Inman

The Real Word: Is there an end date to the housing shortage?

Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman.

On Friday, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) voted to approve the controversial new policy which requires addresses on MLS listings. “The policy does not require that an address be made public, just that it be immediately available to other MLS subscribers,” Inman reported.

Byron and Nicole discussed their thoughts on the policy. “I don’t think it’s a racket at all,” Nicole said. “It’s not impacting necessarily if your seller doesn’t want things to be public, so I think that’s very important.”

More this week: Some are saying it will take years before housing inventory meets the demand of buyers. In an opinion piece, Ben Caballero, president of Texas-based HomesUSA.com, wrote that it’ll take six years for builders to create enough homes to achieve a supply-demand balance.

Nicole and Byron chatted through the piece, sharing their take on Caballero’s observations on how Covid-19 lockdowns, longer lifespans and millennials reaching the homebuying age are affecting the housing market.

Marketeer of the week

Do you need home staging during a competitive market? The answer: Yes. This week, the marketeer is all about the importance of home staging in the middle of a red-hot market.

“I think, right now, you need to present a home in its best light — even if you’re getting 25 offers,” Nicole said, adding that staging a home can help agents make “sure that it’s the right buyer and that they’re committed and that they love [the home].”

Want to nominate a “marketeer of the week”? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below, or shoot us an email.