The Real Deal Tossed For 'Not Sugar-Coating' Market
A: Interesting reading that this blogger can certainly relate to. Telling it like it is in Manhattan is a tough thing. You see the brokerage industry is a sales industry that plays the role of a service industry on TV. Our job is mostly service based, but the fact remains that we only get paid if/when we close the deal! We do not get paid up front to provide a service independent of the overall decision. Rather, we work for free in the hopes of earning our commission at the close of the deal (the sale). So, we have a vested interest in getting that deal done no matter how the near term outlook on the market you are buying/selling in appears. That is the root cause of the lack of trust and the deteriorating reputation of the brokerage industry. When times are good, sales volume is high and fees are made. When times are tough, sales volume is slow and fees collected drops. No sales industries like bear markets. So, to hear that a brokerage firm advised their agents not to talk about what is going on in this market & pull a publication that is trying to report on real time trends, proves to you what the agenda is - paint a good picture & get that sale! Thats fine by me but if you want to keep it real without bias, you keep it right here at UrbanDigs! The fight for transparency is ON!
Publisher's note from The Real Deal (via Curbed):
From the April issue: It has come to my attention that the principals of two firms have advised their brokers not to cooperate with The Real Deal's reporters and have pulled the magazine from some of their offices. We always knew we had a tremendous impact on the city's real estate industry, but this came as a surprise even to us. When we talked to the principals, they essentially said they didn't like that we weren't sugarcoating what's going on in the market. So let me set the record straight: The Real Deal covers the New York City real estate market more thoroughly and accurately than any other media outlet in the five boroughs. Maybe these principals would prefer if we wrote about how many Girl Scout cookies brokers are buying and how great the market has been this month. But that wouldn't be fair to our readers, because we have a responsibility to report what's actually happening in the market — even when it gets ugly.I don't know the conversation or the firms that caused such a response over at TRD, but I do know that brokers have earned a reputation of babbling, sugar-coating, bait & switch, and pretty much any tactic that is associated with a sales based industry. But should all brokers be subject to such a generalization?
Here in Manhattan there are many agents that are honest, ethical, tell it like it is, and out there to fully service their buyer/seller clients - understanding that good service is good business which produces sales. But we also know there are many more mired with their own agenda to see with any clarity, what is actually happening in the market they sell in.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with telling it like it is because in the end the market is bigger than all of us media folk! The market will do what the market wants to do, and even the fed and the treasury are powerless to change it. Haven't we all learned this by now?
Therefore, knowing this, it's just a matter of what level of service any buyer or seller is looking for. Maybe a seller is looking for an agent that has no problem 'testing the market' even in this environment. Maybe a buyer already decided to make the purchase, but they want to get their friend who is a broker involved to get some action! Maybe a seller really needs to sell and is looking for cut-throat advice/consulting in terms of pricing and marketing. Or maybe the first time buyer just wants an agent for emotional support, and guidance through the stressful process of buying and closing on your first home. The needs vary so greatly. Not everyone wants to buy the bottom or trade this market like its a game. There are buyers at every price!
I just view the market as a trade, and I write about what I think here. I talk about trends, macro, future possibilities, unintended consequences, etc., all in an effort to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together as fast as possible to see what the picture may be. Where will the trend go? Thats what interests me. So I talk about it.
If the market is slow, if the news ain't good, if the jobs market is weak, if the taxes are being raised, if the auctions are coming, if the sales volume nosedived, if the bids are low, we should be able to talk about it. Clearly, TRD feels the same way. They write the good quotes and the bad ones. When I talked about how I felt this recent pickup is only a countertrend surge embedded in a larger correction, they broadcast it. Transparency is good, and honest consulting has a place in this brokerage industry. If the big boys fail to see that, and continue to steer towards sugar-coating, they will insult the intelligence of the very customers they are trying to service! It's time we all suck it up and have the courage to address the issues we face, because trust me, one sugar coated line from a broker is NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE COURSE THAT THE MARKET IS DESTINED TO FOLLOW!
