For some time it has been the policy of the residential service committee to prevent, as much as it is possible, real estate companies from doing business in the Rosedale-Skinker area. This policy is based on a number of practices (blockbusting, speculating) engaged in over the last decade by real estate companies. Residents felt such practices were detrimental to their neighborhood. It is an unassailable truth that the residential service in general, and specifically, a few of its more active members, have been as great an influence as any in preserving the qualities which make this neighborhood that remains desirable to a wide range of people. It is nearly as unassailable that, had the domain of the residential service been open to any and all real estate dealers, this area would have been designed for a much less varied population.
The possibility of finding certain real estate companies which would practice their trade in a manner reflecting the philosophy of the residential service remains an intriguing concept. The benefits of trustworthy real estate companies representing buyers and sellers of homes in this area are obvious. The problems of profit-making companies operating side by side with the residential service are equally real.
This discussion is raised because some residents both active in and knowledgeable about the Skinker-DeBaliviere housing market feel that at least two such real estate companies exist. It is suggested that the residential service contact such companies and attempt to establish a working arrangement for a "test" period. Perhaps the time has come when the policy of exclusion of real estate companies can be modified to one of selective inclusion.
Original newspaper source
Originally published in The Paper, Summer 1973.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
