Inman Connect is moving from Las Vegas to San Diego in 2025 and it’ll be bigger, better, and bolder than ever before. Join us for Inman Connect San Diego on July 30-Aug. 1, 2025 with the brightest minds in real estate to shape the future of the industry. Reserve your spot today for an exclusive discount.

Online reputation manager Real Grader has landed an enterprise deal with Anywhere, according to an announcement Wednesday.

Real Grader, a 2023 member of NAR REACH, offers software that measures the social reach of real estate agents, as well as their impact on business research sites like Google My Business and LinkedIn. In an era of shotgun digital marketing, it’s common for agents to spray content across a wide array of internet destinations with no real way to gauge its effectiveness — or risk.

The software makes informed recommendations for adding value to agents’ web-based personas and can automate the creation of digital business cards agents can share with clients to encourage online engagement and referrals.

Real Grader CEO and co-founder Alex Montalenti said in a statement that the partnership will help his company scale rapidly, and do so with the help of a highly recognizable industry entity. Anywhere, among the largest real estate holding companies in the U.S., is the parent of numerous national and global real estate brokerages, including Coldwell Banker, ERA and Century 21.

“This relationship is about empowering agents to reach and expand their sphere of influence, build their reputation and grow their social media presence,” Montalenti said. “We even offer an automated social media posting service along with training and education for agents who need more help with technology. This drives both positive business outcomes and compelling experiences for agents and consumers.”

Real Grader was reviewed by Inman in 2020. Among its highlights was the emphasis on Google My Business, an oft-neglected but critical cornerstone of effective search engine marketing. It also helps agents stay on top of how well they perform on YouTube and Instagram, two of the world’s most watched video content platforms.

“The service makes sure your digital footprint and all else that matters online is accurate and consistent across the following eight platforms: Google Business, LinkedIn, Zillow, Homes.com, Realtor.com, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram,” the 2020 review states.

“That’s much more work than it seems and just as important,” the review added. “Up-to-date online profile content is also crucial to search engine optimization and marketing.”

Email Craig Rowe

Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025.

Concerns about housing affordability and an impending election stunted pending home sales growth in July, according to the National Association of Realtors pending home sales report on Thursday.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) declined 5.5 percent month over month to 70.2, the lowest PHSI since NAR began tracking contract signings in 2001. All four regions experienced monthly declines in July, with the Midwest (-7.8 percent to 67.8) and South (-6.5 percent to 83.5) posting the biggest losses.

TAKE THE INMAN INTEL INDEX SURVEY FOR AUGUST

Lawrence Yun

“A sales recovery did not occur in midsummer,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “The positive impact of job growth and higher inventory could not overcome affordability challenges and some degree of wait-and-see related to the upcoming U.S. presidential election.”

Several economists said pending home sales won’t improve until existing-home median prices and mortgage rates make a meaningful decline.

First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi said a decrease in purchase mortgage applications “confirms [the] disappointing news” about pending home sales. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest survey said purchase mortgage applications declined 9 percent year over year, despite an 80-basis-point decline in mortgage rates over the past year.

“Average monthly purchase applications have declined in July and August, despite a decline in mortgage rates and increase in housing inventory,” she said in an emailed statement. “Modest improvements in affordability may not be enough to significantly boost demand, as household incomes remain stretched relative to mortgage payments.”

Echoing Kushi, Realtor.com Sr. Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones said a good chunk of homebuyers simply cannot afford to “participate in today’s market” and pending sales will continue to reflect that frustration until affordability improves.

“Recent mortgage rate improvement stoked buyer demand to some degree, but many buyers are holding out for more significant rate movement before getting into the market,” she said in an emailed statement. “As has been the case over the last couple of years, today’s housing market hinges on affordability.”

“Though inventory has improved significantly year over year, and homes are spending more time on the market, today’s home prices have not fallen significantly from year-ago levels, and are just a few thousand dollars below the 2022 peak,” she added. “As a result, many buyers, though eager, still cannot afford to participate in today’s market, and home sales, including pending home sales, still lag year-ago levels.”

Neither economist said what the magic mortgage rate would be; however, an Aug. 27 Inman Intel and Dig Insights survey of 3,000 working U.S. adults pinpointed a range of 5.5 to 5.0 percent.

“If mortgage rates fell below 5.0 percent, it would convince 25 percent of renters to seriously reconsider their reluctance to buy in the next 12 months,” the survey read. “But sub-5-percent rates would only convince 16 percent of homeowners who are reluctant to buy in the next year to reconsider.”

Even if rates reached sub-5 percent, lacking existing-home inventory would likely keep the market from experiencing the sales rally agents are looking for.

“More new housing construction could be part of the puzzle,” the survey added. “But if builders can’t keep up, rates might have to fall to 4 percent or lower before renters and homeowners warm to the housing market at similar rates.”

Email Marian McPherson

Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025.

Four title companies in the District of Columbia have agreed to pay a total of about $3 million for alleged “illegal kickback schemes” in which the companies gave financial and other perks to real estate agents in return for homebuyer referrals.

District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced the settlement on Thursday, saying the “conflict of interest-plagued, anticompetitive arrangements” hurt homebuyers’ ability to shop around for the best service and artificially inflated their homebuying costs.

