Real eState
‘Selling Sunset’s Jason Oppenheim Reveals Season 8 Renewal for Netflix’s Hit Real-Estate Reality Show (Exclusive)
Sitting on a couch post-workout session in his office on the Sunset Strip, L.A. real estate broker Jason Oppenheim tells The Hollywood Reporter exclusively that his popular Netflix reality show Selling Sunset has been renewed for an eighth season and that production will begin soon on the latest installments of the series.
“For me, each season gets more and more fun,” says Oppenheim, who had originally hoped that the show — a bingeable mix of real estate, oft-combative personal dynamics, over-the-top fashion and L.A. nightlife — would run for at least three seasons. “When we were doing season one, we were like, ‘If we can get to season three, we had a real show. Anything above that would be icing.’ We’ve been running on icing for years now.”
It’s a Friday evening, just five days ahead of the premiere of Selling Sunset’s season 7 reunion special, which airs Wednesday on Netflix at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and is hosted by Queer Eye’s Tan France. The teaser video for the reunion includes what appears to be a confrontation between two of Oppenheim’s ex-girlfriends, real estate agent Chrishell Stause and model Marie-Lou Nurk, with the latter, a surprise guest, asserting cryptically, “Chrishell was just a topic on camera.” At another point, France asks Oppenheim, who is hooked up to a lie detector, “Are you still in love with Chrishell?”
It’s a lot of attention on Oppenheim, who says he has generally tried to stay above the fray on the show. “Jason always tries to pretend like there’s no drama going on,” said cast member Emma Hernan to THR earlier this year.
But Oppenheim — recently featured in People’s Sexiest Men issue as “sexiest 46-year-old” — admits that he’s become more relaxed about being on camera.
“I think I just put down my guard more every season and I think I’m less anxious. I’m more willing to share. My skin gets thicker and I’m really learning. I know it won’t go forever, so I’m really just trying to enjoy the process,” he says.
“If you would have asked me in season one, will I share a relationship on camera or go on a date or fight with my brother or whatever it is, I was so concerned and careful and now I am just not that way anymore about the show. I’m just more willing to be open and share. It makes the show more fun the less you think about it. It makes me happier,” continues Oppenheim, who says that he is not currently dating anyone. “Happily single,” he underlines. “Who knows for how long, but I’m happy right now.”
Oppenheim has plenty to be happy about. Selling Sunset season 7 was ranked No. 2 on Netflix’s list of top English language shows for the week of Nov. 6-12. Season 2 of the spinoff show Selling the OC aired over the summer on Netflix. And the original Selling Sunset has been nominated three years in a row for an Emmy for outstanding unstructured reality program.
In the years since Selling Sunset debuted in 2019, the Oppenheim Group has grown from 10 agents to around 80 and has added real estate offices in Newport Beach, San Diego and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. “More than 20 percent [of the growth] I would have to attribute to the show,” Oppenheim says.
TMZ reporters rarely lose sight of him. Just before his meeting with THR, a reporter for that outlet had come up to him in the parking lot of his office. “She wanted to ask me if Bre [Tiesi] was still at the company,” says Oppenheim, referring to the agent and cast member who stormed out of the opening party for the Oppenheim Group’s new offices in the finale of season 7. (Tiesi told THR she’s still not sure if she’ll stay with the brokerage.)
Not that he’s hurting for people looking to work at the Oppenheim Group. He notes that the brokerage receives “half a dozen to a dozen emails a day” from folks who are “ fans of the show” and want to be agents there. “I mean, I don’t want to hire a fan of the show. I want to hire a real estate agent. But we get a lot of inquiries. It’s flattering,” he says, adding of the stream of unsolicited emails that come in, “We get just all kinds of things. I get some marriage proposals once in a while — not anything I would accept.”
He also notes with pride that a TikTok video tour he recently gave of the offices — in which he shows off the whiskey bar, vapor fireplace, herringbone flooring, 11 Ravens pool table, vintage Paul Richardson studio lamp, furniture by Rove Concepts and even a DJ set-up — has racked up 3.7 million views. Given the interest in the show and large battery of windows facing Sunset Boulevard, signs say, “Please stay three feet from the glass.” Says Oppenheim (who at the end of the interview signs autographs for a family who accosts him in the parking lot behind the offices), “Fans are up here all day long.”
During the sit-down interview, Oppenheim is at his most animated and garrulous when discussing the business of selling homes.
As concerned as he is with how the city of Los Angeles’ controversial mansion tax is slowing down the luxury market (“I think the tax revenue in this city is going to go down the tubes,” he says), the broker is even more worried about the recent class-action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) as well a select number of national brokerages accusing the real estate industry of colluding to inflate agent commissions. A jury ruled against NAR and its rule that a home seller must pay a commission to the agent who represents the buyer. NAR is expected to appeal the decision.
“It’s throwing a huge wrench in owning a real estate brokerage,” says Oppenheim. “There are countries that are structured similar to what I think the Department of Justice and these plaintiffs are looking for. And in those countries, Australia being a preeminent example, less than 10 percent of buyers use an agent, and when they do, they only pay one percent. So essentially the buyer agent commission is gone, and that is something that could happen in this country.”
If buyers aren’t required to have agents in the U.S. in the future, continues Oppenheim, “you’ll see a million jobs lost. You’ll see 500,000 to 750,000 agents leave the profession and you’ll see probably a quarter million people who work at large brokerages lose their jobs. This could be as bad as seeing every major brokerage in the United States going out of business, because very few brokerages would be able to survive losing 40 to 50 percent of their revenue. So it [will be] devastating to the economy. It’s devastating to the real estate profession. And I think it does a significant harm to buyers inasmuch as if they’re not represented on the purchase of maybe their most important financial asset … from a consumer protection perspective, I don’t see how that protects the consumer, the buyer.”
He’s hopeful though that currently high interest rates, which have also slowed the luxury market, will come down next year. “I think [they] will come down next year. I’d like to see interest rates in the fives on a 30 [year mortgage],” says Oppenheim, adding that he does not want to see rates drop much more than that. “I don’t think they should. I hope they don’t come back down to where they were. Those were too low, artificially low.”
And Oppenheim is well aware that the Selling Sunset phenomenon won’t go on forever. “In a few years,” he says, “I’ll be back to just being a real estate agent again.”
Real eState
Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Real eState
Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Real eState
Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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