As millennials and Gen Z take center stage in luxury homeownership, the industry will have to adapt to meet the needs of these buyers, Lindsey Harn writes. They want spaces that align with their values, needs and ambitions.
Some New York City neighborhoods have seen median prices more than double in the past decade—but not all of them are the pricey places where you would expect to experience sticker shock.
A new report from PropertyShark analyzed 24 NYC neighborhoods where median sales prices saw a 100 percent increase or more from 2014 to 2024. Median prices in these neighborhoods ranged from $96,000 to $900,000 a decade ago to $220,00 to nearly $2 million last year.
Demand for NYC real estate has fallen since the frenzy of the pandemic as high mortgage rates impact buying power, but prices have not dropped, said Eliza Theiss, PropertyShark senior writer and author of the report. Demand for housing remains ever present and “overall, extreme price growth is somewhat of an expectation for NYC real estate,” she said.
What led to price increases
Major redevelopment, rezoning initiatives, infrastructure and transit upgrades, Sandy reconstruction efforts, climate resilience projects, and the impact of hybrid work fueled increases in areas that are competitive for buyers as well as areas that are just starting to see signs of pre-gentrification, the report noted.
Two Bridges in Manhattan, for example, saw a gain of 288 percent to $1.64 million because of large-scale luxury projects like One Manhattan Square and 247 Cherry St., which faced strong community opposition.
In eight neighborhoods, sharp gains in median price were primarily the result of gentrification. Median prices approached $2 million in Carroll Gardens (112 percent) and Cobble Hill (104 percent)—both areas where gentrification is already underway.
Signs of pre-gentrification
Other less expensive places like Clifton (134 percent), Parkchester (129 percent), Richmond Town (124 percent), Park Hill (109 percent), and Hollis (103 percent) are showing signs of pre-gentrification, the report said.
In Clifton, public transportation upgrades are bringing in higher-income professionals. Parkchester is undergoing changes as a result of the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan, which will bring $500 million in infrastructure upgrades across the East Bronx and 7,000 new residential units.
In waterfront neighborhoods like Red Hook and Clason Point in the East Bronx, recovery from Hurricane Sandy and resiliency investments have spurred climate gentrification. This occurs when investments to protect communities from climate-related risks lead to increased property values and displacement of long-term residents.
The rise of hybrid and remote work has increased interest in areas that would typically have been difficult for commuters, such as along the Staten Island waterfront and in transit-poor zones.
Below-the-radar nabes
Some of the findings were a surprise to Theiss. She said Mariner’s Harbor was not on her radar before. Her report found it had a 112 percent increase in median price from $210,000 to $445,000.
“Staten Island real estate overall tends to get the least attention, but Mariner’s Harbor is also still somewhere among the 30 or so lowest-priced NYC neighborhoods at the moment,” Theiss said.
The force of gentrification and redevelopment have not reached all corners of the city. In places like East New York, gentrification has “failed to materialize,” Theiss pointed out.
“Almost a decade into the landmark Mandatory Inclusionary Housing rezoning, market-rate developments remain low…Traditional gentrifiers never arrived and recurringly, developments face an affordability paradox: They outprice locals but struggle to attract higher-income outsiders,” Theiss said.
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South Australia’s housing crisis has been laid bare, with a new report revealing current construction levels are only meeting 80 per cent of the state’s underlying demand.
Mike Mortlock of MCG Quantity Surveyors’ new report “The Pipeline Problem: Australia’s Housing Supply Gap” highlights the need for more housing in SA, showing current activity has dropped off of the comeback it made in 2022 when dwelling completions sat at 12,000 – up from the 9400 recorded in 2014, buoyed by the Home Builder and the northern defence build-up.
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“FY 2025 output is pacing around 11,000 – about 8 per cent below peak as cost pressures curb townhouse infill in the inner suburbs and slow greenfield stages around Mount Barker and Victor Harbor,” the report read.
“Population momentum is stretching the thinner pipeline.”
The report stated net overseas migration and interstate inflow added 34,000 residents in 2024.
“Using the state’s average household size of 2.4 persons per dwelling, South Australia needs roughly 14,000 new homes a year just to hold vacancies steady,” the report read.
Mike Mortlock of MCG Quantity Surveyors. Supplied
“Current construction therefore meets only about 80 per cent of underlying demand.”
