Real Estate Weekly – 8/23/13

Easement protects historic area from sea level rise impacts

The Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved funding to preserve 221 acres in Dorchester County through a first-of-its-kind easement designed to protect coastal areas from the impacts of sea level rise and storm surge. The land lies along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and Scenic Byway.
A new element under Program Open Space, Coastal Resilience Easements are designed to protect areas that may be prone to high waters and storm surge by permanently eliminating development, restricting impervious surfaces, protecting areas that allow wetlands to migrate, and requiring periodic Soil Conservation and Water Quality plan updates — all of which can help natural areas more quickly recover from flooding.
The easement will conserve a significant historic site along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and Scenic Byway, including the Brodess Plantation where Tubman was once enslaved. Located less than a mile from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the property features sensitive and important forests, farmlands and wetlands and includes habitat for the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel and Forest Interior Dwelling birds.
The easement was made possible thanks to the late Victoria Lake Waters, Millie Lake, Benito and Barbara Lake, Ellen Bronte Lake and Edward James.

Baltimore Design School to open in renovated building

The new Baltimore Design School building opens its doors Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1500 Barclay St. The $26.85 million, 110,000-square-foot facility is a unique public middle/high school that opened in temporary quarters in 2011, with a focus on three specific areas of design: architecture, fashion and graphic arts. The school’s renovated building, the former Lebow Clothing Factory, contains art galleries, studios, fabrication facilities, a media center, computer labs and classrooms. The former loading dock was transformed into an outdoor fashion show space, and clothing and sewing machines retrieved from the building’s factory days will be featured in a permanent exhibition. BDS, Baltimore City Public Schools and Seawall Development Corp. partnered on the renovation project. Ziger/Snead Architects designed the renovation, and Southway Builders Inc. was the general contractor.

ETC signs first five tenants to new ‘hub’ for startups

ETC, Baltimore city’s technology incubator, has signed the first five tenants for its new location at 101 N. Haven St., near the Highlandtown neighborhood. ETC announced earlier this year that it planned to move from the Canton facility it has occupied since 1999. Its current lease expires in October. The Haven Street building eventually will house 31 resident startup companies. Newly signed tenants are: Adcieo, specializing in social media and digital marketing techniques for nonprofit organizations; American Business Forms and Envelopes, software systems provider of printed business forms; Certified CIO, provider of IT outsourcing, proactive management services and network integration tools for small to media-sized businesses; Foodem, a business-to-business online marketplace connecting wholesale food buyers with food distributors, local farms and specialty food manufacturers; and SameGrain, developer of a social discovery platform that matches people with others of similar demographics, backgrounds, beliefs, interests and more.

Two women establish new construction management firm

Kate Nolan Bryden and Ann Marie Ryan, both formerly of Ryan Commercial LLC, have started their own development and construction management company, AMK Partners LLC, four months after Ryan Commercial joined national commercial leasing firm Lee & Associates. AMK Partners has been contracted to manage the new construction of 655,800 square feet of Class A industrial space at the Mid Atlantic Distribution Center in Perryman, Harford County. The project is owned by a joint venture of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Emory Properties LLC and Ryan Development LLC. While not yet officially classified as a Women’s Business Enterprise, AMK Partners will seek that status, Bryden said. “There is a year waiting process before you can apply for the status but we anticipate completing that by Summer 2014,” she said.

Tails and tongues will wag at opening of new dog park

Baltimore County’s third dog park, appropriately named Wags Dog Park at St. Helena Park, will open with a tail-wagging flourish on Saturday, attended by county officials and residents of the two-legged and four-legged persuasions. The new dog park is a $230,000 improvement to the county’s popular St. Helena Park in Dundalk. The dog park includes small and large playing areas, doggie water fountains and other amenities. St. Helena Park also has picnic areas, a playground and playing fields. The park will be operated by the Friends of Wags Dog Park, a committee of the Dundalk-Eastfield Recreation Council. The group will set the operating rules and regulations, coordinate paid membership and oversee the daily operations of the park. Baltimore County has two other dog parks in operation, at Robert E. Lee Park in Mount Washington and Hannah More Park in Reisterstown. A fourth park is being planned for the Perry Hall/White Marsh area.

