by Andrew Reichek | Jul 30, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Greg Sexton, chief operating officer for Century 21 Real Estate, describes the brand’s 45-year-long philanthropic involvement with the Easterseals.
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I’ve devoted almost 30 years of my career to what I think is one of the most significant pillars of our society — turning a house into a home and using an address as a home base for community building. I know this idea resonates widely across our industry, and it’s why real estate professionals are so passionate about what they do.
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We know that people who own homes have higher levels of civic engagement — that’s a fancy term for being aware of and supporting the needs of your community. Our primary role as real estate agents contributes to this simply by being the facilitator of homeownership. But it goes much further than that for so many of us.
We don’t just help our clients buy and sell homes; we are also heavily invested in our communities through volunteering, fundraising, donating and serving. Real estate agents don’t just provide real estate service to their cities and towns; they live there, too, and work tirelessly to make them better places for everyone.
In that vein, I’d like to offer my thoughts on how we as an industry can take our commitment to community to the next level.
Lead by example, literally
Last year, I was honored to be appointed to the Easterseals National Board of Directors. To be clear, this leadership role didn’t just drop into my lap. It was the result of the Century 21 brand’s long-time and fruitful partnership with the organization.
Over the past 45 years of our work with Easterseals, we have raised more than $135 million to support adults and children with disabilities. Our contributions have helped Easterseals further its mission of empowering people with disabilities to be full and equal participants in society.
As a member of the Board of Directors, I have been able to lend my insights and experiences to actively guide the organization in a way that ensures the continued focus on its important mission. For Century 21 Real Estate, we have taken our support to the next level with this leadership opportunity.
I urge you to think about ways you can take your own philanthropic efforts to the next level. Can you join a committee, spearhead an initiative, throw your hat in the ring for leadership roles?
Prioritize philanthropy in your business
Don’t view charitable activities as separate from your business. Incorporate them into your overall business strategy. Participating in charitable efforts can lead to increased business opportunities. While generating more business shouldn’t be the sole motivation, it is a natural outcome of a well-rounded business plan that includes giving back to your community.
Philanthropy should also be an inherent part of your organizational culture. At my brokerage, agents affiliated with our brand learn about our relationship with Easterseals from the moment they join. We emphasize that Easterseals is a core component of our identity as community servants through real estate.
Create a collective focus on community impact
The Century 21 International Week of Giving is a prime example of how a collective focus on philanthropy can make a significant impact. We started this initiative three years ago as a way to mark our brand anniversary while bringing into focus our long-standing commitment to the community.
The first-ever International Day of Giving showcased the community giving efforts of the Century 21 network members around the world. Based on its success, the initiative was expanded to a full week the following year in 2023.
While many companies affiliated with our brokerage’s brand support Easterseals, they also support local efforts in their backyards. Creating an awareness week like this is an impactful way to remind clients and communities of the work that goes on all year long. It also strengthens the sense of community and purpose within each of our local brokerages.
Our 45-year relationship with Easterseals has shown that giving back is not just an obligation but a core part of our identity.
By integrating philanthropy into our business model, we contribute to our communities’ well-being, enhance our brand’s reputation and foster a culture of giving. Real estate professionals have a huge opportunity to make a lasting impact in their communities, and I urge you to seize it now.
Greg Sexton is Chief Operating Officer for Century 21 Real Estate, a post he has held since 2013. Connect with Greg on Linkedin.
by Jason Waugh | Jul 30, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
At the new Homes.com, we always present the listing agent and only the listing agent on any home for sale on our site. Our philosophy is that the leads on an agent’s listings are theirs alone and not anyone else’s to pilfer and sell. This is not a new principle for us. CoStar Group has operated dozens of industry-leading real estate websites for decades and has always operated on this “Your Listing, Your Lead” philosophy because it is the right thing to do for buyers and agents alike.
When a potential buyer reaches out to the listing agent on a home for sale, that’s a potentially valuable lead no agent should be forced to give up. If that lead comes in, the listing agent who knows the house best can answer any questions the buyer has, and if the buyer has a buyer’s agent, the listing agent can then work with the buyer’s agent to sell the house and earn a commission. In some cases, the buyer may not be represented yet, allowing the listing agent to earn a referral fee by referring the buyer to another agent in their brokerage to earn an additional commission. Often, the agent receiving the referral will return the favor, generating future buyer agency commissions for the listing agent.
