REI INK

WELCOME TO ANYWHERE

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 548 views

REALOGY UNVEILS NEW NAME, ENTERS NEXT PHASE OF TRANSFORMATION FOCUSED ON THE CONSUMER Unique Industry Advantages and Powerful Financial Position Enable Company to Build a Better Consumer Future that Empowers Everyone’s Next Move Realogy Holdings Corp., a global leader in residential real estate services, announced the company will rebrand as Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (referred to as “Anywhere”), signaling a deep commitment to reimagine the consumer experience at any point in the real estate transaction journey. Home to renowned real estate brands, Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Corcoran®, ERA®, and Sotheby’s International Realty® as well as national title, settlement, and relocation companies and scaled mortgage origination and underwriting joint ventures, the company expects to implement the rebrand by end of second quarter 2022. During an investor event, Realogy also laid out the next phase of its strategy, which will leverage its advantaged market position and ability to invest to improve and simplify the home buying and selling experience for consumers who are demanding a more seamless, integrated transaction.   “With very positive momentum, we will harness the power of our extensive agent network, leading brands, scaled core services, deep technology and data, and strong financial flexibility to create a better transaction experience for any consumer, anywhere,” said Ryan Schneider, Realogy president and chief executive officer. “We are so excited about the opportunity ahead of us that we chose to rename and rebrand the company to reinforce our commitment to delivering this future.” “While buying or selling a home can be an exciting next chapter for any individual or family, the process around that experience hasn’t kept pace with the digital transformation in other industries,” said Melissa McSherry, Realogy chief operating officer. “Our goal is to leverage our differentiated market position, including with technology, to streamline the buying and selling journey and allow consumers to focus on what matters most – the joy of home ownership. This focus will guide how we evolve our product strategy for both consumers and agents as the trusted advisors of the transaction.” Since 2018, the company has been executing a largescale transformation that has led to increased profitable growth, a fortified balance sheet, innovative technology and marketing products, and an invigorated culture with a track record of attracting great talent and driving success. “I am incredibly proud of our industry-leading talent, franchise owners, and affiliated agents who have contributed to Realogy’s significant transformation progress,” continued Schneider. “We are stronger, we are operating with greater speed and agility, and we are consistently delivering impressive results as we move real estate to what’s next.” During the investor presentation, leaders also laid out bold 2026 financial targets, including the goal of surpassing 20% market share through its accelerated expansion. An updated capital allocation strategy, leveraging the company’s free cash flow, aims to balance investments in powerful growth initiatives with the flexibility of returning capital to investors. “We have demonstrated unmatched operational execution to drive above market growth, increased top and bottom-line performance, and a significantly stronger balance sheet,” said Charlotte Simonelli, Realogy chief financial officer. “Our consistency of delivery, financial flexibility, and differentiated track record of free cash flow generation enable us to further reinvest in our business and return additional value to shareholders. I am proud of the success our team has driven to pave the way to a new era of growth for our company, serving an ever-expanding market.” A New Name, a New Day for Real Estate Taking inspiration from the company’s strategy, the Anywhere brand represents the desire to meet consumers anywhere on the transaction journey across the entirety of the market. The “re” at the end of the Anywhere name nods to the brand’s prominence within the Real Estate industry. The Anywhere mark is an eight-stroke asterisk, symbolic of depth, connectivity, and amplification, with the bottom vertical stroke falling away to lie horizontally as the foundation of a home. While the two lower strokes of the asterisk come together to form a pitched roof, the linear middle strokes form the horizon line and the upper three strokes form the arc of a sun rising above the home, conveying the potential that comes with a new day. The Anywhere logo colors are deep midnight blue, expressing vast opportunity, and vibrant orange, evoking hope, joy, and illumination, all benefits the Anywhere brand will bring to the consumer experience.   “We are home to a dynamic portfolio of real estate brands that each have their own unique story and power in the market,” said Schneider. “As we set forth our bold consumer-first, agent-led strategy, it was clear there was one brand that did not carry that same emotional connection – the Realogy brand. The Anywhere name and identity serve as both our aspiration and commitment to changing the transaction experience for consumers. It’s truly a new day for real estate.”   As part of the rebrand, the company will also align to a new enterprise positioning to further move its culture and talent strategy into the future. The purpose, “Empower everyone’s next move,” speaks to many of the company’s stakeholders, including employees, entrepreneurs, and consumers, by pledging to provide the products, tools, and resources to foster a culture where anyone can win. “This is not only a business and strategic transformation but also a culture change,” said Tanya Reu-Narvaez, Realogy chief people officer. “Our talent strategy, led by our new purpose and positioning, enables us to engage employees anywhere in their career journey. Additionally, with our remote-first, hybrid company approach, many of our people can literally work from any place, offering employees the benefits of productivity gains, flexibility, and choice.” The Anywhere naming and brand development was led by multidisciplinary San Francisco-based design studio, Hybrid Design. For more information on the launch of the Anywhere brand, please visit anywhere.re.

