Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Looking for a new gig?

Member Services Representative – FMLS

The Membership Services Representative (MSR) acts as an overall relationship manager for FMLS members who are generally real estate Agents & Brokers. The MSR is responsible for training members, leading relationships with local REALTOR® Associations, convincing new Brokerages to join, working to maintain & improve high customer satisfaction, and ensuring customer retention across a defined geographic territory.

An FMLS MSR acts as our primary company liaison and “quarterback” for customer communication & engagement within an assigned territory.

Experience in Real Estate technology, training, sales, and relationship management is ideal.

Head of Industry Relations – Compass

“As the Head of Industry Relations at Compass, you work on exciting matters that require proactive guidance in the real estate industry. You are a part of a talented in-house legal and industry relations team overseeing projects and relationships that challenge you to think creatively and constructively. These projects will focus on data expansion and sourcing as well as building and managing relationships with industry partners around the country. You are energetic and collaborative — ready to partner in initiatives that influence all aspects of Compass’s business and work with employees across the company. Your contributions will be impactful, value-driven and you will play an instrumental role in the Compass direction and positioning internally and externally.”

The find out about these jobs, or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

#jobboard

What was missing from NAR messaging regarding the commission lawsuits?

Brian Boero from 1000watt wrote a great post about how “the real estate industry’s responses to the Halloween jury verdict to be almost universally weak.” As usual he makes a lot of great points. You may have heard similar arguments if you listened to Rob and I on our most recent Industry Relations podcast with Sam DeBord.

In Brian’s post he states,

“Good arguments balance evidence with proper framing — framing that is usually constructed to activate the emotions of their intended audience.

Good arguments use language, and words, that ignite feeling and imagery. “Cartel” – a word used over and over by plaintiffs’ attorneys – is a great example.”

I thought I might take a stab at this. I wrote the following as if I was writing for the National Association of REALTORS. Hope you enjoy, and thanks Brian for the inspiration.

Why is the Biden administration so focused on attacking solo female entrepreneurs?

Recently a jury comprising of 6 non-homeowners handed down an award in what is known as the Sitzer | Burnett class action suit. The award was $1.8 billion dollars in a suit suggesting REALTORS were involved in a “cartel”, facilitated by the multiple listing service (MLS), to keep real estate commissions artificially high.  We, the National Association of REALTORS, and 2 other real estate franchisors are appealing this ruling.

It was also recently discovered that the plaintiffs in the case had been is close communication with the DOJ before, during and after the trial ended.

The average REALTOR is a 59 year woman and is classified as an independent contractor.  Selling real estate is commission only sales job with no salary, and no benefits.  Why do these 59 year old women strike so much fear in the heart of the federal government?  Surely there are other pressing issues facing our country.

Buying a home isn’t the same as buying a stock.

In a recent hit piece the WSJ cited that since the advent of the internet prices have been slashed on  “stockbroker commissions”, but not real estate.  What may seem obvious, to everyone but the WSJ, buying a home is not like buying a stock, or a book, or a plane ticket.  3 factors come to mind. 

1. Buying and selling a home is typically the largest transaction anyone does in their life. 

2. Buying and selling a home is not a transaction done often, statistics show it might be once every 10 years after you become an adult. 

3. And last but not least is that buying or selling a home is an emotional experience. 

Due to these 3 core issues consumers have chosen time and time again (in fact in 2022, more consumers choose to use a REALTOR than ever before) to hire a trusted advisor.

The 1.5% vs. 6% Lie

Plaintiffs in the Sitzer | Burnett case and others have highlighted that in other countries consumers pay closer to 1.5% for real estate commissions, where in the United States the number is closer to 6%. The truth is consumers in the US have always had choices.  Discount brokerages offer real estate services for much lower than 6%.  In fact very recently Redfin did a nationwide campaign with big red billboards all over the country touting a 1% listing fee, which is less than the 1.5% fee touted by plaintiffs.

