One of the recurring problems of the real estate industry is that it is almost entirely reactive when it comes to problems. We continually look backwards, rather than forwards, then wonder why things don’t improve. A good example is the latest recommendation from Victor Lund of the WAV Group, who promotes Redfin’s idea that IDX … Read more
I know, I know… another post about Redfin… that isn’t Part 2 which deals with the impact on parts of the industry that aren’t brokerages. But I’ve been busy, and still thinking through the impact on MLS, Associations, tech vendors, etc. In the meantime, my good friend and regular guest contributor to this blog, the … Read more
I had planned on my second post about Redfin to be its potential impact on Associations, MLS and maybe tech vendors. But you know, this whole Redfin thing is sorta big news in certain circles — tech and finance journalists as an example — and there have been a couple of interesting articles on Redfin … Read more
I have been waiting, wanting, hoping for Redfin to go public for a few years now. For a bunch of reasons, mostly having to do with getting another company in real estate to have to report publicly about their operations and their numbers. Well, my wish has been granted. Redfin just filed its S-1 to … Read more
I’m packing for a two-day road trip, after which I will be in the mountains of North Carolina as opposed to the swamps of Houston for a couple of weeks. But I wanted to share a couple of random semi-amusing thoughts I’ve had in the last couple of days. Maybe you’ll find them amusing as … Read more
I do love me some good meaty debates on industry issues, even if it can be passionate. Especially if it is passionate, as long as the debate doesn’t descend into irrational ranting or rudeness. I get to enjoy that with many of my friends, like Sam Debord and Andrew Flachner. I hope Tni Leblanc, with … Read more
One of the more amusing things about the real estate industry in the 21st century is the extent to which Zillow triggers some folks to heights of lunacy otherwise seen only in the more extreme social justice warrior types. If Zillow bought Coca-Cola tomorrow, some people would immediately switch to Pepsi. The latest fracas involving … Read more
I’ve been traveling almost nonstop for a few weeks, so things have been light in the blogging department. My latest stop was Stefan Swanepoel’s T3 Summit in Los Angeles last week, a fabulous event made even more fabulous this year because of agent Eric Boyenga of the Silicon Valley Real Estate Team. T3 attracts the most powerful people … Read more
Last week the well-known real estate author/speaker/consultant Stefan Swanepoel wrote on Facebook that money is flowing into real estate technology. That observation sparked a heated discussion; many argued that real estate doesn’t scale, it’s too complicated, transactions are too difficult, too expensive, and too emotional for technology to disrupt, and so on. To paraphrase Darth Vader: … Read more