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.
Byron Lazine and Nicole White began this week’s episode by discussing the surprising Zillow and Opendoor Partnership. After facing a huge fine and media backlash for misleading consumers, Lazine and White discuss the ins and outs of Zillow’s decision to join forces with wayward Opendoor.
Lazine and White read through announcements about the new partnership, and it seems that Zillow wanted the options that Opendoor could provide to its customer base, especially for expanding its mortgage offerings.
The marriage, while shocking, is not without its merits for both companies. Financial stability from Zillow and flexible client offerings from Opendoor. This collaboration could be exactly the spark that these two lack on their own and prove to fill in existing gaps. Helping Opendoor with its image and Zillow potentially able to offer its Premier Agents seller leads.
Next, the duo dived into exploring CNBC’s consumer confidence report that sentiment to buy homes was at its lowest point in over a decade. Only 17 percent of consumers surveyed in July believe that now is a good time to buy a home. The share of sellers who think it’s a good time to sell their home dropped to 67 percent.
Finally, Lazine and White announced their newest segment: Left-Middle-Right, which will dive into the political headlines that the real estate industry needs to know about. This rapid-fire segment was designed to be a launchpad for neutral discussion about how politics are impacting agents at work. This week they talked about inflation reduction, climate change, taxes, pummeled pensions and SoftBank’s big loss.
Byron Lazine makes a bold prediction that Compass may be bought by a larger company and hints that it might be beneficial for both parties. Lazine recommends for Compass agents to start preparing now for big changes ahead.
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