Author

Philip Horigan

Browsing

I write briefly about 3 thought provoking things I read, heard or saw in the past week. I always include links in case you want to indulge more. Hope these add value to your life in some way, as they did mine! 

You can get these delivered to your inbox by clicking here

All past newsletters/blogs can be seen by clicking here


1. 
Is the NYC Real Estate Market Slowing? 
Last week I hosted my periodic Clubhouse chat with top real estate agents and experts. Here is a link to the entire hour chat if you are interested.  While things are still very strong, some top agents – 3 in particular – noted that they are seeing some signs of a  “slow down” especially for properties under $1M. Given the rapid rise in interest rates perhaps this is no surprise. One agent even mentioned that he had 3 buyers back out of deals recently.  Is this a harbinger of things to come? We shall see, but agents are usually the first to see it.  Note you can sign up to get these chats delivered to your inbox by clicking here

2.
Are You Listening for Justification or to Discover Something New? 
One of my favorite books of all time is “Awareness” by Anthony DeMello.  It is one of the few books I can read over and over again as I try to work on myself and be a better person.  A different passage always stays with me each time I read it. This time it is this: “…are you listening for what will confirm what you already think? Or are you listening in order to discover something new?”  In such a divided society, I would wager that most people do the former, unfortunately. I am sure I do that too, sometimes. I am always trying to do the latter 🙂


3. 
Own Debt is Good in an Inflationary Environment?
Owning debt may be a good thing in an inflationary environment.  Reading “Secrets of the Temple” by William Greider reminds me (page 43) that during the inflationary period of the 70s, many took on debt, especially home debt. When you get a loan, your interest payments are fixed. This means your expense is fixed in an environment where the prices of most things are rising.  This could be one of the reasons why even as interest rates rose dramatically during the 70s, people continued to take on debt and buy homes.  Higher interest rates may not have as negative affect on real estate sales as many think. 

Have a great weekend! 

Best,
Phil Horigan
Founder, Leasebreak (marketplace of shorter NYC leases)

–>You can learn more about how Leasebreak can help renters and agents agents by clicking here.  
–> You can learn more about what I am up by clicking here

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

As you know I have written about StreetEasy many times before.  But this time is different. A legal line may have been crossed.

Imagine if Amazon punished you for listing your product on Ebay FIRST…

Imagine if StubHub punished you for listing your tickets on Craigslist FIRST…

Imagine if StreetEasy punished you for listing your apartment on your brokerage website or the RLS FIRST…

Oh wait, you don’t have to imagine. That is exactly what StreetEasy is doing.  If an agent posts their listing on another website FIRST, StreetEasy will punish the agent by not accepting that listing.

Obviously, StreetEasy recognizes the single biggest threat to their business would be if buyers started their searches on competitive websites (i.e. brokerage websites, other listing platforms, the RLS)

So StreetEasy is looking to control this, by strong-arming agents to ensure listings are not posted on competitive websites first.

Let’s call this what it is: RESTRAINT OF TRADE.

Does anyone actually think this is acceptable? Isn’t StreetEasy flexing its “monopolistic” muscles to restrain competition? Is this even legal?

Agents should be able to advertise where they and their clients see fit without fear of retribution from a powerful bully seeking to secure its dominance in the NYC listings marketplace.  

StreetEasy gives a very disingenuous justification for this policy stating that New Yorkers “deserve access to the most accurate and up-to-date listings”

But by punishing agents and blacklisting their postings, isn’t StreetEasy denying New Yorkers “access”?

I believe this is mostly a threat and a bluff.  Yes, StreetEasy will likely “punish” a few agents, hoping the scare tactics frighten others.

But they can’t punish every agent.  Because it would mean StreetEasy would have LESS listings, the very problem they are trying to avoid.

I hope agents and REBNY can take advantage of this critical moment and push back on StreetEasy’s obvious attempt to restrain competition.

Where and when an agent posts a listing should be based on what is in the best interest of the client, not what is in the best interest of StreetEasy. 

This time, I think StreetEasy has gone way too far.