Many times, the home the agent is listing is not the perfect fit for the buyer, so the listing agent can offer their expertise in the market to the buyer as a buyer’s agent and earn another commission. While it may not be legal in all states or permitted at all firms, hundreds of thousands of agents are able to perform dual agency, and that listing lead can significantly increase their commission.
The importance of portals respecting Your Listing, Your Lead goes beyond commission dollars. Agents put tens of thousands of hours of hard work into building their brands and reputations as real estate experts that deliver the best results for their clients. The most important asset an agent has is their reputation. Indeed, the biggest signal to homebuyers and sellers in search of an agent is the listing sign that shows that someone else has entrusted that agent with selling their home.
But like newspaper classifieds listings, signs in front lawns are no longer all that relevant. According to a 2023 NAR report, 100 percent of buyers now search the internet when buying a home, making agents’ online presence far and away their most important brand-builder.
With “Your Listing, Your Lead,” Homes.com is the first and most agent-friendly site that 100 percent of the time presents the listing agent, their photo and their brand, prominently letting the world know that that agent is a trusted expert. Homes.com has presented agent names to potential buyers and sellers 40 billion times so far this year.
Homes.com is committed to Your Listing, Your Lead because it is a more honest and transparent way to do business. Every seller, every buyer and every agent I speak with thinks Your Listing, Your Lead creates a better homeshopping experience for all.
by Kristine Milkovich | Jul 29, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Release of historical credit scores on tens of millions of loans will help lenders prepare for transition to VantageScore 4.0 next year. Release of FICO Score 10 T data next on deck.
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Mortgage lenders continue prepping to use new more inclusive credit scoring models that regulators want them to adopt next year as part of an initiative to make the process of qualifying borrowers more fair and competitive.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this month released historical data aimed at smoothing the adoption of the new VantageScore 4.0 model. The mortgage giants say they’re working with their federal regulator to make similar historical data for the FICO Score 10 T available “as soon as possible.”
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The plan put in motion by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) two years ago calls for lenders to start using the new Vantage 4.0 and FICO Score 10 T scoring models during the fourth quarter of 2025 for any loans they deliver to Fannie and Freddie.
“The release of historical credit scores on tens of millions of loans provides an extensive resource to help market participants prepare for this transition,” FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said in announcing the release of VantageScore 4.0 data. “The use of these modernized credit score models will enhance risk management while furthering sustainable access to credit for consumers.”
In addition to requiring lenders to phase out the Classic FICO scoring model that’s been in use for nearly three decades, the FHFA will also allow lenders to deliver loans with credit reports from any two of the nationwide consumer reporting agencies, instead of obtaining “tri-merge” reports from all three. The move to give lenders the option of ordering “bi-merge” credit reports is aimed at simplifying the process and saving borrowers money.
In launching an inquiry into mortgage “junk fees” in May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it was concerned about the rising cost of credit reports and scores.
“To lower costs for credit reports in mortgage lending, limiting chokepoints from specific data monopolists is critical,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra told industry leaders attending the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention this spring.
Credit reports from the big three consumer reporting agencies are used to generate credit scores for individual borrowers. Those scores have traditionally been generated using algorithms developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO).
Lenders typically pay the credit reporting agencies for each individual credit score, and agencies pay a licensing fee to FICO. VantageScore is a joint venture of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — formed to develop credit scoring models to compete with FICO.
“Single credit reports now typically cost between $18 to $30 for an individual report, $24 to $40 for a joint report, and $40 to $60 for a tri-merge report provided by resellers,” Chopra said. “When mortgage credit reports and scores are requested for a mortgage underwriting decision, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion typically set the wholesale price that resellers pay, which is then passed on to users. This is often implemented through an additional fee as compensation for their services in the underwriting process.”
Chopra also noted that when FICO changed its pricing structure in November, moving away from volume-based pricing, smaller lenders saw their costs go up by more than 400 percent.
“For 2024, FICO now charges consumer reporting companies a licensing fee of $3.50 per FICO score used, or approximately $10 for all three scores if a lender obtains a tri-merge report and score bundle,” Chopra said. “That fee doubles if two borrowers apply together.”
On the company’s second-quarter earnings call, FICO CEO Will Lansing said the company is “catching up from 30 years of frozen pricing” and price increases are intended “to close the gap on the value that we provide relative to what we charge.”
