Notorious POD: Recent Episodes
Robert Hahn
NotoriousROB is the most respected and longest running blog in the residential real estate industry. Its readers from agents on the ground to C-suite executives are the most informed, most innovative in the business. The podcast, NotoriousPOD, continues the tradition of deep insight, no-fear and no-bullshit of the blog in audio format.
It’s a blend of Rob’s favorite worlds: real estate and firearms. Jake Dwyer of 1911 Syndicate started a unique niche marketing strategy revolving around firearms. It’s a fun conversation on how effective niches can elevate your business and how you can separate yourself from plain carbon copied strategies.
You can find Jake at www.1911syndicate.com/
Follow Rob on social media: @robhahn
Subscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/NotoriousROB
A Hahn Solo episode where I discuss why I'm not panicking despite the crypto market tanking 90% or more. It's because you have to have an investment thesis to risk your money in anything, and I have pretty strong convictions on both Bitcoin and altcoins. Also touch on macroeconomics, housing, and the investment thesis for real estate. NOT financial advice; just my personal take on things.
On this episode of Notorious POD, Rob sits down with the co-founders of @properties, Mike Golden and Thad Wong. @properties Christie’s International is the largest real estate brokerage firm in all of Illinois, and they specialize in luxury home buying with the highest level of customer service and satisfaction in the market. Rob discusses what sets @properties apart from the competition, and where the brokerage market will be in the coming years. We also discuss the macro issues of the day including rent control, politics, and whether we will see a downturn similar to the housing crisis of 2008-09.
You can find Thad and Mike on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thaddeuswong/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/migolden/
Learn more about @properties here: https://www.atproperties.com/chicagoland
Follow Rob on social media: @robhahn
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/NotoriousROB
On a very special episode of Notorious POD, Rob sits down with co-founder of NTRY, Julian Pucci. Julian is a part of a team that is creating an immersive mirror world depicting Toronto. Users of NTRY will be able to tour homes, explore the neighborhoods, and witness traffic as a one-to-one replica of Toronto. They discuss the possibilities for the future using Unreal Engine 5, and how implementation of this software will be a boost to home buying and real estate. Follow Julian and NTRY GTA at: https://www.ntrygta.com/
Check out the trailer we watched during the show at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll9UauhgjdY
Follow Rob on YouTube at:https://www.youtube.com/c/NotoriousROB
On this week’s episode of Notorious POD, Rob speaks with Kevin Oakley about the building process, labor shortages, and the Biden housing relief plan. Finally, they decide whether they’re taking the white or the black pill.
Learn more about Kevin Oakley:
Learn more about do you convert
Listen to Kevin's podcast 'Do You Convert' available wherever you get your podcasts!
Contact Rob Hahn and learn more at www.7DSassociates.com!
An experiment in livestreaming, in which I think out loud about Millennial homeownership, the changing nature of the American Dream, and the Biden Housing Plan that was just announced.
Originally streamed live on YouTube.
This week on Notorious POD, Rob is talking with a fellow bull all about Opendoor, Tyler Okland, MD. Tyler is a Resident Surgeon at Stanford University, but is passionate about proptech and fintech. This episode was spurred by an argument on Twitter Rob and Tyler got into about Opendoor.
Check out Tyler’s Twitter for more: @tyler_okland_md
Read his blog posts at https://theoperator.substack.com/
Twitter link:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Tyler_Okland_MD
Substack link: https://theoperator.substack.com Datadoor.io link: www.datadoor.io
The latest round of news from the world of law and regulations has the industry reeling. I think about why that is, how it's like when reality intrudes, and lessons we can learn from the 2A self-defense community.
This week on Notorious POD, Rob talks with his mentor, Steve Murray. Steve has been in the industry for 44 years, and is the co-founder and a current consultant for RealTrends. Today’s talk is all about brokerages and the threats and hopes for the industry. Join us! Read Steve’s blog post he referenced in our conversation Subscribe to the YouTube channel Follow me on Facebook!
Listen to Notorious POD Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms or watch us now on YouTube:
Notorious POD on Apple Podcasts
Notorious POD on Spotify
Notorious POD on YouTube
Notorious POD on Stitcher
Learn more about Rob Hahn at www.7DSassociates.com!
On this week's episode of Notorious POD, Rob has a special guest! They talk about Sunny’s history in the real estate business; how technology has impacted the industry and whether or not these “upgrades” are really the best for agents, brokers, and most importantly, buyers. As much as the industry has changed since 2003, they discuss how much it is still the same. Join us!
And subscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/NotoriousROB
Follow me on Facebook! https://m.facebook.com/pg/Notorious.ROB.blog/posts/
Listen to Notorious POD Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms or watch us now on YouTube:
Notorious POD on Apple Podcasts
Notorious POD on Spotify
Notorious POD on YouTube
Notorious POD on Stitcher
Learn more about Rob Hahn at www.7DSassociates.com!
I muse about how macro analysts and economists worrying about the possibility of hyperinflation is overlooking the fact that the housing market is already hyperinflationary. The hyperinflation psychology -- the rush to buy something, anything -- is already in effect in the housing market.
*There was a technical problem with the audio. The video I referenced is here: "Is It Time to Talk About Hyperinflation?" from Real Vision Finance.
https://youtu.be/OqyhhCOF2hI
The hyperinflation discussion starts around 33:00 mark.
This week on Notorious POD, Rob talks all things Canada with Tim Hudak of OREA. A self-proclaimed “recovering politician,’ turned CEO of OREA; a company representing over 90,000 realtors. They discuss NIMBYism and how it hurts the neighborhoods in both America and Canada. They also discuss the “Homeowner’s Bill of Rights,” and how to implement it, if it isn’t already.
Here is the Homeowner Bill of Rights: https://liberal.ca/housing/introduce-a-home-buyers-bill-of-rights/
Here is Tim’s proposal: https://www.ontario.ca/page/housing-affordability-task-force-report
Subscribe to us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/NotoriousROB
Listen to Notorious POD Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms or watch us now on YouTube:
Notorious POD on Apple Podcasts
Notorious POD on Spotify
Notorious POD on YouTube
Notorious POD on Stitcher
Learn more about Rob Hahn at www.7DSassociates.com!
In this Musings, I discuss an important and well-considered Twitter thread by Sam Debord, CEO of RESO, where he calls for creating a universal property information repository on the blockchain. While he has kind of addressed the issues with government and implementation, I think he's missing on a few key points. So this episode tries to push the ball forward a bit via debate.
On this week's episode of Notorious POD, Rob sits down with Tobias Peter of American Enterprise Institute. We discuss housing affordability, zoning, and demand boosters. We go into more detail than the US Senate did on Tobias' amazing testimony on potential solutions for the current housing crisis. Tobias tells us we should be subsidizing loans for first time buyers in the hopes of building wealth in lower income markets.
Check out his testimony:
Check out his website:
Listen to Notorious POD Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms or watch us now on YouTube:
Notorious POD on Apple Podcasts
Notorious POD on Spotify
Notorious POD on YouTube
Notorious POD on Stitcher
Learn more about Rob Hahn at www.7DSassociates.com!
A quick Musings based on a conversation I had at NARPM. I thought it interesting to look at the three main assets that come up whenever people think that currency is getting devalued through government policies: real estate, gold and crypto. There are some real pros and cons to each, and I think it helps to think about them as you evaluate each as a potential inflation hedge investment.
This week on Notorious POD, Rob goes in depth with co-founder of Contactually, Zvi Band on real estate, philosophy, and the importance of human connection. Zvi is a partner with Good Sphere, a coaching program that helps real estate agents with mindfulness. They also talk about the history of Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and how they relate to the Crypto revolution taking the world by storm.
Zvi Band's Website: https://zvi.band
Zvi Band on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skeevis
Listen to Notorious POD Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms or watch us now on YouTube:
Notorious POD on Apple Podcasts
Notorious POD on Spotify
Notorious POD on YouTube
Notorious POD on Stitcher
Learn more about Rob Hahn at www.7DSassociates.com!
A Musings where I think about and talk about a question that's been much on my mind of late. The crazy housing market has many sellers thinking they want to get top dollar and sell today. Okay, but if you do, where can you put all that top dollar money? I look at charts, at data, at evidence and wonder where people who do sell could possibly get better returns.
The Notorious Rob is joined by Ryan Coon, co-founder and CEO of Avail, to talk rentals, trends in the rental space, landlords, #renternation, cash vs home, the potential of owning rental properties for you, and how tech can advance the industry by focusing on the individual.
Learn more about Ryan Coon at www.avail.co or connect with Ryan on LinkedIn
Listen to Notorious POD Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms or watch us now on YouTube:
Notorious POD on Apple Podcasts
Notorious POD on Spotify
Notorious POD on YouTube
Notorious POD on Stitcher
Learn more about Rob Hahn at www.7DSassociates.com!
I discuss an article on Foundation for Economic Education (Fee.org) that is generally excellent, but leaves out some key facts... leading to what I think is a bit of a miss on solutions.