So the 1.5% vs 6% is a lie.  Consumers can always negotiate a commission and there are many brokerages and agents offering discounted services.  Don’t believe us, just Google, “flat fee real estate services” and search the over 29 million results.

Would consumers prefer a world where they would have no idea what the house across the street sold for?

Since the birth of the World Wide Web, and the launch of portals like Zillow, real estate listing data is now readily accessible everywhere, a sharp contrast to the rest of the world.  This is mostly due to the multiple listing service (MLS).  The plaintiffs falsely say that the structure and ownership of the MLS forces higher commission rates. This is simply not the truth.  The MLS is one of this country’s greatest inventions and an essential tool of every REALTOR.  The MLS brings together sellers and buyers. It’s reliable. It helps hundreds of thousand agents make a living and brings families together. It’s the operating system of the American Dream.  

The federal government wants to shut down the MLS, which would create a environment of less transparency and bring us back to companies gatekeeping real estate data which would make it more difficult to make offers on properties for sale and finding properties on the internet.

We at the National Association of REALTORS will fight for our members, the open real estate market, and will not let the federal government destroy the American Dream.

The National Association of REALTORS

Industry Relations Episode 53: Protecting the REALTOR Brand from ‘Conduct Unbecoming’

REALTORs are tasked with helping families make the biggest financial decision of their lives. To that end, NAR wants to preserve the idea of a REALTOR as an intelligent professional. And when an agent engages in conduct unbecoming of a realtor (like posting racial slurs on social media, having sex in an empty listing, or threatening the life of a broker who takes a job at Zillow), the association can and should protect the REALTOR brand and let that agent go.

On this episode of the podcast, Rob and Greg are discussing the series of speech code proposals made by the NAR Professional Standards Committee to prevent realtors from discriminating against the protected classes and using harassing or hate speech, epithets, or slurs in both their personal and professional lives. 

Rob and Greg go on to explore the problems with the committee’s proposal, explaining why it’s difficult to define what qualifies as harassing or hate speech and how the rules don’t address other kinds of unprofessional behavior. Listen in for insight on how a Conduct Unbecoming Clause would work as an alternative to protect the realtor brand from behavior that is ‘disgraceful, unprofessional, and unbecoming’ of an agent.

What’s Discussed: 

An overview of the series of proposals made by the NAR Professional Standards Committee

–Policy Statement 29 applies NAR Code of Ethics to conduct outside of real estate

–Standard of Practice 10-5 prohibits harassing/hate speech, epithets, or slurs of protected classes

–Definition of ‘public trust’ expanded to include all discrimination against protected classes

The problems Rob sees with the committee’s proposal

–Difficult to define what qualifies as harassing or hate speech

–Leaves out threats, harassment of unprotected classes

–Many conservative realtors feel targeted by changes

The benefits of Rob’s alternative Conduct Unbecoming Clause

How the history of race in America informs the way NAR is approaching the proposed changes

The value in protecting the realtor brand from conduct that is disgraceful, unprofessional, and unbecoming of an agent

Connect with Rob and Greg:

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

NAR’s Proposed Speech Code Regulations

Rob’s Post on the Proposed Speech Code Regs

The NAR Professional Standards Committee

‘NAR Proposes Ethics Changes to Crack Down on Social Media Harassment’ in Inman

‘NAR’s Proposed Ethics Changes Miss the Mark’ in Inman

Raise the Bar in Real Estate Facebook Group

Canadian Real Estate Association

CREA’s Conduct Unbecoming Clause

Rob’s Post on the Reputation of Realtors

Racism in Real Estate on Industry Relations EP052

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Industry Relations Episode 48: What NAR’s Revised Code of Ethics Means for REALTORS – with Laura Farley

Not too long ago, REALTORS were unified, often claiming to be neither Democrat nor Republican but members of the REALTOR Party. Today, however, the polarization in our country is reflected in the real estate community. And the recent changes to the NAR Code of Ethics, specifically Standard of Practice 10-5, seem to have pushed us even farther apart. So, how are these changes likely to affect REALTORS in practice? Can we be more inclusive without favoring one political party over another? 

