In Case You Missed It: August 2018

By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator & Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager 

Summer is coming to an end and I think most of us are excited for it to cool down (but also for the holidays, sweaters, and an excuse to go to bed a little bit earlier). August was another exciting month for all of us at MoxiWorks and for the industry as a whole. So as per usual, we wanted to sort through the weeds and deliver the most notable headline summaries for this month.

Here are the top five real estate news stories to know:

1. “Talk of the inventory drought easing up”

Pop a bottle of bubbly because apparently there’s some easing up on inventory shortages. However, on the unfortunate side of things, it’s mostly in the higher-priced tier of homes. According to RISMedia, “In July, the inventory of listings priced $350,000-plus was up 5.7 percent but inverted in the lower segment—dropping 15.6 percent at $200,000 and under. Inventory in the $200,000-$350,000 range slipped 0.6 percent.” Plus, they said that, “inventory is down 4 percent year-over-year, which is half the average 8 percent observed in the past year, and inventory in 16 of the largest markets has risen year-over-year.” That’s some good news.

2. “KW to launch virtual brokerages for expansion business owners”

Keller Williams is diving into virtual brokerages. When was this decided you ask? Keller Williams had a Mega Camp aka business retreat and announced it there. According to Inman, the “new business model will be available to 166 expansion businesses, representing 509 locations and 3,433 real estate agents.” Alright, alright, alright.

3. “NAHB: Affordability Hits Lowest in 10 Years”

In less thrilling news, things are getting seriously expensive and many of us can’t afford to hop into the housing market just yet. In fact, according to the National Association of Home Builders, affordability has hit its lowest in 10 years. And only “57 percent of homes sold in the second quarter were affordable based on income, down from roughly 62 percent in the first quarter.” #WhyTho

The most affordable major metro in the second quarter, based on income and local median price was Syracuse, New York.

4. “Deadly California Wildfires Claim Lives and Real Estate”

On a serious note, our heart goes out to all those in California who have had to deal with the wrath of the many fires burning, destroying, and devastating communities across the State. Just one fire in California alone burned “160,049 acres across Shasta and Trinity counties (at press time), as well as destroyed over 1,000 homes, 24 commercial buildings and 500 other structures.” To all the insanely brave firefighters out there, we salute you and thank you.

5. “Compass to acquire Pacific Union in blockbuster deal”

Compass is acquiring Pacific Union International Realty (who is based in San Fran and did a casual $14 billion in sales last year) and the announcement was a bit of a plot twist. 

P.S. In other random real estate news, there’s a Men of Real Estate shirtless swimsuit calendar featuring Keller Williams agents in Chicago. Did not see that one coming. 

Phew – what a month. Any guesses for the biggest headlines in September? Stay tuned for another #ICYMI!