September 8, 2017

Today, I want to thank Milton’s realtors for their support for smart land use over the past many months.  More than anyone else, realtors are the community’s experts on property values.  Every day, they deal with buy-sell transactions of property.  They see the numbers on home values.  They know what enhances a home’s value and what does not.  Realtors understand the critical importance of sense of place in supporting and increasing high property values in Milton.  They understand the threats to property values from poorly managed development.  And many of these realtors have “skin in the game” in that they live in Milton—i.e., their home values and quality of life are affected by the development decisions made in Milton.  Thankfully, many of these real estate agents have not been shy about expressing their concerns about land use in Milton.  I have identified nearly 3 dozen that have signed the Milton Coalition’s anti-CSO and/or Smart Land Use petitions.  Quite a few Milton realtors had advocated passionately for smart land use.

In many ways, real estate agents share diametrically opposed views to developers.  Most developers are transactional—i.e., narrowly focused on maximizing the profit of a specific development.  They tend not to take a broader market-based view.  They follow the money.  Once an area is built out and its market potential is exploited, these developers are off to the next lucrative market.  Most Milton developers do not live in Milton.  For those developers that do live in Milton, their development interests generally outweigh any personal interests they may have—that is, the value of their property pales in comparison to profits made from development.  Lastly, developers are not shy about spreading around money to ensure their interests are protected.  In Milton, it is amazing how much influence a large campaign contribution can buy.

This is not to say that there are not good developers in Milton.  There certainly are honest, decent developers that want to be good stewards of the land and the community.  They understand and are faithful to Milton’s sense of place.  These developers tend to be smaller developers that actually live in Milton.

Over the last 22 months, it has become clear to me that realtors’ interests are closely aligned with the interests of citizens.  They act as a counterweight to reckless development.  We are fortunate to have so many fine realtors that understand and want to protect the specialness of Milton:  the four-board fences, the gravel roads, the horse farms, and the tree-lined streets.  Milton’s specialness makes homes in Milton a good investment.  Accordingly, I’d like to give a big shout-out to Milton’s realtors.  Thanks for your support of smart land use and good governance.

Tim Becker