FICO has been increasingly willing to share its pricing in the interests of transparency, he said.
“It’s important for everyone to understand that we’re talking about single-digit dollars in a bundle that costs the consumer about $6,000,” Lansing said of total mortgage closing costs.
More inclusive, accurate scoring
In addition to introducing competition, backers tout the new VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10 T credit scoring models as more inclusive and accurate.
VantageScore claims that when lenders are required to begin using VantageScore 4.0 next year when qualifying borrowers for loans that will be sold to Fannie and Freddie, that the eligible pool of mortgage applicants will increase by over 2.5 million borrowers, representing $1 trillion in potential new mortgages.
“This is an important and necessary step to modernize the outdated and exclusionary credit scores that lenders in the conventional-conforming mortgage market have been forced to use,” VantageScore executive Anthony Hutchinson said in a statement.
Fair Isaac claims that lenders using the FICO Score 10T can boost originations by up to 5 percent without taking on additional credit risk, or continue the same volume of lending while reducing default risk and losses by up to 17 percent.
A growing number of lenders already use the FICO Score 10 T to qualify borrowers for non-conforming mortgages that aren’t eligible for purchase by Fannie and Freddie.
In April, Fair Isaac said it had signed clients with $100 billion in annualized mortgage originations to use the FICO Score 10 T. Those lenders include CMG Mortgage, CrossCountry Mortgage, Movement Mortgage, Primis Mortgage and Liberty Home Mortgage. FICO is also signing lenders through a strategic relationship with Lenders One Cooperative, a national alliance of independent mortgage bankers, banks and credit unions.
On Monday, FICO announced a partnership with the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA) in which it will provide its “Score A Better Future” credit education curriculum to mortgage professionals pursuing NAMMBA’s Certified Community Lender (CCL) certification.
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by Bernice Ross | Jul 29, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Industry leaders argued Monday that artificial intelligence will continue disrupting real estate and that leaders must learn how to harness it.
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Technology has been disrupting real estate for years now, but at least one CEO thinks the impact of artificial intelligence is going to be unlike anything the industry has seen so far.
“I absolutely think it’s here to stay,” Malte Kramer said on Monday, adding that “AI is fundamentally different because it impacts every part of the value chain. Everything is getting more efficient. This innovation cycle will be faster than previous innovation cycles.”
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Kramer, the founder and CEO of real estate software company Luxury Presence, made the comments while on stage Monday at Inman Luxury Connect. During the session, he repeatedly argued that AI will have a major, and potentially positive, impact on real estate, and at one point ticked off a list of AI tools he already uses. Those tools, he said, often help with either task management or content creation, and can save industry pros both time and effort.
“AI happens to be amazing at translating unstructured data into structured data,” he said, noting that many real estate professionals hate data entry — meaning the tech can cut down on unpleasant work.
Kramer also advised Luxury Connect attendees to find someone within their organizations who enjoys and understands artificial intelligence and who can keep leaders informed about the field.
From left to right, moderator Holly Meyer Lucas, Malte Kramer and Kevin Van Eck at Inman Luxury Connect Monday. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Kramer appeared on stage with Kevin Van Eck, president of affiliate strategy at Christie’s International Real Estate. Van Eck agreed with Kramer that artificial intelligence is likely to stick around, in part because there is currently “so much funding and innovation behind it.” But he also cautioned industry leaders that they are likely to receive pushback if and when they roll out new AI tools for their agents. After all, few people immediately enjoy change.
However, Van Eck advised those leaders to “stand firm” because “you know it’s going to make agents more successful.”
“You have to support it,” he added.
Van Eck ultimately concluded that AI will only continue to get better, arguing that the tech “is the worst today that it’ll ever be.” And, he suggested, the people who learn how to use it will have significant advantages in the future.
“You’re not going to be replaced by AI,” Van Eck said. “You’re going to be replaced by others who know how to use it.”
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by Zillow | Jul 29, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
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Several days after Move and CoStar Group’s latest filings, former Realtor.com editor James Kaminsky’s counsel filed a new statement outlining Kaminsky’s recollection of events and stating his support of CoStar’s request for expedited discovery.
