In this week’s Real Estate Roundup, Steve spoke with Terry Story, 31-year veteran with Keller Williams, about the excellent state of the country’s economy, with housing inventory and employment levels on the rise. Steve and Terry also looked at some predictions that realtors made ten years ago.

Things Are Looking Up In Real Estate

There are a lot of positive changes happening. The real estate industry is hot. New home sales jumped 17% in December. Construction of new homes has increased significantly. In fact, Terry says, “if you look at new construction by region, the Northeast is up 25%. In the Midwest, construction is up 37%. And the West is up about 20%.”

The South is a bit of a different story. It’s only up 9%. Why? Steve suggested that perhaps the South already has enough new construction or that there’s just not enough land left to build on.

But the good news continues. The economy is thriving. The employment level is rising. The stock markets are at record highs. And, while home prices have risen, they’re only about 3% to 5% higher. And the employment and investment numbers mean that more people have more money, money they can spend on a new home.

Past Prediction One: Streamlining Home Sales

In 2010, a group of respected realtors was asked to offer predictions about things that might happen over the next ten years. This was a project called 2020 Re-envision. The realtors’ first prediction was that real estate agent commissions would go to a flat fee. Basically, the realtors were talking about companies popping up that wanted to control every aspect of selling a house. They would then simply employ agents to open doors, and agents would then receive a flat fee.

This prediction only came true for a few companies in a very small market. Terry never really bought into this idea of cutting out the real estate agent. She explained, “People like working with other people. And the truth of the matter is that selling real estate and buying real estate, it’s a very emotional experience.”

Prediction Two: Technological Changes

The second prediction the realtors made in 2010 was that technological advances would be used by realtors. This prediction has indeed come true.

Terry and her colleagues use 3-D imaging when showing homes, even doing a 3-D tour of a home. In addition, they also use a type of augmented reality or “virtual staging”. She reported, “We can take a home that’s empty and, with a computer, place furniture in it. A lot of people can’t visualize what a home could look like otherwise.”

Past Prediction Three: Less Office Work, More Service

The realtors also predicted that there would be a decline of commercial offices in favor of co-working and flexible office space. In terms of commercial sales, Terry isn’t sure if this prediction came to fruition. But she did note that for residential sales, a lot of realty companies’ brick and mortar stores are closing or consolidating. “If you really think about it, most realtors aren’t working out of an office. They’re out in the field, showing homes, talking with builders, etc. So, real estate agencies don’t need huge office buildings anyway.”

If you’d like to learn more about buying or selling a home, check out Keller Williams.