by Kevin Van Eck | Jul 25, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
The merger with the team managed by Esther Ozuna continues the growth of an Atlanta team that has ranked among the RealTrends 100 nationally in recent years.
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Keller Williams Heart of Atlanta Group announced on Thursday that it had picked up another team with the addition of 11:11 Realty Group.
The firm said it had picked up the team led by Esther Ozuna, who is president of the Women’s Council of Realtors Atlanta and a board member of the Atlanta Realtors Association.
“Esther has long been an influencer and promoter of opportunity in various real estate spaces that I have admired for many years,” said Manny Recinos, team leader of Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta. “To have her and the 11:11 group join our Keller Williams family here in Decatur is an honor and we look forward to all we will accomplish together in the future.”
Recinos said that by merging with 11:11 Realty Group, Keller Williams Heart of Atlanta Group would look to continue scaling in the region.
The group was founded in 1996 by Rick Hale and is currently managed by operating principal Brett Caldwell. It has ranked among the RealTrends Top 100 Real Estate Brokerages nationwide in recent years.
“My vision for 11:11 Realty Group was to cultivate a culture with a strong dedication to our diverse clientele and ensure that culture stands out,” Ozuna said.
“Additionally, I aimed to adopt a forward-thinking approach towards the Atlanta market and the opportunities it offers to both our agents and clients. Having grown in the industry over the years, I am now thrilled to partner with Keller Williams Metro Atlanta as we align closely in our vision and share a hopeful outlook for the future; drawn particularly to their standout education, office culture, and technology offerings.”
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by Jonathan Pressman | Jul 25, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Delta Media Group published a white paper on Monday detailing the benefits of brokers adopting all-in-one tech solutions in the face of decreasing transaction volume.
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The real estate industry must pivot away from tech “frankenstacks” and lean into the power of artificial intelligence-based all-in-one solutions, according to a new analysis by Delta Media Group released Monday.
The 28-page white paper, “Future-Proofing Your Real Estate Brokerage,” cites costly third-party vendors and “disjointed” tech stacks as top reasons why many all-in-one solutions fail for brokerages and agents.
Michael Minard | Credit: LinkedIn
“Agents are burdened by the weight of standalone tools meant to simplify their lives,” Delta Media Group CEO Michael Minard said in the report. “Unfortunately, this jumbled chaos of disjointed applications, dubbed ‘frankenstacks,’ has become a monstrous obstacle to growth and productivity. These patched-together systems fail to deliver the streamlined experience that modern real estate professionals crave.”
“As the industry pivots to the reality of fewer transactions,” he added, “this outdated marketing approach is quickly losing ground to a sleeker, more efficient,and highly affordable contender: the all-in-one marketing platform.”
Delta Media Group is an all-in-one solutions provider that counts Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and Coldwell Banker franchises as well as several leading independent brokerages among its client base.
The paper said all-in-one solutions offer brokerages enhanced data flow and accessibility, improved operational efficiency, an enhanced customer experience, and a holistic view of business processes that enable brokers to quickly shift their financial and growth strategies.
The healthcare, retail, finance and travel industries are already reaping the benefits of all-in-one solutions, as evidenced by health records platform MyChart’s 15 percent increase in patient use, Walmart’s 40 percent online sales boost, banks’ and consumers’ rapid adoption of Plaid to easily connect their financial accounts, and Marriott’s 5 percent increase in mobile bookings.
“A consistent theme across these industries is the move towards streamlined processes,” the report read. “Time and resources are precious commodities, and any technology that can help reduce waste, simplify tasks, and enhance operational efficiency is worth consideration.”
The number one factor that’s stopped real estate from fully embracing the all-in-one trend is the fallacy that using multiple best-in-class solutions will automatically yield a best-in-class experience for agents, Delta said. The chase for the latest and greatest tool causes brokerages to waste time and money and heightens frustrations among agents who attempt to adopt new systems.
“This approach can prove to be a costly and time-consuming endeavor for any brokerage,” the report read. “That’s because real estate firms invest significant resources in acquiring, maintaining, and updating these separate technologies, only to find that they quickly become outdated as new innovations emerge.”
