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Inaugural Neighborhood Stabilization Report Shows Community Impact of Distressed PROPERTY Dispositions

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Auction.com, the nation’s leading distressed real estate marketplace, released its 2023 Neighborhood Stabilization Report, a first-ever report that shows distressed properties sold on a transparent auction platform produce higher homeownership rates, more value added during renovation and shorter renovation timelines than distressed properties sold in the traditional retail market. To view the full report, visit: https://www.auction.com/lp/in-the-news/2023-neighborhood-stabilization-report/ Those findings are based on an analysis of nearly 325,000 distressed property dispositions nationwide over the last five years using public record data and underserved area data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). That analysis also shows that renovated properties resold or rented by auction buyers are still affordable for local families, including in low-income and minority neighborhoods. The report uses Auction.com buyer data to provide a data-based profile of buyers at distressed property auctions, 77 percent of which are local community developers who purchase fewer than 10 properties a year and live within 25 miles of most distressed properties they purchase. Another 15 percent are owner-occupant buyers. A transparent foreclosure auction marketplace also helps to uncover and protect home equity for distressed homeowners, equity that is lost if a property reverts to the foreclosing lender as real estate owned (REO). The report looks at the share of foreclosure auction sales with potential equity for distressed homeowners and the average amount of that potential equity. Finally, the report spotlights a Birmingham, Alabama, zip code where many distressed property sales are in low-income and minority Census tracts. Using public record data, Auction.com sales data and FHFA underserved area data, along with interviews with local community developer buyers purchasing in that zip code, the report shows how responsible disposition can positively impact communities. Highlights from the report: About Auction.com Auction.com is the nation’s leading online marketplace for the disposition of distressed residential properties. The company goes beyond traditional disposition programs, offering tools and services that stabilize neighborhoods, expand homeownership, maximize sales, shorten the sales cycle, yield higher returns, mitigate risks and elevate results. Our seller strategy includes customized and flexible programs, data intelligence and buyer insights, and pioneering technology. This includes Remote Bid®, which expands the buyer base nationwide by letting buyers bid on and win select foreclosure sales from anywhere, and Portfolio Interact™, featuring Bid Interact™. The national footprint for online and in-person auctions includes all 50 states, as well as Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Auction.com is headquartered in Irvine, CA, with offices in key markets nationwide. Contact Daren BlomquistAuction.com Tel.949.355.3371 Email: dblomquist@auction.com

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Dwellsy Comp Report – Powered by DwellsyIQ

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In the realm of real estate, accurate and comprehensive data is the cornerstone of making informed decisions. That is where DwellsyIQ shines. As the driving force behind Dwellsy’s Comp Reports, DwellsyIQ brings a robust data aggregation capability to the table, amassing data from the largest pool of listing data. Strategize Pricing with Precision Imagine a world where every pricing decision you make is backed by robust market analysis. Discover the average cost per square foot and fair rent prices in your locale, ensuring your pricing strategy aligns with market realities while appealing to potential renters. Enhance Your Property’s Appeal Stand out in a crowded market by highlighting the unique offerings of your properties. With comprehensive comparative data, refine your listings to resonate with tenant preferences, enhancing the appeal and competitive edge of your properties! Promote Location Advantages Leverage the proximity analysis to market the strategic location of your properties. Whether it is the ease of commute or access to essential facilities, showcase the location benefits of your listings to attract prospective tenants. Who Can Use the Dwellsy Comp Report The Dwellsy Comp Report caters to a diverse array of audiences, each benefiting uniquely from its comprehensive market insights. Below are specific audiences and how the report benefits them: Harness the power of DwellsyIQ and make every property decision an informed one. The Dwellsy Comp Report is not just a tool, it’s your partner in navigating the real estate market with precision and confidence.

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Falling Mortgage Rates Breathe New Life Into Housing Market