Best,
Phil Horigan: Founder, Podcast HostFounder, Leasebreak.com#1 in shorter leases and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with renters

Top Agent Podcast: I host a podcast (on Clubhouse) with a panel of top real estate agents.  Click here to get the recordings and notifications.

Also you can follow me on Instagram by clicking below:

Follow Me On Instagram

Hi Everyone! 

I write briefly about 3 thought provoking things I read, heard or saw in the past week. I always include links in case you want to indulge more. Hope these add value to your life in some way, as they did mine! 

You can get these delivered to your inbox by clicking here

All past newsletters/blogs can be seen by clicking here


1. 
Frank Slootman: Be a Driver, Not a Passenger
Frank Slootman is the tough talking CEO of a fast growing company called “Snowflake”.  He recently wrote a book I am reading called “Amp it Up” about how to lead fast growing companies by “raising expectations, increasing urgency, and elevating intensity”.  One of this concepts is to make sure you and everyone on your team is a DRIVER not a PASSENGER.  Passengers are “dead weight”. They may be good at identifying problems, but not at solving them.  Drivers get their satisfaction from making things happen.  Faced with a challenge, he says drivers say “Why not” rather than “That’s impossible”. 

2.
Market Update from Top NYC Experts
I hosted a great call yesterday with some of the best minds in NYC real estate to discuss an update on the NYC real estate market. You can access the recording of the call by clicking here. If you want get notified of future calls or recordings that we do, please click here


3. 
Amazon Visa Card Gives back 5% on all Purchases? 
Okay so I may be late to the boat here, but I just heard that you can get a Visa Card in partnership with Amazon where you get 5% cash back. There is no annual fee.  That seems like a pretty good deal. I got the idea from reading Terence Michael’s book, Make Bank.  He suggests to just link the card right in your Amazon account.  It is like getting 5% off of everything! 
 
Have a great weekend! 

Best,
Phil Horigan
Founder, Leasebreak (marketplace of shorter NYC leases)

–>You can learn more about how Leasebreak can help renters and agents agents by clicking here.  
–> You can learn more about what I am up by clicking here

Hi Everyone!

I write briefly about 3 thought provoking things I read, heard or saw in the past week. I always include links in case you want to indulge more. Hope these add value to your life in some way, as they did mine!

You can get these delivered to your inbox by clicking here.

All past newsletters/blogs can be seen by clicking here.

1.
Ray Dalio Says Real Estate is NOT a Good Inflation Hedge…and Other Downsides
On the Prof G Podcast, Scott Galloway interviews the famous investor Ray Dalio. They talk about many things but they spent a few minutes on real estate.  Ray Dalio wants you to consider this when purchasing real estate as an investment: Real estate, he says, is the easiest asset to tax. Property taxes is one of the first places the government goes to raise money. Ray Dalio also comments that he likes assets better that he can “change his opinion on” (i.e. more liquid). He also says that real estate is NOT a good inflation hedge because it is much more “interest rate sensitive” than “inflation sensitive”.  There is no good data, Dalio says, showing a correlation between inflation and real estate.

2.
“Memento Mori”
Toward the end of Dan Ariely’s incredible book “The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty.” , Dan reminds us about something interesting that happened after the Romans would win a war and celebrate.  Throughout the day as the Romans were marching through the city celebrating, a slave would whisper into the general’s ear: “memento mori” which means “remember your mortality”.  As Dan says this was “to prevent the victorious general from falling into hubris”. He reasons that we should have something like this in modern times, perhaps renaming it “remember your fallibility” or “remember your “irrationality”.

3.
Top Economist Thinks Inflation is Here To Stay For Decades
The Wall Street Journal ran an article on Wednesday discussing how Charles Goodhart, a world renowned influential economist, predicted high inflation will be with us for decades.  Because Charles Goodhart has been right so many times, many people take him seriously.  He was even warning about the buildup of leverage before the 2008 crash.  Charles is quoted as saying: “The coronovirus pandemic will mark the dividing line between the deflationary forces of the last 30 to 40 years and the resurgent inflation of the next two decades”.

Have a great weekend!

