Once again, Bednar is crying. Boo hoo! What is it about this time? Re-listing houses. Bednar is angry and bitter that housing prices in NJ are not falling that much like they are in California and Florida, so he constantly complains about all sorts of rubbish:
But real estate blogger James Bednar says re-listing is simply unethical. "As a buyer, it does make me angry," he said. "I need to know how long a home's been on the market or what the original price is."
"Hiding that market information from consumers is wrong, and it's got to stop," he added.
Bednar started blogging in 2005 after growing aggravated with realtors during his own house-hunting search.
"The issue here is that when a re-listed home is sold, it skews the market transaction data," he said. "When an agent typically says they can sell a home in 30 or 60 days, is that really true? If they've re-listed a home, that might not necessarily be true." In an effort to gain access to market data, he actually got a real estate license and a membership with his local listing service. With a few key strokes he can find the true history of any listing in his northern New Jersey neighborhood.
"The most common outcome is probably that a buyer overpays for a home," he said. "I think it's only a matter of time before a buyer who buys a home under these false pretenses realizes it and perhaps sues the real estate agent for misrepresenting a house."
Memo to Bednar: Good luck suing! You will need it!
