallery features eight beautiful properties from outside of the U.S., represented by: CDR Bienes Raices San Miguel; Chas Everitt International Property Group; Island Living Collective; NATIVU Property Advisors; P.V. Realty, S.A. de C.V.; Richmont's; Smiths Gore Limited; and Strand Properties. To view all homes and cast your vote, visit: HGTV.com/HouseHunt About Luxury Portfolio International® (LPI) Luxury Portfolio International (luxuryportfolio.com) is the world's leading collection of independently-run luxury real estate brokerages and their top agents, offering marketing and intelligence services across the globe. Marketing 50,000 luxury homes annually, Luxury Portfolio comprises 250-plus luxury brokerages in more than 35 countries. It is the luxury arm of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 138,000 sales associates in 70-plus countries. Well Connected.™ About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE.com) is a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 138,000 sales associates in 70-plus countries. LeadingRE supports its members with powerful connections to other market leaders and access to innovative, performance-driven programs. Its online learning platform, LeadingRE Institute, was named to Training magazine's Top 10 Hall of Fame. Its international project marketing program, Destinations by LeadingRE, showcases prime developments worldwide. LeadingRE is also active in commercial real estate, with 200 firms in over 20 countries specializing in the commercial arena.

CoreLogic Expands Accessibility of Data, Analytics and Insights Through Integration with Databricks Marketplace
More than 30 CoreLogic products available through Databricks Lakehouse Apps, enabling industry players to tackle mortgage and insurance challenges with industry-leading analytics capabilities IRVINE, Calif., June 28, 2023 — CoreLogic®, a leader in global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions, has announced its integration with Databricks Marketplace, a move that significantly expands the accessibility of CoreLogic's comprehensive datasets and analytics tools. This strategic collaboration amplifies CoreLogic's commitment to meet clients in their world, in their cloud and within their tech stack, allowing a wider range of real estate, insurance and mortgage professionals to directly incorporate CoreLogic's data and insights into their existing workflows. This results in quicker and more impactful decision-making capabilities and improved business performance. By leveraging CoreLogic's solutions within the Databricks platform, users can easily identify and visualize use cases for each product, highlighting the potential and enhancing their understanding of how data connects to solutions and provides answers. Built natively within the Databricks Lakehouse Apps suite, it serves as a launchpad and enables them to start their journeys as soon as they engage with the product. Existing Databricks clients can now access CoreLogic's comprehensive property data and integrate it with their existing workflows, facilitating a smoother and more efficient analysis process. All of this occurs without the data ever leaving the customer's instance, which brings an uncompromising level of security, privacy and compliance. "This strategic integration with Databricks enables industry professionals to leverage our comprehensive datasets and powerful analytics tools in a streamlined manner. By bringing our property-level insights to the fingertips of data scientists, analysts and decision-makers, we are empowering them to manage risk effectively and unlock new opportunities for growth," said Brian Battaglia, executive, Property Intelligence Solutions for CoreLogic. "Databricks is thrilled to welcome CoreLogic to Databricks Marketplace as a launch partner. As a market leading provider of broad and deep property data, including Climate Risk Analytics, CoreLogic is enabling our mutual customers, and prospects, to derive needle moving, portfolio-centric insights faster than ever before leveraging the power of the Lakehouse," said Michael Hartman, EVP Financial Services at Databricks. CoreLogic's offerings on Databricks Marketplace encompass an extensive array of data and analytics services, including Climate Risk Analytics, MLS listings, real estate analytics, Rent Amount Model, Automated Valuation Models (AVMs), neighborhood characteristics, liens, property characteristics, mortgage transactions and building permits. This rich collection of data allows users to gain a holistic understanding of the property market, enabling them to make well-informed decisions and gain a competitive edge. Brian Battaglia will be speaking at the Data + AI Summit by Databricks on "The Future of Data Sharing and Collaboration: A Perspective from Industry Leaders" panel on Thursday, June 29, at 2:30 p.m. PT. About CoreLogic CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources include over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

planetRE Brings AI Closer to Real Estate with Automated Property Listings, Market Reports and AI Search
New Features embedding ChatGPT4 targeted for teams, brokerages and MLSs allow creation of Property Listings Descriptions, Market Report with new AI Imaging Search. SAN JOSE, Calif., June 20, 2023 – planetRE announced today the release of two highly awaited AI "mojos" under chocolatechips.ai, one for automated generation of Listing Property Description and second for automated Market Reports – all using single entry of the Property Address with full agent oversight. Capabilities to understand house photos, classify and modify images using NLP were also announced. The outputs can be used for websites, portals and other marketing activities. Built upon rich ChatGPT4 LLM and company's own advanced NLP and computer vision foundation framework, these new features enable agents and teams to enter a property address and create high precision Property Listing Description and Market Reports automatically with a single click. Agents can change AI prompts with multiple tonalities to create a variety of reports, and choose the one they like. The reports are editable allowing agents to add their own signature touch to the writeup with built in grammar and plagiarism checks. The AI imaging has built-in copyright infringement checks. "Chocolatechips is a high energy Generative AI for Real Estate Agents bringing them closer to the new age with these great features", said Lance Billingsley, VP Navi Title Agency, 2023 ARMLS Board of Directors, 2023 Director, AZ Association of Realtors. "My goal is for every agent to understand what new opportunities AI can bring to them to complement their productivity and success." "Our rich patent portfolio with deep tech knowledge of AI, Large Language Models (LLM), Computer Vision and experience of the real estate industry for last two decades is unmatched by any other vendor," said Subrao Shenoy, CEO of planetRE. "The new features take the drudgery out of creating and recreating marketing reports, making agents more creative, productive and efficient." About planetRE planetRE is a seasoned and privately held enterprise software company in Silicon Valley, CA. It holds several patents and has been serving real estate community for many years. More information about planetRE and chocolatechips.ai can be found on www.planetre.com and www.chocolatechips.ai, respectively. planetRE and chocolatechips.ai are trademarks. All other registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

MoxiWorks welcomes Local Logic to the MoxiCloud
Local Logic is on a mission to help build more livable and sustainable cities SEATTLE, June 13, 2023 — MoxiWorks, the leading real estate technology platform, announced today location intelligence platform, Local Logic, has joined their network of more than 150 technology partners on the MoxiCloud open platform. Since 2015, Local Logic has been providing real estate professionals with highly accurate, real-time data and analysis to help supplement their natural intuition. The platform combines traditional real estate data, such as property history, demographics, and market comparisons, which allows users to build a digital representation of cities bringing unparalleled transparency to the real estate market. "The MoxiWorks team has solidified its position as one of the most innovative and reliable technologies a broker or agent can utilize," says Vincent Charles-Hodder, CEO and Co-founder of Local Logic. "This partnership is an exciting and valuable next step for Local Logic, bringing the power of deep location insights to MoxiWorks' impressive customer base." Fresh off the heels of their announcement of a partnership with CRMLS, Local Logic and MoxiWorks are partnering up to help brokerages and their agents using MoxiWorks to add a new level of insights and knowledge to their websites. "I'm so excited to introduce our MoxiWorks clients to the incredible insights from Local Logic," said Krista Thomsen, MoxiWorks' Director of Strategic Partnerships. "This is the first neighborhood intelligence platform to join the network and paired with MoxiWebsites gives brokerages and their agents an edge when working with their clients. With neighborhood profiles, local demographics, location scores, points of interest and much more added to the listings on your website, those listings will stand out against other websites and the MLS. This is a big differentiator for brokerages. The implementation of Local Logic on your MoxiWebsite is quick, easy and instantly upgrades the user experience!" Local Logic's location intelligence platform provides powerful insights not just on properties, but the broader built environment in which they exist. Real estate agents using Local Logic can now become an expert in just about any area you are working in without ever stepping foot in the neighborhood. By determining exactly what neighborhoods and properties fit a homebuyers' criteria, Local Logic's proprietary platform helps professionals master their markets — bringing them happier clients and, ultimately, more deals. "Homebuyers are savvier than ever. They demand the best tools, insights, and experiences to make informed decisions – and Local Logic, as a location intelligence market leader, meets that need," said Todd Shyiak, Senior Vice President of CENTURY 21 Canada. "Together with MoxiWorks' smooth integration, they ensure CENTURY 21 Canada remains a cutting-edge real estate franchise." MoxiWorks users who want to integrate the Local Logic intelligence platform with their MoxiWebsites should reach out directly to their account manager. To learn more about Local Logic visit locallogic.co. To learn more about MoxiWorks visit moxiworks.com. About Local Logic Local Logic digitizes the built world for consumers, investors, developers, and governments – delivering unrivaled clarity and actionable insights capable of creating more sustainable, equitable cities. With more than 75 billion unique data points – the largest unique location data set in the U.S. and Canada – the platform creates a digital twin of cities, quantifying the built world and offering predictive, precise analytics to inform the present and future of over 250 million individual addresses. About MoxiWorks MoxiWorks is a comprehensive open platform system for large residential real estate brokerages that serves over 800 brokerages and 400,000 agents nationwide, accounting for more than 20% of the transactions in the U.S. Their integrated tools are centered on sphere methodology that increases agents' repeat and referral business by 54%, while lowering overall technology, training, and support costs for the brokerage. The open platform known as the MoxiCloud has tools from more than 100 partners that integrate to create unique brokerage solutions. Find more information at moxiworks.com.