Marriott plans sale of three hotels

Marriott International Inc., of Bethesda, the largest publicly traded U.S. hotel chain, said Friday it has entered into a non-binding agreement to sell three Edition-branded boutique hotels currently being built in London, Miami Beach and Manhattan for about $800 million. The identity of the buyer or buyers was not disclosed, although published reports have identified the buyer as a fund controlled by the Abu Dhabi government. If the transaction goes forward, Marriott said it expects each hotel sale would occur after construction is completed, with the company retaining long-term management agreements. The London hotel’s completion is expected within 30 days; the Miami Beach hotel in the second half of 2014; and the New York project in early 2015.

Stalled Shore hospital awarded U.S. grant

The Commerce Department is awarding $1.6 million to Talbot County to support the construction of a new hospital in Easton — if it gets built. The grant announced Friday would help pay for construction of a wastewater system and pump station to serve the new Shore Health System medical center. But Shore Health System announced last month that its plans to build the new $250 million hospital are on hold indefinitely due to lack of money. The Commerce Department said Easton Memorial Hospital is no longer large enough to serve the mid-Shore region, and that relocating the hospital would potentially move 2,100 jobs out of the area and hurt access to health care.

Hearing to be held on closed hospital

(AP) The Legislative Black Caucus has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 18 on the former Crownsville State Hospital, which closed in 2004. The state first sought to redevelop the former psychiatric hospital for African-Americans when it solicited proposals for the 532-acre campus in 2008. Del. Aisha Braveboy, D-Prince George’s, the caucus chair, told The Capital of Annapolis, “I just want to hear about what the community envisions, bring stakeholders together to talk it through and create a shared vision of how that would work.” In July, Community Services Center at Crownsville Inc., a nonprofit group, announced plans to redevelop the site as a $97 million campus for nonprofit organizations.

Dallas firm plans P.G. Co. power plant

A subsidiary of Panda Power Funds, of Dallas, Texas, a 3-year-old, private equity firm that is building several large power generation facilities, has applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission for permission to build, own and operate an 859-megawatt, natural-gas-fueled power plant in an industrially zoned area of Brandywine, in Prince George’s County. In a news release, Panda said the facility is expected to contribute approximately $1.2 billion to the area’s economy during construction and the plant’s first 10 years of operation. The proposed power plant is one of several that are planned in Maryland; others are in Cecil County, Charles County and a second one in Prince George’s County that is separate from the Panda project.

Y to acquire athletic club in Arnold

The Y of Central Maryland and LAR LLC, owner of Big Vanilla Athletic Clubs, announced an agreement for the Y to purchase Big Vanilla’s 80,000-square-foot building in Arnold and convert it to the Greater Annapolis Family Center Y. The agreement calls for a 30-day transition period, with the Y taking full ownership and management effective Sept. 19. The sale price was not disclosed. According to the announcement, current staff of the Arnold facility will be offered the opportunity to become Y employees and remain at the location. The Y, a nonprofit charitable organization, currently operates summer camps and before-and-after school enrichment program sites in Anne Arundel County. Big Vanilla’s other location in Pasadena is not part of the sale.

RMF opens office in Charlotte, N.C.

RMF Engineering Inc., of Catonsville, announced it has opened a full-service office in Charlotte, N.C. The office — the company’s 10th in the Eastern and Southeastern states — will enable RMF to offer localized mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering services for health care, higher education, local and federal government projects in the Greater Charlotte area. Additional services, including civil, structural, and commissioning engineering, will continue to be provided from RMF’s Raleigh office. RMF has worked on several projects in the Charlotte area, including the Carolinas Medical Center, and recently completed work at the Rogers Science and Health Building — a four-story, 56,500-square-foot facility, designed for LEED platinum certification on the campus of Queens University.