Rob Hahn is joined by Drew Meyers of Geek Estate to talk about their network of strategists, writers, and designers that apply real estate expertise to everything we do. It's a fascinating conversation that touches on many current topics in the real estate industry.
Learn more about Geek Estate and Drew Meyers at www.geekestate.com.
In this episode of Musings, I look at AB 1771, a new bill introduced in California legislature to impose a 25% tax on gains from sales of homes owned for fewer than three years. It turns out, the details ain't quite so, and it makes very little sense.
Macroeconomics is a topic that may get some eye rolls, but the truth is that right now is the time when we need to know more about it. Rob Hahn is joined by Taylor Marr, the Deputy Chief Economist for Redfin about inflation rates, investing in real estate, and what the outlook is for the industry.
Learn more about Taylor Marr HERE!
A look at some recent data showing housing is becoming more and more unaffordable for the average American buyer, why that might be, and why it is not transitory or cyclical. I explore topics from macro analyst Luke Gromen, look at investor purchase data, and then touch on the one thing that could collapse home prices: government.
In which I discuss why 2022 might be a turning point in crypto adoption and decentralization across society.
I recently took part in a panel discussion hosted by Elm Street Technologies. It was a fantastic discussion with other people whose expertise overlaps the world of real estate and the world of crypto and blockchain.
During the event itself, we could not get to all of the questions and comments from the audience, and some of them were raising excellent issues we should be discussing as a community. So I thought I would offer my answers to those questions here, to move things forward.
Elm Street Technologies Webinar: https://youtu.be/hSUrEx3w_f0
==
Notorious ROB: https://notoriousrob.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/robhahn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Notorious.ROB.blog
Musings is a solo version of the Notorious POD in which I think out loud about issues in the economy, technology, and real estate industry.
This episode is a bit of an exploration, a weaving together of disparate news items that are all interconnected. I look at data on foreclosures in 2021, purchase mortgage applications, the official CPI data, investor activity, and a few other things to draw some conclusions. The overall takeaway is that #RenterNation is coming on fast. Some would argue it's already here, but signs are pointing to 2022 being a crucial turning point.
====
Notorious ROB: https://notoriousrob.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/robhahn Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Notorious.ROB.blog
I really enjoyed this conversation with Tom Woiwode who is not only the broker-owner of a large regional real estate brokerage, Coldwell Banker Access Realty with 13 offices throughout Georgia and South Carolina, but also owns Seabrook Classics, a high-end custom furniture maker, and Savannah Millworks, a custom wood products manufacturer. He's also on the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Planning Commission so understands some of the issues that builders and residents and government regulators face. With his wide experience in various aspects of building and selling homes, Tom left a fantastic comment on my recent post about construction costs. I thought it would be great to get into the weeds a bit with Tom, and he was generous with his time and knowledge.
We start the discussion with why construction costs haven't come down despite advances in technology. That led directly into a wide range of topics, from materials costs skyrocketing to why skilled labor is so hard to find, why so few young people seem to want to enter the trades, the impact of labor shortage on furniture, woodworking, carpentry, and any of the skilled trades, the pros and cons of pre-fab housing, and we talk about the housing market.
Musings is a solo version of the Notorious POD in which I think out loud about issues in the economy, technology, and real estate industry.
In this episode, I look at a report from Morning Consult on where consumers are with banking and finance, and zero in on two sections. The first section is on Millennial financial well being, which is to say, lack of financial well being. And the second section is on mainstream consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies. Both are, of course, related to housing. Housing economics is at the heart of Millennial (lack of) financial well being.
A great pleasure to be able to record a conversation with my good friend Keith Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer of Nexthome. We actually argue quite a bit about all kinds of topics, and this was a public capture of discussions we have privately. It turns out that friends can have healthy back-and-forth debates and learn from each other. I know I learn a ton from Keith, and I hope you can learn a few things from (and be moderately entertained by) two real estate nerds nerding out about nerdy topics.
Musings is a solo version of the Notorious POD in which I think out loud about issues in the economy, technology, and real estate industry.
In this episode, I answer questions from a listener/reader from Ep. 33 with Jim Klinge, where we had discussed his predictions about the end of buyer agency from market forces, rather than from regulation or lawsuits. A listener, Hilary, had written some great and detailed questions and I thought it worthwhile to give my thoughts on them.
In this episode, I chat with Jim Klinge of Bubbleinfo.com about his prediction that the end of buyer agency is nigh without government action. Jim has been a real estate broker in the San Diego area for decades and has seen the industry change from the ground up. We talk about how the market has changed, how incentives are now against buyer agency, and what we might see over the next few years as a result.
