Listen Now

The commission a buyer's agent earns is in the spotlight because of how they're set up. While the buyer's agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the homebuyer, their commissions is largely set by the homeseller before the property is listed on an agent-to-agent database known as the multiple listing service. Even though this is the setup, buyers' agents are required to work in the homebuyers' best interest, which means they should not steer buyers to one house or another just because of how much they'll be paid. However, phone calls recorded by the brokerage Rex seem to show real estate agents doing just that. Rex credits the calls with a Department of Justice suit against the National Association of Realtors. Jack Ryan, Rex's chief executive, talks about what life is like for a brokerage that decides to circumvent the traditional commission structure by staying off the multiple listing service and what he believes will change as a result of the suit. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz. READ: Houston real estate agents caught on tape steering buyers away from homes with less commissionSupport the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even as Rebecca interviewed people who had shaved hundreds off their monthly mortgage payments — giving them increased financial security in the midst of a recession — and spoke to coworkers and friends about how the historically low rates had benefited them, she put off doing one of her own. After low mortgage rates won a 2020 Loopie Award for Brightest Glimmer of Hope (Besides the Vaccine), her podcast editor suggested to stop dilly dallying and to document her journey so listeners might learn from her experience. So she did. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz.  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year, Looped In celebrates by recognizing the best and worst of Houston real estate.In 2020, there was a lot to choose from.The pandemic and the need to socially distance has shaped the way we interact, which has shaped the spaces we interact in. Home sales and renovations boomed, while offices were thrown into uncertainty and hotels and small retailers floundered. Some have closed for good.As Looped In looked back on last year, we asked your thoughts on what stood out. And the people have spoken:Most Controversial Controversy 34 percent: The National Association of Realtor's new social media policy 32 percent: How the attempted Daugherty-Elliman merger panned out 26 percent: Al Hartman's handling of masks in the workplace 8 percent: The proposal to turn Sharpstown into a homeowners' association Buzziest Buzzword 56 percent: Unprecedented 22 percent: WFH 16 percent: Uncertainty 6 percent: De-densification Trendiest Development Trend 48 percent: Home office 27 percent: Plexiglass partitions 16 percent: Touchless (fill in the blank) 9 percent: Swimming pools Saddest Demise 62 percent: Luby's 15 percent: Bernie's Burger Bus 15 percent: Barry's Pizza 4 percent: Morningstar Write ins: Benjy's, Sweet Tomatoes, Wendy's Biggest Work-from-Home Perk 43 percent: Less time commuting 28 percent: More time with pets 16 percent: More time with family 13 percent: Kitchen access for lunch and snacks Brightest Glimmer of Hope (Besides the Vaccine) 49 percent: Low mortgage rates 28 percent: Escapes to nature 11 percent: Empty commercial space repurposed into housing 9 percent: Road trips Write ins: Vacation homes, freedom Connect with Rebecca Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Houston real estate agents have been recorded saying they will not show certain homes to their clients — even though the houses meet all the buyers’ desires. This is one of the conversations. Read the story: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-real-estate-agents-less-commission-records-15857087.php  REX: And you don’t think they’d compensate you after everything you’ve done for them? I mean, if you’re working so much for them.Agent: Not as far as what my compensation should be, no. I wouldn’t even feel comfortable asking them for that. And I know it’s not you. Unless you’re the owner of this company. The real estate game is changing. And I’m not -- I mean, it’s putting away my profession. And I’m not in favor of it. So I can’t help you to sell something that’s wiping out my profession.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Houston real estate agents have been recorded saying they will not show certain homes to their clients — even though the houses meet all the buyers’ desires. This is one of the conversations. Read the story: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-real-estate-agents-less-commission-records-15857087.php REX: How our properties work is we list our properties at 2 percent. And we don’t use the MLS so how that works is our sellers are not obligated to pay a buy-side commission. However, we do want you guys to get paid, so how you do that is place your commission on top of the offer price, and you’d get that from your buyer, so it’d be a discussion between you and the buyer on compensation.Agent: Okay, well, I’m not doing that. Thank you.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Houston real estate agents have been recorded saying they will not show certain homes to their clients — even though the houses meet all the buyers’ desires. This is one of the conversations. Read the story: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/houston-real-estate-agents-less-commission-records-15857087.php Agent: So if I were to bring you a client to purchase this property, do you guys pay me the three percent commission, or how does that work? REX: That’s a good question. So the seller does not pay a fee -- or not pay a commission to neither the listing agent nor the buyer side agent. So if your client comes to the home and says they like the home, most agents will either have their client place the commission on top of the offering on the home, offer price on the home, or --Agent: Yeah, that’s not going to work. Okay. Thank you. We can stop right there. Because I know they’re not going to do that. I know they’re capped at a certain amount, so I know they’re not going to want to pay me my commission. And I’m going to bring you a buyer and you’re going to get the property sold and you don’t even pay a commission. So that’s just not how I operate. I really do appreciate your time though, have a good day sir.