Housing News
Estately launches in Dallas and New York City
Expanding on the East and Third coast
Real estate search company Estately.com announced today their launch in Westchester and Putnam Counties in New York as well as the Dallas / Fort Worth market, expanding their offering further across the country, bringing their contextual search to more of New York and to the fifth largest metro area in America. The company places great emphasis on the Walk Score function of their search, noting that while Dallas is not known for being the most walkable city in America, New Yorkers are accustomed to taking walkability into account when moving.
Estately says their company “was created with the belief that home buyers need context when they’re looking for a home. At Estately you can learn about the surrounding area, the nearby businesses, the character of the neighborhood, the style, size, build date, history and price of a property.” In that spirit, the new coverage areas will also get their “awesome school search” and the ability to click on a school on the map to see its boundaries.
Estately CEO and Founder Galen Ward writes, “I want to point out that we aren’t just launching in the big cities of Texas. You’ll find Estately to the north in Sherman, to the West in Weatherford, to the South in Midlothian and to the East in Greenville. From an outsiders view point, Texas appears to be a state rich with flavors and fragrances, from sweet-sounding Flower Mound and Grapevine to the savory Mesquite and the potentially foul smelling Sulphur Springs. Our new New York markets that the average American may recognize include Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, and New Rochelle.”
Estately has come quite a long way over the years and offers a massive amount of easy to scan information for every listing and pushes users to make an appointment to tour a property which Realtors should appreciate. Take a look at the site to see how the depth of information offered with every listing by clicking the screenshot of a listing below:
Austin
Austin tops the list of best places to buy a home
When looking to buy a home, taking the long view is important before making such a huge investment – where are the best places to make that commitment?
Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
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Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
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