31 years ago, Ralph Nader delivered his first speech to the New England Association of Buyer Agents. In retrospect, it was a "Coming of Age" for buyer agents and an occasion Nader used to call for a consumer movement in housing. Unfortunately, since then, buyer agency has been coopted and the affordable housing crisis generated more headlines than housing units. So, while The Boston Globe Spotlight focuses on the housing crisis we'll invite fellow real estate consumer advocates to aggregate cont...
Oct 27, 2023•10 min
Recorded May 2022, does the uptick in prices being reported 13 months after this recording signal the end of #PriceCorrection2022 or a seasonal distortion before heading into a deeper downtown? Taking a #RETimeOut waiting for more data that will reveal #SummerSlump2023?
Jul 19, 2023•5 min
October 28th marks the 30th anniversary of Ralph Nader's first speech to buyer agents. At the time, buyer agents were the rising stars of the real estate industry because they were committed to protecting and empowering millions of homebuyer clients, particularly first-time homebuyers. For the same reason, they represented a threat to the traditional real estate industry which leading consumer advocates like Steve Brobeck of the Consumer Federation of America called " an informal cartel ." Nader...
Oct 26, 2022•7 min
It’s only been a few days since recording this conversation with my daughter, and in that timeframe Fortune Magazine has published a story warning that a “full blown” price correction is already unfolding . Another leading real estate data provider underlined that conclusion by declaring the real estate frenzy is over . What’s your perspectives? If you’ve been through previous real estate cycles, what advice would you give to the next wave of homebuyers, #GenerationPricedOut ? Let’s us know if y...
May 30, 2022•11 min
#PriceCorrection2022: After documenting a record high 1 in 7 MLS listings selling $100,000 or more over asking price, decided to tour open houses in one of the strongest housing markets in the Northeast, Cambridge Massachusetts & it's neighbor, Somerville. What I quickly discovered was surprising -- nearly every listing was priced below it's Zestimate; not just by $10 to $20K, but a deep discount that would send bids $100K over asking price. Why? Are listing agents using "Underpricing-As-A-S...
May 15, 2022•5 min
The housing divide is pulling Massachusetts apart, that's the headline affordable housing advocates are calling required in yesterday's Boston Globe. But behind Kara Miller's column, The Big Idea, is a sequel to the movie, The Big Short unfolding? An epidemic of BLIND bidding wars caused a record high 1 in 7 MLS sales to soar $100,000 over asking price across Massachusetts last week, 4/30-5/6/22. Bidding wars of any magnitude were rare in the past. Writing 25 years ago in Behavior of HomeBuyers ...
May 13, 2022•4 min
National Consumer Protection Week, 3/6-12/22 is dedicated to educating & protecting consumers, but content related to housing & real estate has been notably absent in the past. Beyond #Homebuying101, are there urgent issues that need to be addressed from the homebuyer's perspective? @Redfin's recent survey found that 77% of consumers -- both buyers and sellers, say we're in a housing bubble, and @BankRate's survey found that 64% of Millennial homebuyers have #BuyersREmorse? Despite low i...
Feb 09, 2022•31 min
A decade ago, 9 out of 10 first-time home sellers considered selling For Sale By Owner or FSBO. A more recent source estimated that number at 7 out of 10, but the National Association of Realtors claim that less than 1 in 10 actually sell on their own. What’s the disconnect and why, particularly in overheated markets like Greater Boston — Cambridge and Somerville in particular — where homes seem to sell themselves? Invite listeners to share this episode with anyone they know who maybe thinking a...
Dec 06, 2019•3 min
Median single-family home in Cambridge is now $1.57M. What else have we lost?
May 23, 2019•6 min
One issue stands above others from the first day of ICSF, and that’s the negative impact iBuyers are having on the role of the real estate agent and the obligation of society to provide a range of affordable housing opportunities to the next generation. Listen & share your thoughts by leaving a sound bite, or scheduling an interview on Anchor.fm.
Jul 18, 2018•4 min
Can real estate innovators & housing activists use podcasting to spread the “rising affordable housing movement” as @TheNation called it? Let’s use #ICSF18, a leading #RETech conference this week in SF, to update testimony on anti-competitive practices & barriers to innovation in real estate before the #realestateFTCDOJ comment period ends in less than two weeks (7/31) and the Realtors arrive in Boston in just over 100 days (11/2-5).
Jul 16, 2018•5 min
Countdown to 25th Anniversary of the Consumer Revolution in Real Estate: The Facebook privacy breach has exposed the need to move past agency disclosure to “Information Fiduciaries.” As mega-brokers morph into data companies, let’s talk about “Fiduciary Duties in Real Estate: Past, Present & Future”
Mar 23, 2018•3 min
Is uncertainty about the proposed tax reform causing homebuyers to put their house hunts on hold, at least temporarily? That's what a real estate agent asked in a leading agent-to-agent Facebook. Listen to our perspective and share yours by recording a one minute reply on @Anchor. Alternatively use hashtags #TaxReform & #PredictRE18 on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TaxREcast18 If you haven't made up your mind, listen to the rebroadcast on WBUR, NPR affiliate in Boston: http://wbur.fm/TaxBomb Use so...
Nov 27, 2017•3 min
Invite listeners to share their thoughts about the Best of / Worst of Real Estate during the past year from the consumer’s perspective. Am particularly interested in hearing from homebuyers & sellers in Greater Boston about their thoughts for 2017 and predictions for 2018. If you’re a professional and want to share your thoughts, let us know what role you play in the industry & sector (mortgages, buyer agent, listing agent, developer) and where. Let’s use #PredictRE18 on social media so ...
Nov 26, 2017•4 min
Can #CustomerTech to create Super Powers for homebuyers? Let’s start with #HousingID, MeetUp at @NARannual in Chicago 11/2-6, #Nader in Boston 11/8 or collaborate on #RE2020 http://bit.ly/RE2020HsgID
Nov 01, 2017•4 min
Homebuyers, housing & real estate consumer advocates, bypass the overflow crowd at Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Town Hall by asking Q's on anchor. What policies needed to create more affordable housing?
Aug 25, 2017•4 min
Glad to receive 1st call on @Anchor from prolific real estate growth hacker, @Za_Hammer, aka Real Estate Lead Tips who asks "What's RE2020?" (Addressed that Q on posts in 2016 but haven't added yet.)
Aug 05, 2017•3 min
Long overdue real estate reforms are gaining momentum at the transaction level as new players tip toe into the ecosystem. Will policy reforms follow that address affordability, sustainability issues?
Jul 19, 2017•4 min
Listen, reply: Will #SummerOfLove inspire #CoLiving movement, BabyBoomer communes? Can NORC's (Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities) create affordable housing, intergenerational win-win? #RE2020
Jul 04, 2017•4 min
Anything Goes w/ Larry
Jul 03, 2017•3 min
