Special guest on the podcast

If you haven’t seen it already, we just dropped a new episode of our podcast Rise Above the Ranks featuring special guest Kendra Wilkinson, former Playboy model turned reality TV star turned real estate TV star. She’s known for starring in shows like The Girls Next Door, Kendra On Top, and most recently, Kendra Sells Hollywood. She is also an author of several books, a mother of two, and an advocate for those who struggle with mental health and depression. 

In this wide-ranging interview, James and Kendra discuss her transition into real estate, the hurdles she’d had to overcome, and the valuable lessons she’s learned. We truly think you’ll enjoy it. You can watch it on YouTube here or listen on Apple or Spotify.

– James and David

Luxury home values are going up

In June, luxury home values were up 3.9% year-over-year, continuing to outpace growth in non-luxury home values, which increased 3.2% YOY, according to Zillow’s report. Here are other key takeaways:

• June marked the fifth straight month in which luxury home value growth has now surged ahead of typical home price growth. Prior to that, annual price growth for non-luxury homes outpaced luxury home price growth for five straight years (January 2019 to January 2024)

• The typical luxury home nationwide is valued at about $1,620,000

• Across the 50 largest metros, typical luxury home values range from just under $750,000 in Buffalo, NY, to over $5.3 million in San Jose, CA.

Our take

There are some clear reasons why the luxury market has some notable advantages. First, high-end buyers are more likely to have a substantial amount of equity from a previous home. Second, they likely have profited from the strong stock market. Third, since these buyers can pay in cash and avoid paying interest, they are less likely to be affected by high mortgage rates and the lock-in effect. This is why we continue to see jumps in all-cash purchases (43.7% as of the latest report, up from 43.2% in the spring of 2023). So far this year, luxury home sales have held steady while non-luxury sales have dropped. The number of luxury homes sold in Q2 was nearly identical to a year ago, while non-luxury home sales dropped 3.4% to the lowest Q2 number in a decade.

Inventory slowly coming back to pre-pandemic levels

In July, 41 of the nation’s 200 largest housing markets had active inventory which exceeded July 2019 levels. That’s according to ResiClub’s latest update. Active listings totaled 884,273 nationally in July, down -29% from pre-pandemic 2019 levels. 

For perspective, that’s far higher than the July 2021 numbers, when there were just 546,686 active listings. During that month, every single one of the nation’s 200 largest housing markets was below pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels.

Our take

Overall, this is good news for buyers. More listings mean more choices, more time, and, possibly, more price cuts for homebuyers. However, there is an interesting trend to note here. In those markets where inventory has returned to pre-pandemic norms, home price growth is either weak or declining in those markets. By contrast, markets with low inventory levels had strong price growth. 

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Share of equity-rich homeowners rises

49.2% of mortgaged residential properties in the United States were equity-rich in Q2, up from 45.8% in Q1, marking one of the most significant gains in the past five years. According to ATTOM Data, this rise in equity-rich households matched a high point reached in Spring 2023 and reversed a trend of three consecutive quarterly declines. 

On an annual basis, equity-rich levels rose in 31 states. On a metro level, here are the top 10 markets with the largest year-over-year percentage increases in equity-rich properties compared to Q2 2023:

1. Rochester, NY

2. Syracuse, NY

3. Scranton, PA

4. Hartford, CT

5. St. Louis, MO

6. New Haven, CT

7. Bridgeport, CT

8. Birmingham, AL

9. Chicago, IL

10. Toledo, OH

Our take

Homeowners are in a strong financial position. The percentage of equity-rich households is rising, and according to the FHFA, only 0.3% of borrowers have negative equity in their homes. But let us be clear. There are still serious problems with the current housing market, especially in terms of housing affordability. However, those concerns are separate from the issues facing those who can afford a home. The housing market remains supported by a solid base of exceptionally strong borrowers.

The news that just missed the cut

• Airbnb is banned in these European cities 

• Offerpad launches a new portal for agents

• Ellen DeGeneres gets $96 million for blufftop Carpinteria home

• Michigan real estate brokers file antitrust suit against NAR

• The Real Deal's latest ranking of LA County’s top 20 brokerages

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

As we mentioned up top, in the latest episode of Rise Above the Ranks, James sits down with Kendra Wilkinson, former Playboy model turned reality TV star turned real estate agent. She is also an author of several books, a mother of two, and an advocate for those who struggle with mental health and depression. In this wide-ranging discussion, she discusses a wide variety of topics from her leap into real estate, juggling motherhood with work, and lessons she’s learned so far. Here are some of those lessons she shares:

Give yourself time – She discusses the importance of giving yourself time to grow WHILE living your life, and also how to have the right mentality when building your new business. She explains how she learned to pace herself.

Set healthy boundaries – She breaks down the importance of separating work from family time, and how she learned to prioritize her mental and physical health, while still finding the necessary time and energy to invest in her work.

Don’t let your past define you – Kendra discusses her unique background and how it affected both others’ perception of her and her perception of herself. She talks about how she dealt with those hurdles when she entered the real estate business, and how she was able to overcome them.

As we said, it’s a fun and thoughtful conversation. We think you’ll love it. Watch it here.

To learn more about Estate Media, visit their website. And if you haven’t done so already, fill out this brief survey designed by EM. One lucky entrant will win a $500 Whole Foods gift card!

Just in Case

Keep the latest industry data in your back pocket with today’s mortgage rates:

That’s it for today's edition. Thanks for reading; we’re always grateful to you. Drop us a line and let us know what you think. We want to hear from you, the good and the bad. Trust us, we can take it. That’s how we grow too. 

Have a great week and we’ll see you back here on Friday!

– James and David