#RE2020: Disrupt Real Estate

31 years ago, Ralph Nader delivered his first speech to the New England Association of Buyer Agents. In retrospect, it was a "Coming of Age" for buyer agents and an occasion Nader used to call for a consumer movement in housing.

Unfortunately, since then, buyer agency has been coopted and the affordable housing crisis generated more headlines than housing units.

So, while The Boston Globe Spotlight focuses on the housing crisis we'll invite fellow real estate consumer advocates to aggregate content to take take our message directly to consumers - both homebuyers and sellers across Massachusetts.

Over the next 50 days, we hope to aggregate and share content here and on social media from our peers. If we do that twice daily, that will generate 100 updates over next 50 days.

Why 100? That number reflects the magnitude of potential consumer savings EVERY month across Massachusetts -- a stunning $100 million per month - from one of the massive class action lawsuits against the real estate cartel, aka #RECartel.

Why 50 days? There are 50 days till the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, and as in the past we'll use that date to talk about throwing real estate commissions overboard.

This year it's not a question of whether that will happen, it's whether the proposed #MLSpinSettlement and others will deliver BILLIONS annually in consumer savings - as is the Department of Justice's goal.

Our hope is to help homebuyers and sellers learn how they can get their piece of those savings, and we look forward to interviewing some of them for this series.

Please contact us if you'd like to be interviewed.

#PriceCorrection2022:  After documenting a record high 1 in 7 MLS listings selling $100,000 or more over asking price, decided to tour open houses in one of the strongest housing markets in the Northeast, Cambridge Massachusetts & it's neighbor, Somerville.  What I quickly discovered was surprising -- nearly every listing was priced below it's Zestimate; not just by $10 to $20K, but a deep discount that would send bids $100K over asking price.  

Why? Are listing agents using "Underpricing-As-A-Strategy" to generate #FakeFrenzy? We offer four bullet points and invite your own, particularly if you are a local homebuyer or fellow buyer agent trying to #ProtectHomebuyers from overpaying or being manipulated in a BLIND #BiddingWars.

If you visiting open houses this weekend, too? Want to TweetUp somewhere to compare notes and thoughts about the housing market over beer?  We call it real estate on tap, or #REonTap.

National Consumer Protection Week, 3/6-12/22 is dedicated to educating & protecting consumers, but content related to housing & real estate has been notably absent in the past.  Beyond #Homebuying101, are there urgent issues that need to be addressed from the homebuyer's perspective?   @Redfin's recent survey found that 77% of consumers -- both buyers and sellers, say we're in a housing bubble, and @BankRate's survey found that 64% of Millennial homebuyers have #BuyersREmorse?  

Despite low inventory hype, @RealtorDotCom's own survey found 1 in 4 homeowners #Intend2Sell.... is it time to talk about #IntentionInventory instead of using Active MLS listings as a measure of #PentUpRESupply?  

We invite debate on those questions and invite your own.  RECALL -- Real Estate Consumer Alliance -- is an "adhocracy" that welcomes feedback from multiple stakeholders.  What do you think homebuyers should know going into the Spring housing market in 2022?