A Facebook Live on OKRs with Albert Hahn, former Head, Google for Startups Korea

Just a fun little thing for the weekend. I hosted a livestream on Facebook and elsewhere with Albert Hahn, former head of Google for Startups Korea on Wednesday, on the topic of OKRs. This is a way of measuring progress and productivity that has become rather popular with technology companies, and Google is probably the … Read more

Harshing the Mellow: NAR, DOJ, Lawsuits

I’m actually a bit busy with critical research and writing, but thought I’d take a moment out to write something fun and lighthearted about real estate. Then I read this in Inman: “DOJ-NAR settlement will effectively squash 2 consumer antitrust suits.” The author contends that the recent DOJ-NAR settlement is a wonderful thing, as it … Read more

CoStar Acquires Homesnap: Welcome to the Black Parade!

A couple of nights ago, I saw this news come across my feeds… but it was Sunday evening, and I needed to think about this a bit. The headline alone should give us all an idea of what’s what: CoStar Group Agrees to Acquire Homesnap, a Digital Residential Real Estate Solutions Provider Used by 300,000 … Read more

REX and the DOJ: Implications for the Future

[Quick disclosure: While I admire and respect Jack Ryan, CEO of REX, and count him as one of my friends, I have no business relationship with REX, apart from using them for a home purchase. I have spoken to REX prior to writing this post to make sure that I do not violate any confidentiality … Read more

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for REALTORS in the New York Senate

I keep having to write posts like this, about NAR, about REALTORs, and the state of the industry. Some of you think I’m picking on NAR, but some of you who have known me longer, have worked with me on a variety of projects, know that I do this out of love. I genuinely believe … Read more

In Which I Propose an Alternative to NAR’s New Speech Code

Recently, the NAR Professional Standards Committee announced that it had forwarded a set of recommendations to the Board of Directors for a vote in November at the (virtual) NAR Annual Meetings: The NAR Professional Standards Committee met on October 5, 2020, to consider recommendations from its Interpretations and Procedures Advisory Board on the Code of … Read more

The NAR Commission Lawsuit: Creeping Doom, One Step Closer

A couple of weeks ago, Judge Andrea Wood of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division issued a memorandum opinion denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss in the all-important case of Moehrl v. NAR. You can find the opinion here. As many of you know, I’ve been interested in … Read more

Zillow and MLS Data: Expanding On My Podcast Musings

In case you missed it, Greg Robertson and I recorded an episode of Industry Relations on Zillow’s announcements last Thursday; it was just posted. In it, I started musing about how IDX is less of a deal than VOW, and Greg and I started to talk about what Zillow might be able to do for … Read more