Zillow, Redfin and the Tinderization of Real Estate

I’m deep into writing the December Red Dot, which will be on the Q3 earnings calls and what they portend for the industry, but there’s an angle to this I’m trying to work out. My initial thoughts were interesting enough that I figured I’d work them out with all of you. I ain’t gonna front … Read more

The Case for iBuyer Becoming the Default

Recently, I saw a thread on Facebook that referenced this post from TheStreet.com, in which Jim Cramer and Marc Chaikin just trash Zillow: Marc Chaikin, founder and CEO of Chaikin Analytics, compared the company to a “landmine” in his webinar with Jim Cramer Wednesday, Nov. 7. Cramer jumped in and said, “if you have Zillow … Read more

Things Become Clearer: NAR vs. Zillow; C2EX vs. Best of Zillow

I’ve been busy researching and writing the November Red Dot, which has now been published. But as often happens, when I’m deep in that project, blogging gets light. I apologize. It appears there are a few things to talk about, but none are more important or more interesting than two recent announcements by NAR and … Read more

Will Compass Invest in the MLS?

There is a great interview with Robert Reffkin, CEO of Compass, up on Inman today. Read the whole thing. But I saw something that really made me sit back and think, so figured I’d share it with everybody. Here’s what Reffkin said: And the third is that agents are starting to operate their business on … Read more

iBuyers and Competition: In Which I Welcome Jay Thompson Back to the Blogosphere

Over at Inman News, Jay Thompson, one of the original RE.net bloggerati, has returned to blogging in triumph with his post “Are iBuyers Going to Ruin Everything for Agents.” Read the whole thing. Jay has been busy with other things, like being the face of Zillow to the real estate industry, the last several years, … Read more

Data Manipulation in the MLS is a Must Fix Issue

Yesterday, an item on Facebook caught my eye. It was someone sharing a Medium post by Frances Flynn Thorsen, the “Blogmother” of real estate. Before you continue, I strongly suggest reading the whole thing. (You’ll need a Medium account, I believe.) There’s quite a lot of history here, including some sordid drama involving criminal extortion, … Read more

Seven NYC Brokerages and RealScout Do A Dangerous Thing

I’m deep into writing the October Red Dot, but Andrew Flachner of RealScout sent me a personal email this morning with his Open Letter to the industry attached. He’s spoken to me before about this initiative, and asked if I would write about it. Well, the Open Letter is now published, and Inman News has … Read more