"Boomerang Buyers"

Keeping Current Matters and Afterforeclosures.com present an interesting analysis of what's being called "boomerang buyers" - those that lost their former homes but remain buying prospects. Full article here: HERE. Yet another example of a buyer centric approach to generation transaction-ready leads.

Apartment Rents Rising as Vacancies Drop

ABC News and real estate research firm Reis report that across the country in many markets, the apartment rental business is very strong and that landlords have pricing power. Real estate experts have raised concerns about so called "Generation Renter" and this report speaks to that reality. A dilution of the first -time buyer pool is not bullish for housing prices, except if you're a landlord.

“Demand for apartments remains strong,” says the report. “There are a number of markets where rents continue to boom such as Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland-East Bay.” The building slump during the housing crisis meant little new supply and put landlords in a stronger position, allowing them to charge more. As the construction industry recovers, Reis expects vacancies to increase slightly in 2014 while rents rise by about 3.3 percent, on par with last year. Full story here.

In addition, the Atlantic reports that a growing affordability gap, even with historically low interest rates, represents a troubling trend. "The result is that according to the latest data, about half the 40.6 million American households that rent their home are what economists consider "rent burdened," meaning they spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing. More than a quarter are "severely rent burdened," meaning they spend at least 5o percent of their income on housing." Get the full article HERE.

At BuyerMLS, we're watching these trends and developments very carefully, especially as it pertains to the buyer market for housing.

WSJ's Mansion Section

Many of us consume tons of real estate related media on a daily basis. For my time investment, I love reading the MANSION section of the WSJ every Friday. A group of very talented (and in touch) reporters work this beat and they cover a wide range of real estate related articles, trends and developments with taste and a local knowledge that's unbeatable IMO.

Today, for instance, Sanette Tanaka writes about home staging and its impact on the impressions of potential buyers (HERE, no subscription required for this article). The topic is a scholarly paper and study, "The Impact of Staging Conditions on Residential Real Estate Demand," which has been accepted by the Journal of Housing Research for future publication at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. It features a study of 800 potential home buyers and their reactions to the home staging environment.

A WSJ subscription is one the investments I make each year and Mansion is one of the reasons they retain me as a customer. Check it out!

BuyerMLS CEO featured in RIS Media

BuyerMLS featured in RIS Media "Real Estate" Magazine

Our first industry ad! 

November, 2013

Real Estate Predictions for 2014

As we fast approach 2014 at what feels like warp speed,  one's thinking often turns to a look ahead for the business year and what experts, pundits, observers and other 'educated' folks think about the real estate market dynamics and "trade winds."  I'm reminded of the relevant quote: "He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass," attributed to Edgar R. Fiedler. But here goes:

1) Millennials gain a foothold, but not towards homeownership. Generation Renter has arrived.

2) In proven seller’s markets (which will be far more common than not) buyers (and brokers/agents) will need to adopt new tools and strategies to be considered truly transaction-ready.

3) Affordability goes down as housing inflation returns to the market via classic supply/demand equation results. Watch for closing cost/tax increases by revenue-hungry municipalities.

4) Check out this great Redfin study (pasted below) re: Buyer Preference rankings by male and female respondents. What’s old is new – true buyer preferences are inherently the same over time. And little male/female divergence in the rankings.

5) Personal networks will retain and enhance in value as social media “over-burn” takes hold. For a zillion reasons, total transparency has more pitfalls than benefits in a hyper-connected world.

From the entire team at BuyerMLS, we wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014!

BuyerMLS Joins Ranks Of Today's Hottest Real Estate Innovators

BuyerMLS was honored to be chosen as part of The Real Deal's round up of companies at the forefront of the real estate technology landscape published earlier this week. Innovators such as Floored (winner of the Realogy Innovation prize, for which BMLS was a runner up), Honest Buildings, and Compstak are just a few of the other groups recognized for shifting the paradigm of how people navigate the real estate process. 

Each company on the list demonstrates a fresh approach to this industry—one that many claim is suffering from decades of stagnation. As our Director of Market Insights, appraiser Jonathan Miller, told The Real Deal, "The whole idea is to manage the process, because right now, [buyer information] is a perishable product." We couldn't be more proud to be included in the group of cutting edge companies helping to streamline the real estate world for both sides of the transaction. ----