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looped In host Nancy Sarnoff packs up her bags and moves to Canada, with a detour down memory lane. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff.  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Realtors banned from racist postsThe National Association of Realtors tackled racist social media posts at their annual conference. On this episode of Looped In, Nancy Sarnoff and R.A. Schuetz discuss the background leading up to the vote. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all heard of coworking. But cohousing? Not so much. That’s because there are no cohousing communities in Texas, something a group of Houstonians in the East End are planning to change. They’re designing a 33-unit condominium where a sense of community will be the key amenity, a need for which they believe the pandemic has underscored. Think shared meals (or, during socially distant times, outdoor happy hours) and decision-making that revolves around consensus, not votes. Read: In this housing development, community is the keystone Connect with Rebecca Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kirby Liu of Lovett Commercial and Jason Long, a partner with architecture firm OMA in New York, discuss POST Houston, the redevelopment of the 16-acre downtown post office property. They highlight some of the architectural oddities they unearthed from the midcentury structures on the site and discuss the challenges of leasing, designing and developing a mixed-use project for a post-pandemic world. Related reading: ‘No plan B’ as downtown Houston’s POST redevelopment plows ahead Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has been quietly postponing real estate foreclosures through executive orders, shutting down the facility where those auctions are held and providing relief to struggling homeowners and landlords. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz. Read: Lina Hidalgo quietly postponing Harris County foreclosures with executive orders    Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Convenience store owner Charlie Patel has spent the past two decades selling birthday cards, candy bars and small gifts to urban office workers. With most of his customers still working from home, he's had to find ways to adapt to the current reality. Patel explains how he's surviving.Read: 'Downtown is dead.' How COVID-19 turned Houston into a ghost townConnect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz.  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The late Gerald D. Hines adopted Houston as his hometown in 1957 and became one of the world's foremost property developers. Hines -- the man and the company -- was the subject of one of Looped In's earliest episodes. It’s time for another listen. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz.  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Virtual tours and contactless showings. For those on the hunt for a new apartment in the midst of a pandemic, seeing the place before signing a lease involves navigating a series of precautions put in place to protect leasing staff and renters. Looped In hits the road to see how things have changed. Connect with Rebecca Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The office is about to undergo its biggest change since the cubicle. Thanks to the pandemic, companies are rethinking the amount of space they occupy and the role it plays in their corporate culture. Lauri Goodman Lampson, who has designed workplaces for some of the world's biggest energy firms, reveals what some of them are planning for a post-COVID world. Connect with Nancy and Rebecca.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nancy and Rebecca talk to housing consultant Scott Davis about how the new coronavirus is informing the way builders design homes and how past pandemics led to lasting changes in the way we live. Connect with Nancy and Rebecca  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charlie Kuntz's job at Hines is all about making office buildings run better by identifying new technologies like touchless elevators, occupancy sensors and air-quality systems. When COVID-19 hit, that work suddenly took on an even deeper sense of urgency. On the newest episode of Looped In, he discusses the concepts of returning to work during a pandemic and how it's being done in China where the company has several offices. And it's not how you might expect. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca SchuetzSupport the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The sudden drop in sales Chinatown experienced at the end of January as those worried about the novel coronavirus began to social distance were a precursor to what would soon happen across the country. So how are Chinatown restaurants faring now, as the Texas economy is poised to reopen? R.A. Schuetz and Nancy Sarnoff revisit with the owners of Mala Sichuan Bistro to hear about new cleaning protocols and delivery strategies, snags receiving funds from the federal stimulus bill and whether business owners are willing to bet on the area's real estate as the economy sinks.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From office space to urban land sites, demand for commercial real estate faces uncertainty as Houston begins what’s expected to be a lengthy and uneven process of reopening stores and returning to work. Nancy and Rebecca talk to two of the founders of Dosch Marshall Real Estate about which sectors of the commercial property market are poised for growth and which will have a harder time recovering. Read stories by Nancy Sarnoff and Rebecca Schuetz  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nancy and Rebecca discuss their recent reporting on the challenges of buying and selling homes during the coronavirus pandemic. They're joined by appraiser Mike Taylor who explains how he values homes when he can’t go inside.Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.