JND Legal Administration, the company tapped by lawyers to oversee administrative tasks around the Gibson settlement, sent mail out to millions of potential class members earlier this year.
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More than 10 million homesellers have been — or will be — inundated with notices that they might be entitled to receive payment from the proposed commission settlements by a handful of real estate brokerages.
JND Legal Administration, the company tapped by lawyers to oversee administrative tasks around the commission lawsuit known as Gibson, has sent more than 10 million postcard notices to potential class members, as well as more than 27 million email notifications, since March, according to additional legal documents JND provided to Inman.
JND is also running ad campaigns across print, TV and digital media to further reach consumers who might be able to file claims, according to the documents. The efforts highlight both the massive scope of the settlements, as well as highlight the fact that they are moving forward outside the courtroom.
“If you sold a home and paid a commission to a real estate agent, then you may be part of class action settlements,” the notice states. Already, more than 700,000 of the postcards have been returned as undeliverable.
Alternatively, they have until Oct. 3 to ask not to be included in the settlements, or to object to them.
A final public hearing regarding the settlements by Compass, Real, Redfin, Realty One, @properties, Douglas Elliman, Engel & Volkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate is scheduled for Oct. 31.
Not every brokerage listed in the Gibson suit has reached a settlement agreement, and the total settlement pool could grow in the weeks ahead. EXp Realty is the largest firm to not yet reach a settlement agreement.
Homesellers might be eligible if they listed their homes in the following areas and timeframes:
On an MLS in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin, or Wyoming between Oct. 31, 2017 and July 23, 2024
On an MLS in Nevada between Jan. 15, 2018 and July 23, 2024
On an MLS in Arkansas, Kentucky, or Missouri between Oct. 31, 2018 and July 23, 2024
On an MLS in California between Oct. 2, 2019 and Jul 23, 2024
On an MLS anywhere in the United States, other than in the states listed above between Oct. 31, 2019 and July 23, 2024.
Former USANA Health exec Donald Cherry will now lead eXp Realty’s sustainability efforts. Cherry is the fifth high-level hire or promotion eXp has made this year.
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EXp Realty has hired former USANA Health Sciences executive Donald Cherry as its new vice president of sustainability, according to an announcement on Friday. Cherry will spearhead efforts to improve the company’s ethical, social, environmental, cultural and economic impact on agents and consumers.
We are excited to welcome Donald to our team,” eXp Realty Chief HR Officer Renée Kaspar said in a written statement. “His wealth of experience and dedication to sustainability will play a key role in advancing our initiatives. Donald’s proven track record speaks volumes, and we trust he will guide us in creating a more sustainable future for eXp Realty.”
Donald Cherry | Credit: LinkedIn
Cherry spent 18 years with USANA, working his way up from a project specialist to the executive director of corporate sustainability, a role he held for almost four years. During his time as USANA’s executive director, the company was recognized as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies and one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity by Newsweek magazine.
The University of Utah and Northeastern University grad was also honored as one of Utah Business’s ‘Forty under 40’ for his work in the sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion fields.
“I am excited to join eXp Realty and lead their sustainability efforts,” Cherry said. “I look forward to working with the team to create impactful sustainability initiatives that will contribute to the company’s growth and success.”
Cherry is eXp’s latest high-level hire this year.
The cloud-based brokerage also hired leading marketing strategist Wendy Forsythe and star broker Kendall Bonner in April and promoted former Chief Strategy Officer Leo Pareja the same month. The brokerage also promoted industry veteran and DOORA co-founder Troy Palmquist from director of growth to VP of growth and product marketing in June.
A University of Washington study revealed iBuyers give Black homeowners better offers than they receive on the open market. However, those offers potentially come with some longterm tradeoffs.
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Black homeowners have long struggled to experience the same gains as their white counterparts during the selling process. They grapple with slower home value growth, especially if they live in a majority-minority ZIP code. And when it’s time to sell, they disproportionately receive low-ball appraisals and buyer offers — two more roadblocks in Black Americans’ quest to build long-term wealth.
The Information School team zeroed in on Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which has 1.1 million residents across six cities: Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Cornelius, Pineville, and Mint Hill. Charlotte accounts for almost 900,000 of Mecklenburg’s 1.1 million residents and has a Black population of 35 percent. IBuyers achieved solid results in Charlotte, reaching 8 percent market share in 2021.
The team accessed 50,000 publicly available property transfer records from 2018 to 2023 for Mecklenburg County and then cross-referenced those records with North Carolina voter rolls, which provide racial data. From there, the team controlled for 50 factors, including home size and neighborhood crime rate, and found the offer gap between Black and white homeowners shrunk from $36,051 on the open market to $4,436 with iBuyers.
The gap shrunk due to the fact that iBuyers paid Black homeowners $4,376 more and white homeowners $27,239 less, on average.
