Estately Quietly Proves a Business Model

The Pacific Northwest, where denizens created a religion out of worshipping coffee to overcome the gloom of the rainy months, has somehow become the mecca for technology-based innovation in the real estate industry. Everyone knows about Zillow, of course. Most folks know about Redfin. MarketLeader, and its portal, RealEstate.com are also in the Seattle area … Read more

Live by the Code, Die by the Code: A Conversation with Brian Copeland

I’m sure that if you’re a reader of this blog, you’ve seen the “I am a REALTOR and I live by the Code” meme that’s everywhere on Facebook. The man who began the whole thing is Brian Copeland, an extraordinary young leader, REALTOR (obviously), and a fantastic karaoke master. I was originally going to write … Read more

Jeff Brown Explains It For You: Why Agent-Centric Brokerage Sucks

Over at AGBeat, Jeff Brown — a real estate broker I know personally and have respected for years both for his knowledge and his utter fearlessness — gets into the weeds and explains why “agent-centric” brokerage model sucks. Well, to be fair, the actual title of his post is, “Why real estate’s agent-centric broker models … Read more

[PREMIUM] Quick Note on HomeServices of America

This is a quick update for the purchasers of the Realogy Report. When I was researching that report, MidAmerican Energy Holdings had not filed its 2012 10-K. Which meant that we didn’t have any real information on the second largest brokerage in America: HomeServices of America. They did so on 3/1 but by then I … Read more

[PROMO] Realogy, Agent Teams, Keller Williams, and the Future of Real Estate Brokerage

Note: I’ve decided to use the [PROMO] tag in the title when I’m talking about one of my premium content pieces.   I just published something I consider to be among my best written works to date. It came to over 15,000 words and if it were printed out, I think it fills 40 pages … Read more

What’s the Value of Agent-to-Agent Relationships?

  Heard a story the other night from a friend who is a REALTOR(R), while talking about the hot hot seller’s market we’re in now in many places around the country. (As an aside, doesn’t this mean that early 2013 is not a great time to buy?) Apparently, she had a house on the market … Read more

What's the Value of Agent-to-Agent Relationships?

  Heard a story the other night from a friend who is a REALTOR(R), while talking about the hot hot seller’s market we’re in now in many places around the country. (As an aside, doesn’t this mean that early 2013 is not a great time to buy?) Apparently, she had a house on the market … Read more