OpenDoor, EXP, Zillow, Compass: Top ICLV Take Aways

Fabulous Las Vegas. To some, it’s late nights around a blackjack table, others prefer the club or singing karaoke till the wee hours of the morning but for me, ICLV was a whirlwind of conversations, meetings, the trade show / expo, learning about the slow death of Compass, Zillow Rumors, seeing EXP grow like a rocket, Opendoors legal issues, hosting a hospitality event in our suite and they even gave me a little time on stage before security “asked” me to leave.

The show was a blast and fabulously successful or Team Revaluate. And I wanted to share a few takeaway’s from the week that were kinda stunning that were discussed in the halls at Inman Connect Las Vegas.

–Best In Show: The best session *based on what people wanted to talk to me about* was once again Colorado’s Mike DelPrete, who always paints a very colorful picture of the status of the industry from 10k ft then digs into specifics. He’s pretty great and reading data and describing (very directly) what is good and what is bad. His 20 min presentation titled “2022 WTF” video is below <I Highly Suggest You Watch>

EXPlosion: EXP has grown like a rocket with hockeystick curve awesomeness, and passed Realogy… er.. “Anywhere” in transactions to take the number one largest publicly traded company title. (Oh and related, No word from KW on how that public offering is looking)

–Anywhere (AKA the company formerly known as Realogy, formerly known as Cendent) is still based in New Jersey, and yet they could be “anywhere” else. I think the name will catch on, and is a good fit, but there is one small, itsy bitsy oversight. Anywhere.com is owned by a Costa Rican Travel Agency. Anywhere.org is the url for Realogy. Wait, Wat?!? They didn’t buy the URL prior to the announcement? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one?

–Opendoor Deceptively Fine So, last week Opendoor gets handed a $62M fine for deceptive marketing practices – basically the FTC thinks they need to be more clear in their “we buy your house as is” marketing. But while $62M may be a lot of money for you and I, the company has $3B in cash … so thats the equivalent of a parking ticket to them. Will they change their ways, or just park in the handicap parking spot again? Will they make some splashy announcement with a big player in the industry to distract us all? (Spoiler Alert: see below)

–A New Romance: As announced via inman while I was at inman CEO connect, Zillow and Opendoor are dating. After Z killed their ibuyer program less than a year ago, now they are back at it again, with OPM (other peoples money). Seems like a good fit for both share holders – but for consumers? IDK lets see what they roll out.
Quick Q: Will there be a prenup before the acquisition / merger of the two titans?

–3 Signs of the times: Typically my favorite part of Inman shows are to take an hour in startup alley and look at all the new tech, and talk to the eager founders. (Ive been in their shoes before!) Previously I’ve seen up to 40 companies – but this week there were only 3 companies in the alley. I wonder why? (See: Profitability is Sexy below)

–Profitability Is Sexy: Multiple presenters made fun of the likes of Redfin, Compass and RE Tech Companies that are not profitable. It seems that should the economy turn further south, profitable companies … like Revaluate that don’t rely on investor capitol to operate, much less grow – are a better bet for those in the industry. Since investor money is getting tighter (according to convo’s I’ve had and presenters on stage at ICLV) these VC funded firms may not have long runways of operation – they will be forced to raise prices and or cut services / staff to reduce cost, leaving customers on the hook. Yikes. If you are buying tech – perhaps consider buying from profitable companies?

-Party Pooper: Revaluate hosted a get together for clients and prospects in our suite this week. Lots of good folks stopped by. The big bummer? The bartender pulled a no call no show (sorry folks!) Nevermind that… Team Revaluate jumped behind the bar and served up beverages that were consumed like water in a desert. Adaptability for the win.