Baltimore County to air-condition 5 more schools

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz on Wednesday announced that five more schools in the county will have air-conditioning installed, bringing to 123 the number of air-conditioned schools, attended by some 30,000 students. The $29.2 million cost will be shared by the county and the state, with the county paying $17.2 million, using bond premium money it earned from its Nov. 29, 2012, bond sale. (The premium is the amount paid to a bond-seller when the coupon rate on the bonds is higher than prevailing interest rates.) Four of the five schools to be newly air-conditioned are elementary-level: Featherbed Lane, Hawthorne, Scotts Branch and Wellwood International, and one is a middle school, Parkville. Of the county’s 160 school buildings, 37 are not air-conditioned.

Maryland MBE goal raised to 29 percent

Maryland has increased the overall minority participation goal of its Minority Business Enterprise program to 29 percent on state-funded contracts, it was announced Wednesday by the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs. The former goal — 25 percent minority participation — dates to 2001, and it was met for the first time in fiscal year 2012. GOMA, which sets the MBE goal after consulting with other state agencies, proposed the 29 percent target after considering factors that included the relative availability of minority- and women-owned businesses as shown by the state’s most recent disparity study, and the past participation of MBEs in state procurement. The 29 percent goal will be in place for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 on state-funded contracts.

New hospital site to be in Largo

(AP) Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and a search committee are recommending building a new regional hospital at Largo Town Center. The $645 million facility on 70 acres of county-owned land near a Metro station would replace the financially troubled Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. The search committee considered four sites and narrowed its choices last month to Largo and Landover Mall. The board of Dimensions Healthcare System, which oversees county-owned medical facilities, will consider the choice this week. A 259-bed, 700,000-plus-square-foot hospital is planned with a full-service medical complex and trauma center, funded with $450 million in bond financing, including about $200 million each from the state and the county. The hospital could open in 2017.

U.S. grant supports Bloede Dam removal

A $3.57 million grant awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to Washington, D.C.-based American Rivers, an organization that works to protect and restore the nation’s rivers and streams, will be used to support the removal of the historic but outdated Bloede Dam on the Patapsco River straddling Howard and Baltimore counties, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced. Removal of the dam will open up 44 miles of spawning habitat for erring, alewife and American shad, and more than 180 miles of habitat for American eel, according to DNR. Removing the dam will also eliminate a public safety hazard — swimmers have died in the hazardous currents below the dam.

PERSONNEL 

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, of Rockville, a self-administered, self-managed, equity real estate investment trust investing in income-producing properties in the Greater Washington metro region, named Paul T. McDermott as the company’s new president and CEO, succeeding George F. “Skip” McKenzie, who retired after holding the post since 2007. McDermott, 51, is the former senior vice president and managing director of The Rockefeller Group, where he headed the domestic acquisitions team for Rockefeller Group Investment Management Corp., the investment management arm of the developer, owner and operator of global real estate. McDermott has also held executive posts with PNC Realty Investors, Freddie Mac and Lend Lease Real Estate Investments. McDermott will assume his responsibilities on Oct. 1, at which point McKenzie will officially resign from the board, although he will continue to play an advisory role during the transition.

Douglas G. Hoffman

St. John Properties Inc., of Woodlawn, a real estate development and management company, has named Douglas G. Hoffman as senior vice president, property management. Hoffman has more than 25 years of diversified property and asset management-related experience. He was previously president of BPG Management Co. L.P., a full-service real estate investment property management company that provides property management services for more than 10 million square feet of space on the East Coast. In his new position, Hoffman will direct day-to-day operations of St. John Properties’ national portfolio of nearly 17 million square feet of commercial office, R&D/flex, retail and warehouse space, overseeing a staff of more than 40 property management employees.
Cassidy Turley, a commercial real estate services provider, announced that Graham Savage has joined the firm as associate with the Capital Markets Team. He will be responsible for coordinating and assisting in all steps of the investment sales transactions, including the preparation of marketing and offering materials. Previously, Savage spent seven years with Legg Mason’s Capital Management as an associate analyst.

