I Write The Words

The news media continues to comment on the superficial state of the real estate market.  The local ABC news last night talked about the difference between the real estate crises in Antioch and the continued health of the Alamo real estate market.  Of course there are differences, but eventually the market forces must reach out to . . . → Read More: The Tale of Two Cities

The Department of Justice is hot on NAR’s trail.  The problem is that they are looking at it from the wrong angle.  They are trying to change the MLS rules to allow more competition.  They’re objecting to clauses that require a broker to be a resident of the area, to have a physical office in the . . . → Read More: The DOJ is on the Wrong Track

Agents believe that it is an antitrust violation to discuss commission rates with other agents. The truth is different.  Agents and brokers can discuss real estate commissions as long as it isn’t with the idea of fixing the commission rate in a given area.    But agents are discouraged to do so.  Especially in trade association meetings . . . → Read More: Commissions and Antitrust Laws

We need to create a profession for individuals instead of a mob of individual business.  Real estate has the appearance of being a very cooperative business.  In reality, in brokerage offices, the person sitting next to you or even sharing your desk, would love to get their hands on any transaction you do.

The agent’s model is . . . → Read More: How Do We Change Real Estate?

First of all we need to look at who controls the real estate world.  Lobbying is a big part of the business of the National Association of Realtors®, the California Association of Realtors®, and other state and local Association of Realtors®.  Realtor® representatives lobby every political person that they can in order to control how the . . . → Read More: How Do We Change the Real Estate World?

In any purchase involving condominiums or townhomes, the biggest disclosure packages come from Home Owner Associations (HOA).

Real estate agents need to know what their seller is required to provide to the buyer for disclosures, and not count exclusively on the HOA to provide the correct information.  The seller, and by association, the seller’s agent may have . . . → Read More: Homeowner Association Disclosures

In order to list or purchase a home, a real estate agent must use contracts.  Years ago, this consisted of a form with a lot of blanks and a book with a lot of clauses that the agent put into the blanks.  Now it is a multiple page form with many short blanks.  The contracts we . . . → Read More: The Real Estate Contract

Since the number of deals available for any real estate agent are so few agents need to be very flexible about what deals they will take.  If a potential seller calls with a listing 50 or 60 miles away, many agents will take the listing even if they are unfamiliar with the area.

The good side is . . . → Read More: Lack of Specialization in Specific Markets

The market is based on a number of pieces of information.  Inventory is the number of homes on the market.  This varies over the year.  The lowest number of homes is typically at the end of the year.  The highest in the summer.

If you know what inventory levels are doing, and whether or not that is . . . → Read More: The Real Estate Market – Part 2

Mark Twain said “There are three kinds of lies:  lies, damn lies, and statistics.”  In general, statistics can be manipulated to tell you pretty much what you want to hear.  But an agent needs to be aware of what is happening in the market place.  If she keeps track of the average number of days on . . . → Read More: The Real Estate Market – Part 1