Best,
Phil Horigan
Founder, Leasebreak (marketplace of shorter NYC leases)

–>You can learn more about how Leasebreak can help renters and agents agents by clicking here.  
–> You can learn more about what I am up by clicking here

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter and blog!  I like to keep it brief. Hope these add value to your life in some way. Here are my 3 things for this week on Friday, March 4th, 2022.  You can get these delivered to your inbox by clicking here.

1.
Book about Self-Deception
This week I am reading Dan Ariely’s incredible book “The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty.”  Dan backs up everything with experiments and research.  I find it fascinating the way we continually deceive ourself and others.  It is a little sad actually.  ONE EXAMPLE: When a person is required to disclose their “conflict of interest”, it seems that they act even more inappropriately, and the “client” is left far worse off! (pg. 92)

2.
Top Real Estate Experts Discuss NYC Real Estate Market Next Thursday, March 10th, 2022 
If you want an email with a direct link to this free hour long update on the market, please simply click here and enter in your email.

3. 
Warren Buffet is not the Best Investor! (And he earned 97% of his wealth after 50)
Morgan Housel – the author of “The Pyschology of Money” – on Tim Ferriss’ podcast discusses how Warren Buffet is probably only viewed as the greatest investor of all time due to the length of time he has been investing (80 years) and the nature of “compounding”. He acknowledges of course Buffet’s brilliance, but argues that the label of the “the best” is solely due to the law of compounding.

Have a great weekend!

Best,
Phil Horigan
Founder, Leasebreak (marketplace of shorter NYC leases)

–>You can learn more about how Leasebreak can help agents and renters by clicking here.  
–> You can learn more about what I am up by clicking here

Hi Everyone! 

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter! I like to keep it brief. Hope these add value to your life in some way. Here are my 3 things for this week…


1.
Seven Traits of an emotionally fit leader.
I heard Dr. Emily Anhalt on the “Prof G” podcast. She is the founder of COA.  After much research she concluded that these were the 7 traits of an emotionally fit leader.  Do you agree? 
-Self Awareness
-Empathy
-Mindfulness
-Curiosity
-Playfulness
-Resilience
-Communication


2.
NYC Real Estate update Ryan Serhant (#1 NYC real estate agent) & Urban Digs. 
Provides good update on the NYC real estate market and where we are going.  Here is the link to the YouTube URL




3. 
Book on Life Extension written by professor of Genetics. 
In his mindblowing book, Lifespan – Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have to, Dr. David Sinclair makes you truly believe we are only about 10 years or so away from major breakthroughs in life extension.  Will a healthy vigorous 125-year old soon be the new norm? He thinks so! I am about 2/3rds through the book. Just fascinating stuff.  

By the way, if you know anyone interested in playing pick up soccer in NYC’s Central Park in the spring, let me know! 

Have a great holiday weekend! 

Best,
Phil Horigan
Founder, Leasebreak (marketplace of shorter NYC leases)

–>You can learn more about how Leasebreak can help agents and renters by clicking here.  
–> You can learn more about what I am up by clicking here

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

There is now a really cool way to help agents gather intel about the market, learn from each other, and connect in new ways.  Here’s how:

Twelve of the top real estate agents and experts in NYC (list below) regularly get together to discuss the real estate market and offer tips and tools for agents. I host these events on Clubhouse and they are now being recorded. To get an email with a link to the Podcast each time we do it, just click here or shoot me your email address.

Here is the one we did last Thursday (fast forward to about the 6 minute mark when the discussion gets started).

What is pretty neat is that we leave time at the end for anyone to come up on stage and make a comment or ask a question.  Sometimes these agents turn into panelists. Cool stuff!

You probably recognize the agents and experts on the panel (see list below) as they are some of the best known and widely respected real estate agents and experts in the city.