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“I have not engaged in any work at CoStar that competes with Move’s News & Insights group, nor have I assisted anyone at CoStar in doing so,” the filing read. “I am currently on administrative leave. I have no access to CoStar’s computer system and am doing no work for CoStar other than assisting with the response to Move’s lawsuit.”
In the 36-page declaration of support, Kaminsky detailed his “surprise” layoff from Move, his attempts to delete “financial, personal and medical information” from Move-owned devices and email accounts before returning them to the company, and the reason for accessing documents Move said included trade secrets. The former editor also explained his decision to work for CoStar Group, saying it was a good opportunity in an “extremely tight” media job market.
“My new job at CoStar is entirely different from my prior job at Move. I readily disclosed my new job and its responsibilities to several people at Move; I was proud of it,” the filing read. “I never imagined that Move would have any issue with it at all and certainly never tried to hide it from Move.”
“Given all of the Move personnel who I met with and described my new role, I am shocked and surprised that Move informed the Court and claimed in the press that I am engaged in an effort to build a news department at CoStar to rival the News & Insights department I ran at Move,” it continued. “It is again simply not true.”
Kaminsky said Move notified him of the layoff on Jan. 10, noting that his last day with the company would be Jan. 12. In those two days, Kaminsky said he began downloading personal information from Move-owned devices, including his 2023 pay stubs, old W-2s and credit card information. He also downloaded recent performance reviews, Christmas gift cards from colleagues, pictures of his new home and medical information for his two children, both of whom have special needs.
After securing his personal information, Kaminsky said he realized he needed to “remember the high points” of his 8.5-year career at Realtor.com, so he added his personal email address to several News & Insights Google documents in anticipation that Move would shutter his work email address.
“There was nothing secretive here: I gave myself access by inviting myself to them with my named email, [redacted]” the filing read. “In my experience at the company, we would not infrequently see names appear on documents that we did not expect to be there – we would just remove them. It was not a very secure system.”
“The fact that I could grant permission to my personal email address [redacted], not a Move.com email address, to access the documents suggested to me that the documents were and are not highly significant proprietary documents,” it added. “Certainly, I did not expect that anyone at Move would be concerned by my access to these documents. The documents did not, in my view, contain highly sensitive materials.”
Kaminsky said the files at the center of Move’s theft of trade secrets claim included sheets he created outlining his team’s salary and bonuses, an ongoing list of Realtor.com News & Insights stories, a “2022 or 2023” presentation on audience and revenue projections, and two other files with passwords to third-party subscriptions, WordPress instructions, and staff contact numbers.
Kaminsky said he “briefly viewed” the document with salary information to help him calculate an appropriate asking salary during his job search and clicked the document with audience and revenue projections, not knowing what it contained. However, after looking, he said it contained an audience presentation that “[jogged] his memory” about previous work accomplishments. He said he accessed both of those files before starting his position with CoStar on March 11.
The next time he accessed a Move-owned file was on May 31, when he needed help calculating the correct tax withholding for his CoStar paychecks. During the search for old paystubs in the emails he’d forwarded himself from his Move email account, he came across emails notifying him of the Move-owned documents to which he added his personal address and opened them.
“I recall being surprised that I still had access to the documents and that the links were still active,” the filing read. “I clicked through the documents to see what they were and to satisfy some basic curiosity. None of the documents were relevant to my work at CoStar.”
Kaminsky said he rapidly clicked through some of the documents, noting that a few were hundreds of pages long. Although he accessed those documents, Kaminsky said he never used them for his work at CoStar or shared them with CoStar colleagues or leadership, as his job with CoStar focuses on managing a team that writes listing descriptions for high-end condominium and co-op buildings in NYC.
“My job at Move was to manage a department in which we identified, wrote, and published news articles designed to draw traffic to the Realtor.com website regarding a wide range of economic and business issues relating to residential real estate and more pop culture articles about celebrities and their homes,” the filing read. “The writings are connected on the website to listings relating to those buildings; it is not a stand-alone feature designed to drive traffic to the website.”
“To my knowledge, CoStar does not track traffic at this time to this portion of Homes.com,” it continued. “I have never seen any statistics about audience traffic, and I have never been asked to focus on growing Internet traffic.”
Kaminsky said he accessed one final document on June 9, the day Move said it became aware of Kaminsky’s actions. That document, he said, was titled, “News & Insights content decks.” The link, and several others, was dead, he said.
