If you read this blog, you likely know I’ve been working on Horizon for the better part of a year. The starting point is Couchsurfing/AirBnB within your own trusted network; but the long term vision is trusted contacts by location. We may be crazy, but we believe Horizon is…

Here’s a rough prediction for what will take the place in the listing syndication arena after the “ListHub-Zillow divorce” (for more analysis on the deal, read Rob Hahn’s thoughts here and here): Zillow will continue to invest in their listing management and reporting dashboard. Brokers & MLS’…

Some of you may have seen this NBPP (National Broker Public Portal) proposal: http://thedataadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/NBPP-Tech-Committee-Report-Saul-Klein.pdf A few thoughts: This just sounds like rebuilding Zillow, 10 years late. How exactly will such a portal attract buyers away from zillow/trulia? What’s different/unique? Note Cyberhomes for an example of how that…

Just in time for the holiday season, Redfin completed a $70.9 million round.

To build a real estate portal, the standard strategy is collect lots of listing data. Or you could try the “AVM abroad” strategy (Zillow for country X). I’ve written about data sources before (MLS listing data, public property data, and other free datasets). Unfortunately, virtually no country in the world has the required…

I’m sure many of you read about the Hacker News for real estate idea. Duke Long has executed on it, for the commercial real estate (CRE) space. For those interested in the commercial side of the industry, take a look here: http://cre.buzz/

There is a new iOS real estate app you’ll probably hear about soon. Houseline (iOS download) It’s Jon Washburn’s (one of ActiveRain co-founders) new startup. Take a look. And yes, I think this is a good idea as witnessed by this.

I saw a sponsored post on GeekWire today, titled America’s Best Communities. I clicked, since COMMUNITY is what I think about all day, everyday (building Horizon) — and community in a real estate context is something I have a fair amount of experience with. (I’m sure…

Via Seth Godin: One reason people who spend a lot of time thinking about and working on a problem or a craft seem to find breakthroughs more often than everyone else is that they’ve failed more often than everyone else. What problem do you care…

I’m not going to write an essay, but I wanted to briefly follow up to Joel’s post, and Matthew’s response about the future of IDX. From Matthew: Agents need to own their success online, not rent it. To do that, they’ll need mobile technology that’s widely…