Spotify has been in the news lately with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulling their music to protest COVID-19 misinformation being spread by Joe Rogan on his popular podcast, which Spotify hosts.

Down a little farther in those stories are details on how little artists are paid by streaming services. Some leaders of the Music Row community feel they overlooked Napster – which birthed the music-streaming industry – when it began pirating their material in the early days of the commercial internet.

Like so many affected by the internet revolution, the music industry would like love a do-over. But that’s not happening.

As consumers browse real estate websites, few think about the history of Trulia and Zillow and how they can be traced back to Realtor.com. When Realtor.com realized the potential of the internet, it hired representatives to venture into real estate offices across the nation and pay Realtors for their listings to be included on the website.

Today, those listings appear free of charge, even though the Realtors procured the listings, had the listings photographed and measured and added other features. But the listing brokers work for the seller, so that person should do anything possible to promote the listing, right? Right.

Unfortunately, real estate websites sometimes borrow data from third parties, creating inaccuracies in the listing that were not included in the information the agent submitted.

Additionally, the sites sell the space next to the listing to Realtors, and it is usually not the listing agent. When listings appear on a website, there is often the photo of a Realtor with that person’s contact information, the implication being it is their listing or they are knowledgeable about the area.

Often, that is not the case. The spaces are often sold by ZIP code, and a ZIP code such as Nashville’s 37205, which includes such diverse markets as Belle Meade, Whitland, Richland-West End, Hillwood and West Meade, might sell to as many as three different agents for as much as $2,000 per month, agents using this platform report.

Lenders also are featured on some sites, which adds up to one money-generating enterprise.

Then, for some reason, Zillow decided buying houses was a good idea. Bloomberg reports the company decided it needed to unload 7,000 houses at a total price of $2.8 billion. That’s a lot of inventory for a real estate website.

So, where do we go from here? It’s hard to predict where technology will take us.

But the real estate market is booming and will continue to forever, it seems. It’s safe to say the coming bump in interest rates will have no effect on the Nashville area market.

Sale of the Week

Bidding wars have followed the residential real estate market into 2022, as evidenced by the sale at 1030 Percy Warner Boulevard last week.

1030 Percy Warner Blvd

The property was listed by one of Nashville real estate’s successful and exciting couples, the team of Carol and Dortch Oldham, for $475,000 before selling for $555,000 after a flurry of offers flew the Oldham’s way. The Oldhams are affiliated with Keller Williams.

Accurately described as a “Mid-Century ranch,” the house had been renovated from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, featuring updated baths, hardwoods floors throughout and a screened porch off the owner’s suite.

Carports are more the norm than garages in the Warner Park neighborhood, and 1030 Warner has a two-car version of the carport that had been converted to a patio. The house is situated on a heavily wooded, 0.33-acre secluded lot.

Jessica Harrison of IMPACT Properties, Inc. was there for her buyer, securing yet another property. Harrison’s clients were first-time homebuyers “up against a whole slew of families fighting for this little gem.”

In any multi-offer scenario, there will be only one happy buyer at the end of the day. With an extra $80,000 in their pockets, there remains an ecstatic seller at closing.

Unless they are relocating to a different area, the search for the next house might be more difficult than anticipated. But an extra $80,000 is a nice cushion.

Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Fridrich and Clark Realty, LLC and can be reached at [email protected].