The theme for Inman Connect San Diego was “The Reset Is Here. Build What’s Next.” By week’s end, it was all about developing a game plan for the what’s-next part.
On stage, AI tools moved from novelty to necessity, brokerage leaders traded barbs — and blueprints for consolidation — and the usual optimism about a market turnaround took on a sharper edge. Here’s everything Inman covered live from the Marriott Marquis, for anyone who missed the fun at last week’s sessions.
Market insights
Zillow economist: Address uncertainty, and win the market
Zillow Chief Economist Mischa Fisher talked about uncertainty and how agents are perfectly positioned to help consumers navigate pain points.
Zillow’s Mischa Fisher: Local trends are where the clarity
Ahead of his first Inman Connect appearance, Zillow Chief Economist Mischa Fisher talks private listings, the economy and finding clarity in local trends.
Ex-OpenAI exec: Housing isn’t a tech problem. It’s a policy
Ex-OpenAI exec Zack Kass told Inman Connect San Diego that housing costs are a policy failure, not a tech one — and AI won’t fix that on its own.
Marketing strategies
Forget SEO. Jeff Lobb says agents need to win at AI search
Google’s shift to AI-driven search is already costing real estate agents referrals they’ll never know they lost. Jeff Lobb explains AEO and how to fix it.
Constant Contact rolls out real estate-focused marketing
Constant Contact launches a real estate-specific platform serving brokerages, franchises, associations and MLSs, betting on relationship marketing over AI lead-gen.
Industry leadership
NAR CEO jabs at media ‘clickbait’ during strategic plan update
Nykia Wright shared her candid thoughts on the media at Inman Connect San Diego, then detailed NAR’s legal rebuild and Strategic Plan progress.
Forget ‘reset.’ Brokerage leaders say this is just the new
Aaron Kirman, Mike Miedler and Chris Czarnecki debate brokerage consolidation, teams and AI at Inman Connect San Diego — and land on a messier truth about the industry’s “big reset.”
Oppenheim singles out Compass in private listings debate
Jason Oppenheim and Aaron Kirman talked private listings and the balance between seller choice and market transparency.
Side bets against consolidation, opens SideOS to all
Guy Gal announced the move on the Main Stage at Inman Connect San Diego, alongside a new founding partnership with Inman 2.0.
Inman’s Golden I Club honors the year’s biggest luxury
Inman’s Golden I Club awards honored the year’s top luxury real estate sales, marketing campaigns and brokerages at Inman Connect San Diego.
MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen wins 2026 Innovator of the
The MLS head has led MRED since 2015, with her career including exec positions at UtahRealEstate.com and Wasatch Front Regional MLS.
Tech trends
Inman and Lofty are building an AI ‘driver’s license’ for
Inman and Lofty unveil Ask Inman, Social Studio and an AI certification program for agents, with a January rollout planned.
Inman unveils new platform, calls it the ‘Bloomberg of real
Inman CEO Tom Bohn used his opening remarks at Inman Connect San Diego to introduce a new platform he compared to a Bloomberg terminal for residential real estate, consolidating industry news, data and market coverage in one place.
Shilo wins Inman’s 1st pitch
Shilo’s sales coaching platform beat out Palazzo and Upfront to win Inman’s first pitch battle, which was judged by five industry leaders at Inman Connect San Diego.
Lofty unveils new AI workspace and buyer-readiness
Lofty debuts Cowork, an agentic AI workspace, and House.ai, a buyer financial-readiness tool, at Inman Connect San Diego.
Lone Wolf’s new AI teammate targets agent
Lone Wolf’s new Talent release brings AI agent Aspen to BrokerMetrics, aiming to close the industry’s agent retention gap ahead of a fall 2026 launch.