LEASES 

Susquehanna Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Lititz, Pa., has signed a lease with Woodlawn-based St. John Properties Inc. for 12,750 square feet of space at 11115 Dolfield Blvd., a two-story, 71,400-square-foot, Class A office building in Owings Mills. The bank intends to relocate its mortgage division to this building from the Hunt Valley area, with an expected opening later this month. The lease increases the overall occupancy of the Owings Mills building to 95 percent. Will McCullough, leasing agent for St. John Properties, represented the landlord, and Mark Deering of MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services represented the tenant in this transaction.
Merritt Properties LLC reported these recently signed leases:
* Inter-Lux Inc., an international lighting design company, leased 21,918 square feet of space (17,370 square feet warehouse, 4,548 square feet office) at Beltway Business Park, 3741 Commerce Drive, Suites 306-308, in Halethorpe. CBRE’s Mike Roden represented the tenant in the transaction. Merritt’s in-house leasing team of Jamie Campbell, Liz Tarran-Jones, Vince Bagli and Steve Shaw represented the landlord.
* BMC Services LLC, a heating, air conditioning and plumbing services contractor, leased 1,500 square feet of space (855 warehouse, 645 office) at Beltway Business Park, 3741 Commerce Drive, Suite 113, in Halethorpe. Merritt’s in-house leasing team of Jamie Campbell, Liz Tarran-Jones, Vince Bagli and Steve Shaw represented the landlord. The tenant’s representative was not identified.

10 Ways To Make More Money In Real Estate

There are literally 100s of creative ways to make money in real estate. Real estate investing stretches from raw land that can subdivided to large commercial properties run by property managers. It can also involve just owning the mineral rights to drill for oil, natural gas or other highly profitable minerals. The only limit to make money in real estate is your imagination.
Most beginning investors start to make money in real estate by investing in a single family home. You can make a decent profit this way. But you should at least be familiar with other ways you can make money in real estate.

A good strategy to make money in real estate is to gradually increase the number of units you control.
Below Are Ten Ways You Can Make Money In Real Estate

1. Duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. These are a natural progression from single-family houses. They offer a decent opportunity to finance your investments. As long as the building has less than four units, it's considered a residential property. Anything over five units is considered commercial and the lending rules change significantly.
2. Small to medium apartment buildings. These are between 5 and 50 rental units. The advantage here is strong cash flow. It's a great way to make money in real estate.
3. Mobile home parks. These can be inexpensive to invest in and offer tremendous cash flow. You can buy individual units inside a park or buy the entire park. Of course, the entire park is much more expensive. However, beginning with individual units can start as low as $4,000 for an older unit.
4. Recreational vehicle parks. Not only can this be a very good way to make money in real estate but it offers a laid-back lifestyle when you manage the property. Most of the people you are dealing with are on vacation or retired. They aren't getting stressed out over the small stuff.

Notes. Maybe you want to make money in real estate but you don't want to actually own or manage the properties. Today's tight lending market creates a great opportunity to be a lender that holds notes secured by real estate. A completely passive income.
Commercial Opportunities to Make Money in Real Estate

1. Commercial real estate investing is more complicated but there is also more money to be made in every deal. You too can make money in real estate by investing in commercial properties.
2. Motels and hotels. These are a great way to make money in real estate when they are located in tourist areas or where business people frequently travel.
3. Small commercial properties. A good starting point to make money in real estate here are small strip malls and small office buildings. Your tenants will be long term.
4. Industrial properties. These can be manufacturing sites, warehouses, or distribution centers. Typically, the tenant is responsible for most maintenance and repairs.
5. NNN leases. These tend to be larger businesses and the tenant a large stable company that doesn't want to own the building for tax purposes. They lease for 30 years at a time and are fully responsible all expenses including insurance and property taxes.
6. New commercial construction. This can be a highly profitable way to make money in real estate. However, it takes serious knowledge of the industry and strong financial backing. You need to be able to forecast what type of building will be needed a year or more from now, along with where to best build it. You're also going to have a lot of permitting issues and other governmental regulations. This one is not for the beginner or feint of heart.

