In Part 1, I looked at the economics of iBuyers generally, and concluded that we need to analyze them as market makers, using market maker economic models, rather than as investors or brokerage companies. In this part 2, I wanted to get a bit more detailed and granular, using some data I was fortunate enough … Read more
In my final Red Dot, where I looked at the full year 2018 earnings results for the public companies in real estate, I titled the section on Realogy as “The Deathwatch Gets Serious.” My concerns then were centered on not just the numbers, which were historically bad, but on the strategy. I wrote then that … Read more
Recently, there was an excellent post about iBuyers from Homebloq, a company that appears to sell some sort of a mobile app “connecting Chicago brokers and buyers” according to the website. The blog is not signed, but I think it’s written by Austin James, the co-founder of Homebloq, and is titled, “How iBuyers Die.” I’ve … Read more
The other day Rob wrote a post on how Competition in Real Estate is Changing. I don’t think anyone would disagree. And it reminded me of a comment that I can’t find on another post which simply asked “What can brokers even do about it?”. That’s a sincere question worth talking about, from this Recovering … Read more
A few random, or perhaps not so random, thoughts this morning from three recent news stories. First, we get a story in the mainstream media by Andrea Riquier of Marketwatch, about Keller Williams entering into the iBuyer space: Keller Williams, the sprawling national real estate franchisor, plans to launch an instant offer service later this … Read more
Over at the WAV Group blog, Marilyn Wilson ponders whether it is time for a National IDX: Today, we have robust rules in place that allow a broker to share their active, pending and in some cases, sold listings with their fellow practitioners via a local IDX policy. What if we took that idea to … Read more
I’m busy and about to head off to a strategy session, but I had to share this with you all — especially with those who are in leadership positions in REALTOR Associations and local/regional MLSs. I may have thoughts on this in the future, but for now, let me just tell you that this might … Read more
Earlier today, T360 released the Swanepoel Mega 1000 report, ranking the top 1,000 brokerages by volume and transaction sides. Obviously, this report is competing with the current industry standard, the Real Trends 500 report. T360 sent me the data they used to compile the list, and told me to write what I found interesting about … Read more
I was recently at a real estate conference for a major brand watching a panel discussion. I’m leaving names out because it’s not important to the question/point I’m making and don’t want the distraction. The panel was a younger moderator (in his 40s) and two industry executives who have 40+ years of experience each. These … Read more