Posted by LaLa on 07 Jun 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, Commissions, The Industry
Several times a month I hear from different agents who believe that their offers to the listing (Seller’s) broker have not been communicated to the Seller.
Lauren Elkies of the Real Deal recounts this theme in her June 2007 article “Co-brokerage and commissions in conflict.”
Posted by LaLa on 22 May 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, Manhattan Prices, The Industry
The New York Times ran an article last week about the plight of college students and young professionals trying to find places to live in Manhattan. Rents are higher than ever and vacancy rates are the lowest in years, but the city retains its irresistible allure for bright, ambitious young people from all over the world. “There’s still enough of a cachet,�? as one real estate economist puts it.
When it comes to securing housing, young people are coping as creatively as they always have. They’re crowding more roommates into their apartments and putting up extra walls for privacy. Some of them are even camping out in unused or underused office spaces. Maybe they’re even enjoying the adventures now — getting ready for work or preparing meals in overcrowded apartments — but the situation poses real problems.
read more…
Posted by LaLa on 11 May 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, National Issues, Reports, The Industry
Almost two years after holding a workshop on competition in the real estate industry, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice have produced their report on the subject. The feds come down on the side of consumer choice, transparency and efficiency and in opposition to the collusion, conflicts of interest and ethical lapses that seem to emerge whenever large brokerage firms get together.
The FTC-DOJ report shows that while real estate prices have skyrocketed in recent years, commission rates have fallen very little. Why? The industry discourages price competition through anti-rebate laws, minimum-service requirements, restrictions on usage of the MLS, and even boycotts of alternative-model brokerages (all thoroughly documented in the report).
read more…
Posted by LaLa on 07 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, Real Estate Board of New York, The Industry
Recently, the New York Times’ Vivian Toy wrote an article Agents of Angst about unethical real estate agents – an article full of hair-raising stories about agents who withheld crucial information, actively misled their clients, didn’t keep their promises, poached other agents’ clients, and generally contributed to the public’s poor opinion of our industry. (According to the article, a recent poll ranking occupations by prestige placed real estate brokers at the very bottom of a list of 23 professions.)
The next week, Steven Spinola, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, sent a letter to the editor defending the industry’s reputation, saying,
read more…
Posted by LaLa on 27 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, The Industry
We’re all familiar with how much consumers dislike brokers. Unfortunately, consumers, too, often abuse the housing system and deprive other consumers of housing stock. Janny Scott writes in today’s New York Times Illegal Sublets Put Private Eyes on Case about renters who illegally sublet their apartments to others or who maintain primary residences elsewhere. If only everyone could play nice.
Posted by LaLa on 20 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, The Industry
In October, the New York City Council issued a report called Brokered Deception: The Hidden Perils of Online Real Estate Ads about their undercover investigation that discovered a third of New York City “no-fee�? apartments advertised on Craigslist.org and Backpage.com did, in fact, involve hefty brokers’ fees. And the report wasn’t the end of the matter: last week, several brokerages received subpoenas from the City’s Department of Consumer Affairs calling for the production of documents related to their online advertising.
No matter how you cut it, deceptive advertising is wrong, and the City Council and DCA are right to go after brokers who are defrauding the public. But still, doesn’t this remind you just a little of that police chief in “Casablanca�? who, in shutting down Rick’s Place, says, “I’m shocked – shocked! – to find out that there’s gambling going on here�??
Deceptive advertising, particularly on free or inexpensive websites such as Craiglist and Backpage, isn’t coming out of nowhere. Instead of simply going after the bad apples, the City Council and DCA should ask why so many of the apples are bad. They should be looking at the system that produces the bad apples.
One place they could start is with the power of the real estate industry, the industry’s relationship with the New York Division of Licensing, and the way the real estate industry has managed to exempt itself from so many inconvenient laws. For example, real estate agents are independent contractors. In any other industry, people who hold titles like vice president, who are provided with assigned desks and phone numbers in an office, who are required to attend meetings, etc. are considered employees.
Why does this matter? It matters because it allows brokers to take on any number of agents. Since the brokers aren’t saddled with obligations like paying salaries or payroll taxes, they can hire anyone and everyone who thinks that looking at other people’s apartments might be an enjoyable occupation. The results: far too many real estate agents scrambling to make a living, followed by the emergence of unscrupulous practices like the deceptive advertising that the City Council so amply documented.
Posted by LaLa on 18 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, The Industry
Crain’s Julie Satow’s article, NYC rental market ranked top in the nation found that the monthly asking rents in NYC’s five boroughs increased 6.4% to $2,719. However, Peter Von Der Ahe of Marcus & Millchap observes that “There is still a huge affordability gap between renting and buying.”
Posted by LaLa on 04 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Blog, Manhattan Prices, The Industry
By Glenn Roberts
Inman News
Manhattan residential real estate prices climbed overall in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter last year, several major brokerage companies reported this week. Halstead Property, Brown Harris Stevens, The Corcoran Group and Prudential Douglas Elliman released reports detailing condo and co-op sales and pricing activity for the fourth quarter.
The sales data used by some companies was in some cases skewed higher in the fourth quarter when compared to fourth-quarter 2005 because of a new source of public data on co-op sales that became available earlier this year.
read more…
Posted by LaLa on 01 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Construction, The Industry
For the first time in a decade, construction permits have leveled off, with largest decline in Staten Island. High construction costs have tightened lending. more… [NYPost]
Posted by LaLa on 07 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Blog, MLS, New York Real Estate, Real Estate Board of New York, The Industry
At $3500 for firms with fewer than 19 agents and $7000 for larger firms, some with 1000 agents, there is no doubt that fees are disproportionate. A sole proprietor broker would pay $3500 while the per agent cost at a large firm would be $7. More troubling is REBNY’s standard modus operandi of REBNY and large firms making decision on behalf of all REBNY members.
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