One-Third of U.S. Homebuyers Are Paying in Cash, the Highest Share in Nearly a Decade
All-cash home purchases have reached their highest level since 2014, and the share of buyers using FHA loans has reached its highest level since before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the typical buyer's down payment is down 18% from a year earlier. SEATTLE — One-third (33.4%) of U.S. home purchases were made in cash in April, up from 30.7% a year earlier and the highest share in nine years, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's comparable with February's 33.5% share. All-cash purchases are making up a bigger portion of the homebuying pie for one major reason: Elevated mortgage rates are deterring homebuyers who take out mortgages more than they're deterring all-cash buyers. Overall home sales were down 41% from a year earlier in April in the metros included in Redfin's analysis, which comprised 40 of the most populous U.S. metros. That's compared with a 35% decline for all-cash sales. Mortgage rates are near their highest level in 15 years, sidelining many would-be homebuyers—especially those who need to take out a mortgage. But high rates can also deter all-cash buyers because they may decide their money is better spent on investments that benefit from high rates, like bonds. "A homebuyer who can afford to pay in all cash is weighing two potential paths," said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. "They can use cash to pay for the home and avoid high monthly interest payments, or take out a loan and pay a high mortgage rate. In that case, they could use the money that would have gone toward an all-cash purchase to invest in other assets that offer bigger returns, which could partly cancel out their high mortgage rate." "Buyers who can't afford to pay in all cash also have two potential—but different—paths," Bokhari continued. "They can avoid a high mortgage rate by dropping out of the housing market altogether, or they can take on a high rate. That discrepancy is the reason the all-cash share is near a decade high even though all-cash purchases have dropped: Affluent buyers have the choice to pay cash instead of dropping out of the market." Competition among homebuyers is a smaller but still noteworthy reason for the uptick in all-cash sales. A lack of homes for sale is prompting competition in some metro areas, motivating buyers to make all-cash offers to win homes. Down payments post one of the biggest drops since start of pandemic The typical U.S. homebuyer's down payment was $52,500 in April, down 18% from a year earlier. That's the second-biggest drop since May 2020, when the housing market ground to a halt at the start of the pandemic (the biggest was a 22% drop in March 2023). Down payments have been falling on a year-over-year basis since November. In percentage terms, the median down payment was equal to 13.1% of the purchase price, down from 16.5% a year earlier. Even though the inventory shortage is causing more competition for homes than one might expect given today's relatively tepid demand, the bidding-war rate is much lower than it was a year ago. Forty-six percent of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition in April, down from roughly 59% a year earlier. Less competition means fewer buyers need to offer a big down payment to prove their financial stability and stand out from the crowd. It also means FHA loans, which require lower down payments, are becoming more prevalent. The typical U.S. home sold for 4% less in April than a year earlier, and the drop is much bigger in some metro areas. Lower home prices mean lower dollar down payments. Share of homebuyers using FHA loans hits highest share since before the pandemic Roughly one in six (16.4%) U.S. mortgaged home sales used an FHA loan in April, the highest share since February 2020, just before the pandemic began. That's up from 10.4% a year earlier; representing the largest year-over-year gain on record. Just under 7% of mortgaged home sales used a VA loan, down from an eight-year high of 8% in February but up from 5.9% a year earlier. Conventional loans are the most common type, making up more than three-quarters (76.8%) of mortgaged home sales. But the share of buyers using a conventional loan dropped from 83.7% from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year decline on record. Redfin agents in pandemic homebuying boomtowns Boise, ID, Austin, TX and Orlando, FL report that they saw an uptick in FHA loans in early spring. But Orlando Redfin agent Nicole Dege said she's noticed a decline in buyers using FHA loans since then as inventory has fallen and competition has ticked up. High mortgage rates may also make buyers more likely to choose an FHA loan instead of a conventional loan, as FHA rates tend to be slightly lower; the average daily FHA rate was 6.54% on June 6, versus 6.89% for a conventional loan. Even though FHA loans are becoming more common, the fact that one-third of home purchases are made in cash reflects the unequal nature of today's housing market. Affluent buyers who can afford to pay for a home in cash still have an advantage because not only is it easier to get offers accepted, but they don't have to take on high mortgage rates. Jumbo loans have become less popular as rates stay elevated Just 6.1% of mortgaged home sales used a jumbo loan in April, down from 10.6% a year earlier but up from the decade-low of 4.3% hit in January. Jumbo loans have become less common over the last year as mortgage rates have risen. Elevated rates have pushed some buyers of expensive homes out of the market entirely and pushed some into lower price ranges. Banks are also more hesitant to take potential losses on jumbo loans in the aftermath of this year's bank failures. View the full report, including charts and metro-level data, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with same day tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home in certain markets can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Customers who buy and sell with Redfin pay a 1% listing fee, subject to minimums, less than half of what brokerages commonly charge. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.5 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Redfin Reports Investor Home Purchases Fell a Record 49% Year Over Year in the First Quarter
That outpaced a 41% drop in overall home purchases, as rising interest rates and falling home values caused investors to retreat SEATTLE — Real estate investors purchased 48.6% fewer homes in the first quarter of 2023 than they did a year earlier as elevated interest rates along with declining rents and housing values ate into potential profits, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's the largest annual decline on record, and outpaced the 40.7% drop in overall home purchases in the 40 major metros tracked by Redfin. Investor purchases fell 15.9% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, comparable with the 14.7% quarterly drop in overall home purchases. "While investors have pumped the brakes on home purchases, they're still scooping up a bigger share of homes than they were before the pandemic, which can create challenges for individual buyers at a time when there are so few homes for sale," said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. "Investors have gravitated toward more affordable properties due to still-high housing costs and rising mortgage rates, which has left first-time homebuyers with fewer starter homes to choose from." Investors bought up scores of homes during the pandemic because record-low mortgage rates and skyrocketing housing demand created opportunities for hefty returns. Now they're pulling back in response to the rise in interest rates, which is causing housing values to continue falling in much of the U.S. as homebuyer demand falters. While many investors buy homes with cash, they're still impacted by high interest rates because they often take out non mortgage loans to cover renovations and other expenses. "It's been about eight months since one of my listings sold to an investor," said Jacksonville, FL Redfin Premier real estate agent Heather Kruayai. "I rarely get offers from investors these days, and when I do, it's a lowball offer on a house that's been sitting for a while. Some smaller companies and mom-and-pop investors are still active in the market, but the big corporations aren't buying anymore." Borrowing costs climbed even higher in May, meaning investors may pull back from the housing market further in the second quarter. Investor home purchases typically rise on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the spring, but they may fall flat or decline when second-quarter data comes in. For investors who are landlords, slowing rent growth is also making it harder to reap profits. And investors who are in the business of flipping homes are finding it more challenging to make money because they're increasingly likely to resell homes at a loss due to declining home prices. Roughly one of every seven homes (13.5%) sold by an investor in March sold for less than the investor bought it for, just shy of the seven-year high set in February. The share was even higher—20.8%—for home flippers. Investor home purchases in the first quarter of 2022 were near their record high, which is another reason the year-over-year decline in 2023 was so dramatic. Investors bought 41,181 homes in the metros tracked by Redfin in the first quarter of 2023, down from 80,128 a year earlier, which wasn't far from the record high of 95,124 in the third quarter of 2021. Overall, investors bought $27.5 billion worth of homes in the metros tracked by Redfin in the first quarter, down 46.3% from $51.2 billion one year earlier and down 12.4% from $31.4 billion one quarter earlier. The typical home investors purchased cost $427,901, which means little changed from the prior quarter and a year earlier. Investors Bought 18% of Homes Purchased in the First Quarter While investors are purchasing fewer homes than they were before the pandemic, their market share remains relatively high; they bought 17.6% of homes purchased in the metros tracked by Redfin in the first quarter. That's down from a peak of 20.4% a year earlier but higher than any quarter on record prior to the pandemic. Investor market share is likely above pre-pandemic levels in part because so many individual homebuyers have been priced out of the market, Bokhari said. For it to come down substantially, investors would need to pull back much more than regular buyers; right now, both groups are retreating rapidly from the market. Investor Home Purchases Plunged in the Sun Belt In Nassau County, NY, investor home purchases fell 67.9% year over year in the first quarter, the largest decline among the 40 metros Redfin analyzed. Next came Atlanta (-66%) and Charlotte, NC (-66%), Phoenix (-64.2%) and Nashville, TN (-60.4%). Rounding out the top 10 are Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Tampa, FL and Orlando, FL, which all saw declines of more than 50%. All but two of the metros above (Nassau County and Philadelphia) are in Sun Belt states, which soared in popularity among homebuyers during the pandemic. Investors piled in to capitalize on surging rents and home values, and are now pulling back as Sun Belt housing markets slow relatively quickly after getting overheated in recent years. In Phoenix, 30.7% of homes sold by investors in March sold at a loss—the highest share of the 40 metros Redfin analyzed and more than double the national rate, a separate Redfin analysis found. Next came Las Vegas (28%), Jacksonville (20.9%), Sacramento, CA (20.2%) and Charlotte (17.4%). Investor purchases may also be declining in Atlanta, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Phoenix because those markets were popular among iBuyer investors. Many iBuying companies, including RedfinNow, ceased or slowed operations in recent years. Baltimore saw the smallest decline in investor purchases, which fell 8.8% year over year in the first quarter. It was followed by Providence, RI (-9.6%), Seattle (-15.5%), Milwaukee (-21.6%) and Cleveland, OH (-23.2%). Investors Lost Most Market Share in Charlotte, Atlanta and Phoenix Investors lost market share in 17 of the 40 metros Redfin analyzed. Many of those are places where investor purchases dropped significantly. In Charlotte, investors bought 18.4% of homes purchased in the first quarter, down 14.1 percentage points from 32.5% a year earlier. That's the largest percentage-point drop among the metros in this analysis. Next came Atlanta (-14 ppts), Phoenix (-11.1 ppts), Jacksonville (-10.7 ppts) and Nashville (-9.3 ppts). Investors gained the most market share in Baltimore, where they bought 21.6% of homes purchased, up from 17% a year earlier (4.6 ppts). Next came Nassau County (4.3 ppts), New York (4 ppts), Providence (3.4 ppts) and Seattle (2.8 ppts). Overall, investors had the highest market share in Miami, where they bought 30% of homes purchased in the first quarter. Rounding out the top five are Cleveland (24%), Anaheim, CA (22.6%) Detroit (22%) and Jacksonville (22%). Investors had the lowest market share in Warren, MI (10.6%), Montgomery County, PA (10.6%), Washington, D.C. (10.6%), Minneapolis (11.1%) and Portland, OR (11.5%). Low-Priced Homes Made Up Increasing Share of Investor Purchases Low-priced homes made up nearly half (48.7%) of investor purchases in the first quarter, the highest share in two years. Meanwhile, mid-priced homes represented about one-quarter (23.6%) of investor purchases, the lowest share in two years. High-priced homes made up 27.7%, little changed from the prior several quarters. Investors bought 24.9% of all low-priced homes that were purchased in the metros tracked by Redfin in the first quarter, comparable with the 25.3% record high set a year earlier. Meanwhile, they bought 12.5% of mid-priced homes that were purchased, the lowest share in two years, and 15.3% of high-priced homes. The investors who are still in the market have gravitated toward more affordable properties due to still-high home prices and elevated interest rates. A record 41.1% of investor purchases in the first quarter were starter homes— homes with 1,400 or fewer square feet—up from 37.2% a year earlier. View the full report, including charts, metro-level data, and methodology, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with same day tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home in certain markets can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Customers who buy and sell with Redfin pay a 1% listing fee, subject to minimums, less than half of what brokerages commonly charge. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.5 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

