BUSINESS AND MONEY
The median home-sale price increased 17% year over year to $341,250—an all-time high—according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage.
Below are other key housing market takeaways for more than 400 U.S. metro areas during the 4-week period ending April 11.
Note that at this time last year, pandemic stay-at-home orders halted homebuying and selling, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable for select housing metrics. As such, Redfin has broken this analysis into two sections: metrics that are acceptable to compare to the same period in 2020, and metrics for which it makes more sense to compare to the same period in 2019.
Metrics to compare to 2020:
- Asking prices reached an all-time high of $353,750.
- Homes that sold during the period were on the market for a median of 23 days, the shortest time on market since 2012. This was 15 days fewer than the same period in 2020.
- 43% of homes sold for more than their list price, an all-time high. This was 17 percentage points higher than the same period a year earlier.
- The average sale-to-list price ratio—which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices—increased 2.1 percentage points year over year to an all-time high of 100.7%, meaning the average home sold for 0.7% more than its asking price.
- 59% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market. This is a new all-time high (Redfin’s data for this measure goes back to 2012).
- 46% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, an all-time high.
Metrics…
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WASHINGTON BUREAU
Supply Chain Leaders Call on Congrerss to Pass Bipartisan DRIVE-Safe Act
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“Many…
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Firms from the US and China are most ready to transform innovation aspiration into results
According to the latest report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Most Innovative Companies 2021: Overcoming the Innovation Readiness Gap, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of innovation excellence in turbulent times. Pharma companies performed strongly this year, joining technology and software companies that have dominated the rankings in recent years. The survey also identified strong regional variations in the innovation readiness of companies, with China and the US in the lead.
The report finds that only about 20% of companies globally have built high-performing innovation systems that can transform ambitious aspirations into real results. Moreover, some industries show big gaps in innovation readiness. Companies that are both committed (they back priorities with investment) and ready (they have the necessary platforms and practices in place) are up to four times as likely as those that aren’t to outperform their peers in terms of revenues from new products, services, and business models.
“Innovative companies have reaped the benefit of their earlier investment through this current crisis period, both for their shareholders and in terms of wider societal impact,” said Ramón Baeza, BCG managing director, and senior partner and a co-author of the report.
It goes without saying: The past year has looked unlike any other in recent history. Everything we used to take for granted about ordinary life—from grocery shopping and taking our kids to school to working out at the gym—has changed dramatically. We’ve all been required to come up with workarounds to accommodate the new normal we’re currently living in.
Nowhere has this seismic change been felt more keenly than in the traditional office landscape. The simple act of going to work, attending meetings, and giving presentations to clients has been replaced by a virtual, work-from-home corporate structure. While a number of employees say they enjoy the benefits of telecommuting to their jobs, others have struggled with the feelings of isolation, loneliness, and frustration that has accompanied working from home.
Fortunately for employers, there are still plenty of ways to boost morale, motivate employees, and show sincere appreciation to staff members without having to be face to face. Here are a few ideas for digital employee rewards that you can give your staff to show how much they mean to you.
The Gift of Self-Care
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United Airlines Plans to Train 5,000 New Pilots by 2030: At Least 50% Women and People of Color
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Redfin Reports Homes Sell At Fastest Pace on Record: 59% Under Contract Within 2 Weeks
The median home-sale price increased 17% year over year to $335,613—an all-time high—according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. However, year-over-year comparisons may more reflect the fact that this time last year, stay-at-home-orders halted both home-buying and selling activity. They don’t necessarily reflect…
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From Government to Marketing and Technology: Ryan Raiker on How He Managed to Make the Career Switch
We caught up with Ryan after seeing a recent interview featured in The Hudson Weekly. While careers seem to evolve over time, Ryan had a unique change we felt would be an interesting story for the Ritz Herald reader community. Ryan spent several years working in state and local government, mostly in improving citizen engagement, analyzing processes, and helping government agencies perform more efficiently and effectively. In 2017 Ryan made a change, leaving public service for a startup. He has been catching attention as a mover and shaker in the marketing and technology space ever since.
I sat down with Ryan this afternoon to ask him about the change of industry and discuss what drove his decision making. Here are highlights:
Thinking back to you career in the public sector, what made you leave?
I think the biggest thing that had me thinking of a career outside of government was the lack of change. Everything in government seemed slow. It felt stale and dry. While I have a huge passion for all things tech, there wasn’t enough digital modernization in my experiences. I mean I was working with people who were still using paper and pen to record constituent service requests. Sure, we implemented Philly 311 to provide access to non-emergency city services, but old habits die slow in government. Oftentimes, projects last years, fail to deliver a positive return on investment, and are many times simply nice press conference points or campaign promises that never actually realize their potential.
Today, when I and…
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Lawrence E. Golub, CEO of Golub Capital, said, “The U.S. economy is booming outside of directly COVID-damaged sectors. Earnings growth in the first quarter was the strongest in the history of the Golub Capital Altman Index. Profit growth accelerated even though revenue growth was soft in aggregate and slightly negative in the Consumer and Healthcare sectors. This remarkable margin expansion suggests that companies made smart decisions in cutting costs and adapting strategically to Covid.”
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