Despite New Methodology, Ben Caballero Still Takes Honors in Real TRENDS Rankings

In this year’s rankings of the top 1,000 agents in American real estate, Real TRENDS + Tom Ferry put Ben Caballero’s brand HomesUSA.com in the top spot for agent-owned brokerage by volume and agent-owned brokerage by transactions.

In previous years, Caballero and his brand has dominated the list and has won numerous Guinness world records for his sales volume. However, this year, the Real TRENDS + Tom Ferry The Thousand used a new way of calculating the top producers.

They also segmented teams by the number of Realtors they have on their teams—small (2-5 licensed members), medium (6-10), and large (11-plus) teams. “We changed the ranking categories to allow for a more accurate and equal representation of successful agents and teams based on size and business models,” said Steve Murray, president of REAL Trends.

Though Addison-based Caballero didn’t take any individual awards, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty’s own Faisal Halum nabbed the No. 134 ranking for individual sales volume with $85,188,521, Keller Williams Dallas Preston Road’s Ashlee McGhee took the No. 77 spot in individuals by transaction sides with 159.3, and Anastasia Riley of Ebby Halliday Realtors took the No. 153 spot for individuals by transaction sides with 128.

The full Real TRENDS + Tom Ferry The Thousand can be found here.

New Survey Shows Homeowners Are Shelling Out to Upgrade Homes

If you’re getting tired of your surroundings, you’re not alone. With more time spent at home, more and more Americans are choosing to start (and maybe finish) some home improvement projects.

LendingTree data shows that consumers have been requesting personal loans for home improvement at a higher-than-average rate since the pandemic began. Our researchers surveyed consumers who used LendingTree’s online marketplace to determine how they planned to upgrade their spaces amid the COVID-19 crisis.

About 1 in 3 loan applicants said the pandemic factored into their decision to seek out a personal loan. Of the consumers whose decision was affected by the pandemic, 18% percent said their income was impacted by the pandemic and they couldn’t pay for the purchase themselves, while nearly 1 in 10 decided to tackle a home improvement project due to increased time spent at home.

Among consumers who received a personal loan for home repairs, the most commonly repaired fixtures were porch, deck, walls, windows or flooring. Nearly one-third of approved applicants needed funds to repair pricey roof damage.

Of those who wanted to make improvements to their home, people focused on the kitchen (35 percent) and the bathroom (26 percent). That makes sense: For homeowners, improvements to the kitchen and bathroom can yield a positive return on income and make it easier to sell their home.

For more data, visit LendingTree.com.

Lack of Inventory Could Keep Home Prices High, Report Shows

New numbers from Zillow show that buyer interest is up nationwide, but without fresh inventory, prices are staying relatively high. Though some markets may have seen dips in demand and price reductions, fewer homes on the market have continued to buoy national numbers, according to Zillow’s latest weekly market report.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth region, home prices are down 2.4 percent from a year ago, whereas inventory has actually increased by 6.4 percent over the same period from last month. Newly pending sales is up more than 14 percent over last month, too. Total listings for sale has dropped by 7.8 percent, however.

With a second wave of COVID-19 already hitting many metro areas, it’s unlikely we’ll see any big gains during the chief selling season for our region, though a rebound isn’t out of the question.

Want more statistics? See the full list here.