Musings is a solo version of the Notorious POD in which I think out loud about issues in the economy, technology, and real estate industry.
In this episode, I think out loud about AVMs, appraisers and the future of valuation at least for purposes of lenders. I've been researching and investigating valuations and appraisals in the context of Defi lending, and a reader sent me the just published Fannie Mae fact sheet on Desktop Appraisal.
This feels like something that is potentially a big deal, so I muse about it.
====
Notorious ROB: https://notoriousrob.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/robhahn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Notorious.ROB.blog
In this episode, I speak with Marnie Blanco, VP of Industry Relations for the co-ownership pioneer Pacaso. We tackle what it takes to introduce a new idea, that of co-ownership of homes, to the real estate industry, especially to the MLS that we both know and love so well while getting frustrated by it. We also address how Pacaso is dealing with NIMBYism across the communities where it is active, and chat a bit about more fanciful futuristic ideas.
Musings is a solo version of the Notorious POD in which I think out loud about issues in the economy, technology, and real estate industry.
In this episode, I react to a wonderful video from Blockworks called "What Will Happen if the Fed Raises Rates with Danielle DiMartino Booth." -- https://youtu.be/QbyPYy204U4
I strongly recommend viewers to consider checking out the Blockworks channel and subscribing if topics like these interest you. -- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrwgzhIBKccuDsi_SvZtnQ
Since everything is connected, I wanted to weave together the connection between money supply, inflation, asset prices, and homeownership dreams of the next generation.
I truly thought that one of the most significant yet mostly overlooked events of 2021 was the controversy that arose in Missoula, Montana when Brandon Huber, a part-time REALTOR and the pastor of the Clinton Community Church, was brought up on ethics charges with the Missoula Organization of REALTORS. He wrote a letter explaining why his church was withdrawing from a free lunch program with the Missoula Food Bank. Turns out, the church discovered that the Missoula Food Bank included an LGBTQ "Pride" insert in its lunches that was contrary to how the church and its members interpreted the Bible. That led to someone filing a formal complaint with MOR for violation of NAR 10.5 and other provisions, which I collectively call the NAR Speech Code.
Huber then brought a lawsuit against MOR and NAR to fight the ethics charges. The national LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance weighed in formally, demanding that MOR and NAR remove him from membership, and demanding that Windermere terminate its relationship with him. That in turn resulted in Windermere denouncing Huber, and making substantial donations to the Missoula Food Bank.
This small event got national press, albeit in the alternative media, and huge local and regional press even in the Corporate Media. I thought this kerfuffle put NAR in a no-win situation, pointed to a real division within REALTOR ranks that will be resolved one way or another in the next couple of years, and accordingly named Brandon Huber as one of my Seven Most Interesting People in Real Estate in 2021.
Thing is, despite all the press that this case garnered, I had never heard Brandon himself speak about what happened, what is going on, and what he hopes to see. Everything we know is from news stories and from his attorney, Matt Monforton, who has been on various media outlets talking about this case. I wanted to correct that.
So I am pleased to be able to interview Pastor Brandon (as his church and his lawyer call him) with his attorney, Matt Monforton, and let him present his side of the story. I dig a bit into the lawsuit, the legal theories, and what Huber's understanding of the NAR rules are. We get into his experiences and what he and his attorney hope to see from this challenge.
Please note that I have invited the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance to present their perspective in a future podcast, as I think it important to try to be as balanced as possible with a controversial topic like this one. I hope to present that interview soon.
Happy 2022! May it be infinitely better than 2021 was!
I thought to kick this year off with a podcast making predictions... or more accurately, discussing and debating predictions already made. My guest is Brian E. Adams of Hooquest, who also made his 2022 Predictions. We talk about his predictions, which are intended to be accurate, and my predictions which are guaranteed wrong. But my predictions have a better soundtrack, so there is that.
I interview Vince Collura, COO, and Lucy Edwards, Director of Client Success for VHT Studios, one of the leading real estate photography networks in the country, on an issue of some importance in real estate that almost never gets talked about: photography and copyrights.
We get into the issues with real estate photography and copyrights, why it is that copyright is a real problem, why brokers, agents and even photographers themselves often don't understand the problem, and then explore possible solutions including futuristic blockchain-based solutions.
We return to exploring blockchain technology in real estate with a man whose name was the most often mentioned when I asked my audience for who to speak to. Eric Bryant is a longtime real estate coach and his day job is as the national account director at First American. But he is also the head of southern California chapter of FIBREE.org, the Foundation for International Blockchain and Real Estate Expertise.
