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Feb

12
2009

Consumers win in real estate pay system

By Inman News, Thursday, February 12, 2009.

Real estate fees: So much talk, so little action.

Everyone, whether they are in the business or not, is an authority about how terrible the current system is and how it should be restructured. But no one actually has any workable ideas or they would have been implemented by now.

The real issue is that no matter how much people complain about percentage-based fees, both buyers and sellers get more than they "pay" for.  more...

Feb

11
2009

Blog your war stories

By Notorious R.O.B., Wednesday, February 11, 2009.

After a recent Lucky Strike Social Media Club dinner -- the very first one, as a matter of fact, in which the club was formed -- I had the pleasure of riding in a car with ... Sarah Bandy (Twitter "@sarahbandy") and Perri Feldman (Twitter "@perrifeldman"), two New Jersey-based Realtors who are just a joy to be around.

As we were rolling down the New Jersey Turnpike, Sarah and Perri started telling tales from showings that went akimbo and other war stories.

After I got done getting off the floor from laughing too hard, I said to them, "You know, forget about blogging market data and whatever else you're doing. Blog those war stories instead."  more...

Feb

10
2009

Knowing the 'real' real estate market

By Inman News, Tuesday, February 10, 2009.

One of the problems that we in the industry suffer from is that the vast majority of home sellers are satisfied with the current commission model.

I offered a fee-for-service model that would save home sellers thousands -- tens of thousands of dollars in many cases -- on the sale of their home. In 23 years of offering, basically to work by the hour on a retainer or pay 7 percent at time of sale, not one seller opted for the fee-for-service offer.

It's not the amount of commission -- it's the lack of negotiation skills and knowledge of the "real" real estate market by the "I've got a killer application for people to buy property online" crowd that's the issue.  more...

Waiting for the real estate fallout

By Inman News, Tuesday, February 10, 2009.

You don't have to be a commercial real estate broker to understand that a retail shopping mall is not in the business of selling goods to the public; it is in the business of attracting and retaining quality retailers. They do so by signing "anchor" retailers and by marketing their mall brand.

The higher-quality stores it can attract, the more shoppers it will attract. The more customers it attracts, the higher the likelihood that the mall will have a low vacancy rate and will be paid on time each month.  more...

Condo converters may get to jump line, if they pay up

By Curbed.com, Tuesday, February 10, 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Strapped for cash, the city has spotted a potential extra spot of revenue in the long line of TICs waiting to convert to condos: Allow them all to jump the line and skip the lottery -- just this once, and for a fee.

Last we heard, the line to condo-convert was getting so long that a tenancy-in-common that got in line in 2010 would have to wait until 2034 before being allowed to convert to condos, a length of time that some would hysterically consider just way too freaking long (note that only 200 are allowed a year).

   more...

Feb

9
2009

Will You Buy A Home?

By Curbed.com, Monday, February 9, 2009.

While President Obama looks to push through the economic stimulus plan, reactions are still coming in about the tax credit approved by the Senate earlier this week that would give buyers 10 percent of the purchase price of any home, up to $15,000, applied to their tax bill.

Via the Associated Press: "... the tax incentive is likely to be more helpful to buyers in less expensive markets," said Christopher Thornberg, a principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. "Unfortunately, in the places that are most hard-hit, like California, it's going to have less of an impact," he said.  more...

Rightmove cuts prices for overseas agents

By Global Edge, Monday, February 9, 2009.

Rightmove Overseas has responded to the increasingly difficult market conditions by introducing a new pricing structure that will see prices for some agents drop by more than 50 percent. In his first major strategic move since taking over from Justin Figgins, new head of Overseas, Rob Wilson has implemented a "more flexible" rate card that sees prices start at £75 (approximately $110) per month.

Following the changes, agents and developers will no longer be asked to sign a six-month commitment contract when joining the portal. "Long-term subscriptions work in a positive climate, but the game has changed so we're adapting. We've responded by ripping out a lot of the old constraints on membership like minimum property volumes and terms," says Wilson in this week's interview with Globaledge.  more...

'Economic survival of the fittest'

By Inman News, Monday, February 9, 2009.

Re: 'End of the independent contractor' (Feb. 6)

Dear Editor:

I hope real estate agents never stop being independent contractors whose survival is based strictly on commissions obtained through actual results. Being an agent is free enterprise in one of its purest forms: economic survival of the fittest. It is one of the few professions in which the workers pay their own expenses and pay for the privilege of working.

I have found that the most successful agents usually have an iron-clad work ethic, a trait that seems to be growing rarer by the minute.  more...

Feb

6
2009

Salary doesn't equal quality

By Inman News, Friday, February 6, 2009.

Re: 'End of the independent contractor' (Feb. 6)

Dear Editor:

Although I am in agreement that our profession has a long way to go toward improving the quality of real estate agents, I do not believe that mandating salaries is the answer.

The quality of a salaried agent would only be as high as the quality of the owner of the company. That is no different than the current system. The quality of an agent working on commissions is only as good as they want to be and as their current office expects, tolerates or allows.  more...

End of the independent contractor

By Inman News, Friday, February 6, 2009.

Are commissions the problem or is the "independent contractor" brokerage system the problem?

The predominant brokerage system in place has an attractive allure: Be in business for yourself. Earn big commissions with nominal expenses and effort.

Real estate careers are touted as part-time, full-time, anytime opportunities: "Educated or moronic -- it doesn't matter.  more...

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