(Today I’m detouring from my regular Delray Beach thoughts. I noticed something last week investors might find useful pertaining to real estate stocks and brokerage stock prices).
Over the past year, some of the biggest real estate stocks saw their stock prices collapse.
CoStar and Zillow took some of the steepest hits, with share values for each falling by roughly half. CoStar, a leading provider of commercial real estate data, traded near $97 a share last August. It fell to almost $37 at the start April – a 62% beating. Zillow’s results are similar, crashing from near $90 last September to about $40 a couple weeks ago – a 55% slashing.
Real Estate Stocks of Brokerages are Hurting
Traditional brokerage real estate stocks haven’t fared much better:
eXp Realty – whom I partner with – is down 24% (was down 39% two weeks ago)
The Real Brokerage is down 37%
RE/MAX is off 32%
Compass is down 16%
Douglas Elliman is down 8% over the past year
Why?
Home sales are near 30-year lows in both 2024 and 2025. Investors are skeptical that a meaningful rebound is coming in 2026. The 30-year fixed mortgage dipped below 6% in February — the first time in over three years. After bouncing back to 6.5%, it’s fallen again to about 6.3% today.
With home prices still elevated and economists warning that sub-6% mortgage rates may not return this spring, buyers remain on the sidelines during what should be the real estate market’s most active season.
Add to that, company-specific turbulence reeks havoc for real estate stocks.
Zillow – chart above – is battling lawsuits over its Listing Access Standards, copyright claims, and allegations of steering. The iBuyer space is even more volatile — Opendoor is up 458% year-over-year near $5.30 a share, while Offerpad is down almost 60% from its highs to around 87 cents and just received its second NYSE delisting warning in 11 months.
While prices of most of these real estate stocks fell in the last year, they may be nearing the end of their weakness. Here are things to consider:
* Our Federal government is steadfast on lowering rates – all rates. With a new Federal Reserve Chairman soon to take over, it may not be long before they begin their rate-reduction plans. This could cause two things:
1. Buyers return to the market as lower mortgage rates take some pressure off our housing affordability issues.
2. This will cause the number of countrywide sales to rise.
Industry experts believe both these events will occur later this year. If so, the real estate stocks above may be “cheap” today, and rise over the next twelve months. Some also believe the worst is now behind us. This may be why these real estate stocks are so low… and in the last couple weeks you see them reversing and bouncing up.
(I am not a stock analyst, nor licensed to give such advice. I am, however, able to share an idea that may interest you so you can dive deeper and make your own investing decisions).
(Main Photo: Exp Realty LLC one year stock price).
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