The market is soft, so everyone is hurting. Most homeowners locked in a low interest rate a few years ago, so moving to a comparable house today means doubling monthly payments, so everyone who can is staying put.
Higher interest rates, uncertainty, and slow loosening of zoning in expensive markets means less new construction, so don't expect prices to fall.
It really sucks to be a traditional brokerage right now. Agents split their commissions with their broker and brokers have been getting less and less of that commission with every passing year. Discount brokerages — brokerages that charge agents very little — have been growing like gangbusters.
Compass is trying to get big enough to break out of being a commodity business.
Having exclusive listings on a company's website is overrated. Compass won't get as much out of this as they hope to.
Buying and selling a home in the US is still really expensive. Russia, France, and Argentina are comparable. Other rich countries like Denmark, UK, Ireland, Greece, and Spain are less than half the cost.
High commissions on top of expensive homes make buying and selling remarkably expensive in the US.
Commissions won't change dramatically in the US over the next five years.
The NAR settlement hasn't been the sea change industry watchers thought it would be. Sellers' agents say "let's see what the offer is" instead of stating a buyers' commission and buyers' agents are putting in offers with their traditional commissions.
Redfin shouldn't have made it. Redfin should have died long ago like every other company that started with the premise of "commissions are too high." Glenn Kelman single-handedly made that company what it is.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) listings have made it to the MLS. Homerise, Homecoin, Beycome and dozens of other companies are listing tens of thousands of homes a year for $90-$100 each.
There is an opportunity to create a FSBO brand that doesn't sound like a crypto scam or a weird Beyoncé fansite.
Plan A was interest rates coming down and Plan B was "drink our own urine or our competitors’ blood, stay in the foxhole." I'm glad there was a Plan C (get acquired by Rocket).
After strapping Redfin ($2b) and Mr. Cooper ($9b) onto the ship, Rocket is either going to Mars or crashing back to Earth under the weight. Either way, they need to let Kelman blog more.
Title: in some states (Florida), every brokerage ~~steers~~ helps its clients use their associated title company. No one does it in other states.
Regulators appear to be fully captured in title, so cost to the consumer doesn't seem to vary depending on how much or little steering there is.
AI is going to radically change how brokerages, mortgage, and title companies are run, but it won't change an agent's job as much in the near term.

Observations on The Residential Real Estate Industry in 2025