Real estate pros: Give Start-Up NY a chance

Some of the region's top real estate executives say Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Start-Up NY program should be given a chance — despite concerns that it would be unfair to existing businesses.
Originally called Tax-Free NY, the Start-Up NY program allows start-up companies to operate tax-free at SUNY schools and designated areas surrounding their campuses for up to 10 years. Employees of the companies would be exempt from state income taxes.
Cuomo designed the program to try and retain — and attract — fledgling high-tech firms that often find it less expensive to operate in other states such as Texas that have no state income tax.
Some have worried the program will hurt the local commercial real estate market and lead to lower property tax collections for local municipalities while also providing tax breaks to a select few.
"Like any program, it is going to be a little unfair," said Seth Rosenblum, a principal with the Rosenblum Cos. who was part of a panel discussion Thursday.
The event was sponsored by the New York State Commercial Association of Realtors. "We have to give this a chance and see how it plays out."
Not all the speakers at the event, held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel off Everett Road in Albany, viewed the program as favorably. Assemblyman Phil Steck, who voted against the Start-Up NY legislation, said he had trouble figuring out how it would help constituents in his district, which includes Colonie, Schenectady and Niskayuna.
Steck said the government's top role should be providing public infrastructure to attract businesses — such as the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, which has been credited with attracting many of the world's largest computer chip companies to the region as well as the $9 billion chip factory GlobalFoundries established in Saratoga County.
"This is economic development by desperation," Steck said of Start-Up NY. "I don't see how the program helps the Schenectady school district or the Niskayuna school district."
Kevin Bette, chairman of First Columbia, the development company based in Latham, said that Start-Up NY won't hurt the local business communities or the tax base because it can take years for a start-up company to make any money — and most don't even last 10 years before they close down or leave the state because of high business taxes. Bette said the program could shake up that cycle.
"We need the investment to be here," Bette said. "We need the change. It takes a long time for these businesses to become profitable. They need all the help they can get."
Rosenblum compared skepticism of the program to that of the NanoCollege, which has attracted companies that might otherwise locate in commercial buildings owned by the private sector that are also on the tax rolls. Focusing on that dynamic is a narrow way of looking at the long-term impact that Start-Up NY could have on the state and the business community, Rosenblum said. Cuomo actually modeled Start-Up NY on how the NanoCollege operates, with tenants located on campus to do semiconductor manufacturing research in concert with the school.
"Imagine for a moment there was no NanoCollege," Ronsenblum said. "What would we be pinning our hopes on?"

Matt Martin Real Estate Management Ranked #80 on Inc. 500 List, #3 in Real Estate Sector, #6 in Dallas

For the second consecutive year, MMREM is recognized as one of the country's fastest-growing companies with three year sales growth of 3982% 

 

FRISCO, Texas, Aug. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Matt Martin Real Estate Management (MMREM) today announces it has been named to Inc. magazine's 32nd annual Inc. 500/5000, a list of the fastest-growing firms in the country. A national asset management and default services firm that deals with multiple federal agencies, various state and local municipalities, financial institutions, mortgage investors and mortgage servicers, MMREM is ranked 80th out of the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States, up from #116 in 2012. The company was the third fastest-growing company in the real estate sector, and ranked number six among Dallas, TX area companies.

The list represents a comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy--America's independent entrepreneurs. MMREM joins Fuhu, LivingSocial, Edible Arrangements, CDW and Lifelock, among other prominent brands featured on this year's list. Companies such as Microsoft, Zappos, Intuit, Jamba Juice, Zipcar, Clif Bar, Vizio, Oracle, and many other well-known names gained early exposure as members of the Inc. 500/5000.

"We're delighted to be named to the Inc. 500 list for the second year in a row," says Matt Martin, founder and president of MMREM. "We've had tremendous success growing our business since we started in 2004, and expect that growth to continue in the years ahead," Martin adds.

MMREM was ranked the 80th fastest-growing company based on an increase in revenues of 3982% over the three year period from 2009 to 2012. The company is a leading provider of real estate services, including asset disposition, financial advisory, and mortgage loan loss mitigation services.

