Rob Hahn

Managing Partner of 7DS Associates, and the grand poobah of this here blog. Once called "a revolutionary in a really nice suit", people often wonder what I do for a living because I have the temerity to not talk about my clients and my work for clients. Suffice to say that I do strategy work for some of the largest organizations and companies in real estate, as well as some of the smallest startups and agent teams, but usually only on projects that interest me with big implications for reforming this wonderful, crazy, lovable yet frustrating real estate industry of ours.

Curious Things Are Afoot, Part 3: Google Plus and the New Paradigm

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In Part Two, we looked at how social might impact real estate, if it is in fact taken very seriously indeed.  All of it triggered by the acquisition of SocialBios.com by Move, signaling a major strategic move into social. In yet another display that the universe has a sense of humor, the announcement came at … Read more

Curious Things Are Afoot, Part 2: Commodities, Power, and Change

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In Part One, we congratulated Ernie Graham and his team at SocialBios for getting acquired. I hope he picked out a nice Lamborghini Reventon in taxicab yellow. The second Curious Thing that came about just as Move was announcing its acquisition of SocialBios was the confluence of two seemingly unrelated things. Making sense out of … Read more

Curious Things Are Afoot, Part 1: Move Acquires SocialBios

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This is the first part of what I think will be a three-part examination of some rather curious things I’ve been seeing. First of all, I’m sure other sites will be announcing the news that MOVE has acquired the startup SocialBios. From the press release: Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE), the leader in online real estate, … Read more

The Challenge of Apple to Social Marketers Everywhere

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  The other day, at the as-yet-unnamed Houston Social Media Club dinner, we got to talking about (what else) using social media for marketing purposes. I was reminded of that discussion checking out the new InmanNext post on Engagement by Michael McClure (that’s Mr. ProfessionalOne to you). [By the way, kudos to Chris Smith for … Read more

Dr. Lawrence Yun, Call Your Office

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A mere six days ago, NAR’s Chief Economist (and my doppelganger) Lawrence Yun released this cheery video forecast on housing for the remainder of the year: Lawrence is predicting a slight pickup for 2011 over 2010; he thinks the second half of this year will be better than the second half of last year. New … Read more

A Few Random Questions About the Latest Rent Report

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The Wall Street Journal reports that rents are up and vacancies are down across the United States: Apartment landlords are enjoying rising rents and falling vacancies. The average effective rent, the amount paid after discounting, was $997 in the second quarter of the year, up from $974 a year earlier, according to a report scheduled … Read more

Is This What Passes for Real Estate Journalism These Days?

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First, watch (or not watch) this:   Even though this video looks like hundreds of other listing videos that real estate agents have been shooting for years now, with the help of companies like Real Estate Shows and WellcomeMat, that video, you see, constitutes journalism. It comes from the Wall Street Journal, from their Developments … Read more