The Insider: Issue 006

Happy Mid-July, and welcome to issue 6 of The Insider, your Monday briefing/thought-starter.

Last Week This Week

• Redemption comes through mortgage origination, or so it seems lately. Both Compass and EXP announced mortgage joint ventures last week — EXP with Kind Lending, a new company started by wholesale mortgage legend Glenn Stearns, and Compass with Guaranteed Rate, which, interestingly, is also Realogy’s mortgage partner. We think Compass’ culture and marketing acumen are more conducive to high capture rates than EXP’s relatively hands-off approach.
  
  
• Modular/tiny/3D-printed or otherwise new-fangled homes are having a moment in our inventory-starved market. Two new companies in this space announced funding last week: Mighty Buildings, which 3D-prints sleek little houses, raised $40 million; Adobu, which makes “no compromise backyard homes,” raised $20 million. Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention.
  
  
• MARIS MLS (St. Louis) joined a “Common Data Platform” initiative led by Northstar MLS (Minneapolis). If a simple data share is a dalliance, this arrangement is a committed relationship. Critics often point out that the MLS is a local monopoly. This type of deal introduces a regional, even non-contiguous kind of competition where an MLS or group of MLSs will jockey for territory. Messy and political, but good in our opinion.
  
  

Have You Heard About This?

Old Obsession
If you are looking for a new Instagram escape, the latest genre of house porn appears to be old houses. ForTheLoveofOldHouses has nearly 4 million followers on Facebook and Instagram and thousands of comments on every post. It is pretty irresistible to flip through images of houses from a previous era. It all points back to the one truth we can all agree on: People love to gawk at other people’s houses.

What, me worry?
The Real Deal ran a story last week titled, “Climate change a “non-issue” in Hamptons despite exceptional vulnerability,” highlighting something we’ve been hearing about a lot lately from brokers and agents across the country. Peoples’ desire to get into a home is overriding considerations of climate risk. Areas of the East San Francisco Bay Area, for example, that are now bone-dry fire traps insurance companies won’t touch remain sites of frenzied demand. No one wants to talk about the hard thing, but we think brands that do talk about the hard thing have a unique opportunity for leadership.

What's Inside

• We had an illuminating conversation with recent repeat sellers about their experiences selling with an agent. Check out the video and transcript in From the Source: Sophisticated Sellers.
• Marc dropped some thoughts on the tried-and-tired quarterly market report into the Inside Facebook community this week. What are your thoughts?
• Coming up: We have some original research on Millennials coming out this week. The numbers might surprise you.
  
  

Inspiration Point

Hats Off, Jaws Down
Some of us were initially (and continue to be) skeptical of TikTok as a place to generate leads for real estate. We can’t deny, however, the incredible stories that come up around this platform… like that of Sonja Detrinidad, a successful mortgage broker who used TikTok to transform a plant hobby into a life-sustaining business. Or Grace Wells, the 23-year-old TikTok creator whose viral content has landed her creative gigs with a handful of major brands. Is it for everyone? Maybe. Maybe not. The platform continues to gain relevance beyond the tween crowd, though, which is worth paying attention to.

Quote of the Week

“Only one competitor can be the cheapest — the others have to use branding. The stronger the brand, the greater the profit margin.”

— Marty Neimeier, Author of “The Brand Gap”