Morning Briefing: RE/MAX expands global network

RE/MAX expands global network… Spring season off to strong start for Massachusetts… FICO now offers free credit scores to 200 million accounts…

Morning Briefing: RE/MAX expands global network
RE/MAX expands global network
RE/MAX says that it now has more than 30,000 real estate agents outside the US and Canada having grown almost 17 per cent in 2016.

The real estate franchisor has seen particularly strong growth in its global network in Europe and the Caribbean and also has a growing presence in Latin America.

"We're incredibly excited and proud to be hitting this global milestone," said Larry Oberly, Vice President, Global Development, RE/MAX, LLC.

"RE/MAX has a global presence that is unmatched by its competitors. Our unique business model revolves around the agent and raises professional standards in the industry by embracing training and transparency. We have the most productive agents who strive to provide their clients with the best customer service possible."

The network was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger and now operates in more than 100 countries.

Spring season off to strong start for Massachusetts
Pending single-family sales for March were up 6.6 per cent in Massachusetts compared to a year earlier with condos gaining 14.6 per cent.

Massachusetts Association of Realtors says that the strong start to the spring season comes after rising levels of single-family homes under contract in 48 of the past 49 months.

“Pending sales can be a good predictor of future closed sales, so an increase like this is always encouraging to see at the start of the spring market,” said 2017 MAR President Paul Yorkis, president of Patriot Real Estate in Medway.

The median price statewide was $350,000 for a single-family home, up 6 per cent year-over-year; and $335,000 for a condo, up 8.2 per cent from a year earlier.

FICO now offers free credit scores to 200 million accounts
FICO scores are now available to over 200 million credit accounts through the FICO Score Open Access program.

The program allows more than 100 lenders to give customers access to their FICO score free of charge, enabling them to take control of their credit profile. It was offered initially to credit card customers in February.

“Consumers are empowered when they know their FICO Score,” said Paramita Bandyopadhyay, general manager consumer credit card, PNC Financial Services Group. “Customers have reacted very positively to viewing their FICO Scores and we have been very pleased with the results.”