DOSS integrates GPT-4 into their AI-Powered Real Estate Search Marketplace, becoming the first to enable users to speak and/or text their queries
A pioneer in conversational home search, DOSS has recently unveiled the latest version of its AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace — DOSS 2.0 HOUSTON - MAY 25, 2023 -- DOSS, a pioneer in conversational home search, has recently unveiled the latest version of its AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace — DOSS 2.0. With this new release, the platform sheds its BETA label and makes its real estate search portal accessible to all users. DOSS has integrated GPT-4 directly into their code, providing an unparalleled search experience without any third-party limitations or the initial inherent constraints of the ChatGPT Plugin, which is currently available to only a limited number of users. This launch marks the first narrow domain consumer-facing platform on the web to incorporate GPT-4 while also empowering all of their users to ask questions through speech or text with an AI-Powered solution responding based on how it was engaged. "DOSS, what is the difference between an FHA loan and a Conventional loan? Please connect me with a Loan Officer…" Michael Ramirez, the CTO who joined DOSS in January, shared his perspective on deviating from the competition's approach of developing a plugin or extension. He stated, "I understand the rationale behind their choice, as it offers convenience and easier implementation. The DOSS team has been dedicated to advancing Conversational AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Speech to Text, and Text to Speech technologies for the real estate industry and home search since 2016. This deep expertise gives DOSS a significant advantage, positioning us perfectly to capitalize on the evolution of this technology as we enter the era of Large Language Models (LLMs). With DOSS 2.0, we harness the power of GPT-4 by directly integrating it into our code, empowering all of our users to experience and search for desired information freely and in their preferred manner with a modern use-case that has the potential to evolve home search as we know it. Our platform provides instant advice and tips, comprehensive and dynamic property search results, community and neighborhood information, proximity results, and much more, all delivered in a conversational and humanistic manner. In doing so, we eliminate the need for cumbersome filters that often yield vague results." "DOSS, show me houses for sale in Austin, Texas under $800,000 with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with lots of natural light, on a quiet street, with white kitchen cabinets, in zip code 78703, and zoned to Bryker Woods Elementary School." DOSS plans to continue aggressively developing their AI-Powered platform to eventually include services such as insurance, mortgage, title, home servicing, and more to mobilize a seamless end-to-end experience for the user. Chris Norton, COO adds, "The seamless integration of GPT-4 and our proprietary image recognition and tagging system by DOSS marks a significant advancement in the real estate industry. By combining cutting-edge AI technologies in a multimodal platform, we are providing consumers with a powerful tool that is specifically designed to help them find their perfect home while ensuring they are well-informed throughout the largest purchase process of their lives. Our innovative approach demonstrates our commitment to delivering an exceptional user experience and sets the real estate industry on the path to the future. With DOSS 2.0, users can now search for properties, ask detailed questions, and receive personalized responses, all in a seamless and conversational manner. This transformative technology represents a win for consumers, as they now have access to a real estate search platform developed with their needs in mind." "DOSS, find me a home in Houston, Texas, an area that's into art and music, priced under $500,000, and within walking distance to dog parks." Bobby Bryant, CEO of DOSS, expressed "Our development strategy is designed to create a much sticker user experience that addresses the entire lifecycle of homeownership. At DOSS, the mission is to create the industry's best real estate marketplace to search, service, and transact all things home in the palm of your hands. We want to be more than just a destination to buy, rent, and sell real estate. Especially when you take into consideration that there are approximately 140 million homes in the United States, and only 4 to 5% are sold annually. Although that small percentage represents a $100B industry, there's a much bigger opportunity that remains largely untapped." "DOSS, I'm thinking about selling my house. What should I focus on fixing around the house to increase the value of my home?" In a class of its own, DOSS combines an AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace with the scalability of a Modern-Day Franchise Model. DOSS plans to provide a level of visibility for our agents and franchises that will compete with the major real estate search engines. This unique advantage is what sets DOSS apart from other real estate search engines and traditional brokerages. Many Agents at Traditional Brokerages are forced to rely on third-party platforms and service providers because their brokerage creates or provides very little-to-no technology. Because of this reality, Agents spend significant amounts of money outside of their brokerage each month to get quality leads, technology, and tools. Recognizing this challenge, DOSS has developed its own cutting-edge proprietary technology to reduce Agent dependency on third-party providers, decrease cost, increase revenue, and equip our Agents at our DOSS Home Center Franchises with the necessary tools to enhance the consumer experience. "DOSS, what is the value of my home?" The DOSS team is committed to upholding the true potential of technology, which is to save people time and money. The introduction of DOSS 2.0 is poised to not only deliver the best real estate search experience on the web, but also offer users a chance to receive significant savings. The challenges faced by Millennials and GenZ, such as Student Loan debt, soaring home prices, and higher interest rates, have made it increasingly difficult for them to qualify for a home. By leveraging their AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace to streamline the real estate experience, DOSS offers buyers a 1% rebate, up to $5,000, which can be utilized to reduce closing costs or lower their interest rates. Sellers, on the other hand, can list their properties on the MLS and all major real estate search portals for a modest 1% Listing Fee, all while receiving comprehensive, full-service support. Finally, a digital real estate platform that harnesses the power of AI to offer consumers a range of options, from Do-It-Yourself to Full-Service, at a fair and competitive price point. CLICK HERE to give our AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace a Test Drive. Or, download Ask DOSS in the Android or iOS app store.

RESAAS Enters Real Estate Developer Sector through Partnership with IMAGIN Images
VANCOUVER, BC, May 11, 2023 - RESAAS Services Inc., a leading provider of technology solutions for the real estate industry, has announced a partnership with IMAGIN Images. IMAGIN Images is an award-winning 3D rendering technology used by leading real estate developers globally, with a particularly strong presence in Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada. IMAGIN's high-quality rendering technology and leading-edge "Superfly™" virtual experience produces the most true-to-life animations for real estate developers. "In today's real estate market, unique real estate data gathered by RESAAS shows increased appetite for new real estate developments and pre-construction projects," said Tom Rossiter, CEO of RESAAS. "As a true platform for the entire real estate industry, RESAAS has proactively selected IMAGIN Images as our partner to welcome Real Estate Development companies as customers. IMAGIN's 3D renderings provide unparalleled levels of quality; a level of detail demanded by the luxury real estate sector that RESAAS has an extremely strong presence in." IMAGIN Images is the only rendering company that brings 3D technology from video game engines to the world of real estate. Under the terms of the one-year agreement signed on May 8, 2023, RESAAS will generate revenue from referral fees paid by IMAGIN Images for each new and returning customer it provides introductions to. About RESAAS Services Inc. RESAAS is an award-winning global technology platform for the real estate industry. With over 500,000 real estate agents utilizing RESAAS in 160 countries, RESAAS enables real-time industry communication, delivers new business opportunities and captures unique real estate data. Some of real estate's biggest brands leverage RESAAS to provide business intelligence to real estate brokerages, franchises and associations. For more information, please visit www.resaas.com.

LeadingRE Adds CB4C to Solutions Group Program
CB4C provides cash flow solutions. CHICAGO – (May 8, 2023) – Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® welcomes CB4C to its Solutions Group program of preferred business resources for its global network of 550 market-leading real estate firms. CB4C is a next generation cash flow solutions company, using proprietary technology that creates an excellent agent experience in less than 15 minutes. CB4C deploys the premium underwriting and verification process by partnering with Pentagon-Level verification partners, such as Plaid and Intelli-Check. CB4C's technology seamlessly merges with their dedicated and fully integrated customer care center for a streamlined approach to cash flow solutions. Agents can apply in minutes and, once approved, receive funds the same day. "We are excited to partner with CB4C for our Solutions Group Program. CB4C is founded by industry veterans who know what agents need. Their commitment to empowering agents with financial flexibility is a testament to their dedication to the real estate industry," said LeadingRE Vice President, Sales/Partnerships Jeff Kennedy. "As a former brokerage member of LeadingRE, we are honored to once again be associated with the absolute best collection of independent brokerages around the globe. We look forward to rekindling relationships and delivering our best of breed cash flow solutions exclusively to our LeadingRE brokerage partners and their agents," explained Brad Miller, President of CB4C Learn more about CB4C at cb4cre.com. Learn more about Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® at LeadingRE.com. About CB4C CB4C offers cash flow solutions exclusively to brokerage partners and their agents nationwide. CB4C is founded by real-estate professionals with decades of industry experience and a proven track record of deploying superior services to agents and introducing new revenue opportunities to brokers. Above all, CB4C is committed to the success of agents and their businesses by advancing them with the capital they need when they need it. About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE.com) is a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 138,000 sales associates in 75 countries. LeadingRE supports its members with powerful connections to other market leaders and access to innovative, performance-driven programs. LeadingRE is also active in commercial real estate, with over 200 firms in 20 countries specializing in the commercial arena.

Tony Pistilli Joins Restb.ai as General Manager of Valuations to Drive Innovation in the Real Estate Valuation Industry
Barcelona, Spain — April 17, 2023 — Restb.ai, a global leader in computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the real estate industry, today announced Tony Pistilli as its new General Manager of Valuations. With over 30 years of executive-level real estate valuation and lending experience, Pistilli will play a vital role in expanding Restb.ai's reach in the valuation and appraisal industry, as well as fostering relationships with lenders and related industry partners. "Thanks to his vast experience in real estate and valuation, Tony is uniquely equipped to tackle the challenges of incorporating new technology into the industry," said Nathan Brannen, Chief Product Officer at Restb.ai. "By leveraging Restb.ai's cutting-edge computer vision and AI solutions, he will help us transform how valuations are completed and rapidly accelerate the pace of industry adoption." Pistilli's extensive background includes working with national banks, mortgage companies, federal agencies, and leading appraisal management firms. He is a certified residential real estate appraiser in Colorado and Texas, and currently serves as Chair of the Colorado Real Estate Appraiser Board and is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor. In 2011, he was the first recipient of the Valuation Visionary Award presented by the Collateral Risk Network at Valuation Expo. In his new role at Restb.ai, Pistilli will be responsible for providing direction to the application of Restb.ai's products and services for the valuation segment of the real estate industry, working with the product team to develop and expand the suite of offerings. Additionally, he will prioritize development initiatives and build industry relationships and partnerships to enhance Restb.ai's presence in the market further. Pistilli said he is particularly excited to work on computer vision projects, which he believes to be the most important technology and the biggest breakthrough opportunity for the real estate industry. "AI that can instantly and consistently analyze property photos is a game changer," said Pistilli. "Accurately identifying property features and standardizing the condition, quality, and all other aspects of properties will significantly enhance valuation processes and improve valuation quality." Outside of his professional accomplishments, Pistilli has a penchant for giving back to his community, having volunteered extensively in church and civic groups. Valuation industry firms interested in arranging a demonstration of Restb.ai technology can contact Tony Pistilli online at Restb.ai or forwarding email at [email protected]. About Restb.ai Restb.ai, the leader in AI and computer vision for real estate, provides image recognition and data enrichment solutions for many of the industry’s top brands and leading innovators. Its advanced AI-powered technology automatically analyzes property imagery to unlock visual insights at scale that empowers real estate companies with relevant and actionable property intelligence. Restb.ai is like having a real estate expert instantly research and provide a deep insight into each of the 1 million property photos uploaded daily.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Unveils 2023 Global Brand Campaign
Real stories about real estate gives glimpse into the unseen duties of a real estate professional Irvine, California (April 5, 2023) — Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is proud to reveal its innovative global brand campaign for 2023—Real Stories About Real Estate. The campaign takes a humorous and insightful look at some of the behind-the-scenes duties network members complete while helping clients achieve their real estate goals. Going far beyond the transaction itself, the campaign showcases agents as community experts, putting in the extra mile when it comes to preparing for an open house, and making sure every element of the home is looking its very best to achieve maximum value—down to the very last leaf. "For Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network members, our client relationships are about so much more than just buying or selling a home," said Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. "It's about helping clients achieve all their real estate goals, which may include home renovations and being able to educate them on which updates to a property will ensure the most value when they do sell. It's about bringing a wealth of expertise and experience to the table. It's about being a trusted real estate advisor now, and forever." The Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 2023 Global Brand Campaign features three scenarios in which sellers note just how easy it was to find the right buyer for their home. Unbeknownst to them, their Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network agent was putting in the extra mile, every step of the way. Making the process as seamless as possible while achieving the maximum value, the agents successfully navigate everything that arises in the day of the life of a real estate agent. From scooping the pool while readying for a showing, making sure a buyer's couch will fit just right, and fending off friendly wildlife eager to make an open house a little more interesting, to taking buyers on virtual journeys through a property and the neighborhood, and preparing a home to bring to the market—the campaign captures the heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears it takes to get a house sold. "Every day for a network member is a whole new adventure," said Wendy Durand, SVP Global Marketing & Communications. "This is a way to honor all those things that agents do that are part of the job and to reveal just how much work there is behind the scenes." The Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 2023 Global Brand Campaign will be shown throughout the globe on both digital and traditional media platforms to reach a vast audience. Last year, the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Global Brand Campaign reached an audience of millions. A full suite of marketing assets are now available to all network members including videos, digital and social assets, eCards, print materials, and more. Later this year, the brand will launch a network-wide social media initiative to complement the campaign. See the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Global Brand Campaign here. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is the only global real estate brokerage franchise that is boldly focused on building a personally connected future through relationship-driven business, with best-in-class leadership, mentorships, business tools and a worldwide network that is committed to making a lasting impact through lifelong relationships. With more than 50,000 real estate professionals and nearly 1,600 offices across 4 continents and 13 countries and territories including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, The Caribbean and India, the network completed more than USD$154.7 billion in real estate sales in 2022. Among the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name, the network brings to the real estate market a definitive mark of trust, integrity, stability and longevity.

