As longtime readers know, I have often written about the issue of misclassification of employees as independent contractors, since that is the key linchpin of contemporary real estate practice. For example, you can start here: On California’s New Gig Economy Law: Don’t Relax Just Yet and just google the rest. So this is a brief … Read more
THE hot topic in my small cul-de-sac over Wednesday night happy hour is whether schools will ever come back. Here in Las Vegas, the Clark County School District will be going online-only to start the school year in August. There are real conflicted feelings among parents in my neighborhood, and I assume it’s the same … Read more
It appears that Realtor.com has finally made a foray into the most important thing to happen to real estate since the invention of the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. And I can’t help but yawn. So many phrases come to mind: What took you so long? A day late, and two billion dollars short. The Big … Read more
I didn’t really want to write this, because I assumed it was relatively common knowledge within the U.S. real estate industry that we have a sordid past of open racism, discrimination, and bigotry. Plus, I’m frankly tired of writing about and talking about social issues that go beyond the real estate industry. I feel like … Read more
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I apologize to you all, but I’ve been neck-deep in a very important project that’s taken months of my life to setup. The last few weeks have been pretty intense. I’m not quite ready to unveil it just yet, but soon… soon…. But having found a couple of hours … Read more
This is the followup to the first post, in which I asked whether the real estate industry was serious about race and racial issues. I am choosing to believe that we are, and that the various leaders speaking out about the need to do something are serious about that. If so, we should see more … Read more
Every American of good conscience is hurting now, both from the evil of police brutality and the evil of looting and rioting. I have been silently seething because I felt I had nothing useful to add that literally everyone with a conscience agrees on. What happened to George Floyd was a shocking and horrifying murder … Read more
This was a fun one, for sure, as Errol Samuelson, Chief Industry Development Officer of Zillow, is one of the smartest guys in the industry. He’s also been around the block a few times, and in very senior roles where real estate and technology intersect. He’s also quite reticent about appearing on things like podcasts, … Read more
As threatened, Greg and I recorded a special live version of Industry Relations, inviting everyone to join in on a free-flowing conversation about what’s next for real estate. It was… an interesting experience, and one unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. Turns out, “call-in radio” style might not be our strong suit. 
Nonetheless, we … Read more