I haven’t really written about Compass much, since my 1Q2021 analysis. Part of the reason is a lack of time, but a big part of the reason is a lack of interest. I have long held the view that Compass is a traditional brokerage pushing a tech-forward narrative, but with pretty dire margin problems. And … Read more
[NOTE: I am long OPEN and have been for a while as the self-proclaimed Biggest Bull on Market Maker iBuying in the World. None of this is investment advice or solicitation; it is education/entertainment from an industry analyst perspective.] Q1 of 2022 is when I will mark a major turning point in the history of … Read more
A number of readers have sent me the news and the actual opinion from the court hearing Sitzer v. NAR (Case No. 19-CV-00332-SRB), in which the court basically granted the plaintiffs everything they wanted. This is now officially a class action lawsuit, certified by the court, to include thousands, if not tens of thousands or … Read more
I’m not at Inman New York for a variety of reasons, and apart from a hot karaoke night, I’m not feeling the FOMO yet. However, there is one interesting thing to come out of the event based on reporting on Inman. To make it interesting, I have to connect the dots from three separate articles. … Read more
From The Real Deal: In 2020, the Zillow-owned platform had told agents to post their sales listings on its site within 24 hours of advertising them elsewhere or they could lose professional access to the site. The new policy bans the offending listings, not the agents, meaning they can still post other properties on StreetEasy. … Read more
This is going to be a long and personal post. If you’re more interested in analysis of real estate companies, identifying major trends affecting housing, or explanation of things like web3 and real estate… go ahead and skip this one. This one is for me and maybe, just maybe, for a few of you who … Read more
As most of you know, I used to do in-depth updates for each of the publicly traded companies in the residential real estate sector. Since I’m not an investment analyst, my interest was always on what the public information these companies had to disclose signifies for the real estate industry as a whole. I still … Read more
I think it’s safe to say that I was reeling in a bit of shock and disappointment last quarter, when Zillow abruptly quit the iBuying business. I thought for years that Zillow’s overall strategy made perfect sense, and that becoming the market maker for residential housing was at the center of that strategy. So I … Read more
I really enjoyed this conversation with Tom Woiwode who is not only the broker-owner of a large regional real estate brokerage, Coldwell Banker Access Realty with 13 offices throughout Georgia and South Carolina, but also owns Seabrook Classics, a high-end custom furniture maker, and Savannah Millworks, a custom wood products manufacturer. He’s also on the … Read more