“Redfin has consistently been in favor of moratoriums,” said Glenn Kelman, its chief executive. “History will judge us.”
Zillow also supports the CDC edict, and he believes that moratoriums include the most effective work as policy and assistance programs besides tenants also include landlords and property managers. Last month, it published research indicating that in the near future there could be as few as 130,000 evictions if all goes well with legislation, regulations, their implementation and the economy. But it’s hard to predict.
On the ground in Atlanta, Bilal Shareef also sees the wisdom of the coordinated approach that Zillow outlines. “I will certainly not feel that we should sue the government,” he said. Shareef said. “Instead of relocating people who are tenants, they also offer help to landlords.”
Mr. Shareef is president of the Empire Board of Realtists, a leading trade organization founded in 1939 when other groups left black real estate professionals out of their membership. He is also one of the 1.4 million members of the NAR
“Sometimes we have to be on the inside to keep them honest about some things,” he said.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is a major player in real estate sales in Georgia. Its CEO Dan Forsman said in an interview this week that he had not yet taken a public stand on the eviction moratorium before I called him. Mr. Forsman believes the moratorium should end on June 30, at the end of the current extension.
This is a nuanced view, because he had Covid himself. “I was terrified,” he said. Last year, the moratorium made sense to him, when it became clear how worried some of his staff were. The unemployment rate was also alarming. In the Atlanta region, it grew to 12.9 percent last year. By February, however, it had dropped to just 4.7 percent.
“I am grateful for the leadership that the CDC has shown,” he said. Forsman said. ‘They put their tails at stake and protected those who could not protect themselves. And now it’s time to move on. ”