Blog - Andrew Hosford

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Buyer’s Leverage is Increasing in Current Real Estate Market

Negotiating is one of the less glamorous parts of real estate but it is essential to a fair and successful transaction. Humans seem to have it in their genetic code to avoid hard conversations. In fact, according to this NBC News article, we are avoiding them more than ever. Mix that with the hot seller’s […]
Market News

Thoughts on Zillow and Redfin Estimates (Homes.com, too)

Zillow and Redfin have successfully engrained themselves into American culture. I know folks who browse these sites for hours a day, often just for the fun of shopping! They do bring value with the ease of searching and by centralizing all of the various public data connected to a home. But! Their estimate calculators are […]
Trend Watch

Trend Watch: Modular homes bringing affordability to market

On Whidbey Island, both buying a home and building one will cost you around $400 a square foot right now. Remodeling can be even more than that. So, as we navigate this affordability crisis in the United States the government and the private sector are trying to find the next innovation that may help bring […]
Market News

Should I post words from ChatGPT without telling you?

Artificial intelligence is suddenly woven into the fabric of our daily lives. In real estate, I am seeing it used for everything from content creation to financial analysis of deals. As a former journalist and journalism teacher, I am trying to figure out the new ethics of having a machine write words that I use […]

Uncategorized Buyer’s Leverage is Increasing in Current Real Estate Market Negotiating is one of the less glamorous parts of real estate but it is essential to a fair and successful transaction. Humans seem to have it in their genetic code to avoid hard conversations. In fact, according to this NBC News article, we are avoiding them more than ever. Mix that with the hot seller’s […]

Market News Thoughts on Zillow and Redfin Estimates (Homes.com, too) Zillow and Redfin have successfully engrained themselves into American culture. I know folks who browse these sites for hours a day, often just for the fun of shopping! They do bring value with the ease of searching and by centralizing all of the various public data connected to a home. But! Their estimate calculators are […]

Trend Watch Trend Watch: Modular homes bringing affordability to market On Whidbey Island, both buying a home and building one will cost you around $400 a square foot right now. Remodeling can be even more than that. So, as we navigate this affordability crisis in the United States the government and the private sector are trying to find the next innovation that may help bring […]

Market News Should I post words from ChatGPT without telling you? Artificial intelligence is suddenly woven into the fabric of our daily lives. In real estate, I am seeing it used for everything from content creation to financial analysis of deals. As a former journalist and journalism teacher, I am trying to figure out the new ethics of having a machine write words that I use […]

Market News What to make of school rankings on sites like Zillow Public schools are quite the commodity in real estate these days. Scroll down on any Zillow listing and you will find the GreatSchools rankings for elementary through high school in a given area. Those numbers matter to people in a society driven by five star systems, grades, lists, and all of the other ways complex […]