Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in The Real Word, a weekly video column on Inman.
This week, Byron and Nicole are talking about a new California bill that is looking to tax house flippers 25% of their profit under the California Speculation Act. This would apply for homeowners selling within seven years, even those who have to relocate for personal or professional reasons. Byron says this will create an even bigger inventory issue in California because it disincentivizes home sales. “This is a really poor plan for creating more housing,” he said. “The politicians in California can’t be this dumb.”
Next, they discussed a new study by NAR, “Housing Wealth Gains for the Rising Middle-Class Markets” released by HousingWire. According to the study, homeowners gained $8.2 trillion in housing wealth over between 2010 and 2020. The vast majority (71%) of the increase was among high-income households. “Location, location, location will always trump anything else,” said Nicole. “When you find a great location you will find that your wealth will multiply faster,” said Byron.
Marketeer of the Week
Marketeer of the week is Walmart for leasing space to Lenders One to provide purchase mortgage, refinance and home equity loans. The Lenders One cooperative will be in 20 Walmarts by the end of this year. Nicole and Byron love this for its ability to increase access to information and education about mortgages and homeownership.
Want to nominate a “marketeer of the week”? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below, or shoot us an email.
