My friend Matthew Shadbolt alerted me to this editorial by Ken Harney, a columnist for the Washington Post, that was published on The Real Deal. Harney believes that the not-yet-fully-formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can’t get here fast enough, and that the days of wine and roses will soon dawn upon us: The financial reform bill … Read more
In part 1, I laid out some hints of what the Obama Administration has in mind for a new federal housing policy that would “reset the rules of the market” and engage in a “fundamental rethink” not just of the mechanics of housing finance, but of the objectives of housing policy themselves. The Treasury now … Read more
In part 1, I laid out some hints of what the Obama Administration has in mind for a new federal housing policy that would “reset the rules of the market” and engage in a “fundamental rethink” not just of the mechanics of housing finance, but of the objectives of housing policy themselves. The Treasury now … Read more
There was, apparently, an earthquake in Washington DC not too long ago. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and no serious property damage occurred as the 3.6 magnitude tremor rolled through. Mere days later, however, I learned that another tremor — this one not registered on any geological survey — centered around Washington DC occurred. From … Read more
A while back, I wrote on Inman (subscription required) that the single greatest asset of realtors was political power, and got mixed comments about that position. Well, the time to find out is upon us: The popular tax break for mortgage interest, once considered untouchable, is falling under the scrutiny of policymakers and economic experts … Read more
Almost a year ago, at a time when various folks in finance and real estate were ready to write eulogies for Realogy, I spent a few posts arguing that the rumors of Realogy’s demise were ahh… premature. My basic point then was that the bondholders of Realogy have very little incentive to push Realogy into … Read more
So it seems my little tweet the other day has engendered a bit more discussion — you can find the fascinating back and forth here on AgentGenius. One of the more interesting comments there comes from Russell Shaw, who says: REALTOR.com is cluttered on every page with banner and tower ads that endlessly attempt to … Read more
It’s a very personal, a very important thing. Hell, it’s a family motto. Are you ready, Jerry? I wanna make sure you’re ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money. – Rod Tidwell, Jerry Maguire I was recently researching a somewhat different topic (deflation, inflation, and price sensitivity in real estate) when I came … Read more
A really fun discussion on Twitter with Robin Greenbaum (@cobrokenation) led me to just do a very quick, very back-of-napkin, and likely very inaccurate comparison between two rental units. As Robin pointed out, since comparisons are very difficult, depends on many factors, and the like, no matter what I come up with, this is likely … Read more