Rob Hahn

Managing Partner of 7DS Associates, and the grand poobah of this here blog. Once called "a revolutionary in a really nice suit", people often wonder what I do for a living because I have the temerity to not talk about my clients and my work for clients. Suffice to say that I do strategy work for some of the largest organizations and companies in real estate, as well as some of the smallest startups and agent teams, but usually only on projects that interest me with big implications for reforming this wonderful, crazy, lovable yet frustrating real estate industry of ours.

Quick Note on Brokerage of the Future: On Agent Training

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Last week I had a blast talking about the industry to Imran Poladi and his sidekick Jim on the Real Talk with Imran Poladi podcast. I only wish I were in on their Superbowl prop bets segment – maybe next time? You can listen to the whole thing below. One of the things I mentioned (at … Read more

Does Fiduciary Duty Require Putting Listings on Zillow?

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A really interesting discussion broke out in the comments section of my post last Wednesday titled “The MLS Is Not Doomed! But Most of Them Are.”  A reader with the alias DeRidder LA Real Estate, LLC injected everybody’s favorite topic, Zillow, into the conversation: Disallow compilations of your MLS data to be sent to Realtor.com, Zillow, or … Read more

A Few Random Thoughts on BPP/Homesnap

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Over at Inman, Leslie Ebersole has 6 questions about the new Broker Public Portal/Homesnap alliance. Read the whole thing, because it’s a solid reflection of the kinds of questions people have about BPP. The article got me thinking a bit about the BPP/Homesnap thing, and well, I have a few random thoughts about it. This … Read more

The MLS Is Not Doomed! But Most of Them Are

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I like being on panels. I like moderating them too. They’re fun, usually pretty short, and oftentimes the other participants are friends I can joke around with backstage. One downside though is that the panel format doesn’t give you a chance to dive into detailed explanations of complicated concepts. A panel is better for sound … Read more

Brief (?) Observations on the Value of the MLS

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At the just concluded Inman Connect New York, I was privileged to be on a panel entitled “Is the MLS Doomed?” with Denee Evans, CEO of CMLS, and Rebecca Jensen, CEO of MRED. Despite being one of the biggest fans of the MLS in the industry, given that I am a lawyer by training and … Read more

Honest Question: Role of the Website in Real Estate Practice

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The above is a Facebook ad I ran across, because… I guess Facebook thinks I’m a real estate agent. Or, it could be the numerous times I’ve interacted with Morgan Carey, CEO of Real Estate Webmasters. But either way, I actually got curious about this claim: “To become a top producer, you need an accessible website … Read more

The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations: The Inman Person of the Year Edition

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Blogging, social media, and work activities have been at an all time low. Big part of the reason is that the above is my view right now, except that you can’t see the turquoise waters of the Caribbean glistening like a carpet of gems…. So yeah, getting on the ye olde laptop is not real … Read more