There’s a reason Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, is seen fairly regularly on cable news networks. She has her pulse on the residential real estate market and enjoys sharing her knowledge and opinions. Indeed, she will be participating in two panels during RISMedia’s 2023 CEO & Leadership Exchange, taking place at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., Sept. 5 – 7.
The first, a VIP private session titled, “M&A Strategies & Opportunities in a Shifting Market.” The second is titled, “Getting to Profitability: Smart Measures for Tough Times.” In the latter, topics to be discussed include:
- Cost-cutting measures that save money without sacrificing quality
- Building business through new revenue streams
- Maximizing affiliated services
- Guiding agents toward back-to-basic strategies to drive business
- Increasing revenue through M&A activity
- Recruiting and retaining highly productive agents
Freedman, who oversees her firm’s 50-plus offices and more than 2,300 agents across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida, recently commented on CNBC about the state of residential real estate, saying she was much more positive than most. She admitted that mortgage rates have been an issue.
“That has been part of the challenge with inventory because you have this sort of artificial constraint on selling,” she says. “People don’t need to sell, so they’re not selling. But we’re going to see things ease up a little bit. I know that rates were hovering at 6%, and now they’re closer to 7%. But it’s supply and demand. Once we have a healthy intersection, you’ll see more movement. We’re starting to see prices come down. We needed to see that happen to get more movement. And buyers are coming off the sidelines. They’re getting comfortable with these new rates, and we’re seeing good movement.
“I’m much more positive than many analysts have been. There were all these predictions that it was going to be doom and gloom, that there was going to be a crash. But what they didn’t realize or think about is that we’re in a different time because homeowners right now have equity and there’s no forced selling. Therefore, there’s been this sort of constraint on inventory they haven’t had to sell, which has kept prices pretty high. It’s not post-global financial prices where they have these mortgages that didn’t make sense.”
Freedman also explained how high rent prices across the country have people wanting to buy homes to build equity.
“They are considering buying versus renting because that’s a great place to invest,” she says. “It’s also a place where people raise their families and can pass it onto their kids. The home-buying process is something that is the American Dream that people have believed in and will continue to believe in.”
For the complete agenda and speaker lineup, please visit our event page. Space is limited, so reserve your spot today.
The 35th annual CEO & Leadership Exchange will gather the industry’s top minds to discuss the most critical trends and issues impacting the year so far, and outline strategies for success in the fourth quarter and into 2024. More than 100 brokerage executives and industry experts featured in over 25 panel discussions and presentations will help you make sense of what’s transpired so far in 2023, and share tangible advice for defining your own destiny moving forward.
2023 RISMedia CEO & Leadership Exchange sponsors include:
Title Sponsor
RE/MAX
Diamond Sponsors
Real Estate Webmasters
Realty ONE Group
Colibri Real Estate
Master Sponsors
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Bright MLS
Buffini & Company
Constellation1
EXIT Realty
Inside Real Estate
Lone Wolf Technologies
National Association of REALTORS®
Host Sponsors
Black Knight
Cinch Home Services
Cloze, Inc.
Courted Real Estate, Inc.
CRS Data
Deluxe
Forbes Global Properties
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
MoveEasy
Milestones
New American Funding
Pillar To Post Home Inspectors
Realtors Property Resource
REcolorado
Sherri Johnson Consulting
