When asked about the future of real estate -- are we in a home price bubble? will offices fully recover -- real estate economist Jim Gaines is quick to caution that "there isn't an economist in the world that really knows what the heck he's talking about." We’ve never gone through anything like this before, so modeling it is a difficult endeavor. But here is his take on what a recovery may look like for real estate and what normal might look like in the future. READ: Where Texas A&M real est...
May 26, 2021•17 min
Many neighborhoods throughout Houston, Texas and the United States have shocking language in documents restricting how the land can be used. “None of the lots… shall be used, owned or occupied by any person other than of the Caucasian Race," reads one example, the deed restrictions of Oak Forest. Making it easier to remove racist language from deed restrictions has been one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legislative priorities. It passed unanimously in the state Senate in a rare display of bipartisan...
May 21, 2021•13 min
Rebecca visits her dad and share news on her refinance. But a lot has changed since she was shopping for a new mortgage. She chats with Frank Nothaft, chief economist for the real estate analytics company CoreLogic, about what is causing rates to go back up and what he thinks the impact will be on affordability, home prices and home sales, then touches base with loan officer Jennifer Hernandez about how things are looking on the ground for mortgage originators. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz. Read...
Apr 21, 2021•20 min
In the aftermath of Houston's litany of hurricanes, floods and storms, renters are realizing that renter protections in Texas are anemic at best. If the apartment's condition has deteriorated to the point where it impacts physical health or safety and the landlord does not make timely repairs — usually defined as seven days — renters are supposed to be able to move out. But if tenants and landlords disagree on whether a home is livable or whether reasonable repair efforts are being made, tenants...
Mar 31, 2021•10 min
The commission a buyer's agent earns is in the spotlight because of how they're set up. While the buyer's agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the homebuyer, their commissions is largely set by the homeseller before the property is listed on an agent-to-agent database known as the multiple listing service. Even though this is the setup, buyers' agents are required to work in the homebuyers' best interest, which means they should not steer buyers to one house or another just because of how muc...
Feb 22, 2021•24 min
Even as Rebecca interviewed people who had shaved hundreds off their monthly mortgage payments — giving them increased financial security in the midst of a recession — and spoke to coworkers and friends about how the historically low rates had benefited them, she put off doing one of her own. After low mortgage rates won a 2020 Loopie Award for Brightest Glimmer of Hope (Besides the Vaccine), her podcast editor suggested to stop dilly dallying and to document her journey so listeners might learn...
Jan 31, 2021•29 min
Every year, Looped In celebrates by recognizing the best and worst of Houston real estate.In 2020, there was a lot to choose from.The pandemic and the need to socially distance has shaped the way we interact, which has shaped the spaces we interact in. Home sales and renovations boomed, while offices were thrown into uncertainty and hotels and small retailers floundered. Some have closed for good.As Looped In looked back on last year, we asked your thoughts on what stood out. And the people have...
Jan 15, 2021•29 min
Houston real estate agents have been recorded saying they will not show certain homes to their clients — even though the houses meet all the buyers’ desires. This is one of the conversations. Read the story: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-real-estate-agents-less-commission-records-15857087.php REX: And you don’t think they’d compensate you after everything you’ve done for them? I mean, if you’re working so much for them.Agent: Not as far as what my compensation should ...
Jan 11, 2021•8 min
Houston real estate agents have been recorded saying they will not show certain homes to their clients — even though the houses meet all the buyers’ desires. This is one of the conversations. Read the story: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-real-estate-agents-less-commission-records-15857087.php REX: How our properties work is we list our properties at 2 percent. And we don’t use the MLS so how that works is our sellers are not obligated to pay a buy-side commission. How...
Jan 11, 2021•3 min
Houston real estate agents have been recorded saying they will not show certain homes to their clients — even though the houses meet all the buyers’ desires. This is one of the conversations. Read the story: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-real-estate-agents-less-commission-records-15857087.php Agent: So if I were to bring you a client to purchase this property, do you guys pay me the three percent commission, or how does that work? REX: That’s a good question. So the s...
Jan 11, 2021•4 min
Looped In host Nancy Sarnoff packs up her bags and moves to Canada, with a detour down memory lane. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 29, 2020•21 min
Realtors banned from racist postsThe National Association of Realtors tackled racist social media posts at their annual conference. On this episode of Looped In, Nancy Sarnoff and R.A. Schuetz discuss the background leading up to the vote. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...
Nov 18, 2020•16 min
We’ve all heard of coworking. But cohousing? Not so much. That’s because there are no cohousing communities in Texas, something a group of Houstonians in the East End are planning to change. They’re designing a 33-unit condominium where a sense of community will be the key amenity, a need for which they believe the pandemic has underscored. Think shared meals (or, during socially distant times, outdoor happy hours) and decision-making that revolves around consensus, not votes. Read: In this hous...
Nov 06, 2020•35 min
Kirby Liu of Lovett Commercial and Jason Long, a partner with architecture firm OMA in New York, discuss POST Houston, the redevelopment of the 16-acre downtown post office property. They highlight some of the architectural oddities they unearthed from the midcentury structures on the site and discuss the challenges of leasing, designing and developing a mixed-use project for a post-pandemic world. Related reading: ‘No plan B’ as downtown Houston’s POST redevelopment plows ahead Connect with Nan...