The report showed in less than a decade the state had swung from balance to persistent shortage, with southern Adelaide, central Adelaide and hills, and Barossa and the Lower North critically low.
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Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said escalating building and tax costs was pushing up the prices of new apartments in some markets to levels that buyers were not willing to pay.
“Few households are willing to pay the (premium) for a new unit when established units are so much cheaper,” Mr Reardon said.
“For apartment building to increase meaningfully, we would need to wait for established units to become so scarce that the prices would catch up with those for new units.
“It could take years.”
HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon. Supplied
While completions may not be where they need to be at the moment, there is action in the works through the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide to get more homes on the ground, or in the air, as is the case with the numerous high rise apartment complexes going up around the state.
Just a few of these developments include Forestville’s 290 dwellings off Anzac Hwy, Riverlea’s 12,000 homes at Buckland Park, Fort Largs’ 335 homes, Eighty Eight O’Connell’s 160 homes at North Adelaide and Seaside at Moana’s 385 allotments.
Many are being held up by not so much a lack of tradespeople to build them, but a lack of suitable infrastructure like SA Water connection, forcing some developments to build their own wastewater facilities in order to avoid a two-year wait.
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Lawyer Liza Jennings, 24, has bought an apartment off-the-plan at South Plympton she is about to move into, and said it was exciting to see the building activity around her.
“I have a balcony that looks over what’s going to be a park and there are townhouses and more apartments being built around me and I’ll be able to watch that happen,” she said.
Liza Jennings outside her recently purchased property at South Plympton. Picture: Ben Clark
“The government’s put a huge emphasis on new builds and new developments but the one thing I have noticed is that they’re quite far away from the city.
“To have more infill developments around the city centre would be good, but obviously finding the land space for that as well is a challenge.”
– with Aidan Devine
The post Green shoots revealed in the midst of SA’s housing shortage crisis appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Looking for a quick catch-up on the buzziest stories of the week? Here’s Inman Top 5, the most essential stories, according to Inman readers.
The Amalfi Estates owner said listings are slowing down and prices have been dropping, but there’s plenty of room to fall, which is extending the buyer’s market.
The chair of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie has spent the past day calling on Powell to step down, saying he’s responsible for high home prices.
The firm’s new office, overseen by broker Ken Kleinrichert, will open in July on South Union Street. Top producers Molly Buttleman and Lydia Wiley will serve as key agents leading sales for the new office.
Adding fuel to what the baby boomer generation has been consistently saying for some time, a new Redfin survey shows that one-third of all boomer homeowners have no intention of selling their home. This further legitimizes claims that a “silver tsunami” of housing inventory is unlikely to materialize from older homeowners.
While another 30% said they will eventually sell their homes, they’re not planning to do so anytime within the next decade, according to the survey. The likelihood of selling also decreases with more advanced age, with nearly half (44.6%) of the Silent Generation — those born between 1928 and 1945 — saying that selling is not part of their plans.
Younger homeowners in the Gen X, millennial and Gen Z cohorts are far more likely to plan to sell their homes. But 25% of Gen Xers, and 21% of millennials and Gen Zers, “say they’ll never sell.” according to the survey.
Some of this stems from market realities. While home prices are higher, that’s also true for prospective properties that an older homeowner might prefer if selling was part of their plans. There’s not enough financial incentive to go through the process of selling their homes, the survey found.
“Additionally, many older homeowners have lived in their home for a long time and simply prefer to stay put; roughly two-thirds (67%) of baby boomer homeowners have lived in their home for 16-plus years,” Redfin reported.
“When asked in the survey why they’re staying in their current home, most baby boomers (55%) said they just like their home and have no reason to move, making that the most commonly cited reason.”
Some first-time homebuyer advocates have blamed baby boomers for a lack of willingness to sell their homes as a key reason younger generations are unable to locate suitable homes for their families.
But some older homeowners have chimed in by saying that there are few better options available to them. Low levels of housing supply are seen as a key driver of the U.S. housing crisis.
Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather offered her thoughts on these dynamics.
“While inventory is improving, supply is tight for young house hunters looking for family homes, especially in suburban areas where homes priced like starter homes — yet large enough for families — are scarce,” Fairweather said.
