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By Susanne Dwyer

This month’s National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Power Broker Roundtable discusses broker disaster/emergency policies and procedures.

Moderator

Christina Pappas, District Sales Manager, The Keyes Company, Miami, Fla.; Liaison for Large Firms & Industry Relations, NAR

Panelists

Rick Haase, President, Latter & Blum, Inc., REALTORS®, New Orleans, La.

Marnie Goldschlag, Co-Owner, NextHome Wine Country Premier, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Rei Mesa, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, Miami, Fla.

Michael Saunders, CEO, Michael Saunders & Co. Realtors, Sarasota, Fla.

Christina Pappas: Around the world, 2017 was an extraordinary year in terms of natural disasters. Fires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes inundated numerous areas, threatening lives and testing resources even in regions not typically thought of as being particularly at risk. There is almost no way to adequately measure the cost in terms of lives and property—or, for that matter, the bravery and resolve it is still taking as we work to repair the damage. But one thing is clear: Whether we are testing disaster protocols long in place, or newly struggling to create procedures to help bring order out of chaos, tragedies like these present an alarming call to action. How prepared are you and your company to effectively face catastrophe? Rick, in your markets, Hurricane Harvey was only the most recent disaster. What protocols have you had in place, and what advice would you offer?

Rick Haase: First, let me say that even if you have procedures in place, it isn’t until you experience substantial threat that you find out how protected you really are. In our case, the Katrina disaster became a mental model for me. Once we dug our way out of that, we seriously scrutinized every area of our business, and we came up with questions we needed to answer: Do we have a central number in place where agents and employees—some of whom suffered personal loss—can get emergency information? Can we get into our accounting system so that payroll is not disrupted when our people need it most? Today, our operations are totally portable and accessible. Even if an office or two are nine feet underwater, we can operate from a remote area, get those paychecks out, and keep backup procedures running.

Marnie Goldschlag: Having recently been through the devastating—and totally unanticipated—fires in Santa Rosa, I can certainly relate to that…and we quickly realized the need for outreach extends to our client base, as well. My partners and I called every agent first to determine how they were and what they needed, and then had them call everyone on their client lists. As it turned out, my business partner and I alone had 12 of our clients who lost their homes, and our office agents have similar stories. Our agents were out there with them, helping to deal with insurance agents and sift through the ashes for any salvageable possessions. This was a test of community, which is what our …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Buyers are being challenged by diminished inventory and mounting prices, especially in areas with crisis-level supply, according to the December Zillow® Real Estate Market Report. Inventory is down 10 percent from last year—a three-year trend—and, in the buzziest markets, as much as 40 percent.

Construction costs are exacerbating the issue, says Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow, who anticipates building will be concentrated in outlying suburbs this year.

“On the supply side, the market is starving for new homes, but it won’t be easy for builders struggling with high and rising land, labor and lumber costs,” Terrazas says. “Aging millennials and young families may be able to find more affordable new homes for sale this year, but they’ll most likely be in further-flung suburbs with more grueling commutes to urban job centers.”

Few homes are moving prices up—6.5 percent in the past year, to a median $206,300, according to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI). Appreciation has been highest in San Jose, Calif., at 21.2 percent (a median $1,171,800), causing inventory to shrink 40.6 percent. In the largest metros:

Markedly, a mere 16.7 percent of analysts cited in Zillow’s 2017 Q4 Home Price Expectations Survey forecast home-building will pick up this year. In December, ground-breaking on new homes underwhelmed; builders, however, are confident in their prospects this year, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Changes to the expected could come when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act goes into effect, says Terrazas.

“Tight inventory fueled by a tight labor market and low interest rates propelled home values to record heights in 2017, but the outlook is now much less certain,” Terrazas says. “Tax reform will put more money in the pocket of the typical buyer, but will limit some housing-specific deductions. Overall, this should increase demand for the most affordable homes and ease competition somewhat in the priciest market segments.”

