A Final Word (Hopefully) on Upstream

As you can imagine, there’s been a ton of chatter about Project Upstream and its “divorce” with Daddy NARbucks. I think I’ve gotten no fewer than three emails from consultants and thought leaders in the industry on the topic. Inman has written not just a news article announcing the split, but an in-depth investigation into … Read more

Things Become Clearer: NAR vs. Zillow; C2EX vs. Best of Zillow

I’ve been busy researching and writing the November Red Dot, which has now been published. But as often happens, when I’m deep in that project, blogging gets light. I apologize. It appears there are a few things to talk about, but none are more important or more interesting than two recent announcements by NAR and … Read more

NAR: Crisis and Opportunity

Chances are, if you read this blog on a regular basis, you’re already aware of the op/ed by Jim Harrison in Inman News titled “It’s time to stop ignoring the crisis at NAR“. That comes on the heels of a back-and-forth between HAR (still the Houston Association of REALTORS, even if their website stands for … Read more

No Hat, Lots of Cattle: In Which Zillow Transforms

[Note: I advised Zillow on its communication plan for rolling out the program I discuss herein. I do not have an ongoing relationship with Zillow.] I assume that by now anybody who is reading Notorious is aware of the big announcement from Zillow: Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) (NASDAQ:ZG), which houses a portfolio of the largest … Read more

Forest for the Trees: the NAR #Logogate Edition

Look, the past 24 hour or so has been a lot of fun. I know I had a few laughs. But things are getting a little out of hand, y’all. Plus, it’s far too late, and I have real work to do and too little time to do it all. Nonetheless, this whole NAR #Logogate … Read more

Musings on the Parker Principles, Part 1: Principle 7 – Open Data

As many of you know, I was privileged to be at Inman Disconnect this year. This was a different kind of event than ever before — one aimed at getting something done, rather than hearing about what others have done. At the very start of the event, Brad Inman told the gathered leaders that the … Read more

7 Questions on NAR’s S.M.A.R.T. Initiatives

The latest word out of National Association of REALTORS is that the Budget Committee, together with Leadership, has approved a new set of initiatives (not sure what that means, as we’ll discuss below) called S.M.A.R.T. Initiatives and passed a budget to support it to the tune of $35 million per year: We cannot afford – … Read more

The Seven Most Interesting People in Real Estate, 2017 Edition

So I’ve decided to add to my end-of-the-year workload by starting something new this year. I call it the Interesting List, and there are seven people — a number that is sacred to me as well as many of the world’s oldest religions — on it. Hence, The Seven Most Interesting People in Real Estate. … Read more