The 2013 Inc. 500 is the most competitive crop in the list's history, according to Inc. magazine. To make the cut, companies had to have achieved a staggering minimum of 918.59% in sales growth over three years. Companies on the list are "the hidden champions of job growth and innovation, the real muscle of the American economy," says Inc. Editor Eric Schurenberg.

MMREM provides real property services to both Government and private sector clients. The firm provides REO services to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and has conducted more than $2 billion in disposition transactions since 2010. The company is the prime contractor for the United States Marshalls Service's (USMS') Asset Forfeiture Division. MMREM also serves as an asset manager and as a provider of real estate advisory services for other federal and state government agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the United States Air Force (USAF), and the state of Georgia through the state's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). In addition, MMREM supports mortgage servicers and financial institutions with their real property needs.

"We have a proven ability to deliver exceptional value, and are uniquely positioned to solve even the most challenging problems for our clients," Martin said. "MMREM's talented people are the key to our success," he added.

MMREM's impressive growth of 3982% places the company in the 98th percentile among the top companies. Complete results of the Inc. 500/5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.Inc.com/500.

About Matt Martin Real Estate Management

Matt Martin Real Estate Management (MMREM) provides an array of real estate and financial services nationwide including lender solutions, real estate investments, loss mitigation services, and government services. The firm, established in 2004, is a proven leader in asset disposition, financial advisory, loss mitigation and acquisition services. MMREM provides services nationwide through six offices located in Frisco, TX (Headquarters), Coppell, TX, Tysons Corner, VA, Austin TX, Ft. Washington, PA, Culver City, CA, and Atlanta, GA. MMREM is strengthened by a diverse management team, each possessing over 10 years of experience in the financial services field

 

Real estate body calls for use of 'Made in India' materials

MUMBAI: Raising serious concerns on continuous weakening of rupee against dollar, real estate body NAREDCO today appealed to developers to cut down imports of building construction material and instead use domestically manufactured product.

"Developers import nearly USD 10 billion worth building construction products and services every year for their projects. In a situation when rupee is constantly depreciating, there is an urgent need that developers consider using made in India materials," National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) vice president Sunil Mantri told reporters here.

The imports not only include products like flooring, cement, home automation but also services like technology, consultancy and architects for which payments are made in dollars, he said.

"We import these services especially for developing high-end luxury projects. Such imports account to nearly 30-50 per cent of the total cost of the project," he said.

Mantri said if developers adopted these measures it will help in making rupee stronger.

On the Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill, NAREDCO president Navin Raheja said it should be more practical and looking at the growth of the industry.

"The Bill is a hugely positive step in the direction of developing the industry. However, this Bill addresses issues in a limited way.

"While the industry welcomes the positive intent of the government, we believe that the momentum gained should be utilised to iron out some of the issues. This will not only help to unlock projects worth over Rs 10,000 crore, it will also catalyse the economy with more vigour and vibrancy," he added.

On FDI in the sector, Mantri said, the government has allowed foreign investment into projects having area over 50,000 sq metre, which should be reduced to 20,000 sq metre so that even small developers can get the benefit from it.

"Already the financial conditions of developers is weak and to add to their woe banks are not ready to fund projects due to various issues like clearances and approvals.

"In this situation the only way of raising funds is through private equity. If the area limit is reduced even small developers will be able to get foreign investment," he added.

'First Look': State of the real estate market

By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

Local Realtor Scott Tobias of Prudental Tobias shared his insights on the local real estate market Thursday on "First Look with Scott Cox."
"This is probably the most normal market I have seen in a long time," Tobias said. Yet we have a way to go to get to the normal of about four months of inventory.

