A Missouri court recently found NAR, HomeServices of America and Keller Williams liable for $1.8B in damages for conspiring to keep commissions artificially high.   And there’s a long list of copycat lawsuits advocating a shift in the way commissions are paid in real estate.   So, what might that look like? What does it mean for you and your business?   Rob Levy has been a licensed Portland REALTOR since 1988 and currently serves as Principal Broker with The Rob Levy Real Estate Team, a top-producer in the Pacific Northwest.   On this episode of The Portland Real Estate Pod ..read more

Do you have clients who need more space but can’t move in the current market? With rates reaching 8% for the first time in 20 years, plenty of people are stuck in the home they’ve got. What if you could offer a solution that would give them the space they need and add value to their current home without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an addition or ADU? Anthony Taylor-Weber is Founder and CEO of Outdoor Office, a business that designs and builds custom, fully finished backyard studio spaces for home businesses, work-from-home employees and creatives. On this episode of The Portla ..read more

The Portland region needs 60,000 housing units to resolve the current housing shortage. What new land use laws are helping close the gap? And what legal developments make it even harder for developers to keep up with demand? Ezra Hammer and Jamie Howsley are attorneys at Jordan Ramis, a firm that serves the businesses of Pacific Northwest. Ezra and Jamie have expertise in land use and development, environmental and natural resource permitting and government affairs. On this episode of The Portland Real Estate Podcast, Ezra and Jamie join hosts Joe Fustolo and Steve Nassar to discuss what’s beh ..read more

Are you inclined to compete with other real estate agents and defend your territory? Or collaborate as colleagues? At Masters in Real Estate, we believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. And because there’s enough business for everybody, we share best practices with the intention of helping each other succeed. Justin Stoddart is CEO of ProInsight, a platform that helps real estate agents integrate our services with other professionals, collaborating to improve our value proposition and better serve our ideal clients. Justin is also the author of The Upstream Model: Hidden Secrets to Building ..read more

The average person lives in a home for about 7 years. And agents and lenders need to stay top of mind, so we’re there when the client is ready to move again. However, 88% of people forget their real estate team less than a year after closing. But what if there was an easy way to stay engaged with clients and support them in taking care of their home—with very little effort on your part? Scott Fouser is Chief Revenue Officer of Househappy, a tech platform that helps real estate professionals stay in front of their homeowner-clients through the gift of concierge home maintenance services. On thi ..read more

No doubt you’ve read multiple news items about artificial intelligence and received several emails promoting AI trainings since ChatGPT launched last November. And many believe that AI technology will start a revolution bigger than anything we’ve experienced in our lifetime, including the internet. But what is AI really capable of? And how might real estate professionals use it in a meaningful way? Eric Post has 20 years of experience in the industry, owning both real estate and mortgage brokerages and working in the consulting, coaching and startup space. Today, he is building a company calle ..read more

We can all agree that the real estate market was pretty bad last year. Case in point, pending sales in the Portland metro area were down 50% year-over-year in November 2022. But things are starting to pick up as we move into 2023. And we can either complain about the challenges OR step into 2023 with a positive attitude. Because if you ask Dill Ward, energy begets energy, and the agents who show up with joy will build momentum. In other words, the market is between your ears. Dill is Principal Broker at The Dill Ward Group of Living Room Realty. She has 14 years of experience as an agent and i ..read more

Interest rates are up to 7%. Pending sales are down 42%. And yet, many real estate agents continue to do business at a high level, despite the dramatic market shift. In April of 2022, Brittany Gibbs, Heather Robbins and Kim Gellatly appeared on the podcast to discuss the developing shift and share what they were doing to prepare for the market correction. So, what did Brittany, Heather and Kim get right? What has surprised them in the last six months? And what are they doing to find success in the current real estate market? Brittany, Heather and Kim serve as Principal Broker at Move Real Esta ..read more

Mortgage interest rates are the highest they’ve been in 20 years. And as a result, mortgage applications are down by 38% and refis have dropped a whopping 86%. So, when will rates start to come back down? What can lenders and real estate agents do to adapt to the current circumstances? Guest Cohost Tammy Wittren is Branch Manager at NFM Lending. With more than 30 years of real estate and lending experience, Tammy separates herself from the competition by building a team of professionals who share her commitment to serve others. On this Best of Masters episode, Tammy joins Joe Fustolo and Steve ..read more

The real estate market was nothing but hot in 2021. We saw a staggering number of transactions, and most homes were on the market for less than a week. And now the market is correcting. Real estate has a longer shelf life and there are fewer buyers. But what if this shift in the market isn’t necessarily a bad thing? What can we do as brokers to adapt to the circumstances and be successful for the long term? Justin Harnish is the Broker-Owner of Harnish Properties, and industry leader in the sales and marketing of luxury homes in and around Lake Oswego. On this episode of the Portland Real Esta ..read more