Laura Farley serves as General Counsel at the Virginia REALTORS Association, and she has more than 10 years of experience handling and supervising professional standards cases. Prior to joining the state association, Laura was an attorney for the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS. On this episode of Industry Relations, Laura joins Rob and Greg to provide an overview of the three major changes to NAR’s Code of Ethics and offer insight into how those changes might impact real estate professionals now that the professional standards apply to everything a REALTOR does, real estate related or not.

Laura explains why NAR’s list of protected classes in Standard of Practice 10-5 is more inclusive than a lot of states and addresses the subjective nature of determining intent as well as the concerns that 10-5 gives some REALTORS more speech rights than others. She also discusses the significance of removing the word ‘willful’ from NAR’s definition of public trust, introducing us to the concept of disparate impact—and why it may or may not apply to Article 10. Listen in for Laura’s insight on how 10-5 has further polarized the REALTOR community and get her take on the best possible outcome around the revised Code of Ethics.

What’s Discussed:  

Laura’s decade of legal experience with professional standards cases

Laura’s overview of the 3 major changes to the NAR Code of Ethics

Why NAR’s list of protected classes is more inclusive than most state lists

The significance of the word ‘use’ in Standard of Practice 10-5 (REALTORS must not ‘use’ harassing speech, hate speech, epithets or slurs)

The controversy around how 10-5 gives some REALTORS more speech rights than others

The subjective nature of determining an agent’s intent to harm, hurt or harass

How Laura thinks about the concerns of REALTORS on the political right re: implicit bias

The significance of removing the word ‘willful’ from the definition of public trust

The concept of disparate impact and why it may or may not apply to Article 10

How the change to 10-5 has further polarized the REALTOR community

Connect with Laura:

Virginia REALTORS

Laura at Virginia REALTORS

Email: lfarley [at] virginiarealtors [dot] org

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

Laura’s Code of Ethics Update Video

Virginia REALTORS Code of Ethics Resources

NAR Code of Ethics Changes

NAR’s Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice

Rob’s Post on an Alternative to the New Speech Code

Virginia REALTORS Diversity & Inclusion PAG

Rob’s Post on Disparate Impact

Norwood v. Harrison

Railway v. Hanson

Jenna Ryan

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Industry Relations Episode 59: Forecasting a Hot Housing Market in 2021 – with Jeff Tucker, Senior Economist at Zillow

Zillow’s Economic Research Team just released its forecast for 2021, and they expect it to be the best year for home sales since 2005. In fact, Zillow’s number crunchers believe that a whopping 6.8M existing homes will close next year, marking the biggest one-year gain in sales (nearly 22%!) since the early 1980’s.

Jeff Tucker is a Senior Economist at Zillow Research where he studies the causes and consequences of changing supply in the housing market. On this episode of Industry Relations, Jeff joins Rob and Greg to discuss the inputs his team used to make its predictions for 2021 and describe how current growth differs from what we saw at the height of the bubble in 2005.

Jeff offers insight around the demographics of who’s buying and selling homes right now, sharing his take on why the low millennial marriage rate may not impact the housing market as much as we think and how feasible it is for young, working-class Americans to afford home ownership. Listen in to understand how COVID facilitated the single-family home inventory crash and get an economist’s perspective on why the housing market will stay hot through 2021.

