Welcome to yet another edition of the Seven Predictions, sure to be wrong or your money back. (Does not apply to VIP Subscriptions.) This is one of my favorite annual traditions around this time of year. For those keeping track at home, I just published my results from last year’s predictions, and my lifetime average … Read more
I have had to think about Redfin after Q3 of 2022. Redfin has been my favorite brokerage for years now for a few reasons. I have thought their commitment to the consumer was unshakable, and the desire to save consumers money and to improve things for buyers is written into the DNA of the company. … Read more
[NOTE: I am long OPEN and have been for a while as the self-proclaimed Biggest Bull on Market Maker iBuying in the World. None of this is investment advice or solicitation; it is education/entertainment from an industry analyst perspective.] Q1 of 2022 is when I will mark a major turning point in the history of … Read more
In my last analysis of Redfin, I wrote that Redfin has to decide who it wanted to be. It was stuck in a “larval stage between one model and another” as per Glenn Kelman’s wording: I agree that Redfin is in some larval stage between one model and the other. The one model is/was one … Read more
Back in 2019, I wrote a post titled Pass Clear Cooperation Policy, But Address the Gaping Loophole. In that post, I pointed out that because of the office exclusive loophole, Clear Cooperation Policy creates bizarre new incentives: In the FAQ that accompanied Policy 8.0, we are told that this policy does not affect “office exclusive … Read more
There must be something in the water. I got three separate emails recently regarding publicly-traded brokerages. Two were on EXPI because they hosted an analyst day, and one was on Compass. Plus, there’s a lot of noise out there debating whether Compass is a tech company or a brokerage or whatever. Since I’ve been covering … Read more
Roughly nine months ago, after its Q1 results, I beat the hell out of Redfin. I admit it. Much of that was motivated by how disappointed I was with Redfin’s decisions then. I wrote in that post that I was and remain one of Redfin’s biggest fans so its decisions then were truly heartbreaking. Nine … Read more
It’s that time of year again. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. And Rob making ridiculous predictions sure to be wrong about the year to come. Welcome to the predictions for the Year After the Pandemic. Let’s all raise a glass and forget that 2020 ever happened, and move … Read more
Q3 was by all measures a bangin’ quarter, as my wife Sunny might say, for most of the companies in residential real estate. I already wrote about Zillow’s amazing Q3 results, and I thought I would tackle the three major brokerage companies (sorry, Fathom, I’ll get to you as well eventually) that are publicly traded. … Read more