“There’s very little reason for us to believe that there’s some purposeful intervention going on here,” senior author and associate professor Nic Weber said in a prepared statement. “iBuyers are paying Black homeowners a little bit more, but not significantly more. Rather, iBuyers don’t seem to be willing to pay white homeowners what they might be able to earn if they sold through a traditional broker.”
Although Black homeowners are getting better offers through iBuyers, UW’s team said iBuyers are contributing to trends that hurt Black homeowners and homebuyers in the long term. Institutional buyers have an outsized presence in the iBuyer space, with institutional ownership for white-owned homes increasing from 9 percent on the open market to 17 percent in the iBuyer market and 33 percent to 36 percent for Black-owned homes.
Institutional buyer activity is connected to higher housing costs and eviction rates, two factors that disproportionately impact the Black community.
“These real estate investment trusts tend to look for cheap homes that they can buy and convert to rentals so that they can profit over decades,” Weber said. “So this change in conversion rate from people to institutions is troubling because in the U.S., one of the substantial ways that people gain wealth and transfer it between generations is through homeownership.”
Added doctoral student Isaac Slaughter, “iBuyers are offering a service. They’re making the home sale process faster and simpler. While our analysis in Mecklenburg suggests iBuyers are extending some disadvantages that Black home sellers tend to face to white home sellers as well, we don’t know that people are experiencing these sales as generally harmful or whether they’re aware of the tradeoffs that are involved.”
The UW team plans to extend their research to Maricopa County, Arizona, and Orange County, Florida.
A longtime thorn in Zillow’s side, Left and his firm Citron Capital LLC face charges from the DOJ and SEC that they profited by taking positions in companies that were the opposite of what they told investors to do.
At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
Stock analyst and trader Andrew Left — whose Citron Research firm was a thorn in the side of Zillow and dozens of other companies whose business practices he questioned in influential reports — has been indicted by the Department of Justice for alleged stock market manipulation.
A frequent commentator on business programs on CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg Television, Left is accused of stating publicly that companies he’d researched were undervalued or overvalued — then taking positions in the companies that were the opposite of what he’d advised investors to do.
The 19-count indictment, filed by the DOJ in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Thursday, claims Left used his social media following and public platform to earn at least $16 million by fraudulently manipulating the stock market from March 2018 to October 2023.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also announced charges against Left and his firm, Citron Capital LLC, on Friday, alleging in a complaint that Left engaged in a multi-year “bait-and-switch” scheme to defraud his followers of $20 million.
Citron Research did not immediately respond to Inman’s request for comment. On its website, Citron boasts that more than 50 companies it raised questions about in its coverage from 2001 through 2008 later came under scrutiny by regulators.
Citron initially made a name for itself by taking short positions in companies that it claimed had adopted unprofitable business practices or engaged in outright fraud. Short sellers profit by borrowing and selling shares in companies they think are overvalued, then buying them back at a lower cost.
In a 2013 report, Citron predicted Zillow’s stock would fall to $30 per share due to a “lack of appeal among their customer base” and the company’s allegedly “precarious position in the real estate industry.”
“The Citron report, written by a company known for being paid by short-sellers who stand to financially benefit from falls in Zillow’s stock price for such reports, is anything but accurate and thorough,” Zillow said of the report at the time.
In 2019, Citron Research flipped its position and said it was bullish on Zillow, touting the return of co-founder Rich Barton as CEO.
When news of Left’s indictment broke, Zillow co-founder and former CEO Spencer Rascoff posted, “This was a long time coming,” on the social media platform X.
In recent years, Citron expanded beyond singling out companies it thought were overvalued and good targets to short and also began touting companies it saw as promising opportunities for investors to take a long position in.
In its indictment, the DOJ characterized Citron Research as little more than “an online moniker” that Left created as a vehicle for publishing investment recommendations. In 2018, Left formed Citron Capital LP, a hedge fund incorporated in Delaware and registered as an investment adviser in California.
The SEC accuses Left of using the Citron Research website and related social media platforms on at least 26 occasions “to publicly recommend taking long or short positions in 23 companies and held out the positions as consistent with his own and Citron Capital’s positions.”
Once the recommendations were issued and the companies’ share prices moved up or down, “Left and Citron Capital quickly reversed their positions to capitalize on the stock price movements,” the SEC alleged. “As a consequence, Left bought back stock immediately after telling his readers to sell, and he sold stock immediately after telling his readers to buy.”
Left, 54, previously lived in Beverly Hills but now resides in Boca Raton, Florida, the SEC said.
“Andrew Left took advantage of his readers. He built their trust and induced them to trade on false pretenses so that he could quickly reverse direction and profit from the price moves following his reports,” Kate Zoladz, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office, said in a statement. “We uncovered these alleged bait-and-switch tactics, which netted Left and his firm $20 million in ill-gotten profits, and we intend to hold Left and his firm accountable for their actions.”
