Everyone wants to see an example of someone using your product/service in a way they should be using it. StreetAdvisor is no different. The value proposition for sellers is clear, and the agent/broker value proposition is the ability engage with buyers and sellers who have self…

Want real, honest feedback on the user experience of your real estate website? Go inside Starbucks (or any other busy coffee shop), and offer to buy someone in line a coffee in exchange for spending 10 minutes browsing your website and providing honest feedback. Many people will…

Readers of Geek Estate range from tech savvy agents to technology vendors to aspiring entrepreneurs. I thought I’d share the questions that seem to resurface again and again in my conversations… With entrepreneurs/founders: Can you cover our upcoming news on Geek Estate? Can you write about our startup? How…

There’s a new entrant to the unicorn club: Compass (just closed on a $70 million round). I’m curious to hear the industry’s thoughts on how what they’re building is defensible? What’s their moat? They are poaching top talent from other firms, what’s to prevent the same…

SRE Matrix has $200 million in funding from Takeshi Sekiguchi, operating a discount model in Hawaii and San Diego, and looking to expand (see Inman). What are they doing with all that money? Building another national portal… The brokerage planned to have set up shop in…

I’ve long been a fan of Zillow Digs. It’s been months since I’ve opened the app — but tonight I opened it up, and was surprised to see advertisements integrated into the photos. You can click any of the dots on the image, and be…

The value proposition of HomeBay: THE SMARTER WAY TO SELL. Sell Your Home, Keep The Commission. Commissions, that dreaded topic most love to avoid. (read some of my prior analysis on the topic here and here). The field of those trying to get rid of…

Great agents have deep, deep local expertise — and an incentive to share it. Hence why I’ve long thought there is a play to be made around showcasing local experts. Zillow Advice and Trulia Voices and Localism (check this press release from 2008) used to…

Localism says they are “the first national neighborhood-level news site!” I’m sorry, I’m calling bullshit. Ever hear of Patch? Outside.in (see here and company history here)? Blockfeed? Seriously marketers — you ruin all credibility (aka trust) by making outrageous claims you are the first to do something. 99.9% you’re lying,…

OpenStreetView recently launched (SearchEngineLand coverage). Real estate is a big vertical for Google Maps and StreetView. For the mapping geeks out there, you should take a look. If you’d like to learn more, here’s a presentation with more of the thinking/vision: For those interested in the mapping…