Jonathan Kauffmann

Kudos to Redfin. This actually isn't a 'bold' move as Inman states on their Facebook page...it's part of their core values. Whether you agree or disagree with Redfin's model, you have to admire that they have values and stick to them. Jonathan Kauffmann Principal Broker / Strategy Director www.NestRealty.com

Seems like pretty sound analysis. However, 'all real estate is local.' Some of the markets we study seem to already have hit bottom and are seeing low inventory levels and price appreciation. Other markets are still sliding downward. There continue to be some solid signals in many markets, though...and that's always good news. That being said, no matter what market you are in, you're not going to know the bottom until 6-12 months after you've hit it... Jonathan Kauffmann www.NestRealtyGroup.com

Interesting thoughts, Rob. I read your predictions to mean that you think the industry is evolving and improving? Quick note on your Twitter comment: I use Twitter, but only post sparingly. The biggest value of Twitter to me is keeping up with the industry in real time. It's amazing how much I learn each week from Twitter...which translates into new ideas and strategies for our brokerage. Though I can't slap a dollar value on that, it does benefit me tremendously (even though I've never gotten a 'lead' directly from it). I'm not so sure about your CRM prediction. I think the agents and companies who use a CRM system correctly have benefitted and will continue to benefit. However, the relationship between the brokerage and the agent needs to do a complete 180 for CRMs to make their way into the fabric of our business. My perspective is that brokerages don't see it as their responsibility to offer/require CRM usage and agents don't trust brokerages enough to plug their database of clients into a brokerage-run system. Jonathan Kauffmann www.NestRealtyGroup.com