About 400,000 U.S. agents now work for the 10 largest residential real estate franchise brands, a “huge swing away from the more traditional ‘mom and pop’ cottage-type industry we had two decades ago,” Stefan Swanepoel says in announcing today’s release of the ninth edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report. “Most certainly over time this will gradually shift the industry to a more professionally managed corporate business environment.”
The 2014 Swanepoel TRENDS Report explores trends in areas including multiple listing services, mobile and wireless technology, Web portals, branding, Realtor associations, “DIY” real estate business models, and an analysis of the potential impact of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the residential real estate brokerage business.
Swanepoel predicts that in 2014, most agents will have a better year in sales than they did the last two years; Redfin will go public; Zillow or Trulia will pull off “another astounding acquisition“; Keller Williams Realty will pass the 100,000-agent mark; Re/Max will buy back more regions; the majority of Prudential Real Estate affiliates will join Warren Buffett’s new franchise brand, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices; and brokerage giant HomeServices of America will add two more big independent brokerages to its portfolio. Source: prweb.com.
