Home > News > featured news > New Home Sales in U.S. Dip in April

New Home Sales in U.S. Dip in April

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | May 24, 2019

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 6.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 673,000 units in April 2019 after a sharp upwardly revised March 2019 report. The March sales pace of 723,000 units was the highest monthly rate since the Great Recession and the April figure was the third-highest pace.  "After a challenging final quarter of 2018, data for the start of the year shows stabilization and modest growth for home sales," said Greg Ugalde, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Torrington, Conn. "Our builder surveys show that traffic is steadily increasing. The challenge facing builders is how to deal with ongoing supply-side constraints such as a lack of buildable lots and labor that are putting upward pressure on housing costs."

Spotlight

The New Traditional Asset Class

For generations, public markets have been the beating heart of capitalism, reaching their zenith in the latter part of 20th Century, when stock markets in Wall Street, the City of London, Hong Kong, and others were the great centers of capital raising, corporate investment and growth.

More featured news

Spotlight

The New Traditional Asset Class

For generations, public markets have been the beating heart of capitalism, reaching their zenith in the latter part of 20th Century, when stock markets in Wall Street, the City of London, Hong Kong, and others were the great centers of capital raising, corporate investment and growth.

Related News

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, AGENT

Brown Harris Stevens Maximizes Agent Productivity With AI-Powered Cloze CRM

Businesswire | March 27, 2023

Cloze, an AI-based intelligence provider focused on the real estate market, announced today that Brown Harris Stevens (BHS), the premier privately held real estate brokerage, has successfully rolled out Cloze CRM as part of its market-leading BHSOne initiative. Within just six weeks, adoption of Cloze CRM has overachieved its initial targets, driven initially by a highly successful internal marketing campaign that itself used Cloze, and fueled further by agent-to-agent recommendations from early adopters. “We looked at many different CRMs, and Cloze gave us three clear reasons why it was the only partner for us,” said Matthew Leone, chief marketing officer at Brown Harris Stevens. “First, there was no barrier to entry. We were amazed at how easy it was to log in, create an account, and get onboarded. Second, you can access all of its functionality through its mobile application—our agents are in front of their phones 100% of the time. And finally, the integration of artificial intelligence was a game changer. We’ve seen how it can as a virtual assistant suggest the proper prospecting steps and touchpoints with everyone in their sphere of influence leading to a higher engagement rate.” In contrast to typical CRMs that expect agents to constantly update and log their activities and contacts into the system, Cloze silently manages that busywork in the background without disrupting an agent’s daily workflows. Through the insights extracted from agent communications, Cloze CRM flags action items and due dates and recommends how, when, and why to reach out to new and previous clients, highlighting special events, birthdays, or anniversaries, for example, or bubbling up contacts that could benefit from outreach. “Cloze is by far the best CRM I have ever used,” described Holly Smith, an agent affiliated with BHS’ Palm Beach office. “The AI features are amazing. It reminds you each morning who you need to follow up with, logs and attaches all calls and emails to a contact, and even writes emails for you with AI.” As part of an internal use case, BHS’ marketing team used Cloze to increase email engagement rates from 10-20% to 80-100% by delivering customized, relevant content to each of the brokerage’s 2,500+ agents. Such customization was made possible because Cloze combines a robust template library with automated processes and AI-generated insights, making it simple to provide highly customized content relevant to each recipient and to do so at scale. The result has been the ability to reach more people in less time with more authenticity. “Our goal was to provide a tool that would make our agents and managers more efficient in communicating while helping them keep on top of tasks, even as they’re managing multiple deals at different points in the home-buying process,” explained BHS CTO Chris Reyes. “Cloze not only met those expectations, but exceeded them.” For more information on how BHS agents are deriving value from Cloze CRM, check out the case study and video interview at https://blog.cloze.com/cloze-crm/cloze-the-ai-driven-game-changer-for-brown-harris-stevens/. About Cloze Cloze’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered real estate platform translates everyday communications into actionable insights that brokerages and their agents use to close more deals, drive higher revenue, and increase profitability. Cloze achieves this by strengthening relationships, reducing manual work, driving a more consistent lead-to-close experience, and improving both marketing ROI and overall closure rates. Cloze’s full suite of real estate solutions includes Cloze CRM, Cloze Marketing, Cloze Leads, and Cloze AI Insights. To learn more, visit cloze.com. About Brown Harris Stevens Brown Harris Stevens (BHS) is one of the most prominent privately-held real estate firms in the world. Established in 1873, BHS has historically dominated the luxury, high-end market. With more than 2,500 agents across the East Coast, the company oversees the sale of marquee properties worldwide, including property management and new development marketing, from its headquarters in New York City and its offices throughout the Tristate area, Palm Beach, and Miami. Learn more at www.bhsusa.com.