Andrew Left at Real Estate Connect San Francisco
When Left appeared onstage at Inman Real Estate Connect San Francisco in 2018, he was introduced as “a skeptic on equity markets and valuations.”
In a discussion with then-Warburg Realty President Clelia Peters and Mauricio Umansky, CEO of The Agency, Left was asked about the market capitalizations of publicly-traded companies seeking to carve out a bigger share of the real estate business.
“I mean, it’s amazing that Netflix is worth more than Disney, right?” Left said. “Obviously, if you look at, you know, Tesla and General Motors or Ford, it’s a phenomenon that happens across [industries] — which is that Wall Street pays a lot of money for disruption.”
“I think everyone knows that Tesla has disrupted,” Left said. “As a fact, the car industry, everyone is going to make electric cars in the next 10 years. And I think with the real estate business it’s still pretty much up in the air. Is it Redfin? Is it Compass? Is it Zillow? Who’s going to be the ultimate disrupter? So in the meantime, let’s just give them all big valuations.”
July is Luxury Month at Inman. Tune in as we survey the evolving luxury market, explore emerging trends, and talk to top producers and influencers in the ultra-luxury space about how they got where they are today and the insights they’ve gained along the way. The month culminates with the announcement of the expanded Golden I Awards live onstage at Luxury Connect (July 29-30) in Las Vegas.
After a bustling season of international sporting events, the capstone is finally at-hand: The 2024 Paris Olympics.
Officially beginning today, the Paris Olympics will bring tourists from across the globe eager to take in the sights, sounds and tastes of one of Europe’s most popular destinations. But will it also serve as a springboard for travel — and real estate transactions — farther afield?
As a longstanding model for tasteful luxury, France embodies “quiet luxury” in its lifestyle, and in more remote regions, “quiet life” travel trends that have risen in the past several years. These trends reflect a growing demand for understated luxury living, and its travel counterpart, which has travelers seeking out calm countrysides and secluded beaches to encounter a more peaceful travel experience.
As individuals travel to Paris for the Olympics this summer, will they latch onto these trends, and embrace them when it comes to real estate?
France-based luxury agents said that, given reports of unusually low tourist demand, positive impact on the market may be delayed, but could still arrive later in the season as a “showcase effect” after seeing the city’s assets highlighted on TV. Many Parisians have fled the region amid the Games, according to reports.
Clinton M. Perrot-Schwartz | Engel & Völkers
“My feeling is that things will remain relatively calm during the remainder of the summer months, with a likely increase in activity expected in September and October as people return to the city,” Clinton M. Perrot-Schwartz, an advisor with Engel & Völkers France, said in an email to Inman.
Even with fewer physical visitors this summer, the Games have the potential to serve as a bridge to the country’s quiet luxury market.
Demand for travel to the Games is less than Olympic-sized, but agents aren’t fretting
The Games are the first that Europe has hosted since the 2012 London Olympic Games, and it appears that Paris overestimated tourist demand for the event. As of early July, occupancy rates were down 25 percent compared to previous years and hotels have slashed rates by about 40 percent from a year ago in an effort to book rooms.
The city has also implemented a variety of restrictions on moving about, designating numerous zones and regulations for traveling through them, depending on the mode of transit. Remarkably, all three Paris airports will also be closed Friday, the evening of the opening ceremony, as the area becomes a no-fly zone.
Agents said the city has been quiet, with few locals or visitors milling about.
“As of today, there has been a noticeable reduction in apartment visits, as many Parisians have left the city for the duration of the Olympics,” Perrot-Schwartz said in the last week of July. “It also appears that the usual influx of tourists has not materialized to the expected extent, with many international visitors, including many of my American clients, choosing to defer their trips to Paris until after the games to avoid the anticipated crowds.”
Historically, cities that host the Olympic Games can experience a boost in tourism after the fact, however, in response to visibility from media coverage of the Games and resulting infrastructure improvements. Perrot-Schwartz pointed to the extension of Paris’ metro Line 14, which now directly links to Orly Airport, an improvement helpful to locals and tourists alike.
“Overall, I believe these developments will bolster Paris’s reputation as a prime destination for both tourism and real estate investment,” he said.
Marie-Claire Sangouard | Engel & Völkers
Marie-Claire Sangouard, managing director of Engel & Völkers Côte d’Azur, added, “For the Olympics, the cities put on their best face, which has the added benefit of renovating and extending the property stock and its surroundings. In the end, property prices are all the better for it.”
Other France-based luxury real estate experts told Inman that the country, and Paris in particular, has such enduring appeal among American and other international investors that something like the Olympics was unlikely to move the needle much among would-be buyers.
