Getting a house is harder than ever, so it’s only natural that buyers want all the information they can get. One startup is taking that to heart, offering users the chance to check out the political affiliations of their potential neighbors. Naturally, it’s causing debates, including on The View.
The platform, Oyssey, is soft-launching in New York and Florida in December and acts as a hub for people searching for a home, providing access to real estate agents and a place to store documents. But, according to Axios, it also houses consumer data, which it pulls together using “election results, campaign contributions and licensable commercial data.”
CEO Huw Nierenberg claims that “during the course of a house tour, buyers often shift from asking whether the water heater is leaking to wondering if their neighbors are folks they’d like to invite to dinner some day.” And while it’s not an awful idea to give people a heads-up on who they’re going to be living nearby, there’s an argument to be made that it’s far from the most important factor when it comes to buying a house.
“I guess some real estate professionals believe this could influence buyers more than the conditions of the home, and I think that is not a good idea because number one, it’s none of your business, and number two, it just fosters more division,” said The View host Whoopi Goldberg on the December 16th episode of the show.
One of Goldberg’s co-hosts, Sara Haines, also voiced concerns about Oyssey’s message. “And to pretend our divisions are just political is the best part because jerks come in very political affiliation and that’s what neighbors are,” she said.
After everyone revealed they were sort of on the same page, Sunny Hostin decided to play devil’s advocate and talk about how being able to avoid more radical people would be helpful. “The only thing I will say, you know, I have a multiracial family, you know, my goddaughter is gay, some of my best friends are trans,” she explained. “I wouldn’t want to live next to an extremist that would make my family feel unwelcome, but I don’t think that’s a political affiliation thing. It’s like a behavioral thing.”
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The topic on The View then shifts to why neighbors usually complain about one another, with some of the listed reasons being animals, incessant noise, and children playing outside. The hosts make it clear that they’ve dealt with issues like that in the past, but none of them have had problems with a neighbor because of who they voted for.
Unfortunately, that’s not everyone’s experience, and clearly, Nierenberg believes it’s enough of a dealbreaker for some that it’s worth being a major part of his platform. It remains to be seen how it will work out, but it’s unlikely to be the last time Oyssey ends up in the headlines.
Published: Dec 17, 2024 09:32 am