Oct 23, 2020•38 min
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has been quietly postponing real estate foreclosures through executive orders, shutting down the facility where those auctions are held and providing relief to struggling homeowners and landlords. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz. Read: Lina Hidalgo quietly postponing Harris County foreclosures with executive orders Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for...
Oct 07, 2020•19 min
Convenience store owner Charlie Patel has spent the past two decades selling birthday cards, candy bars and small gifts to urban office workers. With most of his customers still working from home, he's had to find ways to adapt to the current reality. Patel explains how he's surviving.Read: 'Downtown is dead.' How COVID-19 turned Houston into a ghost townConnect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid...
Sep 17, 2020•19 min
The late Gerald D. Hines adopted Houston as his hometown in 1957 and became one of the world's foremost property developers. Hines -- the man and the company -- was the subject of one of Looped In's earliest episodes. It’s time for another listen. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...
Aug 31, 2020•23 min
Virtual tours and contactless showings. For those on the hunt for a new apartment in the midst of a pandemic, seeing the place before signing a lease involves navigating a series of precautions put in place to protect leasing staff and renters. Looped In hits the road to see how things have changed. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...
Aug 06, 2020•19 min
The office is about to undergo its biggest change since the cubicle. Thanks to the pandemic, companies are rethinking the amount of space they occupy and the role it plays in their corporate culture. Lauri Goodman Lampson, who has designed workplaces for some of the world's biggest energy firms, reveals what some of them are planning for a post-COVID world. Connect with Nancy and Rebecca. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See ...
Jul 30, 2020•42 min
Nancy and Rebecca talk to housing consultant Scott Davis about how the new coronavirus is informing the way builders design homes and how past pandemics led to lasting changes in the way we live. Connect with Nancy and Rebecca Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2020•18 min
Charlie Kuntz's job at Hines is all about making office buildings run better by identifying new technologies like touchless elevators, occupancy sensors and air-quality systems. When COVID-19 hit, that work suddenly took on an even deeper sense of urgency. On the newest episode of Looped In, he discusses the concepts of returning to work during a pandemic and how it's being done in China where the company has several offices. And it's not how you might expect. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebe...
May 19, 2020•35 min
The sudden drop in sales Chinatown experienced at the end of January as those worried about the novel coronavirus began to social distance were a precursor to what would soon happen across the country. So how are Chinatown restaurants faring now, as the Texas economy is poised to reopen? R.A. Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff revisit with the owners of Mala Sichuan Bistro to hear about new cleaning protocols and delivery strategies, snags receiving funds from the federal stimulus bill and whether busine...
May 06, 2020•31 min
From office space to urban land sites, demand for commercial real estate faces uncertainty as Houston begins what’s expected to be a lengthy and uneven process of reopening stores and returning to work. Nancy and Rebecca talk to two of the founders of Dosch Marshall Real Estate about which sectors of the commercial property market are poised for growth and which will have a harder time recovering. Read stories by Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle...
Apr 29, 2020•26 min
Nancy and Rebecca discuss their recent reporting on the challenges of buying and selling homes during the coronavirus pandemic. They're joined by appraiser Mike Taylor who explains how he values homes when he can’t go inside. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 15, 2020•29 min
A chocolate maker famous for its truffles and toffees, is now making face guards meant to protect medical workers. It’s one of many companies around the state that has shifted to meet the demands created by the novel coronavirus. Michael Moss, owner of Sweet Shop USA, discusses how his business has mobilized to keep workers employed and contribute much-needed personal protective equipment during the crisis. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&am...
Apr 08, 2020•18 min
We hope you have found the series of Coronavirus Chronicle bonus episodes informative and entertaining. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts. Click subscribe — it's free — to receive fresh episodes daily. The Rev. Hannah Atkins Romero, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Midtown, talks about the sense of loss experienced by Houston’s faith communities as an Easter Sunday without church services approaches. Plus: a special performance by April Sloan-Hubert and the Trinity Jazz Ensemble. Support th...
Apr 07, 2020•16 min
The CEO of Landry’s has furloughed tens of thousands of employees. He’s closed hundreds of restaurant dining rooms and each of his Golden Nugget casinos. Nancy and Rebecca discuss the struggles of this larger-than-life Houston figure. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 07, 2020•11 min
Today, we're sharing an episode of "Coronavirus Chronicle" with Looped In listeners. Previous episodes at available on Apple Podcasts. Houston Chronicle photojournalist Marie De Jesús illuminates the balancing act between keeping a safe distance and capturing the intimate, human moments that reveal just how profoundly life in Houston has changed. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...
Apr 07, 2020•15 min
Today, we're sharing an episode of "Coronavirus Chronicle" with Looped In listeners. Previous episodes at available on Apple Podcasts. Houstonians know all about hurricanes: Wind speed, the dirty side, the European models. But what do we need to track the coronavirus? Angela Blanchard discusses that and more with the Houston Chronicle’s Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...
Apr 04, 2020•23 min
As March turned into April and the Houston stay-at-home order was extended to the start of May, renters who found themselves suddenly unemployed by the coronavirus outbreak have been left to wonder how they will pay for housing. Landlords have their own concerns: without the expected rent revenue, how will they be able to pay their own bills? Some states — including Texas — have temporarily stopped evictions from going forward in court. But what does that order really mean? Reporter Sarah Smith,...
Apr 02, 2020•16 min