Comments (11)
Noah, I read your blog daily and often run into your comments on SE. You are a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of hot air that seems to be blowing around the NYC real estate market. We recently tried working with a broker on the buy side for the first time and found that our interests simply weren't aligned. We had hoped to get a trusted advisor. Instead, we felt that we had hired a pushy cheerleader who simply wanted us to buy and buy quickly. We are going to take some time off from looking, as we still haven't seen anything that is just right for us. But when we come back in a few months to have another look, we will do it in our own armed only with the straight up information we are able to glean from the market using sources like US, SE and TRD. Thanks for providing your interesting insights and data!!
Posted by PossibleBuyer | April 7, 2009 9:13 AM
thanks buyer! Mucho appreciado! Good luck to you on your search.
Posted by Noah | April 7, 2009 9:56 AM
This kind of crap makes me sick - but does not suprise me in the least... Thanks for shedding the light and when it becomes available, please share which firms pulled TRD from their shelves. Time to shine the brightest light available, so the market can run as efficiently as possible.
Posted by daytonflyer | April 7, 2009 10:16 AM
The Real Deal are a bunch of cowards. They should have identified the firms.
Posted by Donald | April 7, 2009 10:19 AM
markets trade best when there is clarity. RE brokers seem not to understand this, Noah does. with RE no longer the "safe" investment is was promised to be, prospective buyer will seek out unbiased information. urbandigs, SE and TRD will benefit. the NY Times will lose. no publication has been more of a booster of RE than the times. in a world of dwindling profits they are loathe to upset their primary source of classified advertising income-the real estate industry. every article about the state of manhattan RE ends with a hopeful sign, hinting at a bottom. i guess the recent sunday times magazine article about the awful state of hamptons RE was an attempt to be balanced. hey if the real estate pooh-bahs can bully the NY times they probably think TRD would be a walk in the park. hope they're wrong.
Posted by cfranch | April 7, 2009 11:35 AM
I posted a comment on TRD website that was bearish. It brought out outlandish comments that negated my comment by implying that the entire comment section was nonsense. In no other article did I see silly comments like the ones surrounding mine.
On another TRD article, I posted a comment that wasn't friendly to broker behavior during the mania--referring to the habit of pitching owners to "trade up" to maximize their profits. That comment was deleted.
In short, I've already gotten the impression that the industry cheerleaders are at work suppressing negative content at TRD.
Having this censorship behavior confirmed only makes me more firmly convinced of a negative industry outlook. The industry is hanging itself. A serious price correction would generate sales. Unfortunately banks and current owners will lose a lot of money in the process.
Posted by old timer | April 7, 2009 12:21 PM
Noah, I echo the comments from PossibleBuyer. You are a total breath of fresh air and are just awesome. Glad you are around - this is the best RE site to feed my RE addiction. Now, back to streeteasy! ;)
Posted by spqsydney | April 7, 2009 2:41 PM
Thank you so much for posting this. It gives incredible perspective in to what goes on behind the scenes at these firms. I have been reading The Real Deal for years and I've always found it informative and fresh. To think that some of these managers wouldn't want their brokers to have a well informed view of the market, is truly unbelievable to me. Does anyone know who the two firms are?
Posted by Silas | April 7, 2009 5:19 PM
Very interesting and of course it doesn't surprise me. I spoke with a principle of a large firm today who swore to me that biz was off the charts. He must think I'm a fool, but I think sometimes people start to really believe their own lies(see delusional). As a broker that's been doing this for 17 years, I am super charged by this market! Change is coming and the dinosaurs of this industry will fade away, these are exciting times. More power to you Noah,let's make it happen.
Posted by Keith Burkhardt | April 7, 2009 8:35 PM
and real estate agents wonder why the public doesn't trust us?
These "principals" should be exposed and their agents, colleagues and boards should force them out of the business. Only after things like that happen and brokers commit to transparency will this industry get respect from the public.
Posted by michael | April 7, 2009 10:20 PM
You really made some good points in your post
Posted by links of london | July 7, 2010 2:37 AM