Watch Byron Lazine and Nicole White give a real estate agent’s perspective on industry-related topics. This week, they’ll discuss the importance of disclosing referral fees, markets in trouble and using TikTok for business.

Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman.

In a recent Inman article, writer Patrick Kearns posed a thought-provoking and valuable question — should agents be forced to disclose referral fees to consumers? According to Kearns, “more than half of nearly 2,000 consumers surveyed consider referral fees unfair if they’re not disclosed to the consumer.”

Byron and Nicole’s answer? “Why not, really?” Nicole said. “I mean, there’s nothing to hide.” Byron went on to say: “Anytime somebody is being compensated for something in our industry, and a consumer is involved, there should be a disclosure around that.” They talked about transparency, providing real, true value and ways to explain referral fees to clients.

More this week: Byron and Nicole discussed another Inman article that reported about the housing markets poised for trouble going into the future. A lot of California cities made the list, along with other towns like Jackson, Mississippi, and Longview, Texas.

“I’d encourage everybody, now more than ever, every single week, get your fingers dirty on the data of what’s actually happening in your local market,” Byron said. “It’s a local business.”

Marketeer of the week

Are there business reasons to join TikTok? Realtor magazine listed four ways to make the most out of the platform, whose owner is now seeking “approval from Beijing for a White House-endorsed plan to turn the short-video app into a U.S.-based company,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Want to nominate a “marketeer of the week”? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below, or shoot us an email.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×