I had heard that CMLS had retained two former DOJ and FTC attorneys to help them draft a white paper laying out all of the reasons why the MLS is a force for good in the world, and Inman News published confirmation in this story: In order to do this, Batts and Carson are working … Read more
My last post made it pretty apparent that contrary to my expectations, most of the real estate industry remains completely ignorant of what the U.S. government is attempting to do with its latest fight against real estate commissions. I thought maybe 50% of REALTORS were aware of the civil lawsuits and the DOJ/FTC action; most … Read more
I was at Inman doing the #lobbycon thing when Opendoor and Zillow both released their 2Q/2022 earnings. So I saw the news about the multi-year exclusive partnership on the iPhone, then couldn’t really look into it until the weekend. While there are other interesting tidbits in both earnings reports and the discussions from the management … Read more
It appears that Opendoor has preemptively caved in to the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing to a consent order. As is usually the case, the Complaint was filed along with the Consent Order agreement earlier today. I initially thought, “Oh wow, this is bad for Opendoor.” Then I read the Complaint and the Consent Order, and … Read more
I’m working on a number of presentations these days, and a big chunk of them are me playing economist. I am pointedly and proudly not an economist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Actually, no, I can’t remember the last time I stayed at a Holiday Inn of any kind, … Read more
Tyler Okland, Stanford-educated surgeon and Opendoor bull, who I interviewed in a Notorious POD a few weeks ago, has published an eye-opening article on Datadoor.io, the company he founded to track Opendoor’s iBuying operations. You should read the whole thing, because it’s excellent and filled with real data. Since I too am a big Opendoor … Read more
I had originally planned on the Four Horsemen series to be five parts: the four Horsemen, plus a wrap-up laying out the consequences for the real estate industry. But as I mentioned in part 5, a couple of you have asked for a slightly medium-to-longer term post-apocalypse outlook on the industry. Once the dust settles, … Read more
At last, we come to the end of this dismal series. While it has been dismal, some of your emails and private messages have been very kind and encouraging. Dark these thoughts may be, but some of you share them and there is a comfort in knowing we’re not alone. (Update: but see below in … Read more
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, … Read more