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Tag: Real estate companies (page 1 of 1)

March 26, 2008

Jerry Rubin Died A Stockbroker

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Real Estate Broker

Author website

The point of my title might not be obvious, and it’s not meant to discount youthful exuberance — God knows we need youthful exuberance. However, Peter Pan and Michael Jackson aside, we all grow up. What does that mean — grow up? I take its meaning as maturation, becoming wiser, thinking long term, becoming responsible to self and others.

Organizations, even countries, like individuals, seem to go through the growing up process — from infancy, to childhood to adolescence to young adulthood to middle age to the twilight years. If companies and countries can continuously reinvent themselves between young adulthood and middle age that’s a good thing. The analogy with individuals breaks down here, for the most part, because individuals can only “remodel” so much before the realities of age take over completely. However, individuals can stay fresh in mind and spirit for quite a long time through constant learning, reflection and openness. This freshness of mind and spirit coupled with maturity and wisdom is an attractive combination in individuals — these are the people I gravitate towards.

RE internet companies seem to be in their mid twenties. There is an emphasis, a feel, a persona, if you will, of “youth” with companies like Redfin, Zillow, Trulia and the rest. What is their phiolosphy? It’s like most 20 somethings; it’s a mixture of style, doing good, distrust of tradition, worship of change, but very little mature, rational long term vision. Unlike Realtor.com, they play their music loud, dress in t shirts and jeans, talk funny and love to give stuff away to their buds.

They are the RE version of Google starting out, just doing stuff with no business model, having fun, being different with an attitude and declaring like grandiose young mini-gods they will “Do No Evil“. Oh, I’m sure there are grown ups developing plans and thinking about making money, but this is the sense, the feel, I get from these companies.

Do they have to “grow up”? Can they survive in the business world by hanging out with their friends, creating stuff and giving it away? They will make more and more friends, that’s for sure, but Read more

February 26, 2008

The Network — No Easy Duality

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Real Estate Broker

Author website

To clarify my little vision yesterday it will be helpful to explain what I see happening. I see demands for online RE companies such as Zillow and Trulia to do two things: one a demand from investors to make a profit and another demand from consumers for better, more comprehensive information. When I speak of monetization it’s because it’s a reality for them. I think RE companies will be forced to create alliances with local brokers so that good, contextual information is available for consumers to go along with pictures of homes and out of context estimates and partial information.

I’m not really overly concerned about this, it’s just interesting to think about how they will survive and change. I understand the “free” experience of searching for homes without being badgered or spammed by RE agents and vendors of all sorts.

But if they don’t make money, they won’t survive. I hear Homegain is making money and it will be interesting to see how their model evolves.

However, the Network I’m talking about is more in line with with what Greg writes about here.

The Network will not be web 1.5, it’ll be more like web 2.5 and it won’t be designed to feel good about doing good, it’ll be  about being excellent and benefitting consumers. The Network will be about individuals connected to other individuals with no power or control over one another, just a recognition of excellence. I say the Network will be 2.5 because personalization and context won’t be mastered for some time.

So it’s not an easy duality of those who are greedy looking to make a buck and those who are enlightened and open and good, it will be a complex variation of efforts that I think will coalesce along several different lines. The RE companies will compete for consumers, and many will compete mainly for traffic in order to advertise. They will have to offer value and someone will need to be charged. If they don’t offer value, there will be no one to charge. I suppose the value of the Listing Sites will be to show listings in more creative, informational ways. This can be done locally much better, once consumers fully Read more

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