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.

Real Estate in the Time of Cholera: The Aftermath, Part 3 – The Taxman Cometh

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I wrote a VIP post recently talking about the Durable investment into Redfin and what it signaled for the future of brokerage. But while writing it, I thought of something that deserves wider discussion. Here it is: Furthermore, after the government response to COVID-19, I am reasonably confident that agent teams will be brought under … Read more

Redfin, Durable and the Future of Brokerage

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Given my somewhat unique position, I am often amused by the gap between the world of real estate and the world of finance as it comes to news that affects both. A prime example comes to us from the announcement that Redfin raised $110 million in equity funding from Durable Capital Partners. On social media, … Read more

[VIP] The Notorious Interview: Mark McLean, Key Living

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In this episode, I speak to entrepreneur and longtime REALTOR from Toronto, Canada, Mark McLean about an innovative co-equity concept he’s been working on. It’s so interesting that Mark was a high-level executive and successful broker and agent for 30 years, but jumped into a brand new idea. Who says you can’t teach an old … Read more

Silver Lining from Pandemic, #2: No Housing Armageddon, Probably…

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…the key word being “probably” since none of us have any idea how long the current state of affairs will last, how many jobs will be lost, how many companies shut down, and so on. I did some fun thought experiments on an angle that occurred to me earlier today. That thought? “How much would … Read more

Silver Lining from Pandemic #1: Housing Market Will Explode

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After my last post on triage, which was a bit dark, I have decided to spend some time doing something that will shock many of you: optimism and positivity. Fact is, I’m actually a pretty optimistic and positive guy — it’s just that I form opinions based on facts, and the facts are often rather … Read more

It’s Time to Think About Triage…

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I’ve been having a number of conversations with friends over this past week, as the quarantine situation got serious then even more serious. Some of it was sparked by my series on the aftermath of this crisis for real estate, and others sparked by just general events these days. As I write this, I’m debating … Read more

A Quick Note on iBuyers Pausing

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I got an email this morning from Mike Delprete about Redfin and Opendoor “pausing” buying activity due to the COVID-19 situation: By temporarily pausing the purchase of homes, Opendoor has shut off its only source of revenue; there’s no iBuying without buying. The effect is akin to an airliner losing both engines while in flight. … Read more