Read More

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

Leading Proptech Company, Dottid, Announces New Release of Asset OS Alongside Strong Company Growth

PRnewswire | April 24, 2023

Dottid, the leading proptech company revolutionizing the commercial real estate (CRE) industry by creating efficiency and revenue growth for asset managers and brokers, formally announces its release of Asset OS. Dottid's proprietary technology, which launched in April 2021, is transforming CRE by integrating workflow and data into one place and consolidating the robust capabilities of multiple platforms, tools, and workflows into one intuitive interface, saving CRE firms valuable time and money. The CRE industry contributes $2.3 trillion to the U.S. GDP and is responsible for nearly 15.1 million jobs. Due to multiple modern variables including the increasing popularity of remote work, the industry has been impacted by high vacancy rates across the country, with 54.2% of the 1.07 billion square feet of office space currently open for lease, according to CoStar Group, Inc. To stay competitive, real estate companies are adopting more cost-effective strategies and optimizing their processes using technology. "In order to effectively adapt to the shifts in the massive CRE industry and this period of uncertainty, asset managers and CRE leaders must innovate and leverage technology to unlock new potential and cost-saving opportunities," said Kyle Waldrep, founder and CEO of Dottid. "Dottid is at the forefront of the CRE technology revolution. With Asset OS, asset managers are provided for the very first time with oversight, data transparency, and detailed insights that help them maximize their resources and improve decision-making to grow revenues in any market." "As a young company competing in the fast-paced Dallas market, we turned to Dottid to help build a more efficient process for tracking our workflow," said Joe Zylka, Director of Operations at Dogwood Commercial. "Dottid allowed us to organize everything in one place, with overall visibility and accountability, and as a result, we were able to perform more efficiently. In only 18 months, Dottid has enabled us to grow our portfolio by 2.5x while still continuing our high level of service without the need for additional personnel." Key Asset OS Features Include API Connector: Allows third-party tools like RealtyAds to integrate with Dottid so asset managers can access all their data in one place Deals: Empowers all members of the team to know each process while remaining adept to deal changes; allows users to set approvals, assign tasks, communicate deadlines, and track relevant financial negotiations with all files and collateral at their fingertips Capital Projects: Manage construction projects from start to finish entirely in Dottid, including approving bids, setting key milestone dates, tracking project progress, tenant improvement, and collaborating with teams Dynamic Projections: Gives users the ability to project property performance in a graph that responds to selections of deals in their deal pipeline and upcoming renewals Property Debt: Upload and keep track of important debt details and critical dates on loans; store essential debt data, like loan balances, interest rate, and maturity dates, so that an entire asset management team is on the same page Additional features include real-time stacking plan, encumbrance schedules, property activity, inquiries, leasing performance insights, asset visualizations, and more. In addition to being the first truly all-in-one CRE workflow and asset management platform connecting all critical asset management functions, Dottid is dedicated to protecting customer data. The company never shares, scrubs, or sells data under any circumstances, including a marketplace environment. Dottid's Asset OS customers can be assured that their data is secure, and is only theirs. About Dottid Dottid is a revolutionary, all-in-one workflow platform that is changing the landscape of the commercial real estate industry. From brokers to asset managers, Dottid makes it easier than ever to manage complex transactions and investments. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company brings brokerage, asset management, and debt oversight into one easy-to-use modern workflow tool. As a result of their proprietary technology, they are bringing new levels of efficiency and revenue generation to the commercial real estate industry and giving their customers a competitive edge in an ever-changing world. Learn more at dottid.com.