Carolyn Merchant Named Chief Marketing Officer of eXp Realty
Merchant to lead agent-centric marketing and brand evolution at eXp Realty to enable agent and company growth BELLINGHAM, Wash. — April 6, 2023 – eXp Realty®, "the most agent-centric real estate brokerage on the planet™" and the core subsidiary of eXp World Holdings, Inc., today announced it has named Carolyn Merchant as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Merchant will lead the next evolution of brand and marketing efforts for the company, with a core focus on agent enablement and growth. "The growth opportunity ahead of us is massive and core to that is our continued mission to be the most agent-centric brokerage by constantly innovating our agent value proposition," said Glenn Sanford, CEO of eXp Realty. "Carolyn brings extensive expertise and since joining eXp Realty, she has elevated our marketing and communications functions. I'm confident that she will continue to build out many new deliverables across the realty ecosystem, from our internal business units to the agent in the field sitting down to take their first listing." With a marketing career spanning nearly two decades, Merchant has established herself as a leader with a proven track record of driving business growth through marketing, brand and communications. In her role as VP, Brand & Communications at eXp Realty, Merchant has professionalized the brand and marketing communications functions, driving brand awareness and consistency to deliver agent-centric strategies and experiences. Merchant has also produced real-time value through her leadership in supporting eXp's biggest events – EXPCON and Shareholder Summit. Her agent-first approach has helped eXp deliver record-breaking attendance and invaluable information to help agents build and grow their businesses. Prior to joining eXp, Merchant led global brand and communications at Colliers across 86 countries. Earlier in her career, Merchant worked at Aimia, a marketing and loyalty analytics firm, as well as communications marketing agencies including Edelman where she delivered award-winning client campaigns. About eXp World Holdings, Inc. eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI) is the holding company for eXp Realty®, Virbela and SUCCESS® Enterprises. eXp Realty is the largest independent real estate company in the world with more than 87,000 agents in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India, Mexico, Portugal, France, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Italy, Hong Kong, Colombia, Spain, Israel, Panama, Germany, Dominican Republic, Greece, New Zealand, Chile, Poland and Dubai and continues to scale internationally. As a publicly traded company, eXp World Holdings provides real estate professionals the unique opportunity to earn equity awards for production goals and contributions to overall company growth. eXp World Holdings and its businesses offer a full suite of brokerage and real estate tech solutions, including its innovative residential and commercial brokerage model, professional services, collaborative tools and personal development. The cloud-based brokerage is powered by Virbela, an immersive 3D platform that is deeply social and collaborative, enabling agents to be more connected and productive. SUCCESS® Enterprises, anchored by SUCCESS® magazine and its related media properties, was established in 1897 and is a leading personal and professional development brand and publication. For more information, visit expworldholdings.com.

Southwestern US Counties Rank Highest in CoreLogic's 'Safest Places to Live' Study Forecasting the Next 30 Years of Natural Disasters
CoreLogic Climate Risk Analytics solution finds counties in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah top the list for the lowest exposure to perils IRVINE, Calif., March 23, 2023 — CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, has announced the results of its "Safest Place to Live" study which details the least risky places to live in the U.S. from a natural hazard perspective. While severe convective storms and flooding pose risk to most homes in the U.S., McKinley County, New Mexico, emerged as the least-risky county to live due to its lack of hurricane and earthquake risk. Additionally, five counties in Colorado rank in the top 10 for lowest-risk areas for natural catastrophes. CoreLogic deployed its Climate Risk Analytics: Composite Risk Score (CRA Composite Risk Score) solution to identify counties that are currently at low risk and stress tests natural disaster risks over the next 30 years across various future climate scenarios. The climate scenarios include a base climate where conditions do not change and a progressively worsening climate noted as "Scenario 8.5." RCP 8.5 is one of a suite of scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways) that describe several potential future scenarios. The RCP 8.5 climate change results discussed here represent a projection of climate-related risks to residential properties assuming that C02 emissions continue to rise throughout the 21st century. CoreLogic analyzed wildfire, inland flood, severe convective storm, winter storm, earthquake and hurricane perils and applied its analytics capabilities to its extensive property datasets to provide deep insights into natural hazards, climate risks and the resulting impacts on the property landscape. As a result, the top 10 counties safest from natural disaster are: McKinley, New Mexico Duchesne, Utah Conejos, Colorado Emery, Utah Summit, Colorado Pondera, Montana Saguache, Colorado Unitah, Utah Mesa, Colorado San Miguel, Colorado In examining a progressively worsening climate, Scenario 8.5, the safest counties in 2050 become: McKinley, New Mexico Conejos, Colorado Summit, Colorado Duchesne, Utah Saguache, Colorado Spokane, Washington Emery, Utah Eagle, Colorado San Juan, Colorado Chaffee, Colorado About the study: This analysis considers the impactful environmental risks to 154 million properties across the U.S. and is built on CoreLogic's comprehensive data that details the physical characteristics of those homes, including construction year, first-floor height, number of stories and square footage. Although historic events provide some indication of where natural hazard risks may be high, evolving climate change necessitates comprehensive, forward-looking data to clearly identify where such risks are the lowest. The county-level CRA Composite Risk Scores were used for this study. These scores represent the reconstruction cost value-weighted Composite Risk Scores for the single-family residences within each county. More insights can be found here. Source: CoreLogic The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient's publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient's parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data contact Robin Wachner at [email protected]. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources. About CoreLogic CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

Loft47 launches real estate's first AI-powered dashboard providing unprecedented access to brokerage back office data
A years-long project to bring clients their financial data on demand just got an intelligent boost. Vancouver, BC, February 28, 2023 -- Loft47, a leading provider of real estate brokerage back office solutions, has introduced the latest AI technology, GPT, into their Loft47 Pro product. The integration of GPT into their platform aims to provide a new level of automation and data-driven insights for their real estate Brokerage clients. The real estate industry has seen a significant increase in demand for data-driven insights in recent years, and with the integration of GPT, Loft47 is able to provide clients with a more advanced level of analysis than ever before. Clients can now use natural language to query and analyze large volumes of data from their accounting-first commission management platform, Loft47, and provide detailed insights into trends and Agent behaviour. GPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a state-of-the-art AI language model developed by OpenAI. It uses deep learning algorithms to analyze large volumes of data and generate natural language responses that are indistinguishable from those written by humans. By integrating GPT into their dashboards, Loft47 is able to provide their clients with more accurate and detailed reports on their real estate transactions. "We are thrilled to introduce GPT into our Google Data Studio dashboards and offer our clients a new level of automation and data-driven insights. This integration will enable us to provide our clients with a more accurate and detailed analysis of their real estate transactions, ultimately empowering them to make more informed decisions in a highly competitive industry," said Sasha Hryciuk, Loft47 Founder. The integration of GPT into Loft47's Google Data Studio dashboards is a significant step forward in the real estate industry's use of AI technology. It is likely to have a major impact on the industry, as more and more brokerages are expected to follow suit and incorporate AI technology into their platforms in the years ahead. You can get AI-powered dashboards by signing up for Loft47. They scale to fit any team, from Brokerages just getting started to those that have grown to hundreds of Agents across multiple locations and offices. To get access to accounting and workflow automation in commission management visit here to sign up. About Loft47 Founded in 2015, Loft47 revolutionized commission management for Real Estate Brokerages and teams by introducing a lightweight, intuitive, and mobile commission accounting platform. Delivering the real alternative to outdated and inelegant real estate accounting platforms. Specialization in workflow automation allows clients to apply complex commission plans for Agents while Loft47 automatically completes sophisticated accounting entries behind the scenes. The core platform leverages integrations with best-in-class tools so any team can build a complete and connected back office system. As experts in Real Estate finance and accounting, the team at Loft47 strives to continually create elegant financial solutions to easily manage Real Estate accounting and commission flow. Now operating in more than 32 States and 7 Canadian Provinces and with over $120 Billion in Real Estate sold on the platform, they aren't slowing down.