What’s Discussed:  

The inputs Jeff’s team used to predict that 6.8M existing homes will close in 2021

How current growth differs from what we saw at the height of the bubble in 2005

The decrease in share of income spent on mortgages since 2018

Why the iBuyer’s mission to create a frictionless experience is so important moving forward

Jeff’s insight around the demographics of who’s buying and selling homes

The distinction between family and household formation 

Why the low millennial marriage rate may or may not impact the housing market

How COVID facilitated a single-family home inventory crash

Why Jeff sees appreciation slowing down by the end of 2021

Jeff’s take on the feasibility of home ownership for working-class millennials

How the skyrocketing US money supply might impact the real estate market

Connect with Jeff:

Zillow Research

Jeff at Zillow

Jeff on Twitter

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

Lone Wolf Technologies

Zillow’s Forecast for 2021

NAR Data on Single Women Home Buyers

Pew Research on Millennials & Marriage

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Industry Relations Episode 50: An Epic Battle Between Opendoor + Zillow

Opendoor recently announced a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC) Social Capital, a venture fund headed by rockstar VC Chamath Palihapitiya. This partnership puts the pioneering iBuyer on the same playing field with Zillow. And the battle between the two will be epic.

On this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg are discussing what the competition between Opendoor and Zillow means for consumers, real estate agents, and the industry in general. Rob explains Zillow’s advantages in terms of customer acquisition and monetizing seller leads, and Greg describes Opendoor’s leverage when it comes to operational excellence (otherwise known as ‘eating BPS for breakfast’).

Rob and Greg go on to consider how Opendoor might catch up with Zillow when it comes to lead flow, either through an additional acquisition or by working with the industry. Listen in for insight around how this battle of the market-makers will make it easier to buy and sell houses and lower transaction costs—and how that will impact the real estate industry as a whole.

What’s Discussed: 

The benefits of a merger between Social Capital and Opendoor

What competition between Opendoor and Zillow means for consumers

Zillow’s advantage in terms of consumer audience and monetizing seller leads

Opendoor’s advantage when it comes to operational excellence

Rob’s prediction that Social Capital might also acquire either Redfin or Realtor.com

How Opendoor might work with the industry to generate lead flow

How competition between Opendoor and Zillow is likely to impact real estate as a whole

–Easier to buy and sell houses (mobility)

–Much lower transaction costs

How MLSs might change if transactions double while commissions are cut in half

Greg’s take on why it’s a great time to be a real estate agent

Connect with Rob and Greg:

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Email gregrobertson@gmail.com

Resources:

‘Yelp: Nearly 16,000 Restaurants Have Permanently Closed Due to COVID’ in QSR

Social Capital

The Social Dilemma

Opendoor’s Merger with Social Capital

Rob’s 2014 Blog Post on Opendoor

iBuyer Connect

Stratechery’s Interview with Rich Barton

Social Capital’s 2019 Investor Letter

SimilarWeb

Opendoor’s September 2020 Investor Presentation

Rob’s Thought Experiment on Real Estate Agents & Productivity

The Art of the CMA by Greg Robertson

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The 2023 Swanepoel Power 200

Let’s face it, we all love lists. “What’s your top 5 albums?”, “Rank the 10 greatest basketball players”, etc. ,etc. ,etc.

Well the SP200 is out today and some big changes with Gino Blefari, President and CEO of HomeServices of America, taking the top spot from Gary Keller. Some are calling this controversial. I think Rich Barton and Andy Florance should have ranked higher but nobody asked me. Sue Yannaccone, newly minted CEO and President, Anywhere Brands is the top female executive at #6, I’m a big fan of hers so that was good to see.

But on to what I’m really interested in, how did our peeps in organized real estate do? I count about 19 MLS execs on the list. I think that is 4 more than last year. At the top of this is the Mt. Rushmore of MLS Execs (since they appeared that way on the list). Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS, Brian Donnellan, CEO of Bright MLS and Bob Hale, CEO of HAR.

Art is off to a running start in 2023 with the addition of SRAR, bringing CRMLS’ member count north of 110,000.

Teresa King Kinney of Miami AOR at # 65, Jon DiMichele of TREBB at #74, and it wouldn’t be a Top200 list without Merri Jo Cowen, CEO of Stellar MLS #84, Rebecca Jensen, CEO of MRED at # 93, deal maker extraordinaire, Jeremy Crawford of FMLS continues his rise to #102 this year.

