On this week’s episode of The Real Word, Byron Lazine and Nicole White discuss bidding wars for renters, the impact of the housing market on global shipping, and content creators cashing in on Zillow listings.
Bidding Wars for Renters
First up is a Wall Street Journal article: “Bidding Wars Overheated the Home-Buyer Market, Now They’re Coming for Renters.” Competition among renters has heated up to the point where many feel compelled to pay more in rent than the landlord is asking.
In May 2022, the median U.S. (asking) rent passed $2,000 for the first time, rising 15% over the past 12 months. In light of this, the institutional investors snapping up single-family rental properties look pretty smart.
Renter Nation… meaning, the reason they’re buying all of this is because they know how many people are going to be in a position where they have to or they choose to, for flexibility, rent as opposed to owning a home.
China and Vietnam are feeling the housing market slowdown
Racket #2 is from a CNBC article: “The housing market slowdown is showing up in shipping data from China.”
With fewer sales transactions and higher mortgage rates, China has seen the impact of our housing market on orders of home building construction materials, including lumber. China and Vietnam have seen a decrease in furniture and home decor orders.
That said, the order volume of apparel, footwear, and sporting goods is still high.
If you’re also reading in the headlines, Walmart has overbought, Target has overbought, so, now they’re slashing their prices so you’re now actually benefiting from their over purchase.
The housing-related consumer spending cutbacks have already led to a 20-30% drop in Chinese manufacturing orders.
But this report does not mean housing prices will go down. To illustrate why, Byron and Nicole compare the housing market in 2007 with what we have now:
- 5 million more 35-year-olds (people of prime buying age)
- 12 million more households (more people needing homes)
- 1.4 million new housing starts – compared to 2.1 million in 2007
- 50% less inventory today than in 2007
With that in mind, tune in to find out whether or not Byron plans to sell his Connecticut house.
Content creators turn Zillow listings into side hustle income
The marketeer of the week award goes to content creators who are turning Zillow listings into viral TikToks. Inman comes to their defense with the article, “Don’t fear the content creators: Why Zillow Gone Wild isn’t bad for agents.”
Byron encourages agents to do what Samir Mezrahi (Zillow Gone Wild), Kate Wagner (McMansion Hell), and Jessica Cassan (The Affordable House Chick) are doing. Take the information Zillow offers – which is public information – and use it to your advantage.
If you’re the one that’s creating the story, that’s telling the story, that’s curating this information, you’re gonna get the leads directly to you.
Watch the full episode for more.
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