real trends 500
Issue 128 - March 31st, 2023
Today’s post is an appreciation post for our entire company at Pinnacle Realty Advisors, and most importantly our agent community across 4 (soon to be 5) states for being named to the Real Trends 500 list for the first time.
“RealTrends has been ranking brokerage firms for 34 years, and for the RealTrends Nation’s Best rankings, brokerage firms have to have a minimum of 500 transaction sides to apply. This year, in the middle of a very tough housing market, there were 1,561 firms that qualified (RealTrends 500 combined with RealTrends Nation’s Best), down from 1,700 last year.
Yet again, California, Florida and Texas were the states with the most brokerage firms ranked in the Nation’s Best.”
We were ranked #151 in the “Private Independents” Category which is defined by Real Trends in this manner: Privately held brokerage firms that are corporately owned and do not franchise. Brokerages are ranked by transaction sides in 2022.
Our company has been on fire (in a good way) recently, and we are excited to keep growing in 2023! We are now active in (almost) 5 states - Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, and soon to be launching North Carolina. We see the current turbulence in the market as an incredible time to grow and show our strength and dedication to our agents in such a wild time. We would love to speak with you if you want to hear more about our firm and the world’s first BaaS “brokerage as a service” platform we are building at Pinnacle Realty Advisors.
I am thankful to work with such a great team at our firm, and I am PUMPED to keep building with our mission to deliver a world-class brokerage platform for real estate agents.
Newsworthy Links To Share
Pinnacle Realty Advisors’ CEO on brokerage as a service business model
Office property REIT values are falling towards financial crisis lows as vacancies rise. We are already well below pandemic lows.
Commissions lawsuit now a class action, greatly increasing its scope
A judge ruled that the Moehrl suit would now cover all sellers who paid commissions to named companies over a 5-year period, plus “current and future” sellers.
Cross-Country Movers Largely Undeterred By High Mortgage Rates
Redfin.com user search data shows that 14% fewer homebuyers looked to move within their own metro area than a year earlier in February, compared with a 4% drop for out-of-town movers.
Commercial real estate poses a challenge for the financial system as around $270B of loans will mature in 2023, with many of them supported by vacant office buildings. (CRE Daily)
More home purchase contracts include employment contingency clauses as the market softens. Previously, contracts included financing and home inspection clauses, but those became rarer during the pandemic as residential real estate demand soared. Now, with the balance of power shifting back to buyers, more purchase offers are coming conditional on the buyer remaining employed at time of closing. “These provisions appeal to tech and finance workers rattled by recent waves of layoffs.” (WSJ)
A country divided: In all 12 major housing markets west of TX (including Austin), home prices fell in January. But east of CO (excepting Austin), home prices rose YoY. (WSJ)
Real Brokerage Raises Fees for Agents, Keeps Commission Cap
Real Brokerage CEO Tamir Poleg said the brokerage should be adjusted-EBITDA profitable by the third quarter.