“American buyers have always been present in Paris,” Marie-Hélène Lundgreen of Belles demeures de France Fine Residences Christie’s International Real Estate told Inman. “They represent 25 percent of our international buyers, so it’s the most important quota after European buyers, [which] represent 32 percent.”
Frederic Barth | Sotheby’s International Realty
Since there’s already such a strong affinity with American buyers in Paris, and the country more broadly, Frederic Barth of Côte d’Azur Sotheby’s International Realty in the south of France said that the Olympics would essentially be irrelevant to his local market.
“The Paris Olympic Games are unlikely to have a significant impact on real estate in the Côte d’Azur, and even less so among American investors, who are already familiar with Europe and frequently visit destinations like Italy, Paris, the Côte d’Azur and Spain,” Barth said in an email. “The Côte d’Azur already enjoys a strong reputation and does not need the boost from the Olympics.”
The quiet life
Agents agreed that France, of all places, knows how to do “quiet luxury,” the understated luxury trend that displays wealth and taste in a more restrained fashion and has taken the luxury world by storm. Its mastery of the trend could help bring even more attention on the country’s way of life as its popularity continues.
“Isn’t the definition of ‘quiet luxury’ the epitome of French luxury, all refinement and discretion?” Sangouard in Côte d’Azur mused.
Delphine Gibert-Avitan | Sotheby’s International Realty
The trend, Delphine Gibert-Avitan of Propriétés Parisiennes Sotheby’s International Realty said, is indeed “embodied through an emphasis on timeless elegance, quality craftsmanship, and discreet sophistication” in the French real estate market. “Properties often feature high-quality materials, historical significance, and thoughtful design that prioritizes comfort and privacy over ostentation. The trend aligns with the French appreciation for subtle refinement and enduring value, favoring serene, private residences over flashy displays of wealth.”
The quiet luxury trend has also permeated the travel sector in a fashion with the rise of “quiet life” travel, Pinterest noted in its summer travel report. Searches for “quiet places” and “calm places” have increased by 50 percent and 42 percent, respectively, since last summer, with many travelers searching for a digital detox. Other top-desired components of quiet life travel include solo travel, wellness retreats, “village vibes,” the countryside and island life, according to Pinterest.
Travelers who decide to explore Paris and other parts of France either during the Olympics or in its wake may find themselves falling into the quiet life of luxury.
“As for the south [of France], thanks to the continuing favorable climate and the massive influx of Parisians who preferred to leave the capital during the Olympic Games or simply took their holidays, rentals and sales are not being outdone either,” Sangouard said. “Tourists from all over the world are also taking advantage of the Olympic Games to continue or start their journeys in the south of France and come to enjoy the French lifestyle.”
Those seeking out quiet luxury and the quiet life may be drawn to the hinterlands, Barth said, with their stone houses, wooded plots and tranquility. Because their quiet attractions have drawn more visitors, some of these areas are seeing a bump in development, he added.
“Regarding real estate activity, this trend is now fostering development in charming villages that were previously overlooked.”
Americans, don’t be fooled
When working with Americans, France-based agents said one of the biggest misconceptions they encounter is that the transaction will play out in similar ways as it does in America. But things are done pretty differently.
Sonya Clarke | Engel & Völkers
“Things in France are slower, less transparent and very bureaucratic, so they should take time to choose a good agent who can take them through everything in their own language and who understands the meaning of ‘service,’” Sonya Clarke of Engel & Völkers Côte d’Azur said in an email. “The French way of life, which is the ‘charming,’ ‘quiet-luxury-life’ is perfect once you are settled, but can be frustrating when looking to buy a property — if everyone is enjoying a long lunch and not working evenings and weekends … well, you can see how it could be.”
At the end of the day, that “bureaucratic” process is made to protect buyers and sellers, Sangouard said, which is good for American investors to keep in mind.
Once an offer is accepted, it can take several months for a transaction to close, Gibert-Avitan added, and most documents are written in French, which means many Americans may need to enlist a translator or the services of a bilingual lawyer.
Perrot-Schwartz, an American who married into a French family, has gone through the process first-hand of learning how the French transaction is conducted differently than the American version, and draws on his dual experiences to help American clients.
Marie-Hélène Lundgreen | Christie’s International Real Estate
“I try to bridge this gap with my clients so that their purchasing experience is as seamless and stress-free as possible,” Perrot-Schwartz said. “For me, there are few things as satisfying as helping fellow Americans successfully and skillfully navigate the French real estate market.”
Those differences and potential added hoops aside, Lundgreen said that Paris, especially, represents the dream lifestyle come true for many Americans, which makes it all worth it.
“[Americans] don’t buy in Paris to make an investment for business reasons,” Lundgreen said. “It’s just for pleasure, because it’s Paris. It’s the clients who tell us it’s the most beautiful city in the world. It offers everything.”
The 2024 Paris Olympics may serve to fuel that dream further.
At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1, 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
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