We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Ohio Real Title President, Ryan Marrie, as he reflected on the past year and provided insight on what he sees coming in 2022. “This year has been the story of two different markets,” he notes. “For the first six months, it was the strongest that we have seen in 16 years.”
Of course, the last half of the year has told a different story. While the year started with low rates and low inventory, paired with high demand, things slowed in the summer. He acknowledges that when the market first began retracting in August and September it was a bit concerning. But it has leveled off since September. “While it is not like it was at this time last year, Ohio Real Title is in a strong position, and we are fortunate for that.”
The real estate market mirrored the overall economy the past three to four months, with concerns about inflation and prices going up. Homebuyers were concerned he says, about raising rates, high prices, and low inventory. “But as things have settled in we are seeing a strong amount of activity again – better than I expected to be honest.”
As for how Ohio Real Title is weathering the storm, Ryan admits the company is in a bit of a unique situation compared to others in the industry. “We are fortunate that we can be patient and ride this out.” He goes on to say that, “we have great teams in place at all of our offices and we are not looking to disrupt that.” Others in the industry have not had the benefit of being able to wait for the market to rebound.
“While we know the first 6 months are not going to be as strong, we have never been in a better position in terms of staffing and the teams in place in our offices. Servicing our clients and market share – things will blow up again in the Spring and we are positioned perfectly to be there to take care of it when it does.”
Ryan believes that real estate in the long term will continue to be a leader in the economy. The millennial generation is just now starting to buy houses, he notes, and that is a huge amount of people. Ohio Real Title, then, is focused on finishing this year strong to put the company in a good position for the coming year.
It’s not just in Ohio that the company is in a good position. Through its sister company Venture Title Services, the team is entering its second full year of servicing Florida and, Ryan notes, “things have really started to take off.” It initially took some time to get up to speed and then Hurricane Ian really devastated the market, but things are really coming back strong.
While there is still a ton of devastation throughout the region, it is recovering faster than expected. Through the companies joint venture partners in Southwest Florida, there is more interest and demand each month which means both ORT and VTS are sitting in great positions for the new year.
In the coming year, Ohio Real Title plans to focus on its existing ten offices, growing market share and growth within the regions it currently serves. However, Ryan says he is, “always open to other opportunities.” And his team makes all of this possible. “Everybody did a tremendous job with a lot of growth and a ton of volume. Everyone did a wonderful job pulling together and getting done what we need to.”
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