Read More

WORD OF THE DAY: Prepossessing

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 800 views

[pree-pə-ZES-ing] Part of speech: Adjective Origin: Unknown, mid-17th century Definition: Attractive or appealing in appearance. Examples of Prepossessing in a sentence “The rundown neighborhood has become more prepossessing due to recent renovations.” “Anne had a prepossessing aura that always attracted people to her.” About Prepossessing In the 1610s, this word was related to “getting possession of land beforehand.” The meaning morphed about 20 years later into “possessing a person beforehand with a feeling or notion.” And in the 1640s, the meaning broadened into causing someone to “have a favorable opinion of something; to preoccupy the mind or heart of.” Did you Know? “Prepossessing” also has archaic definitions that means creating prejudice and possessing something prior to a specific time.

Read More

U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY IN APRIL 2022 DECLINES SLIGHTLY

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 336 views

Foreclosure Starts Remain Unchanged from Last Month ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, released its April 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 30,674 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — down 8 percent from a month ago but up 160 percent from a year ago. Illinois, New Jersey and Ohio had the highest foreclosure rates Nationwide one in every 4,580 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April 2022. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Illinois (one in every 2,241 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 2,292 housing units); Ohio (one in every 2,585 housing units); Indiana (one in every 2,660 housing units); and Nevada (one in every 3,043 housing units). Among the 223 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in April 2022 were Greeley, CO (one in every 1,237 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Cleveland, OH (one in every 1,326 housing units); Elkhart, IN (one in every 1,531 housing units); Fayetteville, NC (one in every 1,639 housing units); and Chicago, IL (one in every 1,851 housing units). Those metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million, with the worst foreclosure rates in April 2022, aside from Cleveland, OH and Chicago, IL were: Philadelphia, PA (one in every 2,196 housing units); Indianapolis, IN (one in every 2,268 housing units); and Riverside, CA (one in every 2,366 housing units). Foreclosure starts remain unchanged from last month Lenders started the foreclosure process on 22,286 U.S. properties in April 2022, just down slightly from 22,360 last month but up 251 percent from a year ago. Counter to the national trend, states that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in April 2022 and saw the greatest monthly increases in foreclosure starts included: Massachusetts (up 133 percent); Colorado (up 95 percent); Minnesota (up 59 percent); Indiana (up 39 percent); and Washington (up 24 percent). In looking more granular, those counties that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts in April 2022 included: Cook County, IL (759 foreclosure starts); Los Angeles County, CA (652 foreclosure starts); Harris County, TX (429 foreclosure starts); Maricopa County, AZ ( 331 foreclosure starts); and Philadelphia, PA (277 foreclosure starts). “The extreme difference between foreclosure starts and foreclosure completions in April might be the beginning of a trend,” said Rick Sharga, executive Vice President of market intelligence for ATTOM. “Record levels of homeowner equity should provide financially distressed homeowners the opportunity to sell their homes prior to a foreclosure auction, meaning we should continue to see fewer foreclosure completions. While it may take several months to determine if this is actually what’s happening, it seems like a real possibility in today’s low supply/high demand housing market.” Foreclosure completion numbers decrease 36 percent from last month Lenders repossessed 2,830 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in April 2022, down 36 percent from last month but up 82 percent from last year. Those states that had the greatest number of REOs in April 2022, included: Illinois (417 REOs); Pennsylvania (266 REOs); Michigan (187 REOs); Ohio (150 REOs); and California (148 REOs). Those major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population greater than 1 million that saw the greatest number of REOs in April 2022 included: Chicago, IL (347 REOs); Philadelphia, PA (149 REOs); New York, NY (128 REOs); Detroit, MI (64 REOs); and St. Louis, MO (53 REOs).

