Vol 11 No. 7 (909), "More than 9,000 subscribers"
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PikeNet
Dispatch, January 24, 2006 Vol 11 No. 7 (909), "More than 9,000 subscribers" |
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Guarding Commissions... "For some unexplained reason, I frequently receive letters like yours asking how a released prisoner can obtain a real estate sales license." That's Robert Bruss responding to a state prisoner's letter in his Sunday column (San Francisco Chronicle, Jan 22, 2006). I guess a 6% brokerage fee looks pretty attractive when you're behind bars. So I'm wondering if bank robber Willie Sutton ("Because that's where the money is") might be tempted to switch to real estate today. According to the FBI, people liked him personally:
Of course, bankers themselves also want to sell real estate. But "when the nation's largest banks decided at the start of the decade that they wanted to get into the real estate brokerage business, one major obstacle stood in their way: the National Association of Realtors (NAR)." (New York Times, Jan 12, 2006) "The Realtors association is one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, spending nearly $94 million annually. ... And it has an iron grip on its members." As a result of NAR lobbying, banks are not any closer to adding real estate brokerage services. Nevertheless, technology and new business models continue to rumble in the background threatening to alter the competitive (residential!) landscape. The latest venture-backed effort is Zillow.com, which has raised $32 million and hired 75 employees "to develop a new kind of online real estate service..." Its CEO "didn't provide a full description of his business plan. But he said the company won't operate as a brokerage firm and won't be based on listings of homes for sale." (Wall Street Journal, Jan 13, 2006) ... Wow, it sounds like the return of the dot-com Glory Days. Hey, that's where the money was! Spread the Word... Click here for revised Dispatch pricing. And many thanks to Tom Byrne and LoopNet for sponsoring this week's Dispatch! -- Peter Pike |
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"Although
he was a bank robber, Sutton had the reputation of a gentleman;
in fact, people present at his robberies stated he was quite polite.
One victim said witnessing one of Sutton's robberies was like being
at the movies, except the usher had a gun."