Considered one of the fastest-growing national real estate brokerages in the country, eXp Realty now has more than 65,000 agents, according to financial experts at The Motley Fool. And eXp has a lofty goal of employing 550,000 agents within the next five years. The parent company of eXp Realty, eXp World Holdings Inc. (EXPI), is publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
In Rhode Island, the company is represented by licensed Realtor Paul W. Cutler, who is a true believer in eXp, claiming that it is “revolutionizing” real estate transactions through digital innovation.
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PBN: eXp Realty reported that it doubled its number of real estate agents from 30,000 in the summer of 2020 to 60,000 during the past summer. What’s behind this?
CUTLER: EXPI and agents are rewarded with EXPI stock for achieving certain benchmarks. [The company rewards] agents for attracting quality agents to eXp. It has a multiplying effect. When you personally bring someone over to eXp from another firm, you take a personal interest on this individual’s success. You work collectively and collaboratively on transactions together. … eXp also offers our agents information and resources that allow us to be ahead of the trends in the industry, and in many times, the leader in real estate trends.
One example is the role that cryptocurrency and blockchain is beginning to have on the real estate space. I recently got certified as a Crypto Certified Agent in real estate. People who have increased their wealth by investing in cryptocurrency prefer to purchase real estate with cryptocurrency. With a platform by the name of Propy, they offer this possibility.
PBN: What are the latest trends in real estate that you have noticed as a result of the pandemic?
CUTLER: COVID-19 and the impact of a temporary shutdown are reshaping commercial real estate. Hotels and motels are struggling through the pandemic. Many will permanently close and be repurposed into alternative commercial spaces. Since housing is in such high demand, many properties will be converted into apartments to fuel the limited supply of housing.
I am working with a client who wants to convert a local hotel into senior housing. Corporations and private individuals are in dire need of storage solutions as they move from their previous workspace. The need for storage is shaping some of these commercial properties or land into storage solutions.
PBN: You have a specialty in liquor store properties. What’s your advice for finding prime real estate to establish a liquor store in Rhode Island?
CUTLER: We have a few liquor stores for sale and through the process of getting these liquor stores under contract, we had a number of buyer inquiries to just buy the license. These interested buyers are looking to buy just the liquor license to then transfer the license to a better location or a larger store. In this realm, my commercial team has numerous buyers who are interested in purchasing. We also seek owners willing to sell right now.
Similar to the residential housing market, the shortage of homes drives up the value of properties. The critical aspect to purchasing a liquor store … [is] that the financials need to support the purchase of the building, the liquor license and the good will.
PBN: You’ve been involved with medical office sales. What’s going on with real estate in the medical industry in Rhode Island right now?
CUTLER: Investors still have confidence in medical/health care properties in Rhode Island. Medical buildings with long-term leases in place continue to gain the most interest.
A recent report mentioned the acquisition of 12 medical buildings across Rhode Island and Massachusetts were purchased by Bain Capital. That story noted how this asset purchase benefits Bain Capital with a diverse rent roll, offering such health care services as ambulatory services, including cardiovascular, oncology-hematology, women’s health, surgical and orthopedic centers of excellence. And Bain Capital LLC is one of the world’s leading multi-asset alternative investment firms.
PBN: What are the biggest challenges that you’re facing in the real estate industry today?
CUTLER: Mills throughout Rhode Island and New England that were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s have sat dormant for decades because most of the manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas to take advantage of the labor supply and lower costs.
My commercial team is specializing in mills and identifying properties that are ripe for conversion. I recently toured one property with a client at a commercial office space. It is as if we walked back in time prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. It was like we were in a time capsule. Calendars on the walls of the offices were still set in March 2020. Trash barrels waited to be dumped. It dawned on me that the folks who worked in this office showed up to work one day thinking they would be back the next day – or at least the following week.
This is happening worldwide as corporations make significant changes to the way they operate and conduct business. The big questions that corporations and businesses are making now include: Do we need this much space to operate our daily business? Can we operate in a smaller office space and work remotely? Do we need office space or can we work remotely 100% of the time?
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
