In this episode, we cover the latest real estate news for the week. First, is news that Facebook has come under fire for facilitating de facto housing discrimination in their ad targeting platform by restricting who sees what types of ads. After that, we discuss a new real estate artificial intelligence company called "Rex" that is attempting to replace your real estate agent. And last, we discuss how a seller in California has told their agent that they do not want any buyers who voted for Donald Trump.

We start off talking about how inflation could create four interest rate hikes over the next year, making buying a home even more expensive. Then, you won't believe the latest fad in real estate development -- sleeping! Developers are studying sleep patterns to create better environments for their purchasers to get their rest. We finish by discussing something new in real estate - LetGo. Until now, it's an app that's sold junk you don't want, like Craigslist. Now, they want to start selling houses!

This week, we're looking into the real reason real estate is more expensive in California. It's the weather, right? But it turns out the answer is much more complicated than that. While the sun and celebrity lifestyle might be the main reasons people come to West Coast, they instead find high housing prices created by over regulation, hypocrisy, and a general philosophy of NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard). We discuss how all these contribute to our drastic housing shortage and what can be done about it.

We're back and we've got lots of news to talk about. First, we discuss how the National Association of Realtors is finding new ways and options to help buyers save up their down payment. Then, we discuss how Millennials are coming off the bench and buying homes, leaving large scale landlords like Blackstone, who had made big bets in rentals, in the lurch. Then, we talk about the use of augmented reality in real estate and how some folks are building their entire homes around one piece of art.

This week on The Clarified Realty Podcast — we were supposed to talk about news stories, but we got a rant instead! Tom starts off the podcast with a story about a phone call with a real estate agent that goes from bad to worse when, even though he admittedly called the wrong number, the agent treats him like a three-year old and spends the rest of the conversation making Tom feel like crap. Tom tells the story in order to give fair warning to homes sellers out there that the agent answering their phone is the first line of defense when it comes to customer service. If a buyer’s agent is not treated nicely, or with respect, it could really cool the agent’s enthusiasm for working with you.

We follow that story up by discussing some of Ron’s tough transactions working with an agent that is less that cooperative. He tells a couple of stories about how he’s been able to keep deals on track, even though the agent on the other side is being difficult or downright uncooperative.

Tom then tells a story of another agent that was playing games during one of his current transactions. He gives us examples about why that doesn’t work to the seller’s advantage in the long run — and could have ruined a very sweet deal. When you have a golden opportunity in your hand, don’t let the get away because of greed. Recognize the sure thing and grab it with both hands. The unknown of having to start the deal fresh with someone new is never worth it.

And then, just when things couldn’t get any worse, Tom goes into a story about a Realtor he saw in the checkout line at his grocery store. The poor checker off-handedly mentioned to him that someone she knows was looking for a house — and they guy just couldn’t help but give the her the hard sell. Tom talks about his disgust agents like this and his overall condition of the industry and how guys like this make all agents have a bad name.

When the guys are able to get to the news, Ron tells us about how Blackstone, one of the biggest landlords in the country has merged with another company, Starwood Waypoint Homes, to become the biggest landlord in the country. They believe there is a movement of millennials away from buying homes and they are making a big bet on it. So, what are millennials spending their money on if not real estate? Apparently, bachelor parties.

For an episode that was supposed to be news, there sure was a lot of rant in there! But it’s a really fun listen! We hope you enjoy it — and please leave your comments below or leave us a review on iTunes!

The news is back! After we had such a great response from our last "All News" episode, we thought that we'd do another one. This episode is chock full of interesting real estate news and views. 

We start off with a conversation regarding whether or not foreign buyers are the cause of the lack of inventory we are now seeing in the market. Turns out -- not so much... Even if the source telling us has a very silly name and Tom doesn't completely trust it, either (I mean, "BuzzBuzz?" -- c'mon!). It does appear that buyers from other countries are not grabbing up properties like they used to and Tom gives reasons why this is no surprise to him at all.

Next up is a story regarding the news that the Fed's Robert Kaplan is sticking to his forecast that there will be two more rate hikes in the coming year, which leads to a conversation about Fannie Mae relaxing its regulations on potential buyers that carry student debt. Both Tom and Ron are optimistic about the move and hope that it is a shot in the arm to get Millenials off the bench and into the game.

And last, but not least, we take a trip into Margaritaville! Everyone's favorite "parrot head," Jimmy Buffett is expanding his empire to include developing a retirement community for baby boomers. We take a look at the project and how he has found ways to appeal to this generation throughout his career -- all from just a catchy tune and a whole lot of really smart entrepreneurism.

We hope that you enjoy this episode as much as we did making it. Please, please, please... Leave comments below to let us know what you think! And we'd be so grateful if you'd take a moment and leave a review on iTunes, too!