We get into some of the details about the tech and real estate and where we're at with this technology, what he sees as the real opportunities, and what needs to happen for the industry to get there. As is normal for this series, we're trying to avoid getting too technical but frankly, we can't avoid it entirely.
LINKS:
FIBREE.ORG: https://fibree.org/
Eric Bryant, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therecoach/
In this episode, I speak with Peter Lohmann of the Owner Occupied podcast (link below) about problems with REALTOR compensation. He and Kevin Clark debate the issues in a very interesting podcast, and I wanted to follow up with Peter on those discussions. This is a wide-ranging conversation about Peter, property management, REALTORS, NAR, Zillow, etc.
Peter's Owner Occupied Podcast channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGrk6yRgb0NAOBt10z2VZoA
The episode with Kevin Clark: https://youtu.be/9XvVBvlpAGA
Taking a break from our investigation into blockchain technology and real estate, we turn instead to a proptech entrepreneur who started a company out of personal frustration, only to discover what she thinks is the real problem in real estate: gatekeeping.
Wendy Gilch is the founder and CEO of Sellinglater.com, which is morphing into a consumer education community. I include a video of a presentation that she gave to Customer Commons laying out the gatekeeping problem, and why it affects everything for consumers.
I am also joined by Sunny Lake Hahn, whose experience as an agent and broker helps to inform the discussion.
====Links====
Notorious ROB main website: https://www.notoriousrob.com
For Wendy Gilch:
Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendygilch/
Linkedin Selling Later
https://www.linkedin.com/company/selling-later/?viewAsMember=true
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sellinglater
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/selling_later/
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChAAk97NVzNu9-n_RyNy4bw
Tiktok (Wendy)
https://www.tiktok.com/@laterwendy
IFUNDWomen Account
https://ifundwomen.com/projects/consumer-ally-real-estate
Website
www.Sellinglater.com
Direct Community Link
https://Community.sellinglater.com
I speak with the CEO of Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the largest REALTOR Association as well as the largest single-Association MLS in North America, about their efforts to include blockchain technology in the MLS. As John has long been one of the biggest proponents of this technology in the space, and one of the leaders pursuing innovation using blockchain in real estate, I wanted to learn more about what TRREB is doing and what his vision for the technology is.
Again, as before, this conversation gets technical at times, not to the level of true technologists but possibly beyond the interest of everyday agents. Nonetheless, I thought it worth capturing so we all can understand whether and how blockchain could apply to use cases in real estate.
The Blockchain and Real Estate series continues with a conversation with the CEO and Founder of Propy, Natalia Karanayeva, and the Chief Revenue Officer of Propy, Joe Budelli.
Fair Warning: This conversation is filled with rather technical topics about blockchain technology, smart contracts, Ethereum blockchain, layer-2 scaling, transaction fees, DeFi and its impact, etc. etc. These topics will be basic to those familiar with blockchain, but it will be some heavy lifting for those who are not. At times, we might sound like we're speaking Martian.
But I felt that to understand the implications and impact and potential of blockchain technology on real estate, it was impossible to do otherwise.
Many thanks to Natalia and Joe for their time and expertise. I know I've learned a tremendous amount in this conversation, and I hope you will as well.
Part of the Blockchain and Real Estate investigation series. I speak with Thomas Park, CEO and Cofounder of Reitium, a blockchain-based fractional ownership real estate investment platform. We get into the basics, like what is blockchain and why is it relevant to real estate. I ask why blockchain is either necessary or advantageous over centralized database technology. And we have conversations about the promise of this technology for transforming the industry.
As the country steadily moves towards #RenterNation, the future of brokerage may be in a combined horizontally integrated company that offers services in property management, leasing, and property sales.
I speak to Scott Brady, owner of Progressive Property Management, Progressive Association Management and Partners Real Estate Group, and a pioneer in the combined prop. mgtm + brokerage model. The newly liberated Sunny Lake Hahn is able to join me in talking to Scott.
I interview Prof. Scott Hemphill, Moses H. Grossman Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and co-director of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy. There aren't many human beings who would be a better expert to speak to regarding the various lawsuits in the real estate industry.
We discuss the various class action lawsuits on commissions (Moehrl, Sitzer, Leeder, etc.) and what the issues are. We discuss REX v. Zillow as well as REX v. Oregon, which deals with the anti-rebate provisions in Oregon. We discuss policy as Prof. Hemphill is actively involved in policy discussions around antitrust, technology, and innovation.