Here is our Regular Panel of Real Estate Experts:

  • Antonio del Rosario (Agent – Brown Harris Stevens)
  • Brian Lewis (Agent – Compass)
  • Caroline Bass (Agent – Corcoran)
  • Christine Toes (Agent – Compass)
  • Mark D. Friedman (Agent – Brown Harris Stevens)
  • Nikki Beauchamp (Agent – Engel & Volkers)
  • Noah Rosenblatt (Founder – UrbanDigs)
  • Noemi Bitterman (Agent – Compass)
  • Scott Harris (Agent – Brown Harris Stevens)
  • Scotty Elyanow (Agent – Compass)
  • Tracie Hamersley (Agent – Douglas Elliman)
  • William Bolls (Agent – Compass)

Just shoot me your email address if you want to get the link every time we do a recording. Happy to do so.  So much fun when we can all learn from each other! 🙂

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Founder, Leasebreak: “Shorter Leases, More Flexibility”.  Also pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersAlso you can follow me on Instagram and Tiktok by clicking below:
Follow Me On Instagram
Follow Me On Tiktok

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

After careful consideration, as of today we are no longer taking the REBNY RLS feed.

This means that most of your listings will be removed from Leasebreak today.

But here’s the good news for agents:  We send 50,000 free leads to agents annually. Most of those leads are now up for grabs! Yes, you can still get free leads! More on that below.  

Leasebreak was one of the first 3 websites to start taking the RLS feed in 2017. We enthusiastically embraced the concept of doing our part to help agents find alternatives to StreetEasy by offering free postings and free leads to agents.

Unfortunately, as I hinted at in my last email here, we felt we could no longer take the RLS feed once REBNY made the surprising decision to start charging websites to show your listings.

For those who have been following me for the last few years you know my goal was simple:

Help agents get as many free leads as possible from alternative sources (like Leasebreak) to help level the playing field against StreetEasy.

And I still want that to happen.

Do you? If so, here’s what you can do:

Any agent can manually post their exclusive listings on our website by clicking here.  Posting will of course be FREE and all leads will go to agents for FREE  

For those who still want their listings to be posted automatically on our website, have your manager get in touch with me.  There are many other feed options we can offer.

While REBNY and Leasebreak are parting ways for now, perhaps we can work together again in the future. We may have our differences on the correct path to follow, but ultimately I believe we both want agents to succeed.

Please feel free to reach out directly to me with any additional thoughts.  Look forward to hearing from you!

And remember, you can start immediately posting your exclusive listings for free on Leasebreak by clicking here.  Many of you already post this way.

For those that want to get more exclusives, don’t forget Leasebreak also offers agents the opportunity to obtain rental listing exclusives by working with tenants and individual owners.  You can sign up and try this out for free by clicking here.

As always, Leasebreak will be here for you and support you in any way we can 🙂

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Founder, Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersHost, Weekly Chat with a Top Expert Agent Panel: I host a weekly show on Clubhouse with a panel of top real estate agents and experts.  Let me know if you want to participate or want the weekly link and weekly “notes” from the show.

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

REBNY has made a shocking decision.  I am not sure I can support it. It is quite discouraging and very disappointing.

Worst of all, consumer facing websites that you rely on for alternative lead sources may decide to no longer take the REBNY RLS feed which means less exposure for your listings.

What was REBNY’s Decision?
Since 2017 REBNY tried to make sure your listings were on as many quality consumer websites as possible. They did this by making it FREE for consumer websites to show your listings (via the RLS feed).

I fully supported this and sent many emails and blogs about it, like this one.

But then they recently reversed course.

For reasons that are still not clear to me, we were just informed by REBNY that they will start charging all consumer websites SIGNIFICANT FEES to take the RLS feed.

Honestly, I was stunned by this announcement. And I told them so.

The RLS feed is how your listings get on other websites, like Leasebreak, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Renthop, Frele, etc.

I can’t speak for other consumer websites, but I know Leasebreak and Frele send the brokerage community literally tens of thousands of FREE leads every year from the RLS Listings.  I know you know this because many of you receive these leads!

What are the Consequences of REBNY’s Decision? 
I believe REBNY needs to do everything in its power to incentivize – not dissuade – quality consumer facing websites to continue displaying REBNY RLS listings.  Not only is this a huge benefit to agents, it is also one of the key ways to help mitigate the stranglehold StreetEasy has over the industry.  Aren’t we all on the same page here?

Charging fees to consumer websites for the privilege of sending free leads to agents is destructive to the cause. Isn’t it?

We are moving in the opposite direction!

The consequences of this decision to charge fees to show the RLS listings could be far reaching:

Smaller websites that spend hundreds of hours on developing and maintaining the RLS integration may now think twice about it.  

