Big Deals, Real Deals and need for New Deal on Real Estate Data

Privacy_NPRivacyDebate_0301016

A leading real estate site recently asked, “Is Donald Trump the Real Deal?”  To fact checkers, the answer is as straightforward as Huffington Post editor note: “Donald Trump is a serial liar…” and accusations that Trump University “lured students to spend up to $35,000 on real estate seminars.”

Even if everyone who’s seen The Big Short agrees with John Oliver’s assessment, “Starting [Trump] mortgage company in 2006 was one of the worst decisions you could possibly make,’ dismissing questions about what’s real in real estate as quickly as some would dump Donald Dumpft would miss some teachable moments.

There are multiple meanings and uses of the word “deal,” and envisioning them in an infographic would be a  complex but interesting exercise.  For example, compromising can be a virtue in “Art of the Deal” (name of the book coauthored by Trump in 2009), but compromising should be constrained by values, notably those people consider a BIG DEAL!

PRIVACY = BIG DEAL

That’s where unfolding headlines about the dispute between the FBI and Apple Computer add important angles to this discussion.  Two weeks ago, a headline in USA Today read:

Here’s why the FBI forcing Apple to break into an iPhone is a big deal

http://bit.ly/PrivacyBigDeal (share via social media)

Apple, The F.B.I. And Your Privacy

http://bit.ly/NPRivacyDebate (share via social media)

Trump has a tarnished track record, and that’s important to expose.  But polls suggest a surprising number of people agree with Apple – exposing their personal data to misuse is a BIG DEAL!   

NEW DEAL ON REAL ESTATE DATA

Contentious panels at recent real estate technology conferences suggest that data ownership is a big deal within the real estate industry.  But what about personal data — confidential data about homebuyers in particular?

MIT professor Sandy Pentland calls for “New Deal on Data” in his article in Harvard Business Review entitled

With Big Data comes Big Responsibility

http://bit.ly/BigDataDeal (share via social media)

Think it’s important to extend that to a “New Deal on Real Estate Data?”  Think blockchain and VRM business models will enable that era?  We do, that’s why we’re encourage homebuyers and homeowners to read this article:

US intelligence chief: we might use the internet of things to spy on you

http://bit.ly/IoTUSpy (share via social media)

If the government admits that IoT can be used to spy on you, does a research lab dedicated to “Powering the Internet of Things for Realtors” raise questions about privacy and data ownership, too?

PRIVACY BY DEFAULT

In December, we were delighted to read that the default setting for Zillow’s recent acquisition, DotLoop, seems to be raising the privacy bar in real estate to favor the consumer.  Their Data Privacy Guarantee reads:

“Dotloop customers own all their data and dotloop will not use the data without customers’ permission.”

Will that give consumers the ability to control the access and use to their personal data? If so, that would be a BIG DEAL because it’s a step towards a new era of user managed access (UMA) in real estate that would reduce confidentiality breaches, set the stage for an agency revival, and ultimately empower consumers to leverage their personal data for financial gain.

CALL TO ACTION:

We’ve written in the past about using personal data in real estate as a use case for a New Deal on Real Estate Data.  In January 2016, we proposed starting blockchain in real estate working groups in Boston and beyond.  Ubitquity.io took the lead to launch a MeetUp in Washington, DC, where Congress is hearings arguments today about privacy versus security concerns.  We’ll extend that debate to include privacy issues and conflicts of interest in real estate via our series of debates on Anchor.fm.  Join us there to help share the future of real estate:

What’s “out of sync” with housing? Can we solve by next #LeapYear: 2020?

http://bit.ly/LeapRE2020 (share via social media)

Or if you’re in Boston, offline to create collages while listening to NPR’s rebroadcast  (see tweet above).

 

Related Articles

Prepping Donald Trump for Boston expo: What would a Real Estate Apprentice do?

What advice do you think Donald Trump will give homebuyers at the Real Estate & Wealth Expo this weekend in Boston? 

What questions would YOU like to ask him, or hear him answer in his 60 minute Q & A? 

If you were his Real Estate Apprentice, what information and local market trends would you review him before he advises ordinary buyers and sellers across Massachusetts?

Would you outline potential risks of buying in the current market, or do you think that might get you FIRED?

Should we collect our thoughts below and email them to his staff, or simply get together — in person or online, before or afterwords — to discuss the presentations, exhibitors, and our own perspectives of the market?

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