“Agents, like most professionals, value stability and familiarity in their work processes,” it added. “They are more likely to stick with the tech they know, even if it may not be the most cutting-edge, to avoid the disruption and time investment required to start anew.”
The report said the emergence of artificial intelligence makes adopting all-in-one solutions the best approach, as AI can manage mundane tasks on the backend and create a more engaging experience for consumers on the front end.
“By centralizing data from various sources, such as property listings, client interactions, and market trends, an all-in-one platform can create a rich tapestry of information and insights,” the report said. “Leveraging AI and machine learning, brokerages can analyze this data to identify patterns, predict trends, and generate actionable recommendations.”
“The future of residential real estate, enhanced by AI, promises a landscape where precision, efficiency, and insight drive success and sustainability in the ever-evolving real estate industry,” it added.
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by Summer Goralik | Jul 25, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
California is home to nearly half of all cities where it costs at least $1 million to buy a starter home. Nationwide, 237 cities are now “million-dollar” cities.
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A typical starter home costs at least $1 million in 237 cities in the U.S., a huge spike since the pandemic, according to a new report Zillow released on Thursday.
That’s nearly three times the number from before the pandemic, when the typical starter home cost at least $1 million in 84 cities, the report found.
California accounted for nearly half of all cities on the million-dollar list, with 117 cities, followed by New York with 31 and New Jersey with 21.
“Home buyers are battling affordability and availability today. So much so that $1 million is the norm for a starter home in hundreds of cities,” said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow. “However, it’s looking more and more like there will be some good news ahead for first-time buyers. More homes are for sale, price cuts are on the rise, and buyers have a few more days to weigh their options as homes sit on the market.”
Starter homes are defined as those in the lowest third of home values for a given region.
The typical starter home costs $196,611 in the U.S., Zillow said. That’s up 54.1 percent over the past five years, a growth rate that exceeded the price increase for the typical home over that same span of time.
The New York metropolitan area — which includes parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania — has more million-dollar cities than any other area, Zillow said. San Francisco was second on the list, followed by Los Angeles, San Jose, Miami and Seattle.
Those tend to be markets with more restrictive zoning codes that make it more difficult to build new housing, Zillow noted.
“Markets with the most restrictive building regulations tend to have more cities with $1 million starter homes,” Zillow said. “They are also markets with lower homeownership rates.”
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by Michael Zaransky | Jul 25, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
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In the most recent development in allegations of sexual assault and rape against luxury brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, new reports claim that executives at their long-time firm, Douglas Elliman, and their most recent white-label partner, Side, knew about allegations of sexual misconduct while the brothers were associated with the firms.
Individuals familiar with the matter who spoke with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal alleged that Oren had warned at least one senior executive at Douglas Elliman that he might be publicly accused of sexual assault. The executive reportedly dismissed the conversation at the time and did not think about it further.
“The recent lawsuits and press reports concerning the Alexanders are shocking and disturbing, and Douglas Elliman expresses the utmost sympathy for anyone who may have been a victim of sexual assault by them,” a representative for Douglas Elliman said in a statement emailed to Inman.
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Three former members of Tal and Oren’s real estate team at Douglas Elliman told The WSJ that Oren would frequently boast about his sex life and show off pictures of him and his brothers — including security executive Alon Alexander who has also been accused of sexual assault and rape — with naked women.
Tracy Tutor of Million Dollar Listing LA fame also came forward to The New York Times and alleged that she had been drugged by Oren Alexander at a party in 2014.
“I am still struggling to remember the details,” Tutor said, claiming that after sharing a drink with Oren, she blacked out. “Staying silent for so long has been damaging on so many levels, and remembering now what happened feels debilitating.”
Another Douglas Elliman agent said he found Tutor that evening in a bathroom with Oren and removed her from the room. The agent did not disclose his name out of fear of retaliation. He said he informed a top executive at the firm about the incident at the time but did not file a formal complaint.
Barbara Wagner, a public relations executive who worked with Douglas Elliman for more than 16 years, also came forward to The Times to confirm that allegations against the Alexanders had been floating around the firm for a long time. Wagner now runs her own firm and is not affiliated with Douglas Elliman.