Read More

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, MORTGAGE AND LENDING

Accelerate and CBRE Investment Management Launch Partnership to Acquire Infrastructure Ground Leases

Businesswire | March 31, 2023

Accelerate Investment Partners and CBRE Investment Management (CBRE IM) have launched Accelerate Infrastructure Opportunities, a new strategy to invest in digital and renewable real property interests across North America. Accelerate’s infrastructure strategy acquires, owns and manages investments in ground leases and land under critical infrastructure assets that generate long-term, sustainable cash flow, such as cellular infrastructure, billboards and renewable assets, including wind, solar, storage and EV charging projects. “We are excited to have a strong, supportive partner in CBRE IM to help fund our company’s growth,” said Brennan Potts, founder and CEO of Accelerate. “Our ability to invest through the development and operations of an infrastructure project, with committed and long-term capital from a partner who shares our values, places us in a leading position within the industry to better serve our customers.” Accelerate focuses on developing mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with property owners, tenants, developers, operators and brokers. Accelerate believes its collaborative approach and creative capital solutions can provide value to its partners, while also delivering differentiated risk-adjusted returns for investors. “Accelerate’s long-term partnership focus on acquiring real property interests under renewable and digital infrastructure projects provides an innovative way to deploy capital in the infrastructure 2.0 assets that we believe will thrive in the new digital, green economy,” said Robert Shaw, managing director, private infrastructure at CBRE IM. “Accelerate has a proven track record of helping property owners, developers and operators maximize the value of their properties or projects with agility, speed and certainty of closing, which makes them an excellent partner.” In addition to Mr. Potts, Accelerate’s management team leading the strategy includes industry veterans Brandon O’Gara (managing partner and chief financial officer), Graeme Kavanagh (partner and chief revenue officer), Josh Castillo (partner and chief investment officer, infrastructure) and Brenda Hurst (partner and chief operating officer). About Accelerate Investment Partners Accelerate acquires, owns and manages real property investments under energy and infrastructure locations that provide long-term, sustainable cash flow. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, Accelerate manages more than 1,200 real property interests across the United States with $500 million in combined assets and capital commitments. The company’s mission is to deliver impactful value for investors, property owners and tenants through a values-based approach to investments that support a secure and sustainable future. About CBRE Investment Management CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $149.3 billion in assets under management* as of December 31, 2022, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive. CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2022 revenue). CBRE has approximately 115,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

