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.

[VIP] The Notorious Interview: Skylar Olsen, Kathryn Coursolle, Zillow Research

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In today’s episode of the Notorious Interview, I have a fantastic conversation with a pair of economists from Zillow Research, which publishes an annual Consumer Housing Trends Report.  It is one of the best research studies on what is happening on the ground with buyers, sellers and renters. Ms. Olsen is the Director of Economic … Read more

[VIP] The Notorious Interview: Jarred Kessler, EasyKnock

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In today’s episode of the Notorious Interview, I talk with Jarred Kessler, Founder & CEO of EasyKnock, the most interesting company in our space I had never heard of. I corrected that oversight, obviously, and I thought you should too. EasyKnock is hard to classify: it’s kind of like a blend between a bridge loan … Read more

Pass Clear Cooperation Policy, But Address the Gaping Loophole

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On Saturday, the MLS Policy Committee of NAR approved the proposed Clear Cooperation Policy (also known as MLS Policy 8.0) as written and forwarded it on to the Board of Directors for approval on Monday. I would like to urge the Board of Directors to pass Policy 8.0, but immediately begin addressing one of the … Read more

[VIP] Realogy, Q3/2019: The Profitability Dilemma

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Earnings Week content keeps rolling on! It’s time we took a look at Realogy, the bellwether for health of traditional real estate brokerage. I wish I could report some joyful news on that front, but alas, I just can’t. Realogy is still profitable, generating good free cash flows, and still making some moves. It’s just … Read more

[VIP] Zillow, Q3/2019: Not a Test, But a Test Kitchen

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Back in Q2, I titled my analysis of Zillow’s earnings, “Going All In” and wrote: When Rich Barton took (back) over as CEO of Zillow earlier this year, I wrote a Red Dot and titled it, “The Return of the King.” I didn’t realize then that the king was not just a fighter, but a … Read more

[VIP] Redfin, Q3/2019: Nice Rebound, And Yet…

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Redfin’s Q3 results showed a solid rebound from a rather disappointing Q2. It looks great all around, with revenues, profit, market share, etc. all up and up very healthy. Agent productivity is up, traffic is up, and Redfin Now is a $80 million business in Q3. So all in all, a very nice rebound. There … Read more

Compass and Coming Soon: Not About the Client

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[EDIT: This post has been updated with responses from Compass, and my further responses to those responses.] [EDIT: I have updated the post once again, with another round of clarifications from Compass Spokesperson.] This week is when NAR will decide on what to do about Off-MLS and Coming Soon. I have already written thousands of … Read more

[VIP] RE/MAX Q3, 2019: Don’t Look Back

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RE/MAX reported Q3 earnings on Halloween, and I can’t help but think there was a lot more trick than treat in its Q3 results. Yes, RE/MAX remains fundamentally healthy and it has some advantages over its main competitors, especially the other publicly reporting franchise company, Realogy, but there were a lot more walking dead in … Read more