Millennials and Rent Control

Back in February, I wrote a long post imploring the Young Professionals Network (YPN) of the National Association of REALTORS to take up housing affordability as their issue: Homeownership is not under attack; if anything, homeownership is widely subsidized and supported, in large part because of REALTOR political action. Think about it. Mortgage interest deduction … Read more

[VIP] Did Redfin Just Surrender?

Yesterday, Redfin announced that it was entering into a partnership with Opendoor to become a conduit for Opendoor’s direct purchase offers: SAN FRANCISCO and SEATTLE, July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Opendoor and Redfin, two of the nation’s largest technology-powered real estate companies, today announced home sellers in Phoenix and Atlanta can now request an Opendoor offer through Redfin’s site and mobile apps. By … Read more

[VIP] A Few Thoughts on Hyland v. HomeServices of America and Its Applicability to the Moehrl v. NAR Lawsuit

Recently, I saw someone on Facebook bring up this case, Hyland v. HomeServices of America, Inc., 771 F. 3d 310 – Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit 2014, as pretty much ending the threat from the series of lawsuits filed against NAR, large brokerages and franchises, and a number of MLSs. (If you are a large … Read more

[VIP] The MLS and Coming Soon: A Way Forward

The great move West is now complete! The last boxes are finally unpacked, and while we still have to set up the new house, I think we’re able to get back into the regular swing of things.. Once again, I apologize to you VIP Subscribers for being so silent, but I do hope you all … Read more

Peace Be Upon You: A Path Forward for RealScout

I started this post during my great Westward Ho! adventure, which was five days of driving across this great country in my car. That’s a lot of time in the car, which gives one plenty of time to talk to friends by phone and to think about stuff. Both happened on this trip, and at … Read more

The Problem with “Good Agents Will Adapt”

I mentioned blogging would be light because I’m at the annual Realtor Quest conference that the Toronto Real Estate Board puts on. It’s a truly wonderful world-class event, I think, and I’m not just saying that because I spoke there. 🙂 But I did want to take a few moments to jot down a quick … Read more

iBuyer and the Issue of Concessions

In a couple of recent VIP posts, I looked through limited number of iBuyer transactions of both Opendoor and Zillow. I then took the most interesting conclusion one can draw from those numbers and put it on Facebook, in the Inman Coast to Coast group, comprised of thousands of professional REALTORS. While some responses were … Read more