This was one of the most enjoyable and enlightening conversations I've ever had, and I thank Prof. Hemphill for his time and insights.
I speak with Jeff Sibbach and Phil Sexton about the realities of today's real estate, how top agent teams are functioning today, and why he believes Zillow is in fact a competitor. We get into a lot of issues including data, IDX, competition in real estate, technology, big aggregators, and consumer behavior. We debate and disagree, and agree, and hopefully educate ourselves and others.
In this episode, I speak with my good friend and mentor, Phillip Cantrell. He is the CEO and founder of Benchmark Realty, the #1 brokerage by market share in the Nashville area. We discuss a sensitive and touchy topic -- the NAR Speech Codes (10.5 and beyond) and how conservative REALTORS feel about the direction of local, state and national REALTOR organizations.
I think Phillip is representative of a silent majority of REALTORS out there who are somewhere between uncomfortable and enraged about NAR's shift in direction in getting more and more involved with social/political issues. I say "silent majority" because so few people are willing to take a stance on these divisive issues and talk about how they feel about them. Phillip is the rare leader who is willing to be open about his feelings and thoughts, knowing that it could be controversial. I can say from personal knowledge that there are many, many REALTORS who are unhappy but stay silent. Silence should not be taken as agreement, or even acquiescence.
For being willing to share his thoughts, I thank Phillip. For listening, I thank you. This may be a conversation we need to surface and have to see if the REALTOR movement can actually be salvaged.
-rsh
I speak with my friend Keith Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer of NextHome, and one of the smartest guys in the industry who follows economic trends that affect housing. He wrote a great post about whether we're seeing a housing bubble or not, and we discuss and debate what's actually going on.
I saw a Facebook post talking about a common problem with real estate agents -- buyer disloyalty. That got me wondering, why aren't we moving towards agents getting paid by the hour? It would solve so many problems.
The way that real estate agents are getting paid leads to a lot of issues, one of which is the problem of client disloyalty. A few others -- desperation, lack of differentiation, not being paid like a real professional, lack of alignment in the interests of the client and the agent, etc. I thought I would muse on this as I've been thinking and talking about it for years.
I get inspired by a Listing Bits podcast with Sam DeBord and Michael Wurzer, and decide to join the conversation by talking about LEAP. I think we're not engaging in needed conversation that might make the entire thing less important about the role of the MLS in 2021.
This is an experiment of sorts, but I wanted to record something where I am solo talking about one of my posts or articles or papers. I chose The Future of Brokerage white paper (free on Notorious ROB) as I've been getting questions about it from brokers when I talk about it on my presentations.
The Blueprint Sessions is a monthly podcast for exceptional founders of exceptional Real Estate startups.
This inaugural episode features Bryan Copley, Founder & CEO of Citybldr (https://www.citybldr.com/), a fascinating startup based on Seattle who is re-envisioning what a city could be.
"We build technology that understands every property's highest and best use."
Their story is one worth telling and hearing.
A collaboration between 7DS Associates, Geek Estate Mastermind, and REACH Canada, The Blueprint Sessions profiles the people and startups disrupting the real estate industry and help them tell their stories.
We realized that there was precious little space for startups in the real estate space to tell their stories to those who most need to hear them - potential investors, business partners, and forward-looking industry influencers who want to know what is next in real estate. Besides the financials and the strategy, we also wanted to explore the human stories of the incredible entrepreneurs who are making our future. We wanted to know, why did they start their company? What is it that they see that the rest of us don’t see with the same clarity? What do they most worry about and what are they most excited about?
The panelists are:
- Rob Hahn, Managing Partner, 7DS Associates
- Albert Hahn, ex-startup founder and ex-Head of Google for Startups Korea (who also happens to be Rob’s brother)
- Lynette Keyowski, Managing Partner of REACH Canada, NAR’s accelerator arm.
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Jacob Faber, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Service at NYU, whose field of study is all about race and real estate. I saw him testify at the New York Senate hearings about Long Island Divided, and thought his research and his opinions would be enormously influential. I believe he has been instrumental in the actions that the NY legislature has and will take, and I thought to bring his views directly to you all.
Bio:
Jacob William Faber is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Service in New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and holds a joint appointment in NYU's Sociology Department. His research and teaching focuses on spatial inequality. He leverages observational and experimental methods to study the mechanisms responsible for sorting individuals across space and how the distributions of people by race and class interact with political, social, and ecological systems to create and sustain economic disparities. While there is a rich literature exploring the geography of opportunity, there remain many unsettled questions about the causes of segregation and its effects on the residents of urban ghettos, wealthy suburbs, and the diverse set of places in between.
