The party in San Diego is now over, and judging from the pictures on Facebook, it looks to have been quite a party. I’d say that CoStar made a memorable entry into the residential real estate industry. But the other headlines coming out of San Diego convince me more than ever that it is high … Read more
Back in July, I wrote about the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unexpectedly pulling out of the settlement agreement it had reached with NAR and said: The withdrawal, then, combined with the above (voluntary dismissal plus broader investigations) clearly signals that the DOJ will be pursuing other antitrust claims relating to NAR’s rules. Under a stipulation … Read more
The busy season continues, as I just got off the road and am getting back on it come Monday. But I did find time to edit and upload this conversation with Peter Lohmann of Owner Occupied podcast. In this episode, I speak with Peter Lohmann of the Owner Occupied podcast (link below) about problems with … Read more
It’s Friday afternoon, and posting has been very light as I’ve been non-stop traveling. But I wanted to get this out because it came up in conversation earlier today with an MLS executive, and thought that many of you probably were wondering the same thing. In light of yet another intervention in a private lawsuit … 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
According to Google Trends, consumer’s interest in learning about a potential “housing bubble” is back at its rolling 12-month high. Given my recent speculation about the government’s misleading CPI calculation, I certainly am a contributor to the increase in Google searches on the topic of housing bubbles. Lately, I’ve written about why the housing market … Read more
I’ve been busy, including my first actual physical business trip in quite a while. I am happy to report for those who might have FOMO that air travel is even less pleasant than it was pre-virus. Trust me, you ain’t missing nothin’. In the strat plan session I ran, we talked about the commission lawsuits … Read more
Sparked by some Grade A investigative reporting by the NYC daily periodical, Newsday, the New York State Senate (“NYS Senate”) launched an investigation last year into unfair housing practices and held hearings that culminated last week with the release of its “Final Investigative Report.” If you haven’t read the Newsday report, you can do that … Read more