He said we're in a so-called recovery, with a 35 percent increase in home prices over the last year, which he called significant. Will it continue? No, he predicted; a normal increase would be about 4 percent.
Those who are buying as an investment have probably missed the boat, the past president of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors said.
He noted there has been some struggle with inventory over the past year, but there is inventory.
Simulcast guest host Lisa Krch said she hears the market slowing down; Tobias agreed there's been some of that in the last month.
"Some of it is interest rates, for sure. But the reality is we're selling as many houses as we have," Tobias said.
He said that year-over-year, prices have increased and inventory has been steady.
And as prices rise, homeowners who have more equity and were thinking about moving now have the opportunity.
Tobias noted there have been a lot of investors in the market, and predicted that will slow a bit.
He also said young people who may have been concerned about the market and stayed in apartments are turning around and buying houses.
Californian reporter John Cox asked Tobias if he's still seeing multiple offers on properties. Tobias said it's still tough for those trying to buy a house priced under $200,000.
Krch said she hears a lot of people ask about getting into real estate as a career.
"It's not the market, it's the person who is going to be successful," Tobias said.
He said it's not a cakewalk, and agents need to be disciplined, service-oriented and care about their work and helping people with what is perhaps their biggest investment.

Why do real estate agents still exist?

On Tuesday, the quintessentially mainstream American real estate brokerage–Re/Max–went public. The housing market is hot enough, its initial filing explained, that raising investor cash could launch it into markets around the country it hadn’t yet reached.
But wait–real estate agents? Wasn’t the internet supposed to drive them out of business?
The online age has been hard on all kinds of middlemen, after all. Travel agents, for example, rendered obsolete by Orbitz and Expedia. Soft goods retailers, for another, outpaced by Amazon. The effect should be similar with people who sell homes: What do they have but what they know? And what of that can’t be better figured out through unbiased, publicly available data, crunched and presented on Web sites like Zillow and Trulia for free?
And yet, real estate agents are still with us. Sure, their numbers declined during the housing crash, and haven’t quite recovered:

Overall employment in the real estate sector. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

But the sector may have been overinflated anyway. During the boom, real estate was considered a fast way to make easy money, and the unserious didn’t survive when sales dried up. “I think it benefited the profession, because it got a lot of people out of it that shouldn’t have been in it,” says Lindsay Reishman, who runs his own brokerage in Washington.
And now, according to the National Association of Realtors, agents are as widely used as ever: 89 percent of buyers retained one in 2012, up from 69 percent in 2001. It’s the same on the seller side, where only 9 percent sold a home without an agent, down from a high of 20 percent in 1987. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they made an annual mean wage of $51,170, which is down from a high of $55,000 in 2008, but still up from $42,000 in 2003.
There are a few reasons why agents are still around.
- The post-crash world is more complex: The housing crash and ensuing tighter lending standards, as well as the prevalence of foreclosures and short sales, have made the average transaction harder to navigate without expert help. Getting financing and negotiating tricky contracts, for example, probably shouldn’t be done on your own. “There’s always something doing down the pike that makes the process more complicated,” says Scott MacDonald, who runs a Re/Max brokerage in Chantilly, Va.
- The internet improves productivity: When buyers can find out the homes they want through online research, an agent has to spend less time touring them around. Then, they can just come in and help with closing, and pick up the same commission. Some sites, like Redfin, offer lower rates for less wraparound service–but even Redfin decided last year to flesh out its bare-bones model to cover more home tours, and increased rates for buyers. (That could change more with services like Jason’s House, which allows agents to bid on buyers who only need a few specific tasks performed).
- The internet increases agent leverage over brokers: In most states, agents have to affiliate with a brokerage, like Re/Max, Long & Foster, or Coldwell Banker. But when they can self-promote online, they don’t need as much in return. “As agents over time were able to market themselves directly to the consumer, that puts the squeeze on brokers,” says Reishman. “Agents are in a position where they can keep more of their money, because they’re not reliant on the brokerage to get their business.” To adapt and add value, brokerages have scaled back on their office space–more agents now work from home, rather than a private cubicle–and offer trainings to deal with different market conditions, like house flippers and investors.
- People still don’t trust cheap things: Buying a home is a big decision, and people don’t tend to want to take a risk on a cut-rate agent, which is why there hasn’t been much undercutting or negotiation of commissions. “I think it does take place, but at least my bet is that at the end of the day, this is the biggest asset they’ve ever owned, so if you can make people believe you’ll handle that process correctly, people are wiling to pay for it,” says Reishman.  “I’ve been thinking seriously about saying, my commissions are going to be 8 percent, and people think, this guy is really good!”