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Listings, Pending Sales and Price Growth Hit Highest Level in Roughly a Year New listings and pending home sales both climbed to the highest level in roughly a year in November as buyers and sellers got tired of waiting on the sidelines and mortgage rates ticked down. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Home prices also jumped, posting the biggest year-over-year increase since late 2022. New listings rose 1.3% month over month to the highest level since October 2022 on a seasonally adjusted basis, and increased 0.1% from a year earlier—a small gain, but the first in a year and a half. Active listings, or the total supply of homes for sale, grew 3.9% month over month—the biggest increase since July 2022 (though they fell 7.9% from a year earlier). “Buyers and sellers are learning to live with uncertainty,” said Shay Stein, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Las Vegas. “They’ve realized no one has a crystal ball that can predict exactly when mortgage rates will fall back to 5%, so they’re making moves now because they can only wait so long to be near their grandkids, live in an RV like they’ve always dreamt of or finalize their divorce.” While rates aren’t back to 5%, they have fallen in recent weeks, which has motivated buyers, Stein said. In many cases, their monthly payment is $200 less than it would’ve been had they locked in a rate three weeks ago when they started looking, she explained. The average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate declined every week in November after hitting a 23-year high of 7.79% at the end of October. It ended November at 7.22%, and currently stands at 6.95%, though that’s still higher than the 6.3% rate of a year ago. Pending home sales rose 2% month over month in November to the highest level in a year on a seasonally adjusted basis, and fell 0.1% from a year earlier. “Another reason sales are ticking up is buyers and sellers are finally living in the same reality,” Stein said. “A year ago, sellers had trouble understanding why they weren’t getting $20,000 over the list price like their neighbor did during the pandemic homebuying boom. Now, they understand that to sell their home, they need to price it fairly and in some cases offer the buyer concessions like money toward closing costs or mortgage-rate buydowns.” Home Prices Posted the Biggest Increase Since October 2022 The median U.S. home sale price was $408,732 in November. That’s up 3.7% from a year earlier—the biggest jump since October 2022—and down 1.1% from a month earlier. Annual home price growth seems to be normalizing after prices surged as much as 26% at the height of the pandemic homebuying boom and then fell as much as 4% in early 2023 amid elevated mortgage rates. Price growth is now back to the 2%-7% range it was in prior to the pandemic. Even though elevated mortgage rates have dampened demand in recent months, prices have continued rising in part because buyers are competing for a limited number of homes. While listings have inched up in recent months, they remain low by historical standards. Purchases Fell Through at Record Rate as Some Buyers Got Cold Feet While pending sales hit the highest level in a year in November, closed sales hovered near their recent low. They were little changed from a month earlier (0.2%) on a seasonally adjusted basis, and fell 5.4% from a year earlier. That’s partly because a lot of deals fell through at the last minute. Roughly 45,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in November, equal to 16.9% of homes that went under contract that month—the highest percentage in Redfin records that date back to 2017. That’s up from 16.8% one month earlier and 15.6% one year earlier. While some buyers and sellers have come to terms with today’s economic uncertainty, that same uncertainty is causing many of them to get cold feet, Stein said. Even though mortgage rates have dropped, housing affordability remains strained, meaning a lot of buyers still get nervous when they see their monthly payment on paper. Economic woes are keeping many people out of the housing market altogether. A lot of Americans feel that the economy is in a bad place despite economic growth, rising wages and low unemployment. One obvious culprit is the housing market, which is in its least affordable year on record. November 2023 Highlights: United States   November 2023 Month-Over-Month Change Year-Over-Year Change Median sale price $408,732 -1.1% 3.7% Pending sales, seasonally adjusted 406,687 2% -0.1% Homes sold, seasonally adjusted 411,958 0.2% -5.4% New listings, seasonally adjusted 504,263 1.3% 0.1% All homes for sale, seasonally adjusted (active listings) 1,504,094 3.9% -7.9% Months of supply 2.9 0.2 -0.1 Median days on market 36 2 -1 Share of for-sale homes with a price drop 18.7% -1.3 ppts -0.7 ppts Share of homes sold above final list price 28.7% -3 ppts 2.3 ppts Average sale-to-final-list-price ratio 99% -0.3 ppts 0.5 ppts Pending sales that fell out of contract, as % of overall pending sales 16.9% 0.1 ppts 1.3 ppts Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate 7.44% -0.18 ppts 0.63 ppts Metro-Level Highlights: November 2023 To view the full report, including charts and a metro-level breakdown, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-tracker-november-2023

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HomesUSA.com Debuts “Breakthrough” Tech Platform for Builders

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Automated SpecDeck elevates MLS listings in Houston, San Antonio and Austin 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. SOURCE HomesUSA.com

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53 Percent of Residential Real Estate Investors Expect Business Growth in 2024

