As you can probably see, this is a special edition of my 7 predictions. I normally post those on my blog at Notorious R.O.B., but not this year! Brad Inman asked if I wanted to share these crazy predictions with the readers of Inman, and I thought, why not? I mean, these are predictions sure … 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 for 10 (.600) 2011 Predictions: 4.5 for 7 (.642) 2012 Predictions: 2 for 7 (.286) 2013 Predictions: 4.5 for 7 (.642) 2014 Predictions: 3 for … Read more
A few weeks ago, I put up a post about a working paper study from the National Bureau of Economic Research that researched the question of real estate commissions. The authors basically concluded that the reason why real estate commissions are so high is because buyer agents steer clients to properties that are paying higher cooperating … Read more
Yesterday, I gave a presentation at the Pacific West Association of REALTORS Broker Summit which I named “Bring the Pain”. To be fair, I ask all my speaking clients whether they want the Light, Medium, or Heavy and PWR picked heaviest of the heavy. One of the things I mentioned was a recent Working Study … Read more
Reader, thinker, and frequent commenter Sam DeBord has written a rebuttal over at GeekEstate to my declaration of vindication re: IDX = Syndication: IDX creates efficiency for brokers, which increases financial profitability for the group as a whole. Syndication is a less-efficient platform in terms of overall brokerage profits. Real estate is, on an annual basis, similar … Read more
Welcome, faithful readers to an annual tradition here at Notorious ROB: making predictions for the coming year that are Guaranteed to be Wrong, or Your Money Back! The musical pairings for this edition comes from the extraordinary and extraordinarily unique French cover band, Nouvelle Vague. I mean, who else does remakes of 80’s new wave hits … 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) 2013 Predictions: 4.5 of 7 (.642) When … Read more
Longtime readers of this blog know that I’ve been talking about Millennials for years now. Back in April of 2011, I wrote a post worrying about Millennials and family formation: Given the above facts and data, how do you see the Millennials dealing with this issue? Because it’s not a small issue of just boys … Read more
Last Thursday, Zillow released a report on minority access to mortgages in partnership with the National Urban League. In case you were wondering what the conclusion of the report might have been, it was titled, “A House Divided: How Race Colors the Path to Homeownership“. The topline conclusion comes from Stan Humphries, Zillow’s Chief Economist … Read more