In Case You Missed It: September 2018

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

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s finally Fall. That means we can spend more time focusing on hitting our Q4 goals and less time sitting in our own sweat – hooray! September was chalk-full of events and news stories that impacted the real estate industry, so without further ado, here are the top five stories to know:

1. RISMedia’s 2018 Real Estate CEO Exchange

RISMedia held their 2018 Real Estate CEO Exchange. Our CEO had some takeaways. Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® CEO/President, Paul Boomsma, totally rocked the keynote – to say the least.

A couple key quotes from Boomsma via RISMedia:

“There are 350 languages spoken in the U.S., and 22 percent of the country now speaks something other than English at home,” added Boomsma. “We need to be thinking about inclusivity, and be inclusive of all groups,” citing the growing influence of the Asian American, Hispanic and LGBTQ segments.

“The world, in my opinion, is so filled with noise,” said Boomsma. “I think part of our job is to provide a certain amount of peace. Being gracious is something that’s been overlooked, and I think it’s something we have an opportunity as leaders to instill in our organizations. Gracious people are kind and their behavior is characterized by tact. Graciousness may be superficial, but sometimes what’s on the surface is good enough.”

Paul – thank you.

2. “Hurricane Florence: 42 Deaths, Housing Shortages and Increasing Flooding Dangers”

As we all know, Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas and wreaked havoc on the entire region. Over 42 people lost their lives to the hurricane. There has been over $22 billion in damage done. RISMedia said that, “According to realtor.com, the hurricane could create a months-long stall in home sales and construction.” If you would like to donate to The South Carolina REALTORS® Foundation for disaster relief efforts, please do so here.

3. “Zillow breaks into lead referral business”

Inman News says that Zillow is “testing a new referral service in Florida that could shake up how it does business, and for the first time in the company’s history, earn a piece of the real estate commission pie.” No word on how big that piece will be, but the program will fall under their Premier Broker lead-gen umbrella.

4. “Compass rolls out ‘Coming Soon’ pre-marketing blitz nationwide”

“Compass Coming Soon” allows agents to market their properties before they are listed on the MLS. Some are saying this is shady, others are saying that this is by no means in the same category as whisper listings, especially since they don’t appear to anyone and everyone on the brokerage’s site. Makes sense to us.

According to Inman News, “Indeed, early or exclusive listings are extremely common, particularly among high-end clients who expect to know about a property before it hits the market. Some of the properties currently listed in Compass’ off-market category include a $3.95 million mountain villa in Aspen and a $5.3 million home in the Hamptons.” We’ll let you be the judge.

5. “Hamptons agent serenades buyers with original country song about $2M property”

Capping off this month’s #ICYMI is a story that should give you a bit of laugh. Apparently when life gives you lemons – and a great voice – you write a country song about your listing. Why not, right? After watching that video it’s clear this Douglas Elliman agent, Telly Karoussos, is definitely not afraid to break out the guitar and do something quirky to sell a home. While the Hamptons home has gotten its moment in the spotlight, the listing is still on the market with plenty (too many) photos of said guitar with it.

What do you think October has in store for us? I have a feeling some people out there will make headlines for questionable Halloween costume choices. Which reminds me, take a moment to think before you decide to wear costumes to work! If even a teeny tiny part of you is thinking, “hmm don’t know if this is appropriate,” then it’s not appropriate. I guess what I’m saying is, don’t give us more to write about!

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for another #ICYMI!