Housing News
Carnival of Real Estate- Come One, Come All
This week, there were WAY too many entries- I had intended on having an enjoyable Sunday evening watching Shark with my wife. But no, you all had to enter a billion articles. I wrote previously that I was hoping that a clear winner would rise to the top and since I can’t play 52 card pickup with your submissions, I read through them all thoroughly and carefully and (drum roll, please)…
The “Pick of the Week” is Jonathan Dalton’s article “Gold Jacket? Ummm… maybe” proving he won’t just blindly jump on the BRANDWAGON! Dalton prefers a beagle over a Miami Vice jacket and gives us a not-so-gentle reminder that Realtors should focus on branding themselves first and their giganto broker second. (Also, we are holding our breath until Tobey gets a C21 jacket.)
Many other articles rose to the top, but I’d like to offer the prestigious honorable mention to four others to round out the Top Five:
Denny Oh nearly won the whole dang Carnival, so it’s hard to call his article, “Craigslist Gold Digger… A Good Investment?” winner of an honorable mention, but alas, we could only give one blue ribbon out. Denny’s article is not only funny (the fastest way to my heart) but makes great points- don’t miss this one!
Blackbear Realty brings us this week’s “makes you think” article entitled “What the Cleavers Teach us about Real Estate & Rhetoric” breaking down the impact of the evolving national dialogue about Real Estate.
Joshua Dorkin analyzes “House Flipping Reality TV Shows” and although many of us have written about the HGTV sagas and our feelings on such, Dorkin does an amazing job of bringing a concise PRO/CON argument to the table.
Lastly, the uber famous Silicon Valley Blogger writes a textbook-esque article called “The Causes and Consequences of the Subprime Mortgage Financial Crisis” which is a good read for those new to the topic and leaves us on a positive note.
This week, you bloggers brought it! Thanks to everyone who entered, and watch the Carnival of Real Estate home page for links to all of this weeks’ entries.
If you haven’t participated in the Carnival of Real Estate, get going- it’s easy to submit! Next week, the host will be Lani Anglin at RE Revealed.com so get started now!
Austin
Austin tops the list of best places to buy a home
When looking to buy a home, taking the long view is important before making such a huge investment – where are the best places to make that commitment?
Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
Click here to continue reading this story…
Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Joshua Dorkin
October 15, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Hey Benn. Nice job with the carnival. I appreciate your inclusion of my post about the Flipping Property television shows. Congrats to everyone else with their helpful posts as well.
Sandy Howard
October 15, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Thanks so much for your efforts on what must be a big job. Thank you for including us, we sure got a thrill. Congratulations and thank you to all for their articles and advice.
Jonathan Dalton
October 15, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Thanks much for the pick, my friend!
Tobey’s resisting the jacket as well, but I’ll get him there sooner or later.
Jay Thompson
October 15, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Nice job of Carinval hosting BR…. all swell posts. It aint’t easy picking these things…..
SanDiegOh
October 15, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Benn,
Thanks for the honorable mention award for my “Craigslist Gold Digger…a Good Investment?” article. Actually, I suppose I should thank that “spectacularly beautiful” 25 year old for giving me something to write about.
The Digerati Life
October 16, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Thanks for including me in this list :). I am very honored! Very cool.