“District residents are entitled to make fully informed decisions about how to spend their hard-earned money, especially when it comes to making the high stakes purchase of a home,” Attorney General Schwalb said in a statement.

The companies, which denied wrongdoing, are affiliated businesses that were allegedly created by title insurers to split profits with real estate agents who referred business to them.

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) – federal law governing the provision of mortgage-related services – allows such affiliated business arrangements if they meet specific requirements intended to protect consumers.

Washington, D.C. law “is more stringent and does not have such an exception,” prosecutors noted in announcing the settlement.

“These four companies violated the most fundamental principles of a free and fair marketplace: they hid information from consumers, limited their choices and hurt other businesses that play by the rules. Today, we’re exposing and putting an end to these elaborate, secretive and illegal kickback schemes.”

As agents know, title insurance is required by lenders in order to protect the lender against unexpected costs that might arise from a challenged property title (borrowers can also purchase owner’s title insurance separately). It is not uncommon for homebuyers to be connected with title companies through the guidance of their real estate agent, and the fees often end up being some of the most expensive that they pay at the closing table, after agent commissions.

With the findings from Schwalb’s office, officials are now wondering just how widespread the practice of agents steering buyers to certain title companies in return for a cut of the profit is, and how much it is impacting homebuyer costs across the country.

The title companies that Schwalb’s office identified as engaging in the schemes included Allied Title, KVS Title, Modern Settlements and Union Settlements. The Attorney General’s office found that all four companies gave real estate agents discounted investment opportunities if they referred clients to the company. Modern also offered ownership interests in the partnership without requiring agents to make an upfront investment, and Allied gave agents yacht parties on the Chesapeake Bay in exchange for referrals.

As part of the civil settlements, all companies denied wrongdoing.

The practice of kickbacks in exchange for referrals became more widespread in the wake of the pandemic when the housing market surged, academics and real estate professionals told The Wall Street Journal, as a means for title companies to gain more market share.

The findings are just another knock on the title insurance industry, however, which has already been scrutinized by the Biden administration because of how much its services add to homebuyer expenses. The administration has been looking for ways to lower upfront mortgage costs, and Fannie Mae has requested permission to launch a test pilot program that would waive title insurance on low-risk mortgage refinancings.

The settlement also contributes to the poor public reputation that real estate agents have faced in the wake of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) antitrust settlement, which followed accusations from homesellers that agents and other industry players artificially inflated commissions, increasing costs to homesellers. Yet another allegation of anticompetitive practices that potentially harm consumers while filling agents’ pockets could significantly damage the industry’s already weakened reputation.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to note that federal law allows affiliated businesses that meet consumer protection requirements mandated by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

Email Lillian Dickerson

Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025.

Nick Bailey, an industry veteran who previously served as CEO at RE/MAX and Century 21, has joined real estate consulting and analytics firm T3 Sixty as chief real estate officer, the company announced on Thursday.

As chief real estate officer, Bailey will focus his efforts on business development, enterprise-level consulting projects and representing T3 Sixty at industry events, a press release explained.

TAKE THE INMAN INTEL INDEX SURVEY FOR AUGUST 

“Nick has proven capabilities leading brands and brokers to productive changes; this future-forward perspective is needed right now as the residential real estate industry re-engineers itself following the recent practice and business impacts of the compensation lawsuits,” Jack Miller, president and CEO of T3 Sixty, said in a statement.

Added Bailey, “T3 Sixty is an unparalleled leader in real estate solutions and transformation, offering objective best practices and innovative new thinking to brokerages wishing to drive meaningful change. With their focus on data-driven insights and strategies, there’s no better time to team up than now.”

Bailey’s career in the real estate industry has spanned nearly 30 years. Most recently, he served as RE/MAX’s president for about one year and then held duel positions of president and CEO for about two years. Prior to that, he was the company’s chief customer officer for about two years. He also spent a large portion of his early career in regional management positions at RE/MAX.

Bailey left RE/MAX in February and was replaced by Amy Lessinger. At the time, few details were shared about the reason for his departure.

Additionally, Bailey has served in executive positions at Century 21 and Zillow. In all these most recent executive positions, Bailey played a major role in strategic growth, brokerage operations, tech integration and agent productivity.

This marks the first time a T3 Sixty executive has served as both president and CEO at two major, public franchisors, a press statement noted. Bailey has been named one of the top 100 most influential leaders in the industry by the Swanepoel Power 200 rankings for the last five consecutive years, earning 10th place this year. He also received Inman Innovator awards in 2018 and 2021.

“I am deeply humbled by the incredible depth of experience and leadership we have amassed at T3 Sixty,” Stefan Swanepoel, executive chairman and founder of T3 Sixty, said in a statement. “Together, we are not only helping shape the future of our industry, but also ensuring that our clients have access to some of the most informed, forward-thinking guidance available.”

T3 Sixty opted to forgo the release of its Mega 1000 list this year in response to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) antitrust settlement. The list, typically released every year, ranks the U.S.’s top 1000 largest brokerages by sales figures. Because of the litigation, the company had received several requests from brokerages to not be included in this year’s ranking.

Email Lillian Dickerson