TRENDS & ISSUES the supply and demand of modern, move-in ready homes.
Updating Homes to Meet Demand
How to Help Agents Solve for Inventory Shortages
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Commentary by Olivia Mariani
e all know inventory is low. Unfortunately, the short supply of building materials and contractors is preventing the industry from breaking ground on enough homes to meet demand, which is particularly high due to millennials entering the market. There’s a serious mismatch of supply and demand within residential real estate. Not only are there not enough new homes to fill the needs of millennials, but the condition of the homes in existence doesn’t meet consumer preferences. Almost 80% of homes in the U.S. are at least 20 years old, and 40% are at least 50. The aging housing stock means we need contractors to build new homes, but also fix up the existing ones. This need is heightened due to the preference among buyers for move-in ready homes. So how do we bridge the gap as the construction industry builds back up? The quickest way to address construction shortages is to make
the most of the goods and services available.
Changing Operations
Most home improvement work has been done the same way for decades by independent contractors who each have their own approach. These approaches are rooted in inefficient labor and manual processes, which results in waiting weeks just to start. Once projects begin, they suffer from poor communication, frequent delays and added costs. This can present a lot of risk to agents who need to get their clients’ homes market-ready. The industry needs technology to help streamline production and a solution that can bridge the gap in
There’s more demand than supply for new construction. It’s not an easy problem to solve, especially when we don’t have the goods and service providers necessary to ramp up construction. While the industry recovers, we can focus on updating homes to meet the needs of today’s buyers. REALTORS® across the country are already finding their own solutions for pre-listing home improvement, and many brokerages have developed inhouse programs to attract and retain top agents (I think we’ve all heard of Compass Concierge). If you’re sick of losing your top agents to the competition, it’s time to introduce them to Curbio. Curbio is readily available to provide an estimate within 24 hours and start projects immediately. Our project managers see to every detail and prevent problems from arising through careful coordination, all while keeping agents and their clients in the loop via the Curbio app. Finally, we’ve leveraged our relationships with national vendors to ensure the materials we offer are ready to ship immediately to prevent unnecessary delays. Curbio works with agents and their clients to get homes ready for market or for move-in fast so that they can get to closing quickly. Interested in a partnership between Curbio and your brokerage? Email partnership@ curbio.com. RE Olivia Mariani is the director of Marketing at Curbio. To learn more about Curbio’s pre-listing home improvement solution and how it can help you grow your business, visit curbio.com.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE July 2021 67