“With baby boomers opting to age in place rather than sell, it’s challenging for younger buyers to find affordable options that fit their lifestyle,” she added. “But it’s worth noting that even though many older Americans say they’re not planning to sell their homes, many are likely to eventually part ways as it becomes harder to live independently and/or keep up with home maintenance.”
Real estate brokerages with revenue share models provide agents with a way to generate income beyond closing transactions with their own clients. But when it comes to creating a robust revenue-share downline, agents at two revenue share brokerages — eXp Realty and The Real Brokerage — say there is no one right way to build a downline.
Katie Day, MoveMeToTexas
In Houston, Katie Day runs a team of 10 agents, known as The MOVEMETOTX Team, that’s brokered by Real. The medium-sized team closed 182 transaction sides in 2024 for a total sales volume of $60.86 million, good enough to be ranked No. 11 in the state in the 2025 RealTrends Verified Rankings.
Day began building her team at a traditional brick-and-mortar brokerage before moving to Real. A key source of motivation for the move, she said, was economics.
“Being at a traditional brokerage with franchise fees and transaction fees, as we scaled the team and did more volume, it became more costly. And after comparing different options, Real made the most sense,” Day said.
This is also where Real’s revenue share model comes in. Since making the switch, Day has successfully built a downline network of 3,200-plus agents. The agents on her team are naturally part of her downline network, but she said that scouting for her team is different than recruiting agents for her network.
“Some people try to use their team to grow their downline network or vice versa, but that doesn’t always work because, generally speaking, the motivations and expectations of joining a team are different from those of joining a network,” Day said.
The way Day sees it, agents joining teams are typically looking for leads, structure and accountability, whereas people joining a network want to be more autonomous while still having support when they need it.
“With my team, we have daily huddles, do one-on-ones and have weekly coaching calls. But with the network, I feel like I am more of a support system that is there to help those agents grow their own businesses,” Day said.
Day’s network is comprised of agents in various stages of their careers, from new agents starting out to experienced agents looking for advice on starting their own teams. With the diversity of Day’s network, it’s no surprise that the majority of agents who join her network do so because of a relationship they’ve built with Day.
“We don’t put out content saying, ‘Come join Real,’ but we’ll put things out where we wear a Real T-shirt and we show that we are collaborating with others. And I think that is a lot of where I feel my network growth comes from — it is relationship-based,” she said.
Alex Derenne and Alexis Hirsig, The PowerHouse Partners
Alex Derenne and Alexis Hirsig, who are also brokered with Real, run a network of agents known as The Powerhouse Partners. Based in Wisconsin, Hirsig and Derenne are looking to grow their network nationwide — and they are quick to point out that they run a network, not a team.
“Powerhouse Parnters is not structured like a team at all,” Hirsig said on a recent episode of HousingWire’s RealTrending Podcast. “We are a community of agents that have come together to collaborate, build each other up and help each other’s businesses.”
Hirsig and Derenne say their network is focused on providing agents with education and support to help them grow their own businesses.
“We aren’t viewed as team leaders, but we are there steering the ship for agents and providing them with value, teaching courses and enabling our agents to teach courses as well,” Hirsig said.
After a stint as a solo agent, Derenne said she found real value in running a business alongside someone else with similar goals and ambitions. But she doesn’t have to tie herself to them financially through a team commission split model.
“There is more than enough business to go around, so why don’t we grow alongside of each other and push each other to be better? Because, ultimately, the better we are as agents, the better we are for our consumers,” Derenne said.
The coaching and support that Derenne and Hirsig provide have allowed them to grow their network, attracting agents seeking hands-on support as they work to grow personal brands and businesses.
Parker Pemberton, Pemberton Homes Team
Like Day, Parker Pemberton has a business that consists of both his team and his revenue-share downline. Brokered by eXp Realty, agents on Pemberton’s Minnesota-based team are part of his downline, but the opposite is not true.
“The way I look at it is, I run two organizations. I have Pemberton Homes, which is my real estate company, and then I have my eXp downline,” Pemberton said. “Both of those groups are fully fledged communities that I lead.”
Pemberton stopped selling real estate in 2022 and is solely focused on leading the two organizations. Within his team, which has nearly 200 agents and operates more like a brokerage, Pemberton says his main goal is to ensure that the company’s financial situation is positive. That way, he’s able to ensure his agents and leaders have everything they need.
Outside of that, Pemberton says he also focuses on recruiting.