His scholarship highlights the rapidly-changing roles of numerous institutional actors (e.g. mortgage lenders, real estate agents, check cashing outlets, and police officers) in facilitating the reproduction of racial and spatial inequality. Through investigation of several aspects of American life, he demonstrates that a pattern of “institutional marginalization” emerges as a powerful mechanism connecting segregation to socioeconomic disadvantage. His work has been published in American Sociological Review, Annual Review of Sociology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Demography, Social Forces, Housing Policy Debate, and other prominent journals.
Professor Faber's scholarship has received recognition from several organizations, including the ASA Latino/Latina Sociology Section, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM), Association of Black Sociologists (ABS), Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), and Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). In 2020, Professor Faber won NYU's Making a Difference Award for his research and teaching on the hidden and unsettled causes of segregation by race. In 2018, he was named NYU Wagner's Professor of the Year and won the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Research Prize.
Dr. Faber earned his PhD in Sociology from New York University and worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Sociology at Princeton University. He also graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Master’s degrees in Telecommunications Policy and Urban Studies and Planning and a Bachelor’s degree in Management Science. Between stints at graduate school, Dr. Faber worked as a Senior Researcher for the Center for Social Inclusion, a racial justice policy advocacy organization.
In this episode, I interview Sam Debord, CEO of RESO, about a series that he wrote for REALTOR Magazine on the MLS. We also discuss RESO, real estate technology, data, and touch on industry happenings.
I have a wide-ranging and engaging conversation with Joe Rand, Executive Director of the Broker Public Portal. We cover BPP, Homesnap, CoStar's acquisition, Fair Display Guidelines, the fate of the MLS, the residential real estate industry, and have a fun discussion all around.
This one is long, but I think quite enlightening if you want to understand some of the intricacies of the industry.
A conversation with Sean Black, Founder & CEO of Knock. We catch up with Sean after his company evolved into more of a platform for the bridge loan model of iBuyer, and get his take on not just what's happening with his company, but what's going on the industry as a whole.
In this episode, I speak to entrepreneur and longtime REALTOR from Toronto, Canada, Mark McLean about an innovative co-equity concept he's been working on.
This is a special pandemic edition of the Notorious Interview, which I am making public for everybody.
With all that is going on, one of the things that people have gotten interested in is the question of security and home protection. It makes sense. Suddenly, the entire family is home, the kids are being homeschooled, and families have stocked up on water, food, medicine, the essentials. Many of them have started wondering, "How do I protect my family in case of civil unrest?"
I have received several questions from friends of mine in real estate who know that I am a fairly serious shooter: I shoot USPSA, IDA, 3-gun (none of them well, mind you, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying), and have been interested in the subject for a while now. But that doesn't make me an expert, so I was leery of advising anybody.
Well, I happen to know someone who is an expert (even if he hates saying he is) and is in the real estate industry after 27 years as a United States Marine, reaching the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant, the highest enlisted rank in the Marines. One of his duties was to do property protection of senior officers, which means the personal residences of generals. There are, of course, other experts in home security in the world, but Jeff is someone who has been trained, who did the work at the highest levels of the military, and knows his stuff.
I thought his perspective would be valuable for people who find themselves worried about protecting their families, so wanted to get him on a quick podcast and share it with you.
Due to incessant travel, as well as my computer dying for a couple of days, I couldn't get this posted until today. But the insights from John Campbell of Stephens, Inc. still remain as fresh as ever, especially as he reacts to what he saw and heard at the Inman conference in NYC.
Take a listen!
In this episode, I speak with two smart and savvy entrepreneurs who come out of the real estate world: Scott Martineau and Brad Nix. Both have been agents who walked the walk, and are brokers who operate successful boutique brokerages. And both are cofounders of a new iBuyer aggregation service called Offerbarn.
These aggregators ("Kayak for iBuyers") are popping up left and right and I thought it would be interesting to talk to Scott and Brad both, especially in light of my recent post on agents knowing that iBuyer is for real. They did not disappoint.
So listen in on three guys just talking industry, iBuyers, changes, agents and brokers, and what is going on today in residential real estate.
In this rare public episode of the Notorious Interview, I speak with Jennifer Branchini, Treasurer, and Sanjay Wagle, SVP of Public Policy, for the California Assoc. of REALTORS about SB50.
SB50 is a bill that is making its way through the California legislatures, and is supported by CAR. The goal of SB50 is to make it easier to build new housing in California, something that the state desperately needs. And more broadly, this episode addresses one of the key issues for REALTORS everywhere: political engagement and advocacy.
