April 2020

My honest thought?

April 28, 2020My honest thought? During this crucial phase of shelter in place, the best contribution Realtors can make to the greater good is to stay home and choose not to sell homes, especially when it requires bending the rules to do so. And to also to step up and be a more consistent voice of encouragement for others to do the same. After thirty years as a Realtor, I can honestly say there’s little that’s going to happen in anyone’s buying or selling process over the...

Tom Brezsny | Coronavirus: Realtors can help by staying home

April 17, 2020Welcome news came in the fight against COVID-19 recently: California is doing better than most of the country in flattening the curve and Santa Cruz is doing better than most counties in the state. Cause for optimism but certainly not cause for celebration, yet.The message is clear: Shelter in Place (SIP) works. Let’s not loosen the rules or rush to reopen businesses too soon.That’s why beaches and parks are closed and why the Sheriff’s Office is handing out citations right now. We’re not even halfway...

To be essential or not to be essential

April 9, 2020To be essential or not to be essential….that is the question. I’m talking about the Department of Homeland Security deciding that Realtors should be considered an “essential service” last week. (No doubt after serious lobbying by the Administration.) It was another odd moment for an industry struggling to find its soul during the COVID crisis. An industry loosely-comprised of a million independent, commission-driven contractors on the front lines of selling the homes the rest of the world has retreated back into for safety and refuge...

Real Estate in the Time of Corona

April 6, 2020While I’ve managed to weave in a few literary references to Shakespeare, Nietzsche and Thomas Wolfe over the years, I never really expected to add Gabriel Garcia Marquez to the list... The last thirty years has brought a series of shocks to the system and setbacks to the real estate market. Including: the 1989 earthquake, the savings and loan crisis / recession of the early 90s, the dot.com bubble and resulting crash, the events of 9/11, the subprime mortgage crisis and Great Recession that followed....

Moral Compass

April 1, 2020In 2005, I wrote a humor piece about a fictional Whole Real Estate Catalogue. A comprehensive gift guide “for the Realtor who has everything” that included fanciful items like: a Portable Shark Fin Accessory to stick on the top of flashy cars, an Armani Hazmat Suit to sell toxic assets in style, Sock Puppet Listing Presentations, Cover-Your-Ass Fanny Packs, UnVanity License Plates, etc. My favorite item was a Moral Compass, a pocket-sized, directional device Realtors could carry with them on their daily rounds. One that...