“To be clear, I no longer have access to any of the four documents that, in its Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Move alleges contain trade secret information. I did not print the documents, save them externally or otherwise preserve them in my records,” the filing read. “I have never shared the records with anyone at CoStar, or used them in any capacity in the course of my work for CoStar or in any way in competition with Move.”
“To establish that I have no access to any of the documents Move alleges contain trade secrets, I have already provided my work and personal computers and electronic devices to a forensic examiner who I understand CoStar and my counsel retained for the purpose of establishing the facts relating to the Complaint and the Motion for Preliminary Injunction and supporting our defense against the baseless claims Move has asserted against CoStar and me,” it added.
CoStar has put Kaminsky on administrative leave as the Virginia-based company battles Move over its July 23 ex-parte request (i.e., the expedition of an order without giving the other party time to oppose) for an Order of Protection preventing the disclosure of confidential and trade secret information during the discovery process. Especially sensitive documents, Move said, should only be available to Move’s counsel and CoStar Group’s outside counsel.
CoStar answered back by requesting expedited discovery and the rescheduling of the preliminary injunction hearing from Aug. 15 to Sept. 19. In its filing, CoStar’s counsel said the expedited discovery would allow both parties to access unredacted versions of previous filings and accompanying exhibits so each side can submit a “more fulsome briefing” ahead of the preliminary injunction hearing.
CoStar leadership, including General Counsel Gene Boxer, has framed Move’s lawsuit as a “PR stunt” in the midst of an intensifying battle over website traffic performance. Meanwhile, Realtor.com has been reserved in its commentary over the suit, with a spokesperson saying the company doesn’t file lawsuits “frivolously” and will “litigate in the courts, not the media.”
A judge reviewed Move and CoStar’s ex-parte requests on Monday. A ruling is expected soon.
Read Kaminsky’s statement below:
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by Kendall Bonner | Jul 29, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Luxury homebuyers are used to paying big bucks for quality service. That’s partly why several Luxury Connect panelists in Las Vegas think the NAR settlement won’t make a huge splash in the higher price points.
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The impending changes from the national commission settlements continue to confuse and worry many real estate agents — especially in the lower and middle price tiers.
But whatever impact the NAR deal ends up having on the market for first-time homebuyers and typical sellers, luxury agents and brokers who spoke Monday at the Inman Luxury Connect real estate conference in Las Vegas said they don’t anticipate high-dollar buyers would be inclined to skimp on their agent’s commission in light of the change.
“One of the things about luxury buyers: They’re very accustomed to paying for expertise,” said Jennifer Lind of Coldwell Banker. “They’ve got a lot of trusted advisors that are managing multiple pieces of their world. And … most of our agents feel very comfortable in their ability to negotiate.”
In other words, if pressed to cover their agent’s fee themselves, luxury buyers are likely to foot the bill.
Tammy Fahmi, senior vice president of global servicing and strategy for Sotheby’s International Realty, said that she still thinks that luxury sellers are unlikely to take a hardline approach — even with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line.
“I think that remains to be seen,” Fahmi said. “We’ve always been consistent in saying that we believe that there are many reasons why sellers should continue to offer buyer broker compensation, one of which is to make sure as many buyers are exposed to [a listing] as possible.”
Thad Wong, co-CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate, said that the commission changes are not meaningfully impacting business or agent-client relationships.
In conversations with clients, Wong said, the commission changes are “coming up much less [often] than the way agents feel. If one customer talks with an agent about the lawsuit, it feels like everyone’s doing it because it brings so much anxiety.
“So it’s much more of an industry issue than it is a market issue.”
In most markets, Wong said he doesn’t think the lawsuits are going to have the impact that is most feared. He also said that these changes are coming at a fortunate time for both the luxury market and homes in lower price tiers.
“Aside from Austin and some places in the country, we still have low inventory in many major markets, and we still have low luxury inventory,” Wong said. “So it’s a very, very good time because the buyer agent is only more significant right now in finding properties and searching.”
Echoing Wong, Fahmi said that Sotheby’s has not seen any substantial issues with clients navigating the upcoming changes, and doesn’t expect them to pop up in great numbers in the luxury space.
But all of these panelists on Monday agreed that this moment represents an opportunity for luxury agents to get more organized and prepared to defend the value they bring to the buyer side of the transaction. If they do, luxury buyers will be able and willing to pay for their services if needed, they said.
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