The Real Estate Tech Roundtable

We discuss the Federal lawsuits to change the residential real estate transaction and buyer/broker commission rule.    "'Longstanding conspiracy': Why the bombshell commission suit matters Millions of homesellers across the country may be able to seek billions in damages for commissions they paid to buyer agents between 2015 and 2020. Here's why it matters..." https://www.inman.com/2022/07/06/longstanding-conspiracy-why-the-bombshell-commission-suit-matters/  "Like a bigger federal case in Illinois brought by homeseller Christopher Moehrl, the Sitzer/Burnett suit seeks to have homebuyers pay their broker directly, rather than having listing brokers pay buyer brokers from what the seller pays the listing broker. NAR has 1.5 million members nationwide; the vast majority are residential real estate agents and brokers." https://www.inman.com/2022/06/06/appeals-court-rejects-nar-class-certification-challenge-in-lawsuit/ " 4 commission charts that explain both sides of the Moehrl conflict The homeseller plaintiffs hope to show the need for change in how agents are paid, while NAR and major real estate franchisors aim to show the status quo is working just fine" https://www.inman.com/2022/07/08/4-commission-charts-that-explain-both-sides-of-the-moehrl-conflict/  "More than 700 agent steering calls suggest price-fixing, lawyers charge In new court filings in the Moehrl case, lawyers singled out hundreds of phone calls — far more than previously reported — in which agents steered business away from discount brokerage REX" https://www.inman.com/2022/07/08/more-than-700-agent-steering-calls-suggest-price-fixing-lawyers-charge/  "What happens to buyers' agents if the bombshell lawsuit explodes? Multiple lawsuits are challenging the way agents get paid. Inman asked experts what that means, and how the future of real estate might evolve as a result of changes to the commission structure" https://www.inman.com/2022/07/07/what-happens-to-buyers-agents-if-the-bombshell-explodes/

This week on the Real Estate Tech Roundtable we talk with the SVP of Mortgage Lending, Sam Batayneh to discuss the current mortgage rate environment. He goes over how important the Federal Reserve "guidance" is to moving home loans, and what we rates we can expect moving forward.  IG: @sam.batayneh  YT: @Sam Batayneh at Guaranteed Rate, Inc.  IG: @kirkghawkins or https://linktr.ee/getkirkIG: @poweredbyNILE  YT: @Powered by NILE

Today we sit down with a digital marketing genius and SEO strategist Robert Newman of www.InboundREM.com. He works with top performing real estate agents all over the US and the globe. He walks us through his top strategies for 2022.

The Real Estate Tech Podcast is joined today by two amazing founders & sisters, Tessa & Alyssa Hendrie, who created BitchinDigs. Listen to find out how to get the most out of each one of your properties. Find them at https://www.bitchindigs.com/ or IG @bitchindigs

The Real Estate Tech Podcast is joined today by The Energetic VC, Bethany Londyn. You can find her at https://www.bethanylondyn.com/ or IG @bethanylondyn

Talking real estate with NILE CEO, Khaled Yatim, Head of Growth, Kirk Hawkins, and Co-Founder, Tim Helfrey. There is a lot of chatter in the media about a real estate slow/crash/recession. Discover how the So Cal real estate market is holding up. @KirkHawkins @PoweredByNILE

Growth in many of the tech sectors may be dampened, but we are seeing accelerated  growth & interest against the backdrop of softening market conditions and mounting legal defeats for the traditional industry.   First, there's increased consumer pressure:   Macro headwinds including rising interest rates, and volatility in the global equity markets will weigh on consumer demand for housing. Plus, the sustained growth of alternative models like Opendoor means the traditional brokerages will be forced to compete in a far more innovative way as consumers demand more from brokers.   Next, there's Inflation:   Real Estate Brokerages are a people-heavy business. to operate with low margins that have continued to shrink  in the last two years. With the recent spike in labor costs that look unlikely to abate anytime soon; Brokerages will need to become more efficient through technology solutions to stay in business.     Lastly, Litigation:    The status quo for brokerage commissions appears to be coming to an end. In the last 30 days, multiple federal cases appear likely to result in decoupling real estate commissions, including the announcement that David Boies of BSF has become lead counsel in one of those cases. All of this means that the role of buyer agent will become significantly diminished and listing brokerages will be responsible for managing significantly more of the transaction workflow and responsibility by 2023. While many software companies have focused on segments of the transaction, it will be those companies that seamlessly manage transactions in one place who will grab meaningful market share.