Zillow’s latest earnings report reveals a structural shift in housing. Rental revenue grew 45% year over year, dramatically outpacing the broader real estate market. MLSs and brokers must integrate rentals as a core strategy to expand services, protect consumer trust, and build lifetime customer relationships.
A terrific new service crossed my desk today. Strong value proposition. Smart technology. Clear benefit for customers. The kind of launch that usually signals a company serious about growth and connection around homeownership. Then there was Ed. Ed is the local representative attached to the service. Helpful. Responsive. Apparently knowledgeable. But Ed has no head. Not metaphorically. Digitally. His profile photo is a gray silhouette. No face. No expression. No visual identity. It is the horrible epidemic whose cure alludes to a failure in real estate technology.
A headline statistic about agent production is making waves, but it misses the bigger picture. This article explores why zero transactions in a year often reflect context, not failure, and why flexibility remains a defining strength of the real estate industry.
By Kevin Hawkins Brokerages, MLSs, and Associations may not see it, but their agents are already using it. It’s called Shadow AI. These are unapproved generative AI tools like ChatGPT, image and video generators, and other apps, most often free, that agents use to support their business without any oversight. While today’s leadership is focusing on AI strategy, policy, and systems, Shadow AI is already active inside their organizations. And just because these tools are invisible to leadership doesn’t mean they’re harmless. Shadow AI can expose client data, violate copyright, trigger fair housing violations, and compromise your brand’s trust. What [...]
Carolina One Real Estate faced a familiar challenge: too many tools, too little efficiency. Agents juggled CRMs, marketing apps, and design platforms that didn't connect, slowing productivity and weakening consistency. Leadership needed a change — and found it in a unified, relationship-driven platform.
The Zillow lawsuit, combined with the new NAR delegate vote and CRMLS’s disclosure mandate, marks a shift toward more explicit transparency in referral systems.
Hidden referral fees have no long-term place in a profession that is striving to rebuild consumer trust.
MLS participation delivers both marketing reach and business intelligence that independent builder websites simply can’t replicate.
Agents leave because they think something might be better. FOBO doesn’t come from dissatisfaction. It comes from doubt.
Size matters in this battle. If State Associations and leading Franchises that serve over 100,000 real estate agents start selecting the same provider, a king will be crowned.
If the allegations hold, the industry will either need to raise its transparency, shift fee practices, or face regulatory and litigation risk. Agents, brokers, MLSs, and portals should assume change is coming and plan accordingly.
Brokerage, Association, or MLS. None of them are really about real estate. They are about relationships. Forget that, and your people will remind you when they vote with their feet and walk out the door.
