It’s a busy day here, but I couldn’t resist this. 🙂 Sam DeBord, a really intelligent and perceptive guy, who is also a working broker for Coldwell Banker Danforth in Seattle, wrote a long column on Inman about the possibility of huge liabilities for brokerages because of pocket listings. Read the whole thing. There are … Read more
Thanks to a project I’ve been working on for the past few days, I’ve had the pleasure(?) of visiting a number of brokerage websites. As I write this post, Inman NYC is in full-swing, where tech people, consultants, vendors, and experts are telling the assembled brokers and agents on the latest and greatest in innovation. … Read more
Although we got to the end of the road Still I can’t let go It’s unnatural You belong to me I belong to you My co-blogger, Notorious BOB Bemis, wrote one of his finest works over the holidays and suggested that perhaps it was time for a divorce between Move and NAR. I was ah… deeply engaged … Read more
I wanted to get to this before 2014 dawned, of course, but… it was more fun to hang out with my boys. And by that I don’t mean my posse of secret real estate pundits, but my actual biological progeny. In any event, it’s customary here at Notorious to make predictions that are sure to … Read more
Welcome to another edition of an annual tradition, in which I go back and grade myself on my predictions made at the start of this year. My track record so far: 2010 Predictions: 6 of 10 (.600) 2011 Predictions: 4.5 of 7 (.642) 2012 Predictions: 2 for 7 (.286) As ever, I hope to be … Read more
Two weeks ago, Zillow organized a small event in Washington DC with the title “Getting Our House In Order: Solving the Lingering Issues of the Housing Recession”. The full program was filmed and is available here. If you’re pressed for time, you can get the highlights here. I was on an airplane to California then, … Read more
Rob Hahn published a detailed and most entertaining analysis of Texas broker Ben Caballero and the National Association of Real Estate Professionals (narep.NET – not .org or .com) that Ben founded about a year ago. In the post, Rob poses twenty questions to Ben about his real estate business, his business practices, and the current status of the NAREP as a non-profit … Read more
The law of unintended consequences, often cited but rarely defined, is that actions of people—and especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended. – Library of Economics & Liberty I’m in St. Paul, MN, where the sun has conspired with the river to create a hundred gorgeous pleasures. Like conversing with new and … Read more
The whole world of MLS is exploding. That part that isn’t exploding will be carpet bombed into oblivion. The sky isn’t just falling, it’s getting ready to crush every little chicken in its path. So many people are crying “Wolf!” that even the wolf is scared spitless. At least that’s what some writers would have … Read more