Monday marked the one-month anniversary of the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Qualified Mortgage rule.
While this is notably one of the biggest changes to happen to the housing market this year, there are still 11 months of blank pages in the year just waiting to be filled in with riveting, market-changing data.
And after all, HousingWire’s goal is just that: moving markets forward.
So what could the future of the real estate business look like in 2014?
“2014 will be better for real estate than 2013, but barely. Interest rates and inflation will remain low and while oil will continue to fluctuate it seems to be heading lower. Homeowners have equity in their homes again and consumer confidence is much stronger,” Stefan Swanepoel said.
“There is lots of pent-up consumer demand and the stock market is testing new record highs. We see most companies sitting on surplus cash and acquisitions are a safer bet than organic growth, so expect to see a large number of them,” he added.
While these predictions from Swanepoel just scratch the surface, they still result in a busy year for housing:
1. Redfin goes public
Redfin’s main objective is to making buying or selling a home better for you. The company is comprised of real estate agents and software engineers that are dedicated to their clients. Continuing at their current momentum, imagine what 2014 could look like for them if they go public?
2. Zillow (Z) or Trulia (TRLA) announces major acquisition
In August 2013, Trulia announced its acquisition of Market Leader, but what if this was not the end of it? Both company stocks are doing well on the market so anything is possible.
3. Keller Williams Realty passes 100,000 agent count
The company started in 1983, and since then, has grown to approximately 700 offices and 90,000 associates. Could that number soon break 100,000 this year?
4. Realtors rush to secure dot Realtor domain name
As HousingWire reported back in December, according to law firm Ballard Spahr, which broke the news in its Privacy and Data Security and Intellectual Property Alert, website domain names will start looking dramatically different. Mortgage firms can start paying for the domain name: .broker, .mortgage, .finance , and so forth.
