New-home market problems aren’t new – rising prices for supplies and a tight workforce. But pending sales continue to be high, and many builders are pausing to complete a backlog of projects. In top-listed Jacksonville, pending new-home sales are up 80.5% year-to-year.
Survey: In Nov. 2020, 71% of renters worried about making their monthly payment. But things are getting better: In Feb. 2021, it dropped to 63%.
Direct referrals from past clients and others is the No. 1 way to get new business, but in a 2020 study, 44% of agents surveyed got at least one client via social media.
Florida Realtors’ data: Single-family home sales rose 15.7% year-over-year, median sales price up 16.6%; condo sales up 28.7%, median price up 16.6%. Chief Economist O’Connor: Fewer new listings and a tight inventory means a strong seller’s market.
Feb. existing home sales fell 6.6% month-to-month, but they were up 9.1% year-to-year. Median prices, however, rose 15.8% higher when compared to Feb. 2020.
In a strong statement, NAR Pres. says the current commission structure “ensures greater equity and equality for first-time, low-income, and many other homebuyers.”
The new national focus on discrimination convinced some businesses to take assertive, tangible steps to boost housing equality, such as creating new company policies.
A bill passed by the U.S. House could affect Realtors who are independent contractors, but NAR says it’s working with senators to include a Realtor exception in the bill.
While the pandemic hit the hospitality industry hard, it expects a big rebound if newly vaccinated Americans over-compensate for vacations they lost out on in 2020.
The 2020 real estate market wasn’t ideal for home flippers who buy homes, fix them up and resell. ATTOM’s 2020 report found that fewer home flips were funded by fewer mortgages. And while gross profits went higher, profit margins dipped for the third straight year.