Was just sent this article on The Information by a reader, which says that Opendoor has laid off more than 600 people today: Home-buying startup Opendoor laid off more than 600 employees Wednesday, one of the deepest cuts from a private tech firm since the coronavirus outbreak sent the economy into a tailspin. The layoffs … Read more
I had a conversation with a friend in the industry about some of the “what comes after?” stuff, probably like everybody else in the real estate business. While most of the “what comes afterwards?” was a bit of a downer, there was one thing we both agreed is a positive. We both believe that we … Read more
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
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
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
…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
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
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
So here we are in the Brave New World of quarantines, lockdowns and barely contained (?) panic. May it be short, as it is simply unsustainable over the long haul. Activity will be grinding to a halt if it hasn’t already. We all know the main stories in the news — stock market plummeting, the … Read more