This post is in honor of the citizen journalists at Redfin, whose months of efforts at writing witty, insightful property reviews were brought down by an over-zealous MLS association bent on maintaining the rightful balance of power in the real estate business — ie, that the listing agent is at the top of the pyramid, the buyer’s representative is significantly lower, and the consumers…well, they’re not really that important, let’s face it.
I’m a good 800 miles out of the jurisdiction of the NWMLS, but I’m sure our local MLS’s are paying close attention. So, here’s what my semi-regular property reviews would look like if they were to be NWMLS-compliant…
Ken DeLeon, Wilson Sonsini attorney turned Keller Williams mega-agent, has a new listing at 994 Loma Verde. Like half of today’s tour, it’s priced just a whisker under $1.3M, but good common market sense would suggest it’ll go somewhat above that. At ~1800 sq ft, it’s spacious and bright, and — as we would expect — it’s impeccably staged. Another met expectation was Ken’s food line up — he always does a full-court press to bring in the agents, and we were there in force. Ken’s open house schedule for this weekend is standard for him: 1pm to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. That is, while other agents are still enjoying lunch, Ken is already out there at the property; while other agents have long gone home, Ken is still there, trying to get the best deal for his client.
(Full disclosure: Just so there’s no mistake, I am not Ken DeLeon. My name is Kevin Boer. Ken is a friend, and, technically, a competitor. I’m with Alain Pinel Realtors, not Keller Williams. 994 Loma Verde is not my listing. I am not advertising the listing. I am not pretending as if I am the listing agent in an effort to get people to call me about this property. I am talking about the property because I saw it on tour today and it was pretty neat.)
Satisfied?
Tags: Alain Pinel Realtors, Industry, Keller Williams, Ken DeLeon, Real estate
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Sinster Sock Puppet // May 18, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I’m going to read that to my kids as a bedtime story, it’s so mind numbing…
I’m not sure what the solution to the whole review is really.
2 john harper // May 18, 2007 at 10:01 pm
What I don’t get is this -
The foundation of the MLS is that other agents will bring clients to buy the listing agent’s client’s property.
How the hell is writing about or promoting a property listed by another agent any different. If an agent could only sell the property they listed, we’d all be doing something else.
I guess if your’re a reporter for Numbskull News you can write about a property without a bunch of disclaimer crap.
The people at NWMLS and others with similar logic NEED to go. Like so many others in history instead of evolving they are trying to stop change - not because the change is negative, but because it threatens their pocketbook.
Obviously a case of projecting their own lack of capabilities and capacities onto others.
Don’t get me going on this one!!!!!!!!!!!
3 Sinster Sock Puppet // May 19, 2007 at 9:25 am
Well Sweet Digs weren’t always promoting the property, they sometimes said it wasn’t good. It may have been the truth, but they were using MLS data to slam another agents listing publicly. Hence ugly ensured.
4 RE Agent in CT » Real Estate Blog Property Reviews Are Advertsing // May 19, 2007 at 10:39 am
[...] In short, your blog simply cannot “review” another agents listing. Your publishing options are either “sales piece”, “boring as hell” or “libelous smearing”. [...]
5 RealFlipper // May 19, 2007 at 11:53 am
Another creative way to promote properties without conflict is with TV ads. A company called TVsellsRealEstate.com produces real estate TV ads for free along with one of heir inexpensive air time packages. You could advertise a showcase property in Palo Alto for months for only $3K, and that includes the TV production.
6 Louisville Real Estate // May 25, 2007 at 9:38 am
I’m going to miss the reviews, I really enjoyed them.
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