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Browse recent articles about the Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® and BeachesMLS in the news.
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Inman highlights South Florida Realtors®’ Perfect Strangers Campaign for empowering homebuyers and elevating agent value
Inman News
Inman highlights the positive consumer-focused ad campaign Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® launched to help understand how to work with an agent. Led by President David Serle, the “Perfect Strangers” commercial aims to help everyday buyers understand the value a realtor brings.
“Only a Realtor® was built at a pivotal time for Realtors® and continues to serve as a long-term investment in the industry’s future,” said Dionna Hall, CEO of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®,” in the release. “The commercial’s powerful message emphasizes how Realtors® are indispensable in the home buying process, providing their clients a sense of security during one of their largest investments — buying a home.”
“Realtors® are multi-faceted experts who juggle an array of complex scenarios for their clients while getting them to the closing table and underscores the relationships built along the way,” said David Serle, president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, in the statement.
David Serle Predicts South Florida’s 2025 Market: Better Prices, More Options, Less Pressure
Sun Sentinel
As 2025 approaches, South Florida’s high-cost housing market is expected to offer better prices, greater inventory, and more choices for buyers and renters. David Serle, president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, notes that prices have started to level off and will encourage, potential home buyers or renters, to take their time, compare options and negotiate deals.
“We’re actually seeing this in both the buying and the renting,” David Serle stated. “We’re looking at more renters coming into the market and more buyers coming into the market as they perceive that this is a good time to buy or a good time to rent.” Overall, 2025 should see a more balanced, opportunity-rich landscape for those looking to live in South Florida.
Incoming President Jonathan Lickstein shares what you need to know heading into 2025
South Florida Agent Magazine
Jonathan Lickstein, Incoming President of Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, emphasizes the historic year for real estate in Florida — from newly enacted state legislation to compensation and representation rule changes for Realtors nationwide. South Florida has experienced increased housing supply, especially in condos, though demand has lagged. With negotiation becoming key after the Sitzer-Burnett settlement, Realtors® are urged to guide clients through complex transactions while leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency and accuracy in MLS processes and communications. Looking ahead to 2025, the Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® association focuses on AI integration, continued education for agents, and launching the "Perfect Strangers" campaign to showcase Realtors®' critical role in mitigating risks and ensuring successful transactions.
“Throughout my nearly 20-year career, there have seldom been times as critical as it is today to be well-informed and engaged as a real estate professional. So, as the year comes to a close, let’s explore some of the insights and trends that will help shape South Florida residential real estate in 2025 and beyond.”
Dionna Hall addresses the Clear Cooperation Policy at NAR NXT
Inman News
The Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) was notably absent from discussions at the 2024 NAR NXT conference, despite being a hotly debated issue in real estate over the last year. Dionna Hall, CEO of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, shared her thoughts in an interview following the event.
“There were some pre-approved questions ahead of time that we agreed to with NAR, so we stuck to those instead of discussing CCP,” Hall explained. She also noted that NAR’s legal team had set restrictions to avoid potential antitrust issues. While the CCP remains a topic of significant debate, Hall pointed out that it seems to be at an impasse, with NAR continuing to gather feedback and address related concerns.
President David Serle addresses the Treasure Coast market before and after Hurricane Milton
TC Palm.
Before Hurricane Milton made landfall on October 9, data reflected a sellers’ market along the Treasure Coast. David Serle, president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, has addressed his thoughts in a recent interview with TC Palm.
“Inventory has creeped up a bit for single-family homes, but we are still in a seller's market," he stated. Although Milton affected several neighborhoods in the Treasure Coast area, Serle believes the hurricane won’t negatively impact the real estate market on a large scale.
South Florida sees boom with 14,000 new apartments. Will that lower prices?
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Our 2024 President, David Serle, spoke with Sun Sentinel about the current state of Broward County’s residential real estate market. According to our July market reports, there were nearly 9,000 active listings of townhouses and condos in July throughout the county, as opposed to about 4,500 active townhome and condo listings in July of last year.
“In the next three to four months, you might see that average sale price come down a little bit, but prices are still pretty much remaining stable even in the condo market until it gets into closer to the eight, nine months of inventory,” David said. “That’s when you’ll see prices start to come down a little bit.”
Palm Beach County Workforce Affordable Housing Program gets $2 Million in Federal Funding
WPBF 25 News
To combat the increasing housing costs in Palm Beach, the county’s Workforce Affordable Housing Development program is getting a big boost in the form of more than $2 million in federal funding. Our very own association president, David Serle, recently offered his insight in an interview with WPBF 25.
