Broker confidence hit record lows at the height of the pandemic, but a year later, agents are feeling more hopeful about the future.
During the first quarter, brokers’ overall confidence was 6.7 out of 10, a 53 percent jump from the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 79 percent year-over-year increase, according to the confidence index report from the Real Estate Board of New York. Crain’s first reported on the survey.
That confidence level is also the highest it’s been since the fourth quarter of 2019, indicating some return to normalcy.
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“This surge in broker confidence is happening alongside encouraging signs in our city, the overall economy, and particularly the real estate market, where commercial and residential market activity are exhibiting clear signs of momentum,” REBNY President James Whelan said in a statement to the publication.
Residential brokers expressed the most confidence, with a rating of 7.7, the highest level since the first quarter of 2016. For commercial brokers, that number was 5.7, a return to 2019’s levels.
The increases follow a topsy-turvy year for real estate. In 2020, confidence hit record lows for three consecutive quarters, reaching 3.1 during the third quarter of the year.
[Crain’s] — Sasha Jones