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…

The Swanepoel T3 Group, residential real estate’s definitive strategic information firm, has hired award-winning former Inman News writer Paul Hagey as managing editor of its Swanepoel Trends Report and industry power-ranking list Swanepoel Power 200. Hagey will work closely with Swanepoel T3 Group Chairman and…

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…

Yesterday I came across Joinery.nyc, another player tackling medium term rentals in NYC by connecting renters directly with departing tenants. Given how crazy broker fees are there, it’s no surprise New York City is a hotbed for startups working on medium and long term rentals — Flip…

I spoke with Jerry at Nestigator while I was in San Francisco a couple weeks ago. Their stated value proposition: Connect Search Collaborate Nestigator lets you build your home searching dream team with your family, friends, and agent so your home search can be a…