Read More

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, AGENT

Brown Harris Stevens Maximizes Agent Productivity With AI-Powered Cloze CRM

Businesswire | March 27, 2023

Cloze, an AI-based intelligence provider focused on the real estate market, announced today that Brown Harris Stevens (BHS), the premier privately held real estate brokerage, has successfully rolled out Cloze CRM as part of its market-leading BHSOne initiative. Within just six weeks, adoption of Cloze CRM has overachieved its initial targets, driven initially by a highly successful internal marketing campaign that itself used Cloze, and fueled further by agent-to-agent recommendations from early adopters. “We looked at many different CRMs, and Cloze gave us three clear reasons why it was the only partner for us,” said Matthew Leone, chief marketing officer at Brown Harris Stevens. “First, there was no barrier to entry. We were amazed at how easy it was to log in, create an account, and get onboarded. Second, you can access all of its functionality through its mobile application—our agents are in front of their phones 100% of the time. And finally, the integration of artificial intelligence was a game changer. We’ve seen how it can as a virtual assistant suggest the proper prospecting steps and touchpoints with everyone in their sphere of influence leading to a higher engagement rate.” In contrast to typical CRMs that expect agents to constantly update and log their activities and contacts into the system, Cloze silently manages that busywork in the background without disrupting an agent’s daily workflows. Through the insights extracted from agent communications, Cloze CRM flags action items and due dates and recommends how, when, and why to reach out to new and previous clients, highlighting special events, birthdays, or anniversaries, for example, or bubbling up contacts that could benefit from outreach. “Cloze is by far the best CRM I have ever used,” described Holly Smith, an agent affiliated with BHS’ Palm Beach office. “The AI features are amazing. It reminds you each morning who you need to follow up with, logs and attaches all calls and emails to a contact, and even writes emails for you with AI.” As part of an internal use case, BHS’ marketing team used Cloze to increase email engagement rates from 10-20% to 80-100% by delivering customized, relevant content to each of the brokerage’s 2,500+ agents. Such customization was made possible because Cloze combines a robust template library with automated processes and AI-generated insights, making it simple to provide highly customized content relevant to each recipient and to do so at scale. The result has been the ability to reach more people in less time with more authenticity. “Our goal was to provide a tool that would make our agents and managers more efficient in communicating while helping them keep on top of tasks, even as they’re managing multiple deals at different points in the home-buying process,” explained BHS CTO Chris Reyes. “Cloze not only met those expectations, but exceeded them.” For more information on how BHS agents are deriving value from Cloze CRM, check out the case study and video interview at https://blog.cloze.com/cloze-crm/cloze-the-ai-driven-game-changer-for-brown-harris-stevens/. About Cloze Cloze’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered real estate platform translates everyday communications into actionable insights that brokerages and their agents use to close more deals, drive higher revenue, and increase profitability. Cloze achieves this by strengthening relationships, reducing manual work, driving a more consistent lead-to-close experience, and improving both marketing ROI and overall closure rates. Cloze’s full suite of real estate solutions includes Cloze CRM, Cloze Marketing, Cloze Leads, and Cloze AI Insights. To learn more, visit cloze.com. About Brown Harris Stevens Brown Harris Stevens (BHS) is one of the most prominent privately-held real estate firms in the world. Established in 1873, BHS has historically dominated the luxury, high-end market. With more than 2,500 agents across the East Coast, the company oversees the sale of marquee properties worldwide, including property management and new development marketing, from its headquarters in New York City and its offices throughout the Tristate area, Palm Beach, and Miami. Learn more at www.bhsusa.com.

Read More

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

Leading Proptech Company, Dottid, Announces New Release of Asset OS Alongside Strong Company Growth

PRnewswire | April 24, 2023

Dottid, the leading proptech company revolutionizing the commercial real estate (CRE) industry by creating efficiency and revenue growth for asset managers and brokers, formally announces its release of Asset OS. Dottid's proprietary technology, which launched in April 2021, is transforming CRE by integrating workflow and data into one place and consolidating the robust capabilities of multiple platforms, tools, and workflows into one intuitive interface, saving CRE firms valuable time and money. The CRE industry contributes $2.3 trillion to the U.S. GDP and is responsible for nearly 15.1 million jobs. Due to multiple modern variables including the increasing popularity of remote work, the industry has been impacted by high vacancy rates across the country, with 54.2% of the 1.07 billion square feet of office space currently open for lease, according to CoStar Group, Inc. To stay competitive, real estate companies are adopting more cost-effective strategies and optimizing their processes using technology. "In order to effectively adapt to the shifts in the massive CRE industry and this period of uncertainty, asset managers and CRE leaders must innovate and leverage technology to unlock new potential and cost-saving opportunities," said Kyle Waldrep, founder and CEO of Dottid. "Dottid is at the forefront of the CRE technology revolution. With Asset OS, asset managers are provided for the very first time with oversight, data transparency, and detailed insights that help them maximize their resources and improve decision-making to grow revenues in any market." "As a young company competing in the fast-paced Dallas market, we turned to Dottid to help build a more efficient process for tracking our workflow," said Joe Zylka, Director of Operations at Dogwood Commercial. "Dottid allowed us to organize everything in one place, with overall visibility and accountability, and as a result, we were able to perform more efficiently. In only 18 months, Dottid has enabled us to grow our portfolio by 2.5x while still continuing our high level of service without the need for additional personnel." Key Asset OS Features Include API Connector: Allows third-party tools like RealtyAds to integrate with Dottid so asset managers can access all their data in one place Deals: Empowers all members of the team to know each process while remaining adept to deal changes; allows users to set approvals, assign tasks, communicate deadlines, and track relevant financial negotiations with all files and collateral at their fingertips Capital Projects: Manage construction projects from start to finish entirely in Dottid, including approving bids, setting key milestone dates, tracking project progress, tenant improvement, and collaborating with teams Dynamic Projections: Gives users the ability to project property performance in a graph that responds to selections of deals in their deal pipeline and upcoming renewals Property Debt: Upload and keep track of important debt details and critical dates on loans; store essential debt data, like loan balances, interest rate, and maturity dates, so that an entire asset management team is on the same page Additional features include real-time stacking plan, encumbrance schedules, property activity, inquiries, leasing performance insights, asset visualizations, and more. In addition to being the first truly all-in-one CRE workflow and asset management platform connecting all critical asset management functions, Dottid is dedicated to protecting customer data. The company never shares, scrubs, or sells data under any circumstances, including a marketplace environment. Dottid's Asset OS customers can be assured that their data is secure, and is only theirs. About Dottid Dottid is a revolutionary, all-in-one workflow platform that is changing the landscape of the commercial real estate industry. From brokers to asset managers, Dottid makes it easier than ever to manage complex transactions and investments. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company brings brokerage, asset management, and debt oversight into one easy-to-use modern workflow tool. As a result of their proprietary technology, they are bringing new levels of efficiency and revenue generation to the commercial real estate industry and giving their customers a competitive edge in an ever-changing world. Learn more at dottid.com.

