HOW CLEAR IS THIS COOPERATION, EXACTLY?

WELCOME

Happy Pollen Season to all who celebrate! (I figure maybe if I spin it this way, it will feel more “fun” and less “bothersome.”)

We have a couple of topics today. They are very much on my mind, so I’m guessing they’re weighing you down as well. I want to dive into clear cooperation, as it’s seemingly less and less about free competition. I’d also like to talk about what’s happening in your specific market, so I’m going to quiz you in the next section and I’ll share those results next week.

But right now, please enjoy this alarmingly real meme about what spring is like down here.

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

Is It Just Me?

I would not say that I am in a rut, because I don’t like speaking anything negative into existence. But, oh my stars and stripes, I sure do feel rut-adjacent right now. Maybe rut post office. The market down here is not behaving in a way that I recognize or can predict and I have to tell y’all, it is throwing me off my game.

Normally at this time of year, I cannot even catch my breath because I’m so busy. It’s downright odd that I don’t have 10-15 homes under contract by now. And usually, I can put my finger on the reason why it’s slow, whether it’s an election year or whether the inventory is overpriced. Yet I don’t know this time. I’m at the point where I’m starting to look real closely at my credit card statements, wondering if there’s any fat that I can trim.

It’s not just me who has a little too much time and space to breathe in the Atlanta market. Everyone I know tangentially related to real estate is in the doldrums right now, from my movers to my lenders to my flooring guys. According to Redfin, the median sale price is down 10% from last year and the days on market has jumped from an average of 55 days to 84. And the average price per square foot is 4% lower than last year.

I know it’s not just me.

The problem is, it feels like it’s just me.

When there’s a down-swing like this, I feel it personally and I struggle with a crisis of confidence. All of a sudden, that little voice in my head turns into a mean friend, poking at all my insecurities. I wonder, Am I still great? Did I worry so much about my social media that people don’t think I do every day real estate any more? Did I trade the business for fame? Did I start being distracted by what I should be devoted to? So I’m being very introspective right now.

What’s extra-frustrating is that my friends in other cities are just killing it. Jill in Miami is the #1 team in the country right now. The Sarkis team in Boston is setting records. I know that it’s not healthy to compare and despair, but it can be hard not to.

The good news is that I have enough self-awareness to note that there’s a problem, and that gives me the ability to right the ship. So even though market conditions are challenging down here, I have it in me to get back to basics, focus on my fundamentals, and remind my sphere of influence that I am their first and best choice for buying and selling Atlanta real estate.

And if I can do this, you can do this.

I would love to get an idea of who y’all are and what is happening. From chatter, I’m hearing that it’s vastly different, depending on where y’all are located, like the Omaha market is en fuego and no one can give away a property in Arizona. I guess Atlanta is somewhere in between?

So let’s see what’s up:

If you have specific insights about your market, I would love to hear about it so I can share next week. Hit me up on Instagram!

STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

Wait, Shouldn’t It Be the Seller’s Decision?

The Clear Cooperation policy continues to be a hot topic of discussion and I want to get more into it today.

So we all know that this is a policy established by the NAR, which requires brokers to submit a listing within one business day of publicly marketing the property. The rationale is that this would promote fairness, transparency, and broader market access.

In theory, this should increase market exposure and give everyone access to the same listings. In so doing, that would promote fairness and would enhance the accuracy of the data and bring more of a sense of transparency. Who doesn’t want that? By default, this change would encourage ethical practices.

But is that what’s really happening?

That’s the real question. Clear Cooperation also limits off-market sales, reduces an agent’s flexibility, could delay premarket interest, and comes with enforcement challenges.

This concept was sold to us as anti-discrimination and packaged as fairness for all, and again, who could be against that? Yet I can’t help but be bothered that previously, the seller was the one who had the right to decide exactly how their home was sold. Why does the NAR suddenly have the power of telling the seller what to do?

When I was in Nashville a few weeks ago, the conversations about Clear Cooperation were hot and heavy. What I didn't really realize is, when you put a listing in the MLS, the MLS actually sells the data to CoreLogic. CoreLogic is owned by a private equity company, and that data is cataloged. So every picture that I pay for, every Zillow tour that I pay for, every floor plan that I pay for, is cataloged and archived. And sold to the highest bidder, lenders, insurance companies, counties, local ordinances.