Redfin Reports There Were Half as Many Affordable Homes for Sale in 2022 as There Were in 2021
White households had three times as many affordable housing options as Black households SEATTLE — Roughly one in five (21%) U.S. homes for sale in 2022 was affordable for the typical household, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's down from two in five (40%) in 2021 and the lowest share on record. A listing is considered affordable if the estimated monthly mortgage payment is no more than 30% of the local county's median income. The number of affordable listings fell 53% from a year earlier in 2022—the largest annual drop in Redfin's records, which date back to 2013. While that's partly due to a decline in listings in general—new listings fell 10% year over year—it's mostly due to the fact that higher mortgage rates made the listings hitting the market less affordable. The housing affordability crisis has intensified for three primary reasons: Mortgage rates have more than doubled from the all-time low of 2.65% in 2021 as the Federal Reserve seeks to quell inflation. The average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate today is 6.65%, which has caused the monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home to increase by over $500 from this time last year. The average rate in 2022 was 5.34%, up from 2.96% in 2021. The pandemic homebuying boom caused home prices to surge, and they increased faster than incomes. While prices have fallen 12% from their May peak, they remain about 32% higher than they were before the pandemic started roughly three years ago. There aren't enough homes for sale, which is keeping prices afloat. There were fewer new listings in January than any month on record aside from April 2020, when the onset of the pandemic brought the housing market to a halt. "Housing affordability is at the lowest level in history, which will widen the wealth gap—especially between millennials," said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. "Many millennials were able to buy their first home before or during the pandemic homebuying boom, but many others were priced out of homeownership and forced to keep renting. That means a lot of young adults missed out on a major wealth building opportunity: the value of homes owned by millennials has risen nearly 30% in the past year." Marr continued: "The good news is that housing affordability should improve. Mortgage rates will eventually come down as the Fed makes progress fighting inflation, and home prices have already begun falling. Incomes are also growing faster than the historical norm." The Biden Administration recently announced that it's cutting mortgage-insurance rates for homebuyers who take out loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The move is estimated to save roughly 850,000 homebuyers, many of whom are low-income and/or first-time buyers, an average of $800 per year. It goes into effect March 20. Some states, including California and Oregon, have also passed legislation that allows for the construction of more starter homes. Increased supply could help limit home-price growth over time. If executed well, these new laws could serve as a blueprint for other areas grappling with housing shortages. White Households Can Afford Three Times as Many Homes as Black Households Only 9% of homes for sale last year were affordable for the typical Black household, compared with 28% for the typical white household and the lowest share of any race in this analysis. The share was nearly as low for Hispanic/Latino households (14%) and was highest for Asian households (34%). Affordability has also fallen slightly faster for Black households than for white households. The share of listings affordable for the typical Black household was cut in half (9% in 2022 vs 18% in 2021), while the share affordable for the typical white household fell by less than half (28% vs 50%). The number of listings affordable for the typical Black household dropped a record 57% in 2022 from the year before—a larger decline than any other race in this analysis—while the number of listings affordable for the typical white household fell a record 49%. Hispanic/Latino and Asian households also experienced record declines in the number of listings affordable. "Housing has become incredibly unaffordable for a lot of Americans, but Black families have been hit especially hard because they're often less wealthy to begin with," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "On average, Black Americans earn less money, have less generational wealth, and have lower credit scores (and sometimes no credit scores at all) than white Americans. That makes it tougher to afford a down payment and qualify for a low mortgage rate. They also frequently face racial bias during the homebuying process." The racial housing affordability gap exists nationwide, from the least affordable to the most affordable. In Detroit, for example, 33% of listings were affordable for the typical Black household last year—the highest share in the country. But that's still less than half the share affordable for the typical white household (70%). In Los Angeles, one of the most expensive markets in the country, people across the board have a hard time finding affordable housing. Still, Black house hunters have fewer options. Close to zero (0.1%) listings were affordable for the typical Black household in 2022, compared with 2% for the typical white household. There are a few slivers of good news, Fairweather said. The Black unemployment rate has been falling on a seasonally-adjusted basis, helping to shrink the gap between the white and Black unemployment rates. Rent growth has also been slowing, which disproportionately affects Black Americans because they're more likely to be renters. Pandemic Boomtowns and Pricey Coastal Cities Saw Largest Declines in Number of Affordable Homes The 100 most populous U.S. metro areas all had fewer affordable homes for sale in 2022 than in 2021. In Boise, ID, the number of home listings affordable to the typical local household plunged 86% year over year. It was followed by San Diego (-85%), Salt Lake City (-84%), Oxnard, CA (-83%) and Austin, TX (-82%). Some of the metros above, including San Diego and Oxnard, have long been expensive. That means that many homes were verging on unaffordable before the pandemic, and have since been pushed over the threshold due to rising prices and mortgage rates. Other metros, including Boise, Salt Lake City and Austin, were relatively affordable before the pandemic, but the homebuying boom pushed prices out of reach for many house hunters. These areas surged in popularity as scores of remote workers moved in, searching for space and affordability. Relatively affordable places saw the smallest declines in the number of affordable homes. In Detroit, the number of affordable listings fell 16% year over year in 2022. Next came Akron, OH (-24%), Cleveland (-25%), Pittsburgh (-27%) and Philadelphia (-28%). View the full report, including charts, methodology, and a metro-level breakdown, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Redfin Reports U.S. Homeowners Have Lost $2.3 Trillion in Value Since June Peak
The Bay Area housing market has lost more value in percentage terms than anywhere else in the country amid sluggish demand. Florida continues to see large gains. SEATTLE — The total value of U.S. homes was $45.3 trillion at the end of 2022, down 4.9% ($2.3 trillion) from a record high of $47.7 trillion in June, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's the largest June-to-December drop in percentage terms since 2008. While the total value of U.S. homes was up 6.5% from a year earlier in December, that's the smallest year-over-year increase during any month since August 2020. The housing market has been shedding value because homebuyer demand has waned, which has also caused home prices to fall from their peak. The median U.S. home sale price was $383,249 in January, down 11.5% from a peak of $433,133 in May, and up just 1.5% from January 2022. Homebuyer demand slowed in large part because rising mortgage rates—a consequence of the Federal Reserve's effort to curb inflation—made purchasing a home more expensive. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.36% in December. While that's down from the 20-year high of 7.08% in November, it's roughly double the level from the start of 2022. Rates fell at the beginning of February, giving buyers some hope, but have since crept back up to December levels. "The housing market has shed some of its value, but most homeowners will still reap big rewards from the pandemic housing boom," said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. "The total value of U.S. homes remains roughly $13 trillion higher than it was in February 2020, the month before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic." Zhao continued: "Unfortunately, a lot of people were left behind. Many Americans couldn't afford to buy homes even when mortgage rates hit rock bottom in 2021, which means they missed out on a significant wealth building opportunity." The Bay Area's Housing Market Has Taken the Biggest Hit The total value of San Francisco homes fell 6.7% year over year to $517.5 billion in December (a $37.3 billion decline)—a larger drop in percentage terms than any other major U.S. metropolitan area. Next came two other Bay Area markets: Oakland (-4.5%) and San Jose (-3.2%). Only three other metros saw year-over-year declines: New York (-1%), Seattle (-0.4%) and Boise, ID (-0.3%). Redfin's analysis includes the 100 most populous metro areas, with the exception of Albuquerque, NM, which had insufficient data. The good news for Bay Area buyers is that home prices are down and competition remains far lower than it was during the pandemic homebuying boom. San Francisco's median home sale price dropped 9.4% year over year to $1.3 million in January—the second biggest decline in the country. The good news for sellers is that the steep decline in prices has lured some buyers back. "Three of my listings recently went under contract after sitting on the market for more than a month," said Ali Mafi, a Redfin real estate agent in San Francisco. "They all had a few showings here and there in the fall, but no buyer wanted to pull the trigger. And then suddenly in the new year, we had 10 or 15 people touring each property." Florida's Housing Market Is Holding Value Relatively Well The total value of homes in Miami rose 19.7% year over year ($77 billion) to $468.5 billion in December—the largest annual increase in percentage terms among the metros Redfin analyzed. Miami's housing market had roughly the same value in December as it did when it peaked in July at $472 billion. Next came North Port-Sarasota, FL (+17.8%), Knoxville, TN (+17.7%), Charleston, SC (+17.4%) and Lakeland, FL (+16.9%). Florida was home to six of the 10 metros with the largest annual home-value gains, in percentage terms—even after Hurricane Ian caused billions of dollars in damage and displaced thousands of Floridians in fall 2022. "Florida's housing market is being sustained by folks moving in from the North and as of recently, the West Coast," said Elena Fleck, a Redfin real estate agent in Palm Beach, FL. "People are pouring in from New Jersey and New York, in large part because Florida has relatively affordable homes and no income tax. They can get a lot more bang for their buck here." Suburbs Are Faring Better Than Cities The total value of homes in American suburbs rose 6.4% year over year to $25.4 trillion in December. By comparison, the value of urban homes climbed 2.5% to $10.8 trillion. Rural homes—which make up a relatively small portion of the housing market—also fared better than cities, with total home value increasing 8.5% to $6.2 trillion. The suburbs came back into vogue during the pandemic while cities fell out of favor—largely due to the shift to remote work and the housing affordability crisis. Millennials, in Prime Homebuying Age, Are Reaping Large Value Gains The total value of U.S. homes owned by millennials rose 26.7% year over year to $5.6 trillion in the third quarter of 2022—the most recent period for which data is available. Generation X saw the second largest increase (+18.4% to $13.9 trillion), followed by Baby Boomers (+12.9% to $18.1 trillion). The Silent Generation experienced a decrease (-6.7% to $4.4 trillion), as many of its members have passed away or moved into retirement homes. Millennials are gaining more value largely because they're in prime homebuying age, which means they're purchasing substantially more homes than they were in recent years. Homes Endangered by Climate Change Keep Gaining Value Despite Rise in Natural Disasters Home values in places that face high risk from climate change have performed roughly the same or better as home values in places that face low climate risk—an indication that climate risk isn't yet priced into the U.S. housing market. The total value of homes in areas with high flood risk rose 8.1% year over year in December, outpacing the 5.5% gain in low-risk areas. Similarly, the value of homes in areas with high heat risk was up 7.3%, compared with 1.9% growth in places with low heat risk. Areas with high risk from storms and/or fires saw values increase roughly the same amount, in percentage terms, as areas facing low risk. Drought was the only natural disaster for which home values climbed more in low-risk places (+6.6%) than in high-risk places (+3.7%). Asian Neighborhoods See Outsized Drop in Home Value The total value of homes in neighborhoods that are majority Asian fell 0.7% year over year to $1.2 trillion in December. By comparison, majority Black neighborhoods saw a 5.8% gain (to $1.2 trillion), majority white neighborhoods saw a 6.9% gain (to $37.4 trillion) and majority Hispanic/Latino neighborhoods saw a 7.9% gain (to $1.9 trillion). One reason Asian homeowners may be losing more value than other homeowners is that many of them live on the West Coast, which has seen a relatively large dropoff in home value, Zhao said. Almost half of Asian Americans live in the West, with nearly a third in California alone, according to a 2021 report from Pew Research Center. To view the full report, including charts and methodology, click here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Revive acquires HomePrep and opens East Coast HQ
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 15, 2023 -- Revive, the most complete presale home renovation solution for sellers, announced today the acquisition of DC-area based HomePrep, believed to be the first acquisition at this scale in the rapidly growing presale renovation space. Revive also announced HomePrep founder Josh Snyder as the Head of its new Mid-Atlantic Operations, as Revive also establishes a new East Coast headquarters. Revive, with products now available in all 50 states, offers presale renovation services for homeowners to help maximize their profits from their home sales. "The remarkable synergies between Revive and HomePrep make this merger seamless, allows us to bring on top talent with deep local knowledge and experience, gives us boots on the ground for our East Coast presence, and help us significantly expand our existing footprint in the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) area," said Michael Alladawi, Revive Real Estate CEO and founder. Josh Snyder will oversee all production and sales for its new Mid-Atlantic Operations. He also owns a construction company that will expand local capacity for Revive. Snyder, a 14-year industry veteran and a Class A Contractor with hands-on experience, has strong local roots and a background flipping homes successfully. He founded HomePrep in 2020. "My mission in creating HomePrep was to scale," Snyder said. "By becoming part of Revive, we are able to immediately offer more services to more homeowners than ever before. Our business models are nearly identical and unlike most acquiring companies, Revive was immediately open to adopting new best practices that work better for markets in the DMV." Featuring no out-of-pocket funds from homeowners, Revive renovations start within seven days, with an average completion time of four to six weeks. As a result, when homeowners renovate their homes before selling, they significantly boost their return on their most significant asset — their home. Moreover, once the renovated home is listed, it sells faster. "While Revive operates nationwide, we are striving to really understand the local markets and the regional markets so that we are guiding people with the right local knowledge," said Dalip Jaggi, Revive Real Estate COO and co-founder. "One of the best ways we can do that is for Revive to have someone with local expertise and why, in addition to organic growth, when we find the right fit for an acquisition like HomePrep, it helps us to expand intelligently and profitably." Michael Alladawi points out that it takes years to build both the experience and relationships needed to create a highly streamlined and scalable presale renovation firm, a path he and Snyder share. "Without that background, creating a profitable business model," Alladawi says, "is unachievable." "You can't build an amazing relationship with a roofer, because you did one roof with them," he said. "We took what is easy for me after 15 years creating this model and establishing relationships and made it available to homeowners because it's impossible for them to do what we do without risk, stress, time and money," he added. By providing a team of in-house designers, a team of planners, and a construction production team, Revive makes sure that whatever contractor is hired is doing so on time and to the quality that homeowners are expecting. "That's what makes Revive so valuable to homeowners today," Alladawi said. About Revive Revive Real Estate's mission is to guide home sellers through presale renovations without upfront costs. By providing access to Revive's network of top contractors, home sellers gain an average of $186,000 in additional profit when selling their homes. Revive homes sell for more and help sellers move ahead by maximizing their sales value. Revive is the 2022 iOi Summit Pitch Battle winner. Learn more at www.revive.realestate.

