In Episode 95 of the RealTrending podcast, Steve Murray, senior advisor to HW Media, compares and contrasts the 2020 earnings for the publicly held national real estate companies, the impact of mortgage forbearance on single-family, investor-owned homes and analyzes the current inventory issue.
Here is a small preview of today’s interview. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:
2020 Earnings Reports : For Redfin, the closed transactions and gross revenue from brokerage were both up at faster rates than the national rates were. Their brokerage revenues were up 25% compared to a growth of about 12.8% in residential gross commission revenues for the whole industry. Redfin had a very solid, respectable year. However, we question their market valuation and the expectations for Redfin. Perhaps those numbers should be stronger.
Single-Family, Investor-Owned Rentals: I recently read a research report that focused on the millions of single-family investment properties owned by private Americans. Why does this matter? We have rental moratoriums throughout the country. These are impacting a lot of mom-and-pop private investments in single-family residential. Most people estimate there could be between 8 and 12 million single-family homes owned by private individuals. Many brokers and agents listening to this podcast may own one or two. Many have mortgages on those properties. It is unknown how many of them have filed for forbearance on their own mortgages.
Inventory Issues: Agents are uncovering inventory and buyers are finding that inventory before it hits the MLS. That could be skewing the inventory reporting numbers. This doesn’t mean we don’t believe those numbers. We do believe those numbers and that inventory is scarce. One tactic we’re hearing about is people are accessing financial service companies like Knock, who could help with bridge loans to encourage sellers to sell because they can immediately secure a home they want.
RealTrending features Steve Murray, founder and partner with RTC Consulting and a senior advisor to HousingWire. He offers insight and analysis on three trending real estate issues. Steve’s 30+ years in the industry allows him to give you a deeper understanding of today’s real estate business happenings. Hosted by Steve Murray and produced by Victoria Wickham.