The Impact of Redfin Post-IPO: Part 1 – Brokerages

Since I wrote most of the last post about Redfin’s IPO off-the-cuff without thinking too hard, I promised I would have something more substantive on Redfin’s IPO and the possible impact. Well, as it happens, I’m writing up a fairly significant white paper on the future of brokerage and this goes right to the heart of … Read more

Random Thoughts on Redfin Going Public

I have been waiting, wanting, hoping for Redfin to go public for a few years now. For a bunch of reasons, mostly having to do with getting another company in real estate to have to report publicly about their operations and their numbers. Well, my wish has been granted. Redfin just filed its S-1 to … Read more

Are Investor Offers Always Worse?

I’ve been in the mountains of North Carolina the last couple of weeks with intermittent internet service and zero cell coverage. So obviously, blogging was nonexistent. I barely responded to emails, to be honest. One interesting conversation I had with Sunny around the campfire, though, was whether investor offers are always and everywhere worse than … Read more

Random Musings: FSBO and the MLS, NAR Mandates Syndication, and Googlicious Horror

I’m packing for a two-day road trip, after which I will be in the mountains of North Carolina as opposed to the swamps of Houston for a couple of weeks. But I wanted to share a couple of random semi-amusing thoughts I’ve had in the last couple of days. Maybe you’ll find them amusing as … Read more

How “fixing” the Zestimate isn’t just math

I recently amused myself – and a few others – when I Facebook trolled the CEO of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff for offering a million dollars to anyone who could fix their “Zestimate” algorithm.  My solution was simple – “Hire a REALTOR®” Then I suggested he send the million dollars to the Beverly Hills/ Greater Los … Read more

How "fixing" the Zestimate isn't just math

I recently amused myself – and a few others – when I Facebook trolled the CEO of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff for offering a million dollars to anyone who could fix their “Zestimate” algorithm.  My solution was simple – “Hire a REALTOR®” Then I suggested he send the million dollars to the Beverly Hills/ Greater Los … Read more

Question of Trust: A Response to Tni Leblanc

I do love me some good meaty debates on industry issues, even if it can be passionate. Especially if it is passionate, as long as the debate doesn’t descend into irrational ranting or rudeness. I get to enjoy that with many of my friends, like Sam Debord and Andrew Flachner. I hope Tni Leblanc, with … Read more

Zillow Fever Strikes Again! Instant Offer Triggers Insecure Agents

One of the more amusing things about the real estate industry in the 21st century is the extent to which Zillow triggers some folks to heights of lunacy otherwise seen only in the more extreme social justice warrior types. If Zillow bought Coca-Cola tomorrow, some people would immediately switch to Pepsi. The latest fracas involving … Read more

Does Fiduciary Duty Require Putting Listings on Zillow?

A really interesting discussion broke out in the comments section of my post last Wednesday titled “The MLS Is Not Doomed! But Most of Them Are.”  A reader with the alias DeRidder LA Real Estate, LLC injected everybody’s favorite topic, Zillow, into the conversation: Disallow compilations of your MLS data to be sent to Realtor.com, Zillow, or … Read more