Can You Regulate “Public Marketing”?
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob and Greg open the episode by honoring Glenn Kelman’s retirement from Redfin, reflecting on his leadership style, industry impact, and memorable moments. The conversation then pivots to new state-level legislation in Wisconsin and Washington targeting listing transparency, and whether laws attempting to regulate “public marketing” will actually change broker behavior—or simply create loopholes. Key Takeaways Glenn Kelman’s legacy: Widely regarded as a first-ballot industry Hall of Famer for...
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Compass Closes, CoStar Cuts, TAN Stirs the Pot.
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob and Greg dive into a packed week in real estate: the Compass–Anywhere deal officially closes, CoStar announces major spending cuts for Homes.com, and the recently settled Top Agent Network lawsuit raises big questions about the future of Clear Cooperation. They debate what these moves mean for MLSs, brokers, and portals—and preview the industry shake-ups still to come. Key Takeaways MLS Reset is sold out, with Rob returning as a featured speaker. Compass–Anywhere deal closes, surprising some...
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What if the MLS Becomes Optional?
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview In this episode, Rob and Greg dive into the implications of a future where exclusive listings become the industry norm. They explore how this shift could reshape brokerages, MLS operations, agent recruitment, consumer transparency, and portal business models. With a slow news week in real estate, the discussion becomes a deep speculative analysis of what happens if the market fully embraces private listing networks, how big brokers consolidate power, and whether the MLS becomes a “nice to have” rather...
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Forecast 2026: Mortgage Rates, MLS Wars, and Industry Consolidations
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob Hahn and Greg Robertson close out the year with their annual predictions episode. They debate where housing transactions, interest rates, and home prices are headed, then turn to broader market forecasts. The conversation shifts to industry-specific predictions around lawsuits, private listings, MLS policy, portal strategy, and where consolidation may reshape brokerages and real estate technology next. Key Takeaways Existing home sales, interest rates, and median home price predictions — with very...
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2025 in the Rearview: Who Got It Right?
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob Hahn and Greg Robertson close out the year by revisiting their 2024 predictions and grading how they actually turned out. From transaction volume and mortgage rates to MLS power shifts, NAR’s role, Zillow’s influence, and major industry moments, the episode becomes a candid year-in-review on what really changed—and what didn’t—in real estate. Key Takeaways Greg outperformed Rob on most economic predictions, including transaction volume, mortgage rates, and median home prices. The stock...
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Who Runs Bartertown?
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob Hahn and Greg Robertson dig into the escalating conflict between Zillow and MRED over private listing networks (PLNs), IDX rules, and Zillow’s Listing Access Standards (ZLAS). What starts as a dispute over listing visibility quickly becomes a deeper conversation about power: who ultimately controls listing data—the MLS or the portal? The episode explores MRED’s emails to brokers, Zillow’s outreach for direct feeds, potential January disruptions, and why this fight could set a precedent for...
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How Much Transparency Is Too Much?
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview In this episode, Rob and Greg dive into the recurring issue of embezzlement and financial mismanagement within small Realtor associations. Using recent cases as a jumping-off point, they debate what “transparency” should actually look like in a member-driven nonprofit, whether associations should provide full access to financial records, and what safeguards could reasonably prevent future financial failures. The discussion gets spirited as they explore audits, member oversight, governance culture, and...
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From ‘Raise the Bar’ to ‘Lower the Stakes’: Real Estate’s Consistency Problem
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob and Greg break down the newest developments in NAR governance, the fallout from the failed referral-fee disclosure vote, and the rapid moves by industry players like eXp and CAR to implement their own transparency standards. They also examine broader structural questions: Should MLSs raise the bar? Is the NAR brand salvageable? The conversation then turns to Zillow’s decision to remove climate-risk scores, shifting public sentiment, and the growing political and economic pressures facing housing,...
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Compass and Zillow Play Chicken
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview In this episode, Rob and Greg dive into the newly surfaced Zillow–Compass court documents, a leaked Zillow strategy plan, and Mike DelPrete’s analysis of the preliminary injunction hearing. They also discuss the broader market context—from the real cost of living in 2025 to generational tension—and debate whether the lawsuit will meaningfully change industry behavior. The conversation closes with predictions, stakes, and possible compromise paths between Compass and Zillow. Key Takeaways A...
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MLS Emancipation?
Industry Relations
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player! Overview Rob and Greg break down what happened at NAR NXT in Houston — from the empty expo floor to major MLS–Association policy changes. Greg shares on-the-ground insights from meetings, parties, and conversations with MLS leaders, while Rob analyzes the strategic implications of NAR’s 18-point PAG recommendations and what he calls the “emancipation” of MLSs. They also discuss winners and losers of the policy shifts, potential impacts on associations, vendors, portals, and brokers, and tee up a future...
info_outlineThe Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!
In this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg tackle the thorny question of who should have access to real estate listing data. Prompted by a Wired article about college students using Zillow to assess classmates’ wealth, Rob argues that the real estate industry should move some listing details—like interior photos and price history—behind a broker-consumer relationship. Greg pushes back, defending the value of open data and the impossibility of cleanly separating legitimate buyers from “random voyeurs.” The conversation dives deep into VOW rules, privacy, and what it means to be a consumer in 2025.
Key Takeaways
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Prompt for the Episode – A Wired article reveals that young people are using Zillow to snoop on classmates’ family wealth, raising privacy questions.
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Rob’s Proposal – Rob suggests moving data like days on market, interior photos, and price change history to the VOW feed instead of IDX.
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VOW vs. IDX – They revisit the 2006 DOJ/NAR settlement that created Virtual Office Websites and debate whether its definitions still work in 2025.
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Who Is a “Legitimate” Consumer? – Rob proposes that anyone willing to speak to an agent qualifies, while Greg argues that even dreamers browsing for years could be future buyers.
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Advertising vs. Research Data – They attempt to draw a distinction between marketing information meant to attract interest and data meant to inform a buyer’s decision.
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Barriers and Incentives – Greg warns that placing obstacles in front of consumers—even just requiring a lead form—might diminish site traffic and engagement.
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Portals and Traffic Obsession – Discussion of how Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com measure success by traffic volume, and why reducing public data might not align with their incentives.
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Consumer Privacy vs. Industry Benefit – Rob argues that the industry has no obligation to serve voyeurs, while Greg questions whether we can—or should—attempt to limit access.
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A Potential VOW Framework – The episode closes with a thought experiment: Should consumers need to name an agent (or form a relationship) before accessing detailed listing info?
Links
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