Read More

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, MORTGAGE AND LENDING

Accelerate and CBRE Investment Management Launch Partnership to Acquire Infrastructure Ground Leases

Businesswire | March 31, 2023

Accelerate Investment Partners and CBRE Investment Management (CBRE IM) have launched Accelerate Infrastructure Opportunities, a new strategy to invest in digital and renewable real property interests across North America. Accelerate’s infrastructure strategy acquires, owns and manages investments in ground leases and land under critical infrastructure assets that generate long-term, sustainable cash flow, such as cellular infrastructure, billboards and renewable assets, including wind, solar, storage and EV charging projects. “We are excited to have a strong, supportive partner in CBRE IM to help fund our company’s growth,” said Brennan Potts, founder and CEO of Accelerate. “Our ability to invest through the development and operations of an infrastructure project, with committed and long-term capital from a partner who shares our values, places us in a leading position within the industry to better serve our customers.” Accelerate focuses on developing mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with property owners, tenants, developers, operators and brokers. Accelerate believes its collaborative approach and creative capital solutions can provide value to its partners, while also delivering differentiated risk-adjusted returns for investors. “Accelerate’s long-term partnership focus on acquiring real property interests under renewable and digital infrastructure projects provides an innovative way to deploy capital in the infrastructure 2.0 assets that we believe will thrive in the new digital, green economy,” said Robert Shaw, managing director, private infrastructure at CBRE IM. “Accelerate has a proven track record of helping property owners, developers and operators maximize the value of their properties or projects with agility, speed and certainty of closing, which makes them an excellent partner.” In addition to Mr. Potts, Accelerate’s management team leading the strategy includes industry veterans Brandon O’Gara (managing partner and chief financial officer), Graeme Kavanagh (partner and chief revenue officer), Josh Castillo (partner and chief investment officer, infrastructure) and Brenda Hurst (partner and chief operating officer). About Accelerate Investment Partners Accelerate acquires, owns and manages real property investments under energy and infrastructure locations that provide long-term, sustainable cash flow. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, Accelerate manages more than 1,200 real property interests across the United States with $500 million in combined assets and capital commitments. The company’s mission is to deliver impactful value for investors, property owners and tenants through a values-based approach to investments that support a secure and sustainable future. About CBRE Investment Management CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $149.3 billion in assets under management* as of December 31, 2022, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive. CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2022 revenue). CBRE has approximately 115,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

Read More

More featured news