Inman

Real estate duets to hit on tough changes

As the television news show, “60 Minutes,” recently demonstrated with its polarizing program on the industry, real estate is in a state of flux right now. New technologies and applications appear almost daily with the promise of revolutionizing the process of buying and selling a home.

Amidst all this change, a schism has formed between those subscribing to new schools of thought on how the industry should evolve and those who prefer to stick with the status quo.

This year’s Real Estate Connect SF brings together the new with the old for three days of lively discussion, debate and networking opportunities with some of the smartest people in real estate and technology startups.

The complete speaker lineup and conference program are available online.

This year’s event, slated for Aug. 1-3, at the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco, includes several “Connect Duet” sessions, which were introduced at the Real Estate Connect NY conference earlier this year and sparked conversations and blog posts for many weeks.

Moderated by Inman News founder and publisher Bradley Inman, each of the duet sessions will feature two speakers who will be asked to address important issues related to real estate and technology’s impact on the industry. The “Connect Duet” sessions on the conference program feature:

  • Dale Stinton, CEO of the National Association of Realtors, and Rich Barton, founder & CEO of Zillow;
  • Pete Flint, founder & CEO of Trulia, and Russ Capper, president of Prudential Real Estate Services;
  • Lennox Scott, chairman & CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, and Glenn Kelman, CEO & president of Redfin;
  • Craig Newmark, customer service rep & founder of craigslist.org, and Alex Perriello, president & CEO of Realogy Franchise Group.

To view the full Real Estate Connect program or register online, visit the conference Web site.

Real Estate Connect SF will also feature the annual Inman Innovator Awards, which recognize companies that use technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction for consumers and real estate professionals.

Nominations are currently open for each of the five categories, which include most innovative brokerage or franchise, most innovative real estate blog, most innovative technology, most innovative real estate media site, and most innovative Web service. In addition, one individual who embodies the spirit of innovation in real estate is honored each year.

The submission deadline is June 15; finalists for each category will be announced after June 25 and the winners will be revealed Aug. 1 in San Francisco.

Past winners of the Inman Innovator Awards include: Real Living, The New York Times, Curbed.com, Google Earth, Cendant, ZipRealty, Weichert Realtors, UrbanDigs.com, PropertyShark, RE/MAX International and Trulia. The awards have been presented at Real Estate Connect SF since 1997.

To nominate your company or service, fill out the online application at this link.