MORE: Tax Reform: Here’s What Could Impact Homeowners Most

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post 10 Percent and Falling: Housing Inventory Keeps Shrinking appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Buyers are being challenged by diminished inventory and mounting prices, especially in areas with crisis-level supply, according to the December Zillow® Real Estate Market Report. Inventory is down 10 percent from last year—a three-year trend—and, in the buzziest markets, as much as 40 percent.

Construction costs are exacerbating the issue, says Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow, who anticipates building will be concentrated in outlying suburbs this year.

“On the supply side, the market is starving for new homes, but it won’t be easy for builders struggling with high and rising land, labor and lumber costs,” Terrazas says. “Aging millennials and young families may be able to find more affordable new homes for sale this year, but they’ll most likely be in further-flung suburbs with more grueling commutes to urban job centers.”

Few homes are moving prices up—6.5 percent in the past year, to a median $206,300, according to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI). Appreciation has been highest in San Jose, Calif., at 21.2 percent (a median $1,171,800), causing inventory to shrink 40.6 percent. In the largest metros:

Markedly, a mere 16.7 percent of analysts cited in Zillow’s 2017 Q4 Home Price Expectations Survey forecast home-building will pick up this year. In December, ground-breaking on new homes underwhelmed; builders, however, are confident in their prospects this year, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Changes to the expected could come when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act goes into effect, says Terrazas.

“Tight inventory fueled by a tight labor market and low interest rates propelled home values to record heights in 2017, but the outlook is now much less certain,” Terrazas says. “Tax reform will put more money in the pocket of the typical buyer, but will limit some housing-specific deductions. Overall, this should increase demand for the most affordable homes and ease competition somewhat in the priciest market segments.”

MORE: Tax Reform: Here’s What Could Impact Homeowners Most

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post 10 Percent and Falling: Housing Inventory Keeps Shrinking appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

David Caveness, president and CEO of Carpenter REALTORS®, received RISMedia’s National Homeownership Award this past November during the 22nd Annual Power Broker Reception & Dinner, held in conjunction with the 2017 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.

An honor brought about thanks in large part to Caveness’ 43-plus years of excellence in the business, the National Homeownership Award is bestowed upon a member of the real estate community who continuously demonstrates extraordinary contributions toward increasing homeownership and building better communities.

“I decided to get into the real estate business at the age of 16,” says Caveness. “My father, a West Texas guy who earned his living as a doctor, used to take me out to look at ranch land with real estate people, and I thought being a broker was the coolest thing ever.”

So, after graduating high school, Caveness went to the University of Denver, graduating with a BSBA degree in real estate and construction management, entering the business in 1974.

Throughout his esteemed career, Caveness has served as director of Education for the Iowa Association of REALTORS®, national director of Education for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Service and general manager for First Realty/Better Homes and Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa, before coming to Carpenter REALTORS® in 1989 as vice president and regional manager. In 2013, he was named president and CEO.

Since coming to the firm, Caveness has helped build the Indianapolis-based company from six offices and 120 agents to where it stands today with 32 offices and 685 agents.

Looking back on 2017, Caveness notes that the robust market has kept things exciting.

“This past year surprised me, as did 2016,” says Caveness. “I’m bewildered by just how strong the market is and how weak the listing inventory is. It’s virtually a fraction of what it was just a few years ago, and yet, this year we’re going to hit record sales in both units and dollar volume.”

As long as the market continues to expand and the company continues to do well, Caveness says Carpenter REALTORS® will keep up with the growth by adding locations and agent count. In 2017, the firm saw the addition of a few new neighborhoods, a trend Caveness is expecting to replicate this year.

“We’ve done some small mergers, which has helped us grow our business in the last year,” says Caveness. “We’re pretty careful about it, but we do see our company as a growth company, and as long as the market supports it, we will grow.”

Agents are attracted to the firm, he believes, because the company creates opportunities for brand new agents to enter the real estate business.

“We kind of specialize in that, and we’re proud of it,” says Caveness. “We prefer to hire new agents rather than a retread of someone that was trained elsewhere. We want to recruit people through our pre-licensing school and put them in our career-start training program that we offer each month and train them the Carpenter way.”

While keeping up with the latest and greatest technology can be a challenge, especially …read more

From:: Real Estate News