Featured in Inman News. WITNESSING HISTORY! Last week we were in DC for the annual Just Economy Conference hosted by the NCRC (National Community Reinvestment Coalition) with some historic news. It’s April 2024, and you likely are well aware of the various lawsuits and pockets of rising consumer mistrust (it is by no means everyone) of real estate agents and brokers making the headline rounds. Some specific concerns that were expressed by Bing’s ‘Copilot’ AI include: Trust Issues: Many agents admit that some of their peers indeed deserve the stereotype. Communication Woes: Delays ..read more

Also featured in Inman News.  Image by Kim from Pixabay.   Curb appeal – check Staged to a neutral palette and decluttered – check Priced competitively according to the most recent home sales/comps – check So why – in such a competitive housing market – is this homeowner being lowballed? Getting Lowballed Despite a Competitive Market One elephant in the room when it comes to being lowballed while selling a home: unfair housing practices. Yes, we have fair housing laws now, with the most monumental beginning in 1968, spurred by the Rev. Dr. Martin ..read more

As featured in HousingWire and Business Insider.  Tons of millennials are turning to social media, crying for help because they can no longer afford their rent. Many are being blindsided by increases from their landlords by hundreds of dollars. Explain briefly what's going on right now, and why millennial renters are bearing the brunt of this economic downturn. We millennials (at over 40, I’m an elder millennial or Xennial) are a vocal bunch for sure, having been the designers (like Zuck) and original (OG) influencers of social media (like Kim K.), ha!  Assuredly, social me ..read more

As featured in RealtorMag's The YPN Lounge.   Recent data from well-known online mortgage marketplace has some wondering: Why might single women be buying more homes than single men?   Well, to better answer that question, it is important to examine a little history to figure out how we got here. As Women’s History Month quickly approaches, this is as good a time as ever to take an abridged hop into our DeLorean (fun sidebar: in my live workshops, I show this movie scene for fans of the 1980s) to go back before going to the future.   For starters, women had little ..read more

Also, featured in Inman News and HousingWire.  Source: Michigan.org “Detroit. Phenomenal fan base. Great city. It’s been through a lot. The downtown area, big time. The stadium, big time. But you go to the outskirts of the Detroit area and it looks like a d*mn desert town.” –Stephen A. Smith speaking on Detroit as the Detroit Lions were in the “final four” contenders to be in Super Bowl LVIII. Although Stephen A. Smith is not quite wrong, he’s not right either. What do I mean? The Brookings Institution summed it up well: Today, downtown Detroit is nearly unrecog ..read more

 "If your house is still on the market, it's time to pinpoint the problem. You aren't an absentee seller who never set foot on the property. You don't see any obvious issues as far as staging, cleanliness, or the overall state of your home (that aren't already factored into the price). What are you missing?" Let's go beyond the obvious and find out if one of these six reasons could be the issue according to this article featured in LifeHacker. Let's go! Have you ever needed the “Cliff Notes” version of fair housing? Well, move over Spark Notes! The Starting Point: How to Be a F ..read more

As featured in Inman News.    Do you know the pivotal moment that has allowed anyone on U.S. soil to imagine their dream home? Hint: It has to do with today’s federal holiday. For a quick primer, learn more in this 1-minute video lesson: click here As our nation recognizes today the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and for those of us who are setting (and re-visiting) our intentions for 2024, I want to challenge us to be the walking billboards of how Dr. King's legacy is being lived out. How? Shedding the R.E. Industry Stigma of "Profits OVER Pe ..read more

Despite rising unaffordability, we in the “real estate biz” know that homeownership is still a fantastic way to build generational wealth! Speaking of the devil (rising unaffordability), do you know these “3 steps real estate agents can take to make a big difference in housing affordability” to help make homeownership more attainable? Check out today’s HousingWire feature (click here) and I hope you will add these 3 steps to your 2024 vision board and/or New Year resolutions (if you are into those): As we start 2024, please remember we have an opportunity to decode and interrupt UN-fair h ..read more

As featured in Inman News. How unfair housing feels: upside down. Image by Leopictures from Pixabay.  Between social media comments and the classes I teach, I keep running across people – more specifically, those of us who should be the most well-versed, the real estate professionals – who see unfair housing as only an intent issue. They believe that people must be “targeted” for it to count. Perhaps you do, too, so let’s review this important aspect. Image Caption: I appreciate fair housing questions and comments via social media, especially from real ..read more

As featured in RealtorMag.  Image by JALAL SHEIKH from Pixabay.  In many parts of the nation, unaffordability is bringing the housing market to a stalemate. As real estate pros, we may not be able to directly alter interest rates (outside of our lobbying efforts) but we can impact how much money people have in their pockets in order to have the financial wherewithal to buy, sell and lease real estate. How? By being what I call Fair Housing D.E.C.O.D.E.R.S.©, which is an acronym that in short stands for proactive housing advocacy for all – where we move bey ..read more