As most of you know, I used to do in-depth updates for each of the publicly traded companies in the residential real estate sector. Since I’m not an investment analyst, my interest was always on what the public information these companies had to disclose signifies for the real estate industry as a whole. I still … Read more
Opendoor reported its Q4 and full year 2021 earnings last Thursday, and I needed to take some time to think through things. Long story short, Opendoor blew the doors wide open with its performance. It has replaced Redfin as the most important company in residential real estate, and it’s on the heels of Zillow to … Read more
I think it’s safe to say that I was reeling in a bit of shock and disappointment last quarter, when Zillow abruptly quit the iBuying business. I thought for years that Zillow’s overall strategy made perfect sense, and that becoming the market maker for residential housing was at the center of that strategy. So I … Read more
I was in mid-air when the Zillow Q3 earnings release happened. By the time I had landed, there were dozens of texts, emails, and of course, social media postings. There were and are a lot of hot takes. I’m reasonably convinced that all or most are wrong in some significant way. Many are laughably shallow. … Read more
In a few years, we’ll look back on 2Q/2021 and think that it was an important turning point for Zillow and the industry. Or it might be yet another step forward in the slow march towards the transformation of housing into e-commerce. But either way, looking at 2Q/2021 performance and the investor’s reaction to it, … Read more
Last quarter, which included the full year 2020 results, I wrote that EXPI turned the corner and is now the most serious competitor to most of the traditional brokerage models in the industry today. Nothing from its Q1 results changes my mind on that assessment, as I wrote last quarter: Absent some kind of major … Read more
At long last, Compass has reported on its first full quarter of operating as a public company. This is a moment I have been waiting for for quite some time, as there has not been a traditional brokerage to compare Realogy to since I started keeping track way back in the day when Realogy was … Read more
Here in Q1 of 2021, I’m beginning to detect a certain pattern when it comes to trying to analyze earnings calls to see where the industry is. There’s a lot of repetition, as if the things I’ve noted years ago haven’t changed at all. And yet, Q1 was a sizzling hot market, with unprecedented activity … Read more
When Opendoor reported its 2020 results, I was so impressed that I went out and broke my own self-imposed rule and bought some shares. It’s a small position but it is a position, and I’m long Opendoor. Well, the Q1 results lead me to believe I’ve made the right choice, despite the markets disagreeing with … Read more