I am alternatively furious and despondent that this post has to be written in 2019. But it has to be. In case you missed it, Newsday, the local newspaper for most of Long Island in New York, ran a three year investigation into racial discrimination and steering in real estate. They just published their findings … Read more
I feel pretty certain that anybody that is reading Notorious likely already knows that the legislature of California has passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) that tries to rein in the so-called “gig economy” workers. The bill is headed to Gov. Newsom for signature, and it appears that he will indeed sign it, especially given statements … Read more
Back in February, I wrote a long post imploring the Young Professionals Network (YPN) of the National Association of REALTORS to take up housing affordability as their issue: Homeownership is not under attack; if anything, homeownership is widely subsidized and supported, in large part because of REALTOR political action. Think about it. Mortgage interest deduction … Read more
I’m back from the week on the road, but about to embark on yet another week on the road… so wanted to get this short post up for your weekend reading pleasure. If you’re not already subscribed to the amazing Scratch That podcast series from Emily Chenevert, CEO of Austin Board of REALTORS, you’re missing … Read more
Boy, some things are happening this week. Last night, I saw that NAR had filed its response in the form of a motion to dismiss the Moehrl v. NAR case. That was entirely expected, and now that I have a copy of the filing (Thanks Jay Thompson!) I can look at what the theory of … Read more
I just spent an hour glued to the TV, absolutely fascinated by what I was seeing and hearing. And no, it wasn’t the latest episode of Game of Thrones (which was rather disappointing in many ways… but I digress). I watched something normal human beings likely would not, since there are only 162 views on YouTube … Read more
I’m busy and about to head off to a strategy session, but I had to share this with you all — especially with those who are in leadership positions in REALTOR Associations and local/regional MLSs. I may have thoughts on this in the future, but for now, let me just tell you that this might … Read more
Yesterday, an item on Facebook caught my eye. It was someone sharing a Medium post by Frances Flynn Thorsen, the “Blogmother” of real estate. Before you continue, I strongly suggest reading the whole thing. (You’ll need a Medium account, I believe.) There’s quite a lot of history here, including some sordid drama involving criminal extortion, … Read more
I’m deep into writing the October Red Dot, but Andrew Flachner of RealScout sent me a personal email this morning with his Open Letter to the industry attached. He’s spoken to me before about this initiative, and asked if I would write about it. Well, the Open Letter is now published, and Inman News has … Read more