Read More

New Survey Reveals Americans are in Favor of Non-Traditional Investing but Don’t Know Where to Start

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 215 views

Connect Invest’s Alternative Investment Platform to Fill the Gap Connect Invest, an alternative investment platform, surveyed Americans to find out what their investment goals are for 2022 and their knowledge of alternative investing. The survey found that younger Americans are more open to investing this year than older generations, and many are getting investment advice from non-traditional sources like social media. And, while there’s interest in alternative investments, many of those surveyed said they don’t know much about them or how to get started. To help fill that need, Connect Invest launched a new online platform that provides users with an alternative way to invest through high-quality, income-generating Short Notes. Their Short Notes are a diversified product in an asset class that are available to everyone in order to help investors meet their financial goals. “This survey makes it clear that younger generations in particular are becoming increasingly interested in investing and are looking for options that might not have been available in the past,” says CEO of Connect Invest, Todd Parriott. “Our new Connect Invest platform offers alternative investments that are easy to understand and produce higher yields than traditional banks.” Compared to 2021, over a third of respondents (37%) planned to be more proactive with their financial investments in 2022.– Older generations rely heavily on traditional methods of investing, and may be missing out on more accessible forms of income generation, especially during retirement;– A majority (51%) anticipated being just as proactive in 2022 as they were in 2021; Millennials (47%) and Gen Z (44%) were more likely than their older counterparts to be more proactive with their financial investments in 2022;– A majority (54%) cited funding their retirement as a financial goal they currently want to achieve through their investments;– Other goals included building an emergency fund (41%), passive income (40%), paying off debt (37%), and saving for a big purchase (31%). The survey also looked into where Americans are getting their investment advice, and found that social media is becoming an important source of information among the younger generations. Millennials were more likely to seek finance or investing information from YouTube (38%), podcasts (18%), and TikTok (17%) than older generations. Similarly, Gen Z were more likely to use online search (56%), YouTube (47%), TikTok (29%), and online blogs (20%). Older generations still rely heavily on financial professionals and institutions to help guide their financial decisions, with more than 60% of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) looking to financial professionals for investment advice. Connect Invest’s real estate short notes help to fund a diverse set of commercial and residential real estate projects across the country. The projects are funded across different phases including acquisition, development, and construction, allowing investors to diversify their investment portfolio through real estate focused short notes to generate passive income. Real estate typically offers a more stable investment opportunity than most other investments. Notable Key Findings: Many people who are looking to invest want passive income and stability with the prospects of higher return. Almost 1 in 2 (44%) felt generating passive income from their investments was important, providing a rating of 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 1 was “Not at all important” and 5 was “Very important.” Millennials (53%) were more likely than Baby Boomers (36%) to state that generating passive income is important. Males (52%) were more likely than females (39%) to state that generating passive income is important. Many people don’t know where to begin when it comes to investing alternatively. Among those who rated generating passive income as at least somewhat important (providing a rating of 3 to 5), face challenges of not being sure where they should start (34%) and not having the capital to get started (33%). Gen X respondents were more likely than any other generation to state they don’t know where to start (39%) or don’t have the capital to get started (39%). Millennials were most likely to say their current investments with the bank are not generating enough (26%). Most of those surveyed have investments in stocks, but young investors are investing more in cryptocurrencies. 43% of Millennials and Gen Zs surveyed said they are investing in cryptocurrencies, and more than half of Millennials and Gen Zs invest in stocks with Gen Xs stock investment at just over 36%. About Connect InvestConnect Invest is an alternative investment platform specializing in real estate short-note investments. We offer short-term investments in real estate development projects that yield high-returns monthly, with zero overhead and no account fees. Our investments are determined based on the investors risk tolerance, investment amount, and length of term. Investments fund a variety of real estate development projects throughout the country at various stages including acquisition, development and construction. Investments start as low as $1,000, terms as short as 6 months, and interest earnings ranging from 4.5% to 8%.

