blog coverage from the NAR convention
the real estate blog squad has a few posts up today covering the main themes (well at least the real themes, as opposed to the official ones) over at the convention across the bay. two posts stand out as emblematic of the challenges being faced by the industry (and arguably not being faced by the NAR). jon strum’s post subtitled “the sun rises in the east” encapsulates pretty well the state of denial that many in the business choose to live in:
And yet when a member of the audience asked that panel about a site like Trulia, that really does break through old paradigms and delivers a new consumer experience, Mr. Wright sniffs that , “…it’s an interesting service that has legs…” Of course, the next thing he points out is that the listing information on Trulia isn’t really their information to disemminate.
and there is a piece on there written by the property grunt that has an interesting analysis of what implications all these state minimum service laws (legislation introduced to “protect” the consumer by restricting the ability of discount brokers to offer a menu of services). he sees it all ending as a class action suit not unlike the one faced by big tobacco.