Follow-Up to the Redfin Post-IPO Post: BooM!

I had planned on my second post about Redfin to be its potential impact on Associations, MLS and maybe tech vendors. But you know, this whole Redfin thing is sorta big news in certain circles — tech and finance journalists as an example — and there have been a couple of interesting articles on Redfin … Read more

The Impact of Redfin Post-IPO: Part 1 – Brokerages

Since I wrote most of the last post about Redfin’s IPO off-the-cuff without thinking too hard, I promised I would have something more substantive on Redfin’s IPO and the possible impact. Well, as it happens, I’m writing up a fairly significant white paper on the future of brokerage and this goes right to the heart of … Read more

Random Thoughts on Redfin Going Public

I have been waiting, wanting, hoping for Redfin to go public for a few years now. For a bunch of reasons, mostly having to do with getting another company in real estate to have to report publicly about their operations and their numbers. Well, my wish has been granted. Redfin just filed its S-1 to … Read more

Are Investor Offers Always Worse?

I’ve been in the mountains of North Carolina the last couple of weeks with intermittent internet service and zero cell coverage. So obviously, blogging was nonexistent. I barely responded to emails, to be honest. One interesting conversation I had with Sunny around the campfire, though, was whether investor offers are always and everywhere worse than … Read more

Random Musings: FSBO and the MLS, NAR Mandates Syndication, and Googlicious Horror

I’m packing for a two-day road trip, after which I will be in the mountains of North Carolina as opposed to the swamps of Houston for a couple of weeks. But I wanted to share a couple of random semi-amusing thoughts I’ve had in the last couple of days. Maybe you’ll find them amusing as … Read more

Zillow Fever Strikes Again! Instant Offer Triggers Insecure Agents

One of the more amusing things about the real estate industry in the 21st century is the extent to which Zillow triggers some folks to heights of lunacy otherwise seen only in the more extreme social justice warrior types. If Zillow bought Coca-Cola tomorrow, some people would immediately switch to Pepsi. The latest fracas involving … Read more

Star Trek, Star Wars, and Real Estate: Failure of the Imagination

I was stuck at the airport last week with the fifth flight delay in two days (courtesy of United Airlines). The upside to all that downtime? I got a chance to think through something swirling in my subconscious for a while – the parallels that exist between technology in science fiction and technology in the … Read more

Understanding Opendoor’s Mortgage Brokerage Move

Regular readers know that I have said that Opendoor could be the most important company in real estate. My reasoning was that Opendoor looked to be trying to revolutionize the single biggest painful aspect of buying a home: the mortgage. Here’s what I wrote: So yeah, I think Opendoor is about revolutionizing the entire culture around how homes … Read more

Understanding Opendoor’s Mortgage Brokerage Move

Regular readers know that I have said that Opendoor could be the most important company in real estate. My reasoning was that Opendoor looked to be trying to revolutionize the single biggest painful aspect of buying a home: the mortgage. Here’s what I wrote: So yeah, I think Opendoor is about revolutionizing the entire culture around how homes … Read more