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At round table discussions, REALTORS® shared their thoughts about the future. (Photo courtesy of MLSListings Inc.)
With the changing demographic and socio-economic landscape and changing economic concerns, the real estate industry sees itself facing a transformation. NAR launched the REThink Initiative in August 2012 during its annual Leadership Summit in Chicago, Ill. The REThink Initiative will use the experiences and insights of REALTORS®, academia, consumers and others to plan for and adapt to dynamic changes in the industry.
At Friday’s workshop, REALTORS® discussed different versions of what the future holds for the industry. Workshop participants were asked to consider a focal question: In an ever-changing world, what is the future of the real estate industry in 5-10 years, and how will this affect consumers, real estate professionals, industry organizations and associations?
At the round table discussions, participants examined several scenarios for the industry and elements that are likely to impact the future of U.S. real estate, including the long-term effects of the recent recession, the global economy, technology, demographic forces like the retiring Baby Boomers, emerging Echo Boomers, increasing ethnic diversity, and population growth. Environmental concerns, like growing scarcity of energy and raw materials, and how they could affect housing patterns and design, access to owning a home, and the value of homeownership, were also explored.
Cross-country workshops are being conducted through May 2013. Insights from members will provide critical input into NAR’s future strategy and help formulate a shared vision about the future REALTORS® want to create for themselves, their association, for the industry, and for society as whole.
For more information about NAR’s ReThink Initiative, visit http://rethinkfuture.com.
Properties have been marketed off the MLS before, but these days, it’s happening more often and creating controversy because inventory is at an all-time low, said Bailey. In fact, today, inventory is at its lowest levels since 2005 and new listings continue to decline. The average days on market (DOM) is now 35 in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, down 60 percent from 2011.
Robert Bailey, MLSListings Inc. chair, told SILVAR members this week that May 2012 had the highest exclusions of property on the MLS since 2007. Between January and November 2012, off-MLS transactions accounted for 20 percent of total home sales or nearly $1 billion in sales volume. He indicated in Menlo Park alone, during this period 20.32 percent of all home sales were off-market. In Atherton, 31 percent of total sales were off-market.
Bailey said MLSListings does not support private MLSs or MLS clubs because their purpose runs counter to the company’s goal of fostering an environment of cooperation and collaboration. He said while it is not MLSListings’ purpose to define a REALTOR®’s business model, the MLS is a cooperative effort.
MLSListings provides for the exclusion process, has rules regarding it and imposes fines if rules are broken, but it can’t stop it. It is up to REALTORS® to address the dilemma. Bailey asked members to visit the MLSListings website and take a survey on the topic and engage in the discussion. Weekly survey questions are on the Pro homepage at http://pro.mlslistings.com. For a forum for community discussion, visit
http://bit.ly/XBwdv6.
MLSListings received 1,035 responses in the first week of the survey. Findings showed 24 percent of respondents use off-market listings (OML); 34 percent never use OML; and 34 percent said they don’t know about OML. Meanwhile, 64 percent of respondents believe the use of OML is exclusionary or discriminatory, either legally or ethically. Discussions generated interesting comments for and against the OML practice.
Bailey invited members to take part in the survey and discussion. “Let your thoughts be known,” he said.
The MLSListings chair reminded SILVAR members that they own the MLS. “You are the stakeholders. That’s what makes us unique,” said Bailey.
View Bailey’s presentation here.
MLSListings Inc. reports market activity “slowed to a crawl for nearly all indicators” in the month of June for Santa Clara County and four other neighboring counties. The severe shortage of homes is impacting home sales, sparking multiple offers and slightly higher home prices in a number of communities.
The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors’ multiple listing service provider reports Santa Clara County had 1,093 closed sales of single-family homes, virtually unchanged from 1,097 in June 2011. Santa Clara County’s June’s inventory took a dive of 38 percent from last year. The county’s inventory of 2,589 homes was down 42.2 percent from inventory in June 2003 and down 57.4 percent from 6,071 homes on inventory in June 2008.
According to the MLSListings report, Santa Clara County saw its June 2012 median price of $695,000 jump 9.4 percent over the previous year. The June median for a single-family home in Santa Clara County is 26.2 percent higher than the median of $550,500 in June 2009, when home prices resumed their upward trend.
Unless inventory opens up, home buyers will continue to be squeezed in this tight market, says Suzanne Yost, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®. “Many families are already having a difficult time finding a place to live. We will continue to see first-time home buyers facing strong competition from investors with cash. For motivated sellers, pricing is a key factor,” said Yost.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 