Early yesterday, a friend sent me an article from The Atlantic, the left-leaning magazine for urban intellectuals, and it’s stayed on my mind. While I kind of agreed with the author’s main point, there was something that just stuck in my mental craw. I fear I won’t be able to sleep unless I get to … Read more
I promised a Part 2 where I would treat the subject of regulation, which I think is the real Big Guns of the upcoming war between the United States and NAR. If you missed Part 1, where I dig into why the US DOJ pulled out of a settlement with NAR (which it has never … Read more
[UPDATE: To celebrate Independence Day, I’ve decided to make this one open to everyone. My VIP subscribers have mostly already read it over the weekend anyhow, and the issue is important enough to the industry as a whole that I thought it an appropriate July Fourth gift of sorts. Yay, ‘Murica!] I was traveling most … Read more
Over on Inman, Andrea Brambila wrote a story in which NAR clarifies that what Jenna Ryan and other protestors at the Capitol did is not a violation of its new speech code rules: Participating in last week’s insurrection at the Capitol was not a violation of the National Association of Realtors’ new ethics policies unless a Realtor … Read more
Welcome to the fifth installment of an annual tradition around here: the Seven Most Interesting People in Real Estate, the 2020 Pandemic Edition. This was a weird year, to say the least, and it isn’t over as I start this post. You know that word that was so popular all through 2020? “Unprecedented?” Yeah, unprecedented … Read more
It’s that time of year again. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. And Rob making ridiculous predictions sure to be wrong about the year to come. Welcome to the predictions for the Year After the Pandemic. Let’s all raise a glass and forget that 2020 ever happened, and move … Read more
I’ve been seeing this all over Facebook from well-meaning, responsible REALTORS. It’s possible that people other than REALTORS are posting these things, but so far, I’ve only seen it from REALTORS… because that’s kind of who my sphere on Facebook is. They are posting advice to people, telling them to do the smart thing: So … Read more
I got my laptop back, finally, after spending three days in intensive care and undergoing surgery. So to celebrate, I thought I’d put up a brief (hopefully) post for your weekend reading pleasure. Well, “pleasure” might be the wrong word here, given the topic and the issues… but it will give you something to think … Read more
In this rare public episode of the Notorious Interview, I speak with Jennifer Branchini, Treasurer, and Sanjay Wagle, SVP of Public Policy, for the California Assoc. of REALTORS about SB50. SB50 is a bill that is making its way through the California legislatures, and is supported by CAR. The goal of SB50 is to make … Read more