Many thanks to CAR, and to Jennifer and Sanjay for taking time to speak on this issue.
We're back after nearly a month long hiatus due to the holidays. In this episode, I talk to Nick Taylor, Vice President of Growth at Modus, a proptech company looking to disrupt the least talked about part of the transaction: the closing.
He's also one of the most intelligent and thoughtful people in the space, and I'm thrilled to have spent an hour or more in conversation with him. So settle in and get to know Nick and get to know Modus.
One of the most interesting and most controversial figures in the real estate industry today, Jack Ryan is the founder & CEO of REX, a real estate brokerage that relies on technology to find buyers for its sellers, rather than the MLS-based system that everybody else uses. A former investment banker, Ryan is bringing techniques honed in trading financial assets to physical assets.
If you have an interest in how technology and capital are changing the real estate industry, this is a must-listen.
A conversation with a pair of economists from Zillow Group, which publishes an annual Consumer Housing Trends Report. It is one of the best research studies on what is happening on the ground with buyers, sellers and renters. Ms. Olsen is the Director of Economic Research, and Ms. Coursolle is the Senior Survey Economist.
We talk about what they found, but focus on Millennials and housing, as that is a personal passion of mine. The future of housing cannot be separated from the future consumer, after all.
A conversation with Jarred Kessler, Founder & CEO of EasyKnock, one of the most interesting companies in real estate I had not heard of. EasyKnock is kind of like a blend between a bridge lender and an iBuyer with a very interesting value proposition for sellers and for agents alike.
Whether you are in the real estate industry, or an investor looking at it, I think you would find the conversation interesting.
A different Interview episode than normal, I speak with Bill Fowler, Sr. Director of Industry Relations for Compass, the tech-brokerage who has been making all kinds of waves in recent years.
Normally, I like to use the Interview to introduce people and companies that most of you don't know about, who are doing interesting things or have interesting perspectives on real estate. In this case, I wanted to speak to Bill about Compass's recent open letter to Bright MLS for its new policy restricting Coming Soon. The letter specifically threatened litigation, so it has become big news in industry circles.
We discuss, we debate, I ask questions, Bill answers, and it appears that Compass's position might not be what one might think.
A wide-ranging conversation with Mike Maher, the Co-founder & CEO of Houwzer, an innovative brokerage based in Philadelphia with a W-2 agent base and a flat listing-fee model. We dive into the history of Houwzer, how it works, its keys to success, its philosophy, and get Mike's opinion on what is going on with the industry, what Redfin's major mistakes are, and where things are headed in residential real estate.
In this Interview, I speak with Alex Doubet, the CEO and Founder of Door. Door is an interesting brokerage based out of DFW that combines W-2 agents with virtual representation to offer brokerage services at a flat fee. We go into his model, his operations, and his challenges, along with Alex's opinions and views on the industry.
I have a conversation with Mark Schacknies, CEO and Co-Founder of Remine, a real estate data and technology company that has been making quite a lot of news in the MLS space. We talk about Remine, what they're up to, and specifically, an article that Mark wrote on LinkedIn called "One real estate platform for all." It's a fascinating look at a corner of PropTech that most people are missing.
I have a conversation with John Campbell, Managing Director of Equity Research for Stephens, Inc. and one of the best analysts of the real estate services sector. We go over his views on the market, on the stocks he covers in our little space (Redfin, Zillow, RE/MAX, Realogy, and eXp) and talk about what he sees coming.
I speak with the CEO of Revaluate, a real estate data analytics company, about a wide range of topics from the secrets of Korean karaoke to bespoke tailoring to data. The real conversation, of course, is about the new FCC rule combined with the feature in iOS 13 that blocks unwanted phone calls. Chris had written about how that could kill lead generation in real estate. So we talk about that, then follow up with a wide ranging conversation about data, privacy, removing the "creepy" factor from predictive analytics, about the future of lead generation in real estate.
An interview with Rick Rudman of Curbio. This was the second interview I did on 9/13 about the new pre-sale renovation space. We discuss much of the same topics as my first episode with Fred Bin of Zoom Casa: Compass & KW Concierge, challenges of offering that as a real estate agent, and the advantages of the new tech-enabled renovation space.
I interview Fred Bin, Founder & CEO of Zoom Casa, about his company, my recent post about KW Concierge, about Compass Concierge, and general observations about some of the challenges and opportunities for brokers and agents who want to offer a cost-free pre-sale renovation to sellers.