This decision could stifle innovation and lessen the competition to reach more consumers.  This plays right into StreetEasy’s hands.

REBNY is creating a “pay to play” environment that may force some quality consumer websites to consider opting out from taking the RLS feed.  This could mean a loss of thousands of free leads to agents at a crucial time in our industry.

Under these circumstances I don’t yet know if Leasebreak and Frele will still be able to take the RLS feed.  I am concerned that our principles may not be aligned.

If any of you have thoughts on this, I would love to hear them.

No matter which way this goes, I am committed to working with those that still want to post on our websites for free.  Ultimately, I want to help agents as best I can but this latest REBNY decision is making things more difficult.

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!

Host, Clubhouse room for Top Agents: I host a weekly show on Clubhouse with top real estate agents and experts.  Ask me if you want the weekly link and weekly “notes” from the show

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

Over the last 3 months a special collaboration among New York City real estate agents has grown out of our weekly real estate chats with top agents and experts.  Many of you are part of it, but for those who are not, here’s how to get involved:

Weekly Panel of Top Real Estate Agents and Experts!  Who’s in? 
I have been hosting an audio panel chat on Clubhouse every Thursday at 11am for the last 15 weeks with some of the top real estate agents and experts in NYC.(See their names below. You will probably recognize many of them!) 

We have many lively discussions on the topics pertinent to our industry such as how to win bidding wars, top marketing tactics when selling a home, and the current state of the sale and rental market.   It is “audio” only, no video, and it is NOT recorded like a podcast. I see that many of you have been in the audience listening! Some even participating! To get involved, just reply to this email and I will make sure you have access and get a weekly email with a summary of the chat.

Topic this Thursday: “The Ways Covid Has Changed Real Estate Forever”
This Thursday at 11am we will discuss the ways in which Covid has changed real estate forever.  We will be hearing from our top team of panelists as well as other real estate experts from different parts of the real estate market.

Click here for a direct link to the Thursday chat on Clubhouse! Also, let me know if you want a copy of the “show notes” from the call!

Note that I often provide a lot more detail about the calls and follow up on my Instagram so feel free to follow me there by clicking here: @philiphorigan

Are We Finally Coming Together as an Industry? 
Over the years many of you have commented in response to my posts and emails about GreedEasy and our industry that we don’t come together enough as an industry.

I agree!

These weekly chats show us how we can come together to create greater collaboration…a place where we all can connect and learn from each other.

The feedback so far has been phenomenal and I urge you all to consider joining us! Just reply to this email and I will make sure you are all set up!  If you want to contribute to the discussion, even better!

OUR REGULAR PANELISTS (in alphabetical order):
Antonio del Rosario (Brown Harris Stevens)
Brian Lewis (Compass)
Caroline Bass (Corcoran)
Christine Toes (Compass)
Fritz Frigan (Brown Harris Stevens)
Mark D. Friedman (Brown Harris Stevens)
Nikki Beauchamp (Engel & Volkers)
Noemi Bitterman (Compass)
Scott Harris (Brown Harris Stevens)
Tracie Hamersley (Douglas Elliman)
William Bolls (Corcoran)

Why Do I Care? 
Well, as many of you know I love finding new ways for agents to collaborate with each other, share knowledge, and discover new ways to grow their business.

Also Two More Important Things:
1) I am almost finished with a prototype of a new feature on Frele.com (my newer NYC listings website) that will really help agents.  But agent spots will be limited.  The new feature is free, and will be first come first serve.  For updates so you can jump on it first, please text “Frele” to 917-540-8825.  

2) For those agents looking to increase your rental business, we have an extraordinary unique program on my site Leasebreak (#1 shorter term rental marketplace) to get rental exclusives or work with renter clients.  Get a free lead and sign up here.  No credit card or payment needed!  Get a Free Lead to Leasebreak’s Agent Lead Program.

I strongly believe in collaboration, transparency, and adding value.

Please join me. Together we can make a difference!

And remember, if you want to receive an invite to our weekly Clubhouse panel chats or get a summary of the call each week,  just reply to this email and I will help make sure you have access! (All free by the way!)

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!