Ep. 20: We Just Want to Build A Wall and Make Seattle Pay for It

EQ: How do we better understand the relationship between race, class, and real estate, and why does that matter?

Guest: Marguerite Martin, curator of the Move to Tacoma movement and host of the Move to Tacoma Podcast, the Pod Auntie and a founding pod host on Channel 253 (the spry, young matriarch of the network).

Marguerite shares her story:

Her love for Tacoma and her early days downtown (what used to be the cheapest neighborhood!).Her start in real estate in the last boom market, circa 2005, and occupational survival in the downturn.The launch of the Move to Tacoma movement (website and, later, the podcast) as a resource for people relocating to the area.Feelings about her career - the thrill and terror of entrepreneurship.  You can be creative and be yourself, workaholic!Why lots of people get their real estate license - it’s not too hard to meet the requirements, but it IS hard to build a career (the test has nothing to do with the actual work of selling real estate).  You may not get the support you need as a newbie.Making her way - from the dream of being the Queen of Spanaway Real Estate to carving out a niche, first as a condo specialist, then as a downtown realtor, and later as a buyer’s agent.  PLUS! The first prototype of Move to Tacoma - Get Real Tacoma.The changes in the local market, especially skyrocketing prices and the lack of affordable housing options.The market now: buyers have to give up more.  Buyers are currently at a tremendous disadvantage, especially low-income folks.  Those with a lack of intergenerational and historical wealth, especially people of color in Tacoma, don’t have access to the resources they need.  Issues with the lack of diversity in the profession--the median age of realtors is 60 and 87% of agents are white.  The field is treated by many real estate professionals as a meritocracy. Spoiler alert: it’s not. (Dis)trust and implicit bias fuel ageism, sexism, and racism in the business. Being “woke” in real estate is - maybe - impossible because systems of capitalism are inherently exploitative.Marguerite’s favorite Move to Tacoma Podcast Episode “The Tacoma Dating Scene”

Guilty Favsies:

Annie & Hope: Target, Target, and more Target!!Marguerite: John Mayer and Younger

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Annie: Go watch a video called “Housing Segregation in Everything” from NPR’s Code Switch Podcast.  Hope: To understand our country’s history of housing segregation and why things are they way they are today, go read Nicole Hannah Jones: Living Apart and Nerd Farm Reads book “Evicted:Poverty & Profit in the American City” by Mathew Desmond (Ep 30 & Pop the Trunk Addendum)Marguerite: Adams Ruins Everything  “The Disturbing History of the Suburbs” and Race Power of Illusion.