Revaluate Data Repair Solves Costly Problem of Bad and Incomplete Customer Data
New service offering directly addresses the industry's most misunderstood marketing challenge. GOLDEN, CO., Jan., 23, 2023 – Revaluate, a data company that reveals likely movers using third-party validated artificial intelligence (AI), is proud to announce Revaluate Data Repair, a new service to detox, repair, and append datasets creating clean, useful accurate databases to enable efficient and cost effective sales and marketing efforts for individuals, teams and corporations in mortgage and real estate. For optimum marketing performance, a complete contact record includes four fields: Name, Phone, Email and Physical Address. Today's leads are generated by various methods that don't require these fields. Leads frequently lack complete contact records, are inaccurate or false, and over time become outdated, making marketing and sales efforts inefficient and costly. Existing methods for cleaning and completing data sets are costly, time consuming and rarely available. "We discovered our customers were losing money in two primary ways," said Chris Drayer, chief executive officer of Revaluate. "First they were spending money on mailers and marketing services and getting returns, bounces, and send backs due to inaccurate client details. Then, the lesser known issue we discovered was that they were missing opportunities in their database that listed with another agent because they weren't able to prioritize their marketing effort. Our new one-to-one service, Revaluate Data Repair, when combined with Revaluate's award winning Reveal product, addresses both issues." Revaluate Data Repair is an affordable service, performed 1:1 with a human, that repairs and rejuvenates databases of contacts for those in the real estate and mortgage industry with low cost and high accuracy and an average twenty-four hour turn time. The new service detoxes, repairs and appends datasets creating clean, useful accurate databases to enable efficient and cost effective sales and marketing efforts for individuals, teams and corporations in the mortgage and real estate industries. Revaluate is a data company that utilizes artificial intelligence to provide actionable insight for marketers, scoring and segmenting lists and databases by propensity to move. The award-winning, third party validated accuracy is the best in the industry at identifying people who are likely to move in the next six months. Marketers use this refined and targeted data to greatly increase the efficiency of their campaigns. For more information, visit Revaluate.com/talk or email [email protected].

