Inman Connect New York Day 3 offered a glimpse into real estate’s resilience.
Brad Inman loves catchphrases. “We are about hope and action – not gloom and doom,” he writes in a LinkedIn post, summarizing the mood at this year’s Inman Connect New York, attended by a record crowd of more than 4,000 delegates. Optimism and innovation stole the spotlight.
“More broker-owners than ever attended. They are eager to figure out their future from the single best source in the industry. Despite major lawsuits hanging over the business, the industry seems prepared to handle whatever change it brings.”
He credited the audience as being “younger and smarter and ready to lead the industry in a new direction.” Many of them shared their excitement on social media. They were fired up about the opportunities to learn about new real estate technology and skills, stay on top of current trends, build their network, and make real connections. For one visitor from Australia, the most impressive takeaway came via Brian K. Lewis NYC Homes: “Be kind. And be honest with your client.”
Boot Up For Success
Introducing the program on Day 3, Inman reflected on a conversation with Pat Stone, President and CEO of Williston Financial, and wondered about the unexpected high attendance figures on the back of such a tough year. He said Stone believes people are booting up again in preparation for a better market.
Meanwhile, Inman’s first guest, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, shared how he is navigating a newly structured real estate industry. Asked to summarize 2023, he called it a year of “sellers on the sidelines”, starting with 72% of homeowners locked in at 4% mortgage rates or below. This year, 59% of homeowners are in that position, which bodes well for the future. “Two years from now, only a third of people will be restricted by their low mortgage rate,” he said.
More In ’24; Thrive In ’25
“Last year was the worst year in 28 years – 4.09 homes sold [compared to] 1995 and the population today is 27% bigger than it was then. The upside of that is there’s a lot of pent-up demand. I call it the five Ds – diapers, diplomas, diamonds (marriage), divorce, death – those live events keep the market moving. Last year was a must-move market.”
Reffkin’s impression so far is that the market is “getting better. I call it more in 2024: more buyers, more traffic, more listings, more transactions. By 2025, we will thrive. We have 7% more listings now than we did this time last year… There are more buyers now. People are listening to their agents more. In November 2023, 39% of homes had price drops.”
Best Marketing Strategy
Commenting on the impact of the pandemic on company culture, which forced the world to abandon office spaces and work from home, he said he’s delighted to see that trend beginning to reverse. “I’m obsessed with culture, in-person connection. The one thing I worry about is lack of connection. I visit offices and take my entire family [including three kids under 10] to open houses to try to create culture. As a broker-owner you’re not giving agents what they need if there’s no culture. It’s a very hard thing to give back. Covid stole the culture of every company across the industry.”
Connection is a significant driver for business success. “Whoever connects the most, grows the most… gets the most opportunity. People do not care what you know until they know how much you care. Your business is about creating trust and light. The best marketing strategy is this… eyes on eyes, face to face, building your business one relationship at a time. I think the biggest business risk is the iPhone device. Texts and emails – that’s not connecting… I’m encouraging people to take pies to neighbors…”
From Market Insights To Super App Revolution
Other Day 3 highlights included Zonda Chief Economist Ali Wolf unpacking the economic indicators that will shape the housing market in the coming year. Inman returned to chat with Zillow President Susan Daimler about her super app and its role in the future of real estate and Clelia Peters, Managing Partner for Era Ventures, led a candid discussion among top real estate leaders about today’s challenges, their competitors, and what’s coming next. Look out for brokerage predictions for 2024 from Scott Durkin, President and CEO Douglas Elliman, Rory Golod, President of Growth & Communications, Compass and Brad Nelson, Chief Marketing Officer for Sotheby’s International Realty in a future article.