Wait, what?

That’s when I really started thinking, What about the seller? Documents that are uploaded, such as the seller's property disclosure statement, the Community Association disclosure—all of that data is also being cataloged. What we’re seeing is that local ordinances are then using that data to come back and say, “Wait a minute, you finished the basement, but you're not being taxed on a finished basement, and you didn't get it permitted.” Ultimately, we’re giving them that data for free, and they’re turning around and making a profit from it. It doesn’t seem right.

So I'm uploading my photos, and then they're watermarking them, which is even crazier. My photos! And now, if you're using artificial intelligence to stage the photos, like if you need to paint the brick or you’re photoshopping the grass, you have to disclose that in the MLS for the appraisers. Why do I need to disclose anything for an appraiser? They’re using my data to make money. Why? Why do I owe it to them?

What a lot of people don't realize is we traded convenient data for convenience because it's so much easier. If I just upload all of the documents to my MLS, it's clean, it's so easy, then they don't have to call me. They have the documents that they want to submit an offer. Well, I don't know who's interested in the house if I upload the documents, because I don't know who's downloading the documents. And if I go back and I delete all of the photos from MLS, they're still archived somewhere.

Now, let’s talk about Zillow in regard to Clear Cooperation. Dotloop is a document management system that holds all of the listing documents, all of the contract documents. They also own ShowingTime. So ShowingTime holds all of the seller information, all of the access information, all of the showings on 123 Banana Street. You also have the ability to submit an offer through ShowingTime. Think about it, Zillow owns Dotloop. They own ShowingTime. They own Follow Up Boss. So Zillow actually owns every bit of your data. Once you put it in, you can't delete it out. You can archive it, but you can ever delete it out.

Where is this data going? Well, it’s going to insurance companies, to lenders, to local ordinances. Then how is that data being used? That is the important question that nobody is asking. And in my opinion, that's the that's the biggest question for me on Clear Cooperation. Is the purpose of Clear Cooperation really to keep people from being discriminated against… or is that the wrapping on the bow of delivering them the data? I mean, we started paying Zillow for the leads in our zip code and it’s like we’re literally funding the destruction of our own industry.

My point is, I just don’t think we’re getting anything past face value on what the ultimate purpose of Clear Cooperation is. I say there’s never a problem until there’s a problem and with Clear Cooperation, I fear we are on the heels of a game-changing problem.

I’m curious as to what y’all think.

BTW, here’s what I had to say about Clear Cooperation last year:

glenndabaker

320K followers

View more on Instagram

🚨 FREE 14-DAY TRIAL TO ESTATE ELITE 🚨

Are y’all looking to elevate your career? Then consider this your personal invitation from yours truly and my fellow top real estate coaches, including Josh Flagg, Tracy Tutor, James Harris, and David Parnes!

Gain VIP access to exclusive training courses, live interactive workshops, and a powerful network. Transform your skills in everything from personal branding to marketing to negotiations, and much more. Sign up today and elevate your career by the power of five, with five expert coaches, five times the perspective, and five times the access.

So join us—start your 14-day free trial now!

👉 Sign Up Now

GLENNDA’S GURU

The Full Brad Inman Interview

Hello, again! This week here’s the full interview with Brad Inman, who’s basically the CNN of real estate. Last week, we did a truncated video on our talk, and now I’m showing it in its entirety. Enjoy!

Thanks again, Brad!

Today’s Words of Wisdom

GLENNDA BAKER & ASSOCIATES

This Is What Freedom Feels Like

If you’ve ever lived in a neighborhood with a Draconian HOA, you’re going to have flashbacks about the time you tried to paint your front door Colonial Crimson. That’s when a whole dang team of Karens in Capri pants slapped an HOA violation sticker on that pretty new paint job of yours and you vowed, “Never again.”

If want the freedom to choose, do I have a spot for you! This new listing in Marietta is 3 bed/2.5 bath and it’s cute as can be with a perfect backyard for families. But that’s not the best part. The best part is no HOA, so you’re free to paint the front door whatever color you want.

Might I suggest Colonial Crimson?