The Housing Market Has Started to Recover
While the housing market has begun to recover from its November trough, Redfin economists say we're not out of the woods yet. Homebuyers are coming back, but sellers have been slower to return. SEATTLE — The housing market has begun to recover after hitting a low point in the second week of November, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The number of Redfin customers requesting first tours has improved 17 percentage points from the November trough, and the number of people contacting Redfin agents to start the homebuying process has improved 13 points. Compared with a year ago, home tours and requests for service are down 23% and 27% respectively, but that's an improvement from the November trough, when both were down 40%. This is already translating into more home sales. Redfin agents report that bidding wars are back in some markets, including Seattle, central Florida and Richmond, VA. Homebuyer demand remains down from its early 2022 highs, but the market has shifted into a new phase and well-priced listings are selling quickly. Homebuyers Return as Power Dynamics Shift Toward Their Favor Buyers have acclimated to the 6% mortgage rate, which feels like a relief after watching affordability erode as rates surpassed 7% in the fall. Some buyers are even scoring a rate that starts with a five, an important psychological threshold, while others are opting for an adjustable-rate mortgage or getting a rate buydown as a seller concession. "I've seen more homes go under contract this month than in the entire fourth quarter. Listings that were stagnant in November and December are suddenly getting one to two offers," said San Jose, CA Redfin agent Angela Langone. "I'm getting texts and emails from prospective buyers now that the new year is in full swing and the holidays are behind us. Mortgage rates aren't stopping people as much as they were at the end of 2022 now that they're down from their peak and sellers are more willing to negotiate. Some buyers are having luck winning a home for under asking price, especially if it has been on the market for several weeks, but those days may be numbered." Mortgage applications are up 28% from early November as the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate has declined to 6.15% from its November peak of 7.08%—the largest 10-week decline since 2009. That has sent the typical homebuyer's mortgage payment down 10% (about $180) since fall. Pending home sales rose 3% in December from November on a seasonally-adjusted basis—the first month-over-month increase in 14 months. Bidding Wars Are Back in Some Markets While demand is coming back in some pockets of the country, it's selective: homes that are eliciting bidding wars tend to be affordable, suburban, single-family, move-in ready and most importantly, priced competitively. Most everything else is sitting. Preliminary data on the share of Redfin agents' offers facing bidding wars points to small upticks in the Seattle and Tampa markets this month. As this is an uneven trend, Redfin expects it to take some time before bidding wars nationally show an upward trend. "Bidding wars are back in Seattle," said local Redfin real estate agent Shoshana Godwin. "One of our Issaquah listings got 12 offers and is under contract for $155,000 over the $1.4 million list price. The buyer waived every contingency, handed over $300,000 of earnest money and is letting the seller stay for free for two months after closing. Another home in Seattle's popular Ballard neighborhood was recently delisted after sitting on the market for over three months. The seller relisted it last week and it went pending in under a day." Eric Auciello, Redfin's team manager in Tampa, has seen three modest single-family homes priced around $300,000 wind up in bidding wars in central Florida this month, with 16, 17 and 23 competing offers, respectively. Further south, in Palm Beach, most well-priced homes are getting multiple offers, but competition is nowhere near 2021 levels, according to local Redfin agent Elena Fleck: "Homes in coveted locations with recent upgrades or renovations–those are the homes getting multiple offers." "Homes that are in desirable school districts, priced well and in good condition are going off the market within days or even hours," said Richmond Redfin agent Blake Edwards. "Anything under $400,000 will sell within the weekend. Even the $1 million houses that are in great condition are selling within days. It really is property specific right now." But in Boise, ID bidding wars are still almost non-existent—despite the fact that prices have been falling year over year since November, according to local Redfin agent Shauna Pendleton. It's taking between one and two weeks to get an offer after a showing, she said. The Market for Condos and Expensive Homes Lags Behind Condos and higher-priced homes are still a struggle to sell. Redfin agents report that sellers of expensive homes and condos are offering buyers incentives to close deals. "The condo market in Washington, D.C. has been hit hard," said local Redfin agent Marshall Carey. "Condo sellers are searching for ways to incentivize buyers. One of my buyers recently purchased a condo, and we got the seller to give them 3% of the list price back in cash. My buyer used 2% of that to buy down their mortgage rate." "There's a ton of demand for affordable suburban homes, but the super high end isn't in demand," said Chicago Redfin agent Dan Close. "Property taxes are very expensive here, so buying a $2 million home isn't practical for most people." Sellers Have Been Slower to Return Than Buyers Even though homebuyer demand is improving, the main factor driving bidding wars is low inventory. It's not surprising that sellers are slower to embrace the shifting market, as buyers tend to react first to falling mortgage rates, with sellers following suit months later. This effect is likely to be pronounced in 2023: Would-be sellers are more sensitive to elevated rates because 85% of mortgage holders have a rate far below today's level of roughly 6%. That being said, Redfin's measure of people contacting Redfin agents to sell their home has improved slightly; it's up 10 percentage points from the November trough. But there hasn't yet been a significant boost in listings nationwide. New listings fell 18% year over year during the four weeks ending Jan. 22. That's the smallest decrease in almost three months, but much steeper than the 8% decline a year earlier. Redfin agents have observed in their conversations with homeowners that there's fear around listing at a time when home-price growth has been shrinking and buyers are regaining power. "Homeowners are scared to list because they previously heard that there's no demand from buyers," said Godwin in Seattle. "That's making the market competitive again because there's just no inventory." Redfin economists expect that more sellers will likely return to the market as homebuyer demand increases and price growth stabilizes—especially given that there's pent-up supply from sellers who delisted their homes in the fall when the market was slowing. The Recovery Will Be Touch and Go and Vary From Block to Block The housing market will likely continue to thaw in the coming weeks and months, especially if inflation and mortgage rates ebb further, but there's still a long way to go. Some neighborhoods will see fierce bidding wars while others hear crickets. The market is warming up, but is still cold compared to the pandemic homebuying frenzy and even pre-pandemic times. It may never again hit the scalding-hot temperatures of 2021. The housing market rebound could stall or slip if the progress the Fed has made toward cooling inflation slows or reverses course. The labor market is likely to weaken this year, perhaps to the point where the country is in a recession. Higher unemployment will hurt the housing market recovery, but that damage may be offset by any rate cuts from the Fed. The factor most likely to slow or reverse the housing market recovery is that there are too few homes for sale, which could hold back total sales volumes and price people out of homebuying. Even though housing costs are declining, they remain significantly higher than they were two years ago. Home prices will likely be sticky this year in many places where there are still plenty of stale listings; once they finally sell they will hold back price growth while overall low inventory keeps prices from going down much. View the full report, including charts and methodology, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Redfin Reports Pending Sales Drop to Lowest Level Since at Least 2015
The homes that are selling are going for about the same price as a year earlier, with nationwide prices up just 0.5% year over year--smaller than the 0.7% increase at the onset of the pandemic when the market reached a near standstill. Measures of early-stage homebuyer activity are mixed, with requests for tours and agent services on the rise, but few people applying for mortgages. SEATTLE — Pending U.S. home sales dropped 32% year over year to their lowest level since at least 2015 during the four weeks ending January 1, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The biggest declines were in pandemic homebuying hotspots Las Vegas, Phoenix and Austin, which each saw pending sales plummet more than 50%. The housing market fizzled out at the end of 2022 due to 6%-plus mortgage rates, a looming recession, record-low new listings, extreme winter weather and the typical holiday slowdown. Signals of early-stage demand are mixed. Redfin's seasonally adjusted Homebuyer Demand Index–a measure of tour requests and other buying services from Redfin agents–was up 8% from two weeks earlier. Mortgage-purchase applications fell about 12%, though the double-digit drop was partly due to severe late-December storms hitting nearly every part of the U.S. "Two categories of buyers are starting their search right now: First-timers hoping prices and competition are more manageable than they have been over the last few years, and returning buyers who took a break after losing out on multiple homes during the pandemic bidding-war frenzy," said Seattle Redfin agent Shoshana Godwin. "They should be able to take their time and find a home for a slightly lower price than last year, but the market will likely become more competitive over the next few months. I expect new listings to remain scarce as homeowners hold onto low interest rates while the pool of determined buyers circle the few homes that are available." Home prices fell from a year earlier in 19 of the 50 most populous U.S. metros The typical U.S. home sold for $350,000 during the four weeks ending January 1. That's up just 0.5% from a year earlier, slightly slower than the 0.7% growth we saw at the beginning of the pandemic, when the market nearly ground to a halt. Prices were down 10% from the June peak. On a metro level, home-sale prices fell year over year in 19 of the 50 most populous U.S. metros during the four weeks ending January 1. By comparison, just 10 metros saw price declines a month earlier. Prices fell 10.4% year over year in San Francisco, 6% in Sacramento, 5.6% in San Jose, CA, 5.4% in Los Angeles, 4.6% in Detroit, 4.4% in Oakland, CA, 4.2% in Seattle, 3.9% in Pittsburgh, 2.9% in Austin, 2.8% in New York, 2.4% in Phoenix and 2.2% in Boston. They fell 2% or less in Anaheim, CA, Chicago, Riverside, CA, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Portland, OR and Newark, NJ. This marks the biggest year-over-year drop for San Francisco prices since at least 2015. Leading indicators of homebuying activity: For the week ending January 5, 30-year mortgage rates ticked up to 6.48%. The daily average was 6.41% on January 5. Mortgage purchase applications during the week ending December 30 were down roughly 12% from two weeks earlier, seasonally adjusted. Purchase applications were down 42% from a year earlier. The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index was up 6% from a week earlier and up 10% from a month earlier during the four weeks ending January 1. It was down 20% from a year earlier. Google searches for "homes for sale" started to rise from the low reached in November during the week ending December 31, but they were down about 33% from a year earlier. Touring activity as of December 29 was down 63% from the start of the year, compared to a 54% decrease at the same time last year, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime. The significant declines are likely due to the holidays. Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas: Unless otherwise noted, this data covers the four-week period ending January 1. Redfin's weekly housing market data goes back through 2015. The median home sale price was $350,000, up just 0.5% year over year, the slowest price growth on record and the third consecutive four-week period of price growth under 1%. The median asking price of newly listed homes was $346,535, up 3.1% year over year. The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home was $2,254 at the current 6.48% mortgage rate. That's down slightly from a week earlier and down $253 from the October peak. Monthly mortgage payments are up 36.2% from a year ago. Pending home sales were down 31.7% year over year, the 11th straight four-week period of pending sales declining more than 30%. Among the 50 most populous U.S. metros, pending sales fell the most from a year earlier in Las Vegas (-61.9%), Phoenix (-56.7%), Austin (-54%), Jacksonville, FL (-53.8%) and Nashville, TN (-51.5%). New listings of homes for sale were down 22.4% from a year earlier, dropping to their lowest level on record. Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) were up 18.6% from a year earlier, the biggest annual increase since at least 2015. Months of supply—a measure of the balance between supply and demand, calculated by dividing the number of active listings by closed sales—was 3.4 months, up slightly from a week earlier and up from 1.8 months a year earlier. 28% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, down from 35% a year earlier and the lowest share since January 2020. Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 42 days, up nearly two weeks from 30 days a year earlier and up from the record low of 18 days set in May. 22% of homes sold above their final list price, down from 40% a year earlier and the lowest level since March 2020. On average, 3.8% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, down sharply from 4.7% a week earlier and 5.7% a month earlier. The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their final asking prices, fell to 98% from 100.1% a year earlier. That's the lowest level since March 2020. View the full report, including charts, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Annual Home Price Growth Slows to Two-Year Low in November, CoreLogic Reports
Year-over-year home price appreciation was up for the 130th consecutive month in November, but growth fell to single digits at 8.6% IRVINE, Calif., January 3, 2023—CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ for November 2022. Year-over-year home price growth ended its 21-month streak of double-digit momentum in November, posting an 8.6% gain, the lowest rate of appreciation in exactly two years. Although 16 states bucked the national trend and saw annual double-digit increases, appreciation is decelerating in many popular housing markets across the country. Southeastern states still led the country for price growth in November but also saw some of the most pronounced cooling. Similarly, relatively more expensive Western areas also posted substantial combined declines in recent months since spring's peak. Nationwide, the recent price deceleration pushed November home values 2.5% below the spring 2022 peak. In 2023, home values will likely move even further from that high point, as CoreLogic expects price growth to begin recording negative year-over-year readings in the second quarter. "Although home price growth has been slowing rapidly and will continue to do so in 2023, strong gains in the first half of last year suggest that total 2022 appreciation was only slightly lower than that recorded in 2021," said Selma Hepp, executive, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic. "However, 2023 will present its own challenges, as consumers remain wary of both the housing market and the overall economic outlook." "And while the recent decline in mortgage rates may bode well for the housing market," Hepp continued, "potential homebuyers are grappling with the idea of buying amid possible further price declines and a continued inventory shortage. Nevertheless, with slowly improving affordability and a more optimistic economic outlook than previously believed, the housing market could show resilience in 2023." Top Takeaways: U.S. home prices (including distressed sales) increased 8.6% year over year in November 2022 compared to November 2021. On a month-over-month basis, home prices declined by 0.2% compared to October 2022. In November, annual appreciation of attached properties (8.8%) was 0.3 percentage points higher than that of detached properties (8.5%). Annual U.S. home price gains are forecast to slow to 2.8% by November 2023. Miami posted the highest year-over-year home price increase of the country's 20 largest metro areas in November, at 21.3%, while Tampa, Florida retained the No. 2 spot at 17.3%. Florida and South Carolina recorded the highest annual home price gains, 18% and 13.9%, respectively. Georgia posted the third-highest growth, with a 13.6% year-over-year increase. Washington, D.C. ranked last for appreciation at 1.2%. Methodology The CoreLogic HPI™ is built on industry-leading public record, servicing and securities real-estate databases and incorporates more than 45 years of repeat-sales transactions for analyzing home price trends. Generally released on the first Tuesday of each month with an average five-week lag, the CoreLogic HPI is designed to provide an early indication of home price trends by market segment and for the "Single-Family Combined" tier, representing the most comprehensive set of properties, including all sales for single-family attached and single-family detached properties. The indices are fully revised with each release and employ techniques to signal turning points sooner. The CoreLogic HPI provides measures for multiple market segments, referred to as tiers, based on property type, price, time between sales, loan type (conforming vs. non-conforming) and distressed sales. Broad national coverage is available from the national level down to ZIP Code, including non-disclosure states. CoreLogic HPI Forecasts™ are based on a two-stage, error-correction econometric model that combines the equilibrium home price—as a function of real disposable income per capita—with short-run fluctuations caused by market momentum, mean-reversion, and exogenous economic shocks like changes in the unemployment rate. With a 30-year forecast horizon, CoreLogic HPI Forecasts project CoreLogic HPI levels for two tiers — "Single-Family Combined" (both attached and detached) and "Single-Family Combined Excluding Distressed Sales." As a companion to the CoreLogic HPI Forecasts, Stress-Testing Scenarios align with Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) national scenarios to project five years of home prices under baseline, adverse and severely adverse scenarios at state, metropolitan areas and ZIP Code levels. The forecast accuracy represents a 95% statistical confidence interval with a +/- 2% margin of error for the index. About CoreLogic CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

