I’m not sure how to reflect on 2025, other than to say we’ve seen this before: lawsuits, discount brokerage plays, rough fundraising waters, M&A, and AI upheaval. David Bluhm’s 2025 “more of the same” prediction was spot on.

Here’s a snapshot of the most notable industry dynamics that played out:

Anywhere-Compass: There is no question the Compass merger with Anywhere was the largest industry development of the year, at least on the residential side. ❇️The bombshell of bombshells❇️  marks the beginning of domination of big brokerage shops and private listings chaos (and portal turmoil as a byproduct). Short of regulatory approval stopping the train from reaching its final destination, the impact of this deal will reach every corner of the industry.

Redfin-Rocket: ❇️ Rocket’s array of financing tech and expertise plus Redfin’s 2,200 agents leapfrogged Zillow in the quest to deliver a “housing super app.”❇️  Can independent brokers across the country survive in the future without being attached at the hip to a mortgage/title/closing engine? Not likely.

Lawsuits Galore: From the Compass-Zillow suit to the Beagle Labs-Appfolio showdown to FTC versus Zillow and Redfin to DOJ versus RealPage, 2025 was the year of proptech legal wars. If there’s one thing I hope for 2026, it’s that companies decide enough is enough with the legal skirmishes already. If we’re talking lawsuits in 2026 reflections, I won’t be a happy camper. That said, something tells me, I will be an unhappy camper come next January…

Rise of Gemini: The launch of Gemini 3 was a turning point in the AI war. The data advantage Google has is beyond immense. Another example of the reality that being first (at anything) doesn’t guarantee victory. One small data point is that GEM has since switched all our image generation from OpenAI’s DALL-E to Gemini’s Nano Banana Pro.

Opendoor Reboot: It wouldn’t be right to exclude ❇️ the Opendoor upheaval❇️  as one of the biggest stories of 2025. In fact, if I open X, it’s literally impossible to avoid—as I’m flooded with Opendoor commentary every time I open my feed. The company is ❇️ going back to its origins of bypassing the agent in the transaction❇️ . And ❇️ my wager is on home management being part of the play❇️ .

Robotics as a Service in Construction: The end-to-end home/building manufacturer playbook ❇️ Katerra❇️  and ❇️ Veev❇️  tried didn’t work. It’s now a game of empower the local builders and AEC firms with advanced robotics to drive efficiency and cost reductions, with BotBuilt and Auar as shining examples.

You’ll have to click in to read the full win/lose/draw verdicts and corresponding reflections. The high level recap on how we fared…

Overall 2025 Proptech Trend Score: 9-4-5
Overall 2025 Proptech Predictions Score: 2-2

And, with that, time to oil the machines and get to it…

Head over to our Crystal platform to read the full verdicts and reflections…

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