Teams have dominated the last several years in real estate, but building a profitable one means making smart decisions about technology and people, experts said at Inman Connect Las Vegas.

Multifamily investment giant TruAmerica has said it has acquired five suburban apartment communities that together comprise almost 1,500 units in Florida, Phoenix and Ohio.

The acquisition spans three transactions and includes a 981-unit portfolio that’s spread across three properties, which was acquired in partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The portfolio includes 314 units in Linden Crossroads and 449 units in Linden Audobon Park (pictured) in Orlando, plus 218 units in Luxe Scottsdale, Phoenix. The properties, which range from studio apartments to three-bedroom apartment homes, were built between 2015 and 2017, TruAmerica said.

“We are thrilled to further expand our relationship with TruAmerica, especially in markets like Phoenix and Orlando that are benefitting from incredibly strong market fundamentals,” said Jared Lazarus, Managing Director at Oaktree’s Real Estate group.

In a second transaction, TruAmerica said it purchased a 238-unit apartment property in Winter Park, Florida, from the investment manager Park at Napoli. Those units range from one- to three-bedroom apartments.

TruAmerica said the plan is to renovate all of the newly acquired homes, which bring its total holdings in Florida to 25 and its total in Arizona to 12.

The housing market has its ups and downs in any economic era, but today we face lower demand for mortgages than has been seen for over two decades.

This is a tricky state of affairs for various reasons, so let’s discuss how we’ve reached this point and where we go from here.

Inflation & interest spikes are hurting consumers

With rising interest rates implemented as an inflation-fighting measure, it’s no surprise that people are less willing to take on debt at this point in time.

There has long been concern over the cost of living in cities, and people who were already feeling the pinch before the current crisis are doubly in danger of being unable to afford to pay the bills, let alone consider the cost of keeping up with the interest alone on a mortgage.

Of course on the flip side, consumers are arguably in a better position today than at any point in the past. Thanks to the competitive nature of the market, there’s more choice and better value to be gleaned. Products from loanDepot mortgage lending, for example, are customer-focused and built to save you money, rather than leaving you in financial dire straits.

The customer relationship management focused proptech startup Chime has announced a new social media tool called Social Studio.

According to Chime, Social Studio is designed to enable real estate agents to capitalize on social media as a low-cost opportunity to build awareness and fill their sales pipelines.

Chime said Social Studio is able to do this by automatically creating and publishing organic social media posts from its existing platform. This means agents get to spend more time developing engaging content and devote extra effort on managing operations, the company added.

Social Studio is said to come with features such as showcasing of listings, websites and blog posts automatically within the MLS and current websites. It provides advanced post scheduling tools, detailed lead engagement metrics, customized lead nurturing tools, plus auto-posting when a listing status changes on the MLS.

“Every real estate professional knows time is money and as the market tightens it matters more than ever where you spend your time and focus. Our platform has always been designed to help automate key business functions and let agents and teams do what they do best – service the client and close deals,” stated Chime Head of Industry Development Stuart Sim.

An analysis of Redfin searches suggests many people are considering a change of scenery, and lower prices.

Seeking a pied-à-terre approximating “the nicest hotel room possible,” a couple scoured the West Side. Here’s what they found.

The old ways of doing things are giving way to newer, more innovative management styles that work, both for you and those you lead. Michael Zaransky offers insights to help you navigate the way we're doing business now.

Are you prepared to help your new hires be successful? Many brokers have misconceptions about how much training it actually takes to help your team members stick around past day one.

While funding may be scarce for real estate startups, Power Buyers Knock and HomeLight CEOs Sean Black and Drew Uher said at Inman Connect, that they aren't having trouble securing capital.

At Inman Connect Las Vegas, panelists Thad Wong, Josh Harley and Kamini Lane agreed opportunities for real estate pros will abound in a downturn: Just reach out and grab them.

BoomTown promoted the rollout of fully integrated office oversight capabilities at Inman Connect Las Vegas to an exhibit hall full of current and prospective users on Wednesday.

Deep down, even the most cutting-edge consumers tend to have a soft spot for things they already know and love, Derek Thompson argues.

Offerpad recorded a gross profit of $93 million, an 83 percent annual increase and its third straight profitable quarter, according to a Q2 earnings report released Wednesday afternoon.

Tameka Vasquez handles marketing at Google's Sidewalk Labs, an innovation-minded team of abstract thinkers, technologists and futurists focused on urban innovation. She spoke at the 2022 Inman Connect Las Vegas.

CENTURY 21 AllPoints is pleased to welcome Tom Shrum as Regional Vice President of Sales

covering Fairfield County and the Connecticut Shoreline.

A member of the Mid-Fairfield County Association of REALTORS®, Shrum, a third generation

Realtor® brings over 43 years of experience in real estate sales and business management.

Shrum’s most recent role was as a Licensed Real Estate Broker with William Pitt Sotheby’s

During a session Wednesday at Inman Connect Las Vegas, real estate tech expert Mike DelPrete said staking out a piece of the agent commission pool is baked into newer business models.

The leader of one of Douglas Elliman's top teams, Eklund Gomes, and former Bravo reality television star spoke Wednesday at Inman Connect Las Vegas about his path to success in luxury real estate.

At her first Inman Connect appearance on Wednesday, Anywhere COO Melissa McSherry talked about the power of technology to reduce friction.

David Fernandez, Jennifer Lee and Emanuele Fiore join the company from Compass, while Jason Christie comes from his independent brokerage, The Polaris Team.