“[The funding] is going to affect a lot of residents that may have an opportunity now to purchase a home that they may not have had before. So, I think it's a really good thing,” he said. However, the housing market in our area is robust with more options out there for buyers than there were two years ago. “That's why it's so important to really lean on your local real estate professional local realtor to be able to navigate you through some of the challenges and obstacles of today's market.”
Should more MLSs join forces, share data — or go it alone?
Real Estate News
Our CEO, Dionna Hall, recently spoke with Real Estate News about the industry's changes as of August 21. Over the past year, we have armed members and informed consumers with essential information that reinforces the importance of Realtors® as essential contributors to real estate.
Dionna expressed her belief that these recent changes will remind homebuyers about the importance of buyer representation. “I think that the consumer realizes that there's a lot of value to having somebody by their side that understands the process," she said. "So, I think even while parts of that may change, that main fact cannot be denied. There's a lot of information out there, and it's hard to synthesize when you are a person that is not trained in that area.”
Business as usual: hiccups but few calamities as NAR rules roll out
Inman News
How are Realtors® navigating the recent settlement changes from NAR? “Since Aug. 17, I have been relieved to see our local Realtors® are having success obtaining buyer written agreements and are confident in their abilities to make the needed changes to comply with the settlement,” said Dionna Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® and BeachesMLS.
The new rules for Realtors® — and home buyers and sellers
WLRN NPR News
Florida leads the nation in the number of Realtors® in the state. What do Buyers and Sellers need to know about the recent NAR changes? "These are the changes we are faced with, and we need to embrace and lean into this and not try and circumvent the rules," said President of the Broward, Palm Beaches, and St. Lucie Realtors David Serle. "Our job is to make sure that it's more transparent and to protect the consumer going forward, even more than we had in the previous years."
Media Information
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The Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors® is South Florida’s premier REALTOR association. More than 42,000 members in eight locations are equipped to sell real estate along 130 miles of coastline in South Florida and the Treasure Coast. Broward, Palm Beaches, St. Lucie Realtors® work to enhance its members' ability and opportunity to conduct business professionally, ethically and profitably throughout their career. As the third largest local association in the nation, the association empowers members as leaders and influencers in the industry and community. Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors® is the local chapter of the National Association of REALTORS® To learn more visit, RWorld.com
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Dionna Hall is the CEO of the Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® and BeachesMLS, with 42,000 members and 43,000 subscribers, respectively. Hall’s Association is the third largest local Realtor® Association in the country. She oversees 80 staff in 8 offices spanning 130 miles of Florida Coastline.
Her MLS and Association credits her with numerous accomplishments, including facilitating their last 2 mergers (included the MLS and Association), one of which was the largest Association merger in NAR history.
BeachesMLS has formed several partnerships to lead into the future, secure their broker’s data, and contribute to their brokers financial success, such as becoming an owner in REdistribute, which seeks MLS data transparency and broker compensation for the listing data they contribute to the MLS. BeachesMLS also announced a data share with the two largest MLSs in the country: California Regional MLS and BrightMLS, which collectively represent agents servicing consumers with the largest incoming migration to South Florida. BeachesMLS recently launched Nestfully, a consumer-facing portal run by MLSs on behalf of the brokerage community that centers around your listing and your lead. In addition, BeachesMLS is an investor and partner in MLS Align, which has developed a showing service platform, Aligned Showings.
Dionna is the 2024 Chair of CMLS, the association that represents MLSs in North America. She is a member of NAR’s Emerging Technology Advisory Board and NAR’s MLS Issues & Policy Committee. She also serves as a board member of REdistribute and MLS Align. In 2024, Dionna was named #96 on the Swanepoel200, which names the most influential executives in real estate. She was also honored as one of South Florida Business Journal’s 2024 Influential Business Women and named a Futurist by RISMedia.
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Jonathan Lickstein is the 2025 president of Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors®. With 18 years of experience in the real estate industry, Jonathan shares his extensive knowledge in emerging technologies, social media strategies, professional standards, and the Code of Ethics essential for today’s AI-driven marketplace.
Beyond his role as president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, Jonathan also serves on the Board of Directors for both the Florida Realtors® and National Association of Realtors ®, as well as on several committees across the Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® and Florida Realtors®.
After living in Honduras for six years and being exposed to different markets, Jonathan made a grand impact to the expansion of LoKation Real Estate. He played a pivotal role in growing a small team to more than 4,300 agents, earning recognition from Real Trends and RISMedia as the 11th largest independent brokerage in the U.S.
Beyond his role as president of Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors®, Jonathan is the Chief Operating Officer at LoKation Real Estate, serving as a Broker, Mentor, and Certified Instructor. He also prioritizes giving back to the real estate community as an RPAC Major Investor and contributes to various committees with Florida Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors®.
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