Inman events are the best way to connect. Gain insights and build your network this October at the virtual Inman Connect where we’ll explore the Industry’s Playbook for the Fall Market. Then, join us in January for Inman Connect New York, in person or virtually. Reserve your tickets now, prices will go up!
Serial entrepreneur Ben Kinney has created an enviable real estate career with a robust portfolio of Keller Williams franchises, four award-winning SAAS (software as a service) companies, a steadily growing mortgage, title and escrow firm and a robust nationwide coaching program.
Despite all of his success, which includes a $100 million investment from Goldman Sachs, Kinney told the Inman Connect crowd that he hasn’t moved his eye away from “the bear on the hill.”
“I spent a lot of time in the woods as a kid and as an adult and there’s been a couple of times where I’ve looked up on the mountain, and there’s been a big, scary grizzly,” he said. “When you see a bear on a hill, you observe it, and you’re cautious, but you take pictures because it’s a really cool thing.”
“But when that bear is on the hill, we’re making a decision,” he added. “Is the bear going to come into camp? Or is the bear going to continue walking across the hill in the direction that it’s in? So all of us right now? I think we’d like to say that there isn’t a bear on the hill, but affordability hasn’t been this bad since 1996.”
Although the coming downturn isn’t projected to match the Great Recession, since the majority of homeowners have solid personal finances and have built up enough equity to sell instead of going into foreclosure, Kinney said that doesn’t mean the coming months won’t be rough.
“With affordability so bad and this kind of shift, I…