“I recruit every single day,” he said. “My job is to bring the best agents in my market to this company.”
But not all of these agents join Pemberton Homes. Instead, they can opt to join eXp Realty and be part of Pemberton’s downline.
“I’m a growth-minded person — I like building things and being around people,” Pemberton said. “My eXp downline is filled with other teams and people that run their own business entities that have chosen to come to eXp and partner with me.”
In exchange for partnering with him, Pemberton said he “opens up his entire playbook to them.”
“I’m going to help them grow. I’m going to help them get through problems that I’ve been through before, and I get financial compensation for that through the revenue share program,” he said. “The people with the biggest downlines are the ones contributing the most to the agents they recruit.”
Pemberton feels that the traditional brokerage model is not supportive of helping top teams and agents build their own brands and companies.
“An office manager who sits in an office for eight hours a day and hasn’t actively sold in 20 years isn’t really in a position to help a team go from $10 million in production to $100 million because they’ve never done it — I have,” Pemberton said.
“A lot of people want to work with someone like me to grow their business because I’ve made it around the corners they want to navigate. And I’ve failed and seen all of the things so I can help them avoid those pitfalls.”
Spring Bengtzen, Utah Life Real Estate Group
Spring Bengtzen and her team may be new to eXp Realty — moving over in January 2025 — but she’s no stranger to the revenue share model. She first began building her team in 2010 at Keller Williams before moving to Real in 2021, where she said she built a large downline.
“I believe that who you surround yourself with matters. And I wanted to get into some of those rooms with some of the bigger players,” Bengtzen said of her reasons for moving to eXp.
“I also really like eXp’s model. With the downlines. they allow you to have your own value proposition and create your own community, which is something I wanted to do.”
As the leader of a downline at Real, any products or services offered to the agents in the downline have to be made available to all Real agents, but that’s not the case at eXp.
Like the other team and downline leaders, the agents on Bengtzen’s team are part of her downline, but not all of the agents in her downline are part of her team.
“Our team runs under a pretty traditional team model — we provide leads, office support and training, and we are all in Utah,” Bengtzen said. “The revenue share is all across the United States, and we collaborate, grow together, and provide some coaching, training and events.”
She also noted that agents on her team are charged a 50-50 split, but she is compensated for the services she provides to agents in her downline through eXp’s revenue share model.
With her team, Bengtzen sees her role as the leader who supplies the business and support her agents need to successfully close transactions. Conversely, she views her revenue-share downline as an organization that collaborates to help each other grow.
Due to this looser role, Bengtzen said she does not actively recruit agents to her downline. Instead, she focuses on attraction-based recruiting to pique agents’ interest in eXp through publicly available webinars and events.
“Some people are really aggressive with recruiting and do a lot of cold calling. And I have no problem with that, but I see my downline as a coaching and training organization that you don’t have to swipe your credit card to gain access to,” she said.
“You have to hang your real estate license somewhere. You might as well hang it someplace where you get these added benefits of coaching and community at no additional cost.”
A New York real estate agent known for her appearance on Netflix’s “Million Dollar Beach House” was killed in a hit-and-run Thursday afternoon in the Hamptons, according to local reports.
Sara Burack, 40, was found unconscious on a Hampton Bays road on Thursday afternoon. Authorities said she was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver who struck her fled and has not been identified.
Southampton Town Police and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit are investigating — but no witnesses have come forward to offer a description of the driver or their vehicle, according to the New York Post.
Burack was known in the Hamptons and Manhattan for brokering luxury real estate deals. She previously worked for Nest Seekers International.
She left the agency more than a year ago but remained in touch, Hamptons regional manager Geoff Gifkins told Newsday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with family and friends,” Gifkins said. “Please be kind and respectful as this is a tremendous loss to her parents and close friends.”
Burack rose to prominence after appearing in the 2020 Netflix reality series — which followed agents navigating high-stakes sales. She had previously worked in her family’s construction supply business before transitioning into real estate.
“She was a hardworking real estate agent who was there for others,” Paulette Corsair, a family friend and fellow agent, said in an interview with Newsday. “She was loved greatly by her friends and a close family.”
Burack also had a reputation for fundraising and community involvement in New York City, Corsair said.
As of Friday, no arrests have been made. Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to come forward.
JKDS is a licensed New York State real estate brokerage firm. #10351200205