Read More

WORD OF THE DAY: Flummoxed

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 1,151 views

[flə-məksd] Part of speech: Adjective Origin: Uncertain, mid 19th century Definition: Totally confused or bewildered; utterly unable to understand or comprehend Examples of Flummoxed in a sentence “The complex equations in his physics course left him completely flummoxed.” “She was flummoxed by all of the big, confusing words inserted into the legal agreement.” About Flummoxed While its synonyms have traceable origins, researchers looking into ‘flummoxed’ can only scratch their heads at the word’s unknown derivation. But it’s not alone; some common words that also leave historians at a loss include ‘conundrum,’ ‘bizarre,’ ‘avalanche,’ and even ‘dog.’ Did you Know? In something of an etymological rarity, no one is quite certain as to the origins of the word flummoxed. It has roots that are both literary and dialect-based, but no conclusive source has been determined. The word has left historians, well, flummoxed.

Read More

Redfin Reports More Sellers Dropping Their Prices, But Buyers Find Little Relief

  • by
  • Comment Off
  • 486 views

Homebuying is as competitive and costly as ever as soaring mortgage rates make the market less inviting for many would-be sellers The share of home sellers who dropped their asking price shot up to a six-month-high of 15% for the four weeks ending May 1, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s up from 9% a year earlier, and represents the largest annual gain on record in Redfin’s weekly housing data back through 2015. For homebuyers, the typical monthly mortgage payment skyrocketed a record 42% to a new high during the same period. Although a growing share of sellers are responding to the palpable drop in homebuyer demand by lowering their prices, sellers remain far outnumbered by buyers, so the typical home flies off the market at the fastest pace on record and for more than its asking price. “Homebuyers continue to be squeezed in nearly every way possible, which is causing some to take a step back from the market,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Unfortunately for buyers hoping to find a deal as competition cools, sellers are pulling back even faster, which is keeping the market deep in seller’s territory. So even though price drops are becoming more common, most homes are still selling above asking price and in record time.” Leading indicators of homebuying activity: Fewer people searched for “homes for sale” on Google—searches during the week ending April 30 were down 7% from a year earlier. The seasonally-adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for home tours and other home-buying services from Redfin agents—was down 1% year over year during the week ending May 1. It dropped 10% in the past four weeks, compared with a 1% decrease during the same period a year earlier. Touring activity from the first week of January through May 1 was 24 percentage points behind the same period in 2021, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime. Mortgage purchase applications were down 11% from a year earlier, while the seasonally-adjusted index increased 4% week over week during the week ending April 29. For the week ending May 5, 30-year mortgage rates increased to 5.27%—the highest level since August 2009. Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas: Unless otherwise noted, this data covers the four-week period ending May 1. Redfin’s weekly housing market data goes back through 2015. The median home sale price was up 17% year over year—the biggest increase since August—to a record $396,125. The median asking price of newly listed homes increased 16% year over year to $408,458, a new all-time high. The monthly mortgage payment on the median asking price home rose to a record high of $2,404 at the current 5.27% mortgage rate. This was up 42%—an all-time high—from $1,688 a year earlier, when mortgage rates were 2.96%. Pending home sales were down 4% year over year, the largest decrease since mid-February. New listings of homes for sale were down 6% from a year earlier, and have been down from 2021 since mid-March. Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 18% year over year. 56% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, up from 54% a year earlier, down less than a percentage point from the record high during the four-week period ending March 27. 42% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 41% a year earlier, down less than a percentage point from the record high during the four-week period ending March 27. Homes that sold were on the market for a record-low median of 15.5 days, down from 21.2 days a year earlier. A record 56% of homes sold above list price, up from 47% a year earlier. On average, 3.7% of homes for sale each week had a price drop. Overall, 14.9% dropped their price in the past four weeks, up from 11.2% a month earlier and 9.1% a year ago. This was the highest share since mid-November. The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, rose to an all-time high of 102.8%. In other words, the average home sold for 2.8% above its asking price. This was up from 101% a year earlier. To view the full report, including charts and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-record-spke-in-price-drops/ About Redfin Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, instant home-buying (iBuying), rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country’s #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we’ve saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 6,000 people.

Read More