Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate is celebrating its 10th anniversary with new industry insights and a white paper, the company recently announced. The findings are the latest expression of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate’s decade-long commitment to educating and empowering the real estate community, while continuing to inspire transformational change.
Developed in partnership with residential real estate news outlet RISMedia and the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), respectively, these new resources proactively identify key industry trends, with a shared focus on spotlighting the challenges and opportunities facing brokers and buyers in an ever-evolving market.
“For the past 10 years, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has been a champion for sparking disruptive, data-centric conversations that empower industry professionals across the globe,” says Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. “We are proud to celebrate our brand’s 10-year anniversary by collaborating with thought leaders who share this mission, giving voice to two important industry narratives. As Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate continues to establish its legacy, we look forward to further cultivating a brand that embodies the future of real estate, and promise to continue pushing boundaries on behalf of industry professionals and consumers in the decades to come.”
Industry Survey: Brokerage State of Affairs
“What Keeps Brokers Up at Night”, an industry survey created by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in partnership with residential real estate news outlet RISMedia, offers an exclusive look at evolving trends that will continue to transform the industry in 2018 and beyond. The U.S. brokerage owners surveyed represent a wide swath of company structures, from small enterprises with single-digit teams to those with more than 400 offices and 13,000 associates. The average age of respondents ranged from 51 to 70, and those surveyed hail from all regions of the country. The research explores the most pressing issues on the minds of the nation’s real estate brokers, including strategies for continued success.
According to the findings, among the most disruptive issues currently facing real estate brokers are:
- Lack of inventory
- Recruitment
- Integrating rapidly-changing technology
- Changes to housing legislation
Additionally, 62 percent of respondents—comprised of a diverse collection of industry professionals from across the country—expressed the belief that a staunch commitment to client service gives their companies the competitive edge. Other winning strategies include:
- Urging proactive lead generation
- Thoroughly understanding local zoning laws and tax structures
- Offering incentives to encourage entry-level homebuyers
“While real estate professionals are cognizant of the unique challenges facing individual localities or offices, this research overwhelmingly found most to be optimistic about opportunities for success in 2018,” says John Featherston, CEO and publisher of RISMedia. “From company culture to new technologies to a high confidence level in the housing industry overall, the insights bode well for the industry as a whole and serve as a resource and road map to help others implement best practices and set a productive agenda for the year ahead.”
To view the full survey findings and methodology, please visit rismedia.com/2018/01/15/survey-results-keeps-brokers-night/.
White Paper: Student Debt, Homeownership and Advocacy
Student debt is now the largest source of non-mortgage debt in America. With the cost of attending college skyrocketing, young adults are taking out more loans to help pay for their education. Combined with the very modest average annual salary earned by most young millennials, many are unable to purchase a home before the age of 30.
This pressure is particularly significant among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), who tend to enroll in four-year colleges and postgraduate schools at significantly higher rates than other ethnicities, and to attend more expensive institutions in pursuit of degrees that require more years of study, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. As a result, this demographic group is especially at risk of becoming overburdened by student loan debt, inhibiting their ability to achieve the dream of homeownership.
Developed in conjunction with the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), a national organization dedicated to expanding housing opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the National Association of REALTORS®, “Student Debt and Housing” explores the outsized impact of student debt on homeownership among millennial AAPIs.
To address these challenges, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and AREAA have partnered to raise awareness about the critical relationship between student debt and homeownership. The two organizations are creating advocacy efforts that include local education outreach programs to educate real estate professionals, lenders and consumers about proactive measures that can be taken to help debt-laden AAPI millennials qualify for loans.
“We firmly believe the two greatest ways to promote financial stability are through education and homeownership,” says Randy Char, 2017 AREAA president. “As the number of individuals hampered by student debt continues to rise, it is our mission to advocate for ways to reduce rising education costs and address high interest student loans so that more young AAPIs are empowered to realize their financial goals.”
To view the full “Student Debt and Housing” white paper, please visit www.areaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/student-debt_v9a.pdf.
For more information, please visit www.BHGRE.com.
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