“These allegations were so widespread that they were common knowledge in the residential real estate industry for more than a decade,” Wagner said.
Top Douglas Elliman agent Jessica Cohen also reported being hospitalized after a party spent with all three Alexander brothers in 2010, although exactly what transpired is unclear. Time-stamped photos sent to The NYT show Cohen spending time with the brothers throughout the evening. A medical report shows that a bystander found her alone in the street that night and called 911. Later, she woke up at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai West Hospital; her vomit-covered clothes had been taken off her.
In trying to piece together what happened that night, Cohen said she talked it over with other Douglas Elliman colleagues, including former CEO Dottie Herman. Douglas Elliman said Herman had no recollection of the conversation.
Then in 2012, Cohen also recalled that evening in confidence to Douglas Elliman Inc. President and CEO Howard Lorber over a game of chess, telling the exec she believed she may have been drugged by Tal and Oren. She asked Lorber to keep the incident a secret, out of fear of the consequences if it went public.
“I was terrified,” Cohen told The NYT. “I was afraid they would hurt me.”
A Douglas Elliman representative said that no formal complaint was ever issued and that Lorber wanted to respect Cohen’s wishes regarding confidentiality.
“Douglas Elliman is committed to fostering a workplace environment that is safe, comfortable and free of sexual assault or harassment,” the firm said in a statement sent to Inman. “As to Oren and Tal Alexander, the Company never received any complaints of sexual assault or harassment, nor was management aware of any such claims. Had any such complaints been received, those complaints would have been thoroughly investigated consistent with our policies and procedures, as has been the case with complaints made from time to time against others at the Company over the years.
“Over at least a decade ago, a broker told a senior executive about having blacked out at a social event,” the statement continues. “She said that she did not know what, if anything, happened, she did not specify who may have been involved, and she insisted on absolute confidentiality. Douglas Elliman respected her wishes, and she has been a valued colleague at the company since then. Another senior executive who the broker says she separately spoke to has no recollection of speaking with the broker about this subject.”
The NYT report states that on at least two separate occasions before Tal and Oren signed on to launch Official with white-label firm Side, different brokers raised concerns to Side’s leadership. A statement sent to Inman from Side, however, suggests that such conversations could not have taken place, since the firm upholds a policy of confidentiality prior to launching new partnerships.
“Side does not share information about partnerships with outside agents prior to the actual launch of the new company, so it is not possible that agents from other brokerages could have informed anyone at Side about these allegations before the launch of the firm,” an emailed statement from Side said. “The first time we heard about the allegations was a day before they were published. We never would have moved forward with or maintained a partnership had we been aware.”
Brian Meier, who was with Douglas Elliman for over a decade and is now affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, said that at a dinner he was invited to with Side executives, he was specifically asked what he knew about sexual assault allegations against the brothers. Meier reported much of what others have also said as the investigation has continued — that their reputation for sexual assault had been an open secret in the industry for years. He also said that it was known throughout the firm that Lorber was aware of at least one such case.
“Side knew about this stuff and still went forward with them,” Meier told The Times.
A New York-based female broker who wished to remain anonymous also told The NYT that she told then-Side executive Meredith Moore she would not work with the company if it partnered with the Alexanders.
Moore then passed those concerns along to CEO Guy Gal but received little reaction. Moore was included in a series of Side layoffs a few weeks later.
“I passed along the message, but there did not seem to be a sense of urgency,” Moore said. “He did not bring it up again.”
The revelations about the Alexander brothers’ former brokerage firms having some knowledge about their problematic history with women comes a few weeks after news broke that the brothers have become the target of an FBI probe. Dozens of women have now made public their alleged encounters with the Alexanders, recounting stories of being drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped by them, sometimes in coordinated attacks.
There are currently two active lawsuits against Oren and Alon, and one against Oren, Alon and Tal. The incidents referenced in the lawsuits date back to 2010 and 2012.
Tal and Oren both stepped down from their positions as co-founders at Official last month.