Matt Consalvo #110, CEO of ARMLS and Dionna Hall #115, CEO of Beaches MLS both jumped ten spots from last year. Emily Chenevert, CEO of Austin Board of REALTORS leaped 13 spots up from last year to #142


Tom Hurdelbrink, CEO of NWMLS made a huge leap up 15 spots from last year to #155, although with the leadership NWMLS has done this past year regarding transparency I would have loved to see him higher on the list.


Brad Bjelke CEO of UtahRealEstate.com catapulted up 19 spots from last year to #159, and great to see Gene Millman, CEO of REColorado.com land at #167 on the list and Rick Trevino, CEO of MetroList Services debuts on the list at #174 (Go Rick!)


Also cool to see Stuart White, CEO of Realtracs at #176 and it looks like this year AnneMarie DeCatsye, CEO of Canopy MLS went from #192 to #181. Plus “don’t call it a comeback” Tim Dain was listed at #188 and the spectacular Shelley Specchio came in at #194.

***Please forgive me if I missed someone. Just DM me and I’ll make the correction.***

And it is always great to see Sam DeBord #144, CEO of RESO and Denee Evans #178, CEO of CMLS be recognized for all the great work they do for the industry. I would also add the prophet himself, Mike Wurzer, CEO of FBS to that category.

I’m also contractually obligated (just kidding!) to mention that Lone Wolf CEO, Jimmy Kelly lept 6 spots to #52 on the list. How could you not love a CEO name Jimmy!?

And I did want to make a special call out to a special person on the “SP200 Watchlist“, Caitlin McCrory, VP of Industry Relations, Anywhere Real Estate.

I’ve been following Caitlin’s career for a while now and she has a passion for the industry that is infectious, it’s just all kinds of wonderful to see her recognized.

Industry Relations Episode 56: Pacaso: A New Proptech Venture – with OGs Spencer Rascoff & Austin Allison

What happens when real estate tech royalty get together to brainstorm business ideas? Not surprisingly, a general discussion of underutilized assets lends itself to a new proptech venture. 

Spencer Rascoff (former CEO of Zillow) and Austin Allison (founder of dotloop) are the Cofounders of Pacaso, a startup working to democratize access to second homeownership. On this episode of the podcast, real estate tech OGs Spencer and Austin join Rob and Greg to discuss how Pacaso solves the problem around the underutilization of second homes and explain how consumers, agents, and brokers alike benefit from the service.

Spencer and Austin describe how Pacaso manages scheduling and dispute resolution, sharing what differentiates their product from a timeshare or the traditional DIY co-ownership model. Listen in for Spencer and Austin’s insight on current events in the industry, including the radical acceleration of tech adoption through COVID, the long-term impact of the DOJ lawsuit against NAR, and CoStar CEO Andy Florance’s attack on Zillow.

What’s Discussed:  

How Pacaso solves the problem around underutilization of second homes

How consumers, agents, and brokers benefit from Pacaso

What differentiates Pacaso from a timeshare

How Pacaso handles scheduling and what happens if one owner uses the home much more than the others

Why Spencer & Austin don’t see Airbnb as competition

How Pacaso manages dispute resolution and governance of a property

Why friction among owners is less likely with Pacaso vs. the DIY model

Spencer & Austin’s response to the idea that Pacaso is ‘rich people solving rich people problems’

How COVID has inspired a demand for co-ownership in city centers

How the digitization of real estate has accelerated through the pandemic and what that means for the industry

Why buyer side representation will not go away (despite the DOJ lawsuit)

Andy Florance’s attack on Zillow and how CoStar’s acquisition of Homesnap will impact residential real estate

Connect with Spencer & Austin:

Pacaso

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

dot.LA

Zillow’s Q2 2020 Earnings Call

Jack Ryan on Industry Relations EP055

CoStar’s Acquisition of Homesnap

Brad Inman’s Interview with Andy Florance

The FTC Suit to Block CoStar’s Acquisition of RentPath

Tomo

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Industry Relations Episode: ELECTION SPECIAL=>A Civil Debate on the 2020 Presidential Election

We are days away from the most important election of our time. Will Trump win reelection? Or will Biden take office? What factors influence the way people are voting? And how will the real estate industry be affected either way?