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As first-time home buyers evaluate housing options amid low inventory, 55 percent feel that local investors have a role in solving the housing shortage New Western, the largest national private real estate investment marketplace, released a study on single family real estate investor sentiment and first-time home buyers’ perception of the housing market. Notably, 53 percent of residential real estate investors expect business growth in 2024, while 55 percent of consumers feel that local investors can help solve the housing shortage. Key Highlights: “As we enter the new year with continued low inventory, local investors are providing solutions to the shortage by fixing up unlivable homes and putting them back on the market, giving consumers more options for their home buying search,” said Kurt Carlton, co-founder and president of New Western. “Investors are fueled by the opportunity to capitalize while delivering much needed residential properties back to the market.”  From the first half of 2023 to the second half, New Western saw growth nationwide with local markets Houston, Raleigh, Atlanta, Denver and Austin leading the increase in investor-purchased homes. Additionally, New Western saw a 16 percent rise in investor purchases in the West and 6.5 percent in the South during the same time frame. Market sentiment from additional experts: The survey and report, titled “The Flip Side: Residential Real Estate Investing Trends for 2024,” is an analysis from insight based on opinion polling from October to November 2023 from over 1,280 real estate investors ages 18+ who have previously purchased property through New Western or plan to in the future and an external survey in the same time period among consumers who are looking for a new home from Gutcheck, a global market research company, as well as New Western market sales data. The external survey includes over 820 participants ages 18+ who must have considered purchasing a house in the last 12 months or who have purchased one. For more information about New Western, please visit https://www.newwestern.com. About New WesternNew Western is a real estate investment marketplace that makes investing more accessible for more people. Operating in most major cities, our marketplace connects more than 200,000 local investors looking to rehab houses with sellers. As the largest private source of investment properties in the nation, we buy a home every 13 minutes. New Western delivers new opportunity for all—a fresh start for sellers, exclusive inventory for investors, and in doing so, creates housing that is more affordable for buyers. New Western was honored with a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award in the U.S. small and medium company category, recognizing the Best Places to Work in 2023. CONTACT: NewWestern@5wpr.com SOURCE New Western

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New Multifamily Renter Sentiment Report Reveals Surprising Trends in Housing Choices and Generational Preferences

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Most renters (59%) report that they choose to rent versus feeling that they’re forced to rent, and a surprisingly high number of renters (31%) report feeling either ambivalent or uninterested in home ownership altogether 74% of renters report that their timeline to purchase a home has lengthened meaningfully as mortgage rates have increased Older Americans are selling homes to live in apartments and Baby Boomers value the social interactions of apartment living more than Gen Z. and Millennials Knightvest, a fully integrated real estate investment and management company, released the results of the company’s first annual survey measuring multifamily renter sentiment. The survey provides insights into the rent-versus-buy decision, the downstream effects of high mortgage interest rates, and differences in generational preferences around renting. “The rent-versus-buy decision is increasingly nuanced given this dynamic macroeconomic environment, and it’s interesting to see the data support what we’re hearing anecdotally from residents: if you create communities built on quality, service and care, then apartments can become sought-after destinations where residents thrive through multiple seasons of their lives,” said David Moore, Knightvest Founder and CEO. Key takeaways: Most people choose to rent 1. The high cost of home ownership (62%)2. Lower maintenance and repair responsibilities (51%)3. Enhanced flexibility to relocate (35%) The increase in mortgage rates has delayed the homebuying decision by at least a few years Social interactions are an important part of an apartment community Moore concluded: “As we head into 2024, this data underscores the enduring demand for apartments and reveals insights that will continue to shape the real estate landscape for years to come. At Knightvest, we remain focused on executing our strategy to renovate and reposition apartment communities to create compelling, modern living environments at an extraordinary value. With people staying in apartments longer, this work has never been more important than it is today.” Survey background: This poll was conducted between November 20 and November 30, 2023, among a group of more than 4,100 U.S. apartment renters. The survey was created by Knightvest and conducted through an online survey platform. Participation was voluntary, and respondents were not compensated. About Knightvest: Knightvest is an industry-leading multifamily investment and management firm known for creating communities of excellence and delivering dependable results that enable investors, employees, and residents to thrive. As a vertically-integrated firm, Knightvest specializes in renovating and repositioning multifamily properties with a unique approach focused on setting a new standard in design-driven quality, executing with operational efficiency, and leading with a people-first culture. Since its founding in 2007, Knightvest has invested over $10 billion to acquire over 55,000 units across high-growth metro areas in Texas, Arizona, the Carolinas, and Florida to become one of the largest apartment owners in the United States. For more information, please visit www.knightvestcapital.com and follow us on LinkedIn. Contact:invest@knightvest.com SOURCE Knightvest Capital

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