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by Marian McPherson | Jul 25, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Konrad Bicher, 32, was sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to a long-running short-term rental scam that earned him more than $1 million and his “Wolf of Airbnb” nickname.
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A Florida man who became the self-proclaimed “Wolf of Airbnb” while defrauding Manhattan landlords and taking advantage of eviction protections during the COVID-19 pandemic was sentenced this week to his next booking: four years in prison.
The 32-year-old Konrad Bicher received his sentence on Monday after pleading guilty to a charge of wire fraud last year. He was also ordered to fork over nearly $4 million in restitution and damages.
Bicher stole over $1.1 million through a scheme that included renting 18 apartments in New York City and subletting them on Airbnb while not paying the landlords. He avoided being evicted thanks to pandemic-era protections for renters.
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Prosecutors also said he stole over $565,000 from the government’s pandemic relief program and also failed to pay landlords more than $1 million in rent.
“Bicher enriched himself by abusing Government programs and tenant protections intended to benefit people and businesses in need during one of the worst economic and public health crises in history,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “He bragged about his schemes to his friends and the media, proudly referring to himself as the ‘Wolf of Airbnb,’ but as today’s sentence underscores, those who partake in such callous and fraudulent conduct will answer for their crimes, no matter their self-given title.”
The scheme actually began before the pandemic, prosecutors said, with Bicher beginning to rent apartments in Manhattan starting in February 2019.
The leases prohibited Bicher from subletting to third parties on a short-term basis.
He continued renting the apartments out on short-term platforms until the scheme came to an end in April 2022.
“During the course of the scheme, Bicher referred to himself as the ‘Wolf of Airbnb’ and explained to media outlets that this nickname referred to the fact that he was ‘hungry and ruthless enough to get on top of the financial ladder,’” prosecutors wrote. The nickname was a reference to notorious Wall Street trader Jordan Belford, whose story became a hit 2013 film by Martin Scorsese.
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by Debra Trappen | Jul 25, 2024 | Industry, News Feed
Learn how this South Florida luxury and pre-development specialist forges strong professional partnerships and creates a collaborative environment.
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Name: Peggy Olin
Title: President and CEO
Experience: Opened OneWorld Properties 16 years ago, but has spent nearly 30 years in the industry.
Location: Miami, Florida
Brokerage name: OneWorld Properties
Team size: 61
Sales volume (lifetime): $5 billion
Awards:
- South Florida Business Journal’s Power Leaders 2024
- Commercial Observer’s 2024 Power List South Florida
- Bisnow’s Women Leading Real Estate 2023
- South Florida Business & Wealth Prestigious Women’s Award 2023
How did you get your start in real estate?
My first job was in private wealth banking. While working there, I saw an opportunity to enter the real estate industry and recognized the potential for growth in this field.
I quickly learned about pre-development sales and focused my career in selling projects throughout South Florida. In 2008, I established OneWorld Properties during the housing market crash. Since then, I have facilitated over $5 billion worth of luxury real estate transactions, attracting clients from across the U.S. and 60+ other countries.
Tell us about a high point in your brokerage career
We have been fortunate to develop strong relationships with renowned developers from around the world through networking and building our portfolio. These developers are shaping the future of urban living in Downtown Miami including Naftali Group, Related Group, The John Buck Company, Aria Development Group, Merrimac Ventures, Royal Palm Companies and more. Each of their projects offers unique features, innovative designs, top-notch amenities, and prime locations.
Due to these partnerships and our deep understanding of the market, we have established a significant presence in downtown Miami. We have sold over 2,500 units and played a key role in the vision for Miami Worldcenter. We have witnessed the neighborhood’s transformation from a place with few attractions and retail options to a thriving global hub at the heart of an emerging city.
What’s your top tip for freshly licensed brokers?
Network, network, network! It is essential to build relationships with experienced agents in your office and within your community to offer your clients the best experience.
What makes a good leader?
To me, a good leader is someone who possesses a combination of skills, qualities and knowledge that empower them to effectively manage their team and navigate the complexities of the market.
What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Everyone is approachable if you have valuable and helpful information to share. They will appreciate it. There is no need to be afraid to reach out and add value to their organization.
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