On this episode of the podcast, Rob and Greg are sharing their predictions around who will win the upcoming presidential election, discussing how the handling of the pandemic is likely to influence voting and whether Americans will choose a candidate based on self-interest versus moral integrity.

Rob and Greg reflect on the last four years in terms of the economy in general and real estate specifically, debating whether a modern leader should (or even could) inspire and unite us AND get things done. Listen in for insight on separating Trump’s behavior from what he has accomplished as President and learn how our hosts think about getting the US back to a place of normal political discourse.

What’s Discussed:  

Rob and Greg’s predictions regarding who will win the presidential election

Choosing a candidate based on self-interest vs. moral integrity

How the handling of the pandemic might influence voting

Whether the governor or President should have more influence over the states

Greg’s call for a leader that can inspire and unite us rather than stoke the fires of division

Rob’s take that it’s less important that a leader be an inspiring orator and more important that they get things done

Separating Trump’s behavior from what he has accomplished as President

How the last four years have been good for the economy in general and real estate specifically

Whether the Democrats will accept Trump as the legitimate President

Getting the US back to a place of normal political discourse

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources: 

What’s the Matter with Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America Back by Thomas Frank

Termination of 2015 AFFH Rule

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Industry Relations Episode 51: We Don’t Know What to Call Zillow Anymore!

Zillow started out as a listing portal or syndication site. But the company has evolved to become… Well, we’re actually not sure what to call it anymore. Perhaps ‘the Amazon of real estate’ is most appropriate. And on September 23, 2020, the company announced that it’s hiring employee-agents to streamline the iBuyer process. So, if Zillow is a brokerage now, what does that mean for the industry?

On this episode of the podcast, Rob and Greg are discussing Zillow’s decision to take its iBuyer operations in-house and how that move will impact other aspects of organized real estate. Our hosts explore how MLSs might respond to having Zillow as members and describe how access to MLS data could change the consumer experience on the Zillow site.

Rob and Greg go on to consider the impact of Zillow being part of NAR and state and local associations, weighing in on how their participation can be seen as a win for the industry. Listen in for insight on how Zillow’s announcement demonstrates their commitment to becoming an iBuyer-brokerage and learn how Zillow entering the system might lead to an improvement for everyone—or a ‘horror show.’

What’s Discussed: 

The evolution of listing portals into brokerage and iBuyer hybrid models

How Rob and Greg define brokerages differently

Zillow’s decision to use employee-agents to bring its iBuyer operations in-house

How MLSs are likely to respond to having Zillow as members

Rob’s theory on how Zillow might reposition its Industry Relations team

The potential impact of Zillow being part of NAR as well as state and local associations

How access to MLS IDX data and VOW rules could transform the consumer experience on Zillow

The leverage Zillow has in getting information from smaller MLSs

What makes Zillow’s shift a WIN for humans (and organized real estate)

Connect with Rob and Greg:

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

Opendoor vs. Zillow on Industry Relations EP050

Greg’s Blog Post on BPP

Rob’s Blog Post on Zillow

Stop Zillow Campaign

Greg on Twitter

CLAW’s Delay to Syndication Feeds

REALTOR Political Action Committee

NAR’s Rules on Virtual Office Website

The 2008 DOJ-NAR Settlement Agreement

‘It’s a Good Life’ Episode of Twilight Zone

‘A Trifecta! NAR Sued Again Over Buyer-Broker Commissions’ in The Real Deal

Thomas Jefferson’s Quote on Change in Laws and Institutions

Collateral Analytics

Greg’s Blog Post on Zillow

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