Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent
Boston condo broker wars
Facing a Boston condo for sale down market real estate companies enter a wartime mode.
Gary Keller is the closest you can get to an elder statesman of residential brokerage. The founder of Keller Williams has guided his firm through four decades of market fluctuations and played a Rooseveltian role in the industry when things have gotten tough, optimistic even in the toughest of times.
So, when Keller says that today’s outlook reminds him of the Great Recession, the industry pays attention.
“The second year of the Great Recession, we had the largest drop in one year in recorded history,” Keller said last month at an Inman virtual conference, adding that “1.5 million transactions were taken off the book.”
A combination of rising mortgage rates and home prices that are out of reach for most Americans will mean this year will see deals decline by about 1.3 million, he predicted.
If this continues on the same trajectory, will real estate companies be able to keep the lights on without raising more funds?
The answer, for many, has been a hard no. Several startups have laid off large chunks of their workforce, and others are scrambling to raise money at valuations far lower than a year ago. For some, it’s a matter of time before they’re out of business.
This year, wartime decisions are taking place across the real estate industry.
