CoStar + Realtor.com = ???

I apologize for the lengthy silence. I’ve been heads down on final prep for launching a new project I’ve been working on for over a year now. You’ll hear about it soon enough, I promise. And I hope it’ll interest all of you. In fact, I know it will interest some of you. I know, … Read more

How Will CMLS’s White Paper Argue Against RINRA?

I had heard that CMLS had retained two former DOJ and FTC attorneys to help them draft a white paper laying out all of the reasons why the MLS is a force for good in the world, and Inman News published confirmation in this story: In order to do this, Batts and Carson are working … Read more

Power to the People: REALTOR Associations and DAO

In the last webinar on Geek Estate Masterminds, Dave Conroy gave a presentation on blockchain, crypto, NFT and DAOs. Dave is not only a true expert on all things blockchain, he is also the Director of Emerging Technologies at NAR and a real forward-looking thinker. Proof? Here’s Dave writing about blockchain’s impact on real estate… … Read more

Thoughts on Stratechery’s Article on Zillow Offers

Ben Thompson at Stratechery, the man responsible for setting Zillow on its path into iBuying, has published a newsletter discussing Zillow’s exit from iBuying. He’s very generous to Rich Barton and to Zillow, and eats a bit of crow. I rarely find anything in Thompson’s writings and opinions to disagree with, because he is one … Read more

On BrightMLS’s Off-MLS Study

I’m busier than a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest… but I wanted to get this post up as the folks over at BrightMLS (Thank you, Rene! Thank you, Elliot!) were kind enough to chat with me on Friday. It will necessarily be short… well… short for me. In case you missed it, BrightMLS recently … Read more

Musings On Incentives

I had a long conversation recently with a friend who is serving as the president of a large REALTOR Association. He had heard my latest podcast in which I debate two of my friends about the value of the REALTOR brand, about the Association, about professionalism, and so on and he had questions. It was … Read more

The Implications of Financial Investors in Real Estate

Last month, I wrote a post wondering what financial investors might be thinking and noted that the post was almost entirely speculation: Yet, every single day, we hear about buyers getting outbid in ludicrous ways. I recorded a podcast with a broker in San Antonio the other day, and he made the point that on … Read more

In Which Sam DeBord and I Solve the Clear Cooperation Dilemma

I did a livestream on Facebook yesterday with Sam DeBord, a good friend and a fellow supernerd in MLS-related topics. Of course, he’s also the CEO of RESO and an active participant in NAR policy circles, so he’s among the most knowledgeable in the industry on the issues. We debated, discussed, and I’ve embedded the … Read more