2023 Housing Outlook: A Post-Pandemic Sales Slump Will Push Home Prices Down for the First Time in a Decade
While Redfin expects high mortgage rates to keep housing costs up and prevent people from moving, high homeowner equity and a resilient job market will stave off a wave of foreclosures SEATTLE — Mortgage rates will take center stage in 2023, with high rates likely to make it the slowest housing-market year since 2011, according to annual end-of-year predictions from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Redfin’s forecasts for mortgage rates, home sales and home-sale prices account for a range of outcomes for inflation, employment and other macroeconomic factors. As such, predictions for those key housing metrics lead with the most likely scenario, followed by other possible outcomes highlighted in the full report that could happen if, for instance, a better-than-expected inflation report results in an earlier or bigger-than-expected mortgage-rate drop. Prediction #1: Home sales will fall to their lowest level since 2011, with a slow recovery in the second half of the year Redfin expects about 16% fewer existing home sales in 2023 than 2022, landing at 4.3 million, with would-be buyers pressing pause due mostly to affordability challenges including high mortgage rates, still-high home prices, persistent inflation and a potential recession. People will only move if they need to. Prediction #2: Mortgage rates will decline, ending the year below 6% Redfin expects 30-year fixed mortgage rates to gradually decline to around 5.8% by the end of the year, with the average 2023 homebuyer’s rate sitting at about 6.1%. Mortgage rates dipping from around 6.5% to 5.8% would save a homebuyer purchasing a $400,000 home about $150 on their monthly mortgage payment. To look at it another way, a homebuyer on a $2,500 monthly budget can afford a $383,750 home with a 6.5% rate; that same buyer could afford a $406,250 home with a 5.8% rate. Still, that’s much less affordable than a few years earlier. With a 3% rate, which was common in 2020 and 2021, that same buyer could afford a $517,000 home. Prediction #3: Home prices will post their first year-over-year decline in a decade, but the U.S. will avoid a wave of foreclosures Redfin predicts the median U.S. home-sale price to drop by roughly 4%—the first annual drop since 2012—to $368,000 in 2023. That’s due to elevated rates and final sale prices starting to reflect homes that went under contract in late 2022. Prices would fall more if not for a lack of homes for sale: Redfin expects new listings to continue declining through most of next year, keeping total inventory near historic lows and preventing prices from plummeting. Very few homeowners are likely to see their mortgages fall underwater even with next year’s anticipated price declines. That’s because the homeowners who’ve had their home for at least a few years have fixed low mortgage payments and plentiful home equity after values skyrocketed during the pandemic. Prediction #4: Midwest, Northeast will hold up best as overall market cools Housing markets in relatively affordable Midwest and East Coast metros, especially in the Chicago area and parts of Connecticut and upstate New York, will hold up relatively well, even as the U.S. market cools. Those areas tend to be more stable than expensive coastal areas, and they didn’t heat up as much during the pandemic homebuying frenzy. Prediction #5: Rents will fall, and many Gen Zers and young millennials will continue renting indefinitely Redfin expects U.S. asking rents to post a small year-over-year decline by mid-2023, with drops coming much sooner in some metros. Some large landlords are likely to offer concessions, such as a free month’s rent or free parking, before dropping asking rents. The rental price declines will be partly due to increasing supply, which has already led to an uptick in vacant units in apartment buildings. Increasing rental supply and declining prices—along with high mortgage rates, limited inventory and other affordability barriers—mean few renters will become buyers next year. Many prospective first-time homebuyers may instead become move-up renters, upgrading from a small urban apartment to a larger apartment or a single-family rental to fit their growing families. Prediction #6: Builders will focus on multifamily rentals Builders will continue to pull back on constructing new homes next year, with year-over-year declines of roughly 25% in building permits and housing starts continuing into 2023. Builders will back off most from building new single-family homes. Construction of single-family homes surged during the pandemic, which means builders need to offload the homes they have on hand without adding more supply to limit their financial losses. They’ll pull back dramatically in some markets like Phoenix and Dallas, where they built too many homes in anticipation of demand that’s failing to materialize. Constructing rental units, including apartment buildings and multifamily houses, will make more financial sense for builders next year, as rental demand won’t fall off as much. Prediction #7: Investor activity will bottom out in the spring, then rebound Real estate investors will purchase about 25% fewer homes than a year earlier, with purchases likely to bottom out in the spring. Investors’ business model is to buy low and sell–or rent–high, and the cash they borrow to buy homes outright is no longer cheap. Fewer iBuyers in the market is also a factor in slowing activity. Some investors, especially newer and smaller ones, will bow out of the housing market entirely and others will slow their activity. But if inflation slows and the Fed eases up on rate hikes as expected, investors will likely start buying more homes in the second half of the year, taking advantage of slightly lower home prices. Prediction #8: Gen Zers will seek jobs and apartments in relatively affordable mid-tier cities Gen Zers are entering into a workforce with more remote-work opportunities than ever before, which means they’ll have more flexibility in where they’ll choose to start their careers than older generations. They can prioritize things like affordability, lifestyle, weather and proximity to family. Prediction #9: Migration from one part of the country to another will ease from the pandemic boom Redfin expects the share of Americans relocating from one metro to another will slow to about 20% in 2023, down from 24% this year. That’s still above pre-pandemic levels of around 18%. In 2023’s slow market, there won’t be a next Austin. Even Austin isn’t Austin anymore: The wave of homebuyers moving into Austin has slowed to a trickle, as many people are now priced out and many remote workers who wanted to relocate have already done so. Prediction #10: Rising disaster-insurance costs will make extremely climate-risky homes even more expensive Some Americans will be priced out of climate-risky areas like beachfront Florida and the hills of California because of ballooning insurance costs. Redfin expects disaster-insurance rates to continue rising next year (and beyond), rendering housing in some areas more expensive. Prediction #11: More cities will follow Minneapolis’ YIMBY example to curb housing expenses More U.S. cities will look to Minneapolis, which in 2019 became the first major city to eliminate single-family-only zoning, for inspiration in keeping rental and home prices under control. Earlier this year, Minneapolis became the first metro area to see rents decline. Prediction #12: Buyers’ agent commissions will rise slightly as fewer agents broker fewer deals at lower prices Next year’s slow housing market is likely to reverse or at least halt the downward trend in buyers’ agent commissions. The hot pandemic-era housing market pushed the typical U.S. buyers’ agent commission down to 2.63% of the home’s sale price in 2022, its lowest level since at least 2012. But declines in home prices and sales will prop up buyers’ agent commissions next year. Sellers will also play a part, with some offering to pay higher commission for buyers’ agents to attract bidders. View the full report, including charts and more detail on predictions, here. About Redfin Redfin is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people.

Zillow Group acquires VRX Media to create national photographer network, elevate listing media through ShowingTime+ brand
VRX's real estate media services provide convenient, fast delivery to customers SEATTLE, Dec. 8, 2022 -- Zillow Group today announced it has closed on the acquisition of VRX Media. This real estate media marketing and services leader is known for its aerial drone photography, virtual staging, 3D tours, high-definition photography and fast-media delivery to clients, which is made possible through the company's national professional photographer network. Zillow Group will continue to offer VRX Media's services through the ShowingTime+ software suite. This acquisition will help fulfill ShowingTime+'s vision of offering elevated listing products and experiences to help agents differentiate their listings and provide better shopping and selling experiences to their clients. Through ShowingTime+ products, Zillow's aim is to set a higher standard in the industry by bringing new kinds of rich interactive media to more listings. "Listing media is a crucial part of selling a home, and we are focused on creating an immersive customer experience that makes listings stand out," said Jun Choo, senior vice president of ShowingTime+. "With VRX Media, ShowingTime+ will give agents elevated listing products unlike anything available today and will transform the way they prepare and market their for-sale listings." Seventy percent of sellers say they are more likely to hire an agent who includes virtual tours and/or interactive floor plans in their services, and 70% of sellers who included a virtual tour were more likely to receive an all-cash offer1. VRX's media services and capabilities will enable ShowingTime+ to provide two new products, Listing Media Services and Listing Showcase, which will be released in 2023. Listing Media Services and Listing Showcase are premium marketing products for listing agents that bring together photography services with high-quality listing media to create beautiful, interactive listings. About Zillow Group Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make it easier to unlock life's next chapter. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting, or financing with transparency and ease. Zillow Group's affiliates and subsidiaries include Zillow®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans™; Zillow Closing Services™; Trulia®; Out East®; StreetEasy®; HotPads®; and ShowingTime+™, which houses ShowingTime®, Bridge Interactive®, and dotloop® and interactive floor plans. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). About ShowingTime+ ShowingTime+™ is modernizing real estate for the benefit of all agents, brokers and multiple listing services (MLSs). A brand of Zillow Group, Inc., ShowingTime+ provides products and services to help real estate professionals streamline their businesses and deliver elevated experiences to their customers. The ShowingTime+ technology suite includes ShowingTime®, dotloop®, Bridge Interactive®, and 3D Home tours and interactive floor plans. ShowingTime+ products are used by hundreds of MLSs representing more than 1 million real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada. For more information about ShowingTime+, visit https://showingtimeplus.com. About VRX Media VRX Media is a real estate marketing company and media services provider offering aerial drone photography, high-definition photography, virtual staging and 3D tours nationwide. Founded in 2015 by three real estate professionals with more than 30 years of combined industry experience, VRX Media provides media materials that help sell homes. In 2020, VRX Media was named one of America's Fastest Growing Companies by Inc.

Second Century Ventures Opens Applications for 2023 REACH U.S. Programs, Appoints New Executive Director
CHICAGO (December 6, 2022) – Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors®, opened applications today for the 2023 U.S. REACH and REACH Commercial technology growth programs. SCV, the most active global venture fund in real estate technology, operates the award-winning REACH program across North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia-Pacific. "Real estate technology continues to undergo a significant transformation, and the startups selected for the REACH program will play a critical role in helping to drive that change," said NAR CEO and SCV President Bob Goldberg. "REACH companies get access to resources and expertise to help expand their network and accelerate their growth. Their ideas and ingenuity will help ensure that Realtors® continue to have access to the latest technology and remain in the best possible position to serve consumers here in the U.S. and across the world." NAR's REACH program aims to select and help scale the most promising new technology companies in real estate and adjacent industries, including banking, insurance and home services. Participants in the program receive premier access to the following: Mentorship from real estate, venture capital and technology sector leaders; Education on how to navigate the trillion-dollar global property industry from top experts; Exclusive opportunities at the most impactful conferences, trade shows and networking events; Unique access to top media and academic organizations; and A global network of highly talented, like-minded entrepreneurs from more than 200 REACH portfolio companies and curated program sponsors. REACH recently expanded its operations to Latin America, and this week appointed a new executive director to the helm of the U.S. NAR REACH program. Ashley Stinton, who previously served as SCV and REACH's head of marketing and communications, will lead the organization's U.S.-based team focused on technology that serves residential and consumer markets. Stinton brings more than a decade of sales, marketing and business development expertise from some of the world's most influential real estate and consumer goods organizations. "Ashley has been instrumental to the growth of the REACH brand and in the expansion of our flagship program across geographies and verticals," said Dave Garland, managing partner, Second Century Ventures. "She has worked closely with our global team and portfolio, helping accelerate more than 100 companies during her tenure and time spent previously as a REACH mentor. We have immense confidence in Ashley's ability to lead the NAR REACH program through the next decade of innovation and to further amplify the depth of transformative technology REACH helps cultivate." "REACH offers an unmatched level of support and growth to the proptech community," said Ashley Stinton, executive director, REACH. "I am honored and excited to lead the NAR REACH team as we continue to elevate the role of technology in and beyond real estate. As we look to the year ahead, we will embrace the market's most pressing challenges as an opportunity to source new ideas and evolve existing solutions to benefit consumers, real estate professionals and the economy as a whole." The REACH Commercial program, led by executive director Bob Gillespie, is now in its fifth year of operation and will run a congruent curriculum, supporting entrepreneurs developing innovation across all asset classes of the commercial sector. Applications for the 2023 U.S. REACH and REACH Commercial programs will be accepted through January 31, 2023. For more information about REACH, or to apply, visit https://www.nar-reach.com. About NAR The National Association of Realtors® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. About REACH REACH is a unique technology scale-up program created by Second Century Ventures, the most active global fund in real estate technology. Backed by the National Association of Realtors®, Second Century Ventures leverages the association's more than 1.5 million members and an unparalleled network of executives within real estate and adjacent industries. The REACH program helps technology companies scale across the real estate vertical and its adjacent markets through education, mentorship and market exposure. For more on REACH, visit www.nar-reach.com.