10 MUST Read (non AR) Blogs for the Modern Real Estate Professional

1000watt Blog

The is the blog of the new real estate consulting team of Marc Davison and Brian Boero.  Both bring a deep knowledge, and a fresh, often on the edge commentary of the industry. To me they seem to specialize in branding and the real estate brokerage/agent.


4realz.net

4realz is Dustin Luther's recently resuscitated industry commentary blog. If you're looking for information on how to build a powerful blog presence, Dustin is the guy to turn to and 4realz is the blog to read. 

 
BusinessWeek Online - Hot Property

The most newsy of all the blogs I am suggesting on this list.  Sometimes borderline "bubble blog", and not very well trafficked, but it does have a unique perspective and I enjoy reading it.

 

FutureofRealEstateMarketing

A blog hosted by Joel Burslem. I think this used to be an independent blog Joel wrote on the side, now I believe it has been rolled into the Inman Group. You can always count on Joel for relevant and insightful commentary on the most recent real estate tech news. 


GeekEstate

A group blogger headed up by Drew Meyers and Zillow. Lots of great contributors on the roster, but not really too many posts that it gets overwhelming. Truthfully it just barely made the list, but it is still a newer blog and is constantly getting better.

 
Inman Blog

Another group blog.  Real estate tech news is it's focus, but it does have it's share of personal interest type posts. Solid blog.
 

RedfinBlog

The company that the real estate industry loves to hate. It is no secret that the management team at Redfin is a little light in the real estate experience department, but what they lack in experience they make up for that with passion, brains, and pizazz. They come to the real estate game with a blank slate, and with no preconceived notions of what cannot be done they are trying the impossible, and so far they have achieved a few impossible feats. Plus it is fun to watch them blow through their $20m+- in venture capital. 


Seth Godin's Blog

Marketing guru. If you only read one blog, read this one!

 
Transparent Real Estate

This is a real estate technology blog authored by Domus Consulting group co-founder Pat Kitano. Pat's insight into the real estate 2.0 space is usually spot on. He seems to have a knack of figuring insider stuff out way before anyone else does.  

 

Zillow Blog

Booo, Zillow "the agent's antichrist". Right? Maybe. Love em or hate em, you gotta watch what they are doing. Like Redfin, they too have an abundant amount of money, a ridiculously talented team, and an anything is possible perspective that is only available to real estate rookies. Did I mention the same management team was perhaps single handedly responsible for dis-intermediating the travel industry?   

 
Posted by Jonathan Washburn on 01/02/2008 04:24 PM   Comments (25)    

25 Comments on 10 MUST Read (non AR) Blogs for the Modern Real Estate Professional

Man, with so many really 'read-worthy' sites out there, it's nice to see your take on what warrants closer consideration. Thanks!

(P.S. I believe this puts Jon in a nice lead!)

01/02/2008 04:30 PM by Rich Jacobson ~ ActiveRain Community Builder (ActiveRain Corporation)

LOL I often wonder what kinds of ideas I might have if I had even $2M in venture Capital

01/02/2008 04:30 PM by Sarah Nopp, REALTOR(R), CRS. RE/MAX Four Seasons, Olympia WA (RE/MAX Four Seasons)

Hey, thanks for compiling that list.  I've bookmarked this post for future reference.  Happy New Year!

01/02/2008 04:30 PM by Gregory D. Maley - Metropolitan Washington, DC REALTOR (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Chevy Chase)

Hi Jonathan:  Thanks for sharing this list with us.  It looks pretty comprehensive.  I will try and browse through each one in the next few days.  I think it is always a great idea to know what other folks are doing with their blogs... and going outside the Active Rain sandbox only expands our blogging knowledge that much more.

Question ?  Do we need to submit homework reports on each blog to you ?  If we hand in a nice shiny apple with our reports, will it help our grade ?  Please advise. <g>

01/02/2008 04:31 PM by Fort Worth Real Estate - Karen Anne Stone (RE/MAX Trinity)

Great information, I used your info last week to set-up a meeting with a Realtor thanks

I willl be Great in 08

01/02/2008 04:31 PM by Dave Woodson (Indigo Financial Group Inc.)

Jonathan - Apparently, you took my advice and read "The Art of War"

01/02/2008 04:37 PM by John MacArthur The MacArthur Group (Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc.)

This looks like a good list.  I have read most of these (some only once or twice) and I will have to check the ones I have not read before.  Unfortunately <sigh> Santa did not bring me the few extra hours a day I was asking for so it continues to be challenging to keep up with all the good stuff on blogs!

01/02/2008 04:44 PM by Deborah Burns ~ Seattle Real Estate Agent (BRIO Realty)

Opps, I only read 4 of the ten.  It looks like I need to add a few RSS feeds to my list!  

01/02/2008 04:48 PM by Sherry Spengel | Wheaton IL (Prudential Spengel Realty)

Thanks Jonathan

Good links. How do you feel about Redfin? 

01/02/2008 05:00 PM by Pat Baker Real Estate Expert Needham, MA (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage )

Thanks I need to expand my reading material and what a good way to do it . Thanks.

01/02/2008 05:05 PM by Terry Westbrook ~ Realtor(R) Grand Rapids Mi Real Estate Ada/Cascade (Five Star Real Estate, LLC Grand Rapids , MI)

Jonathan,

Thanks for putting this together.....I bookmarked it for when I have time to look at them all......

01/02/2008 05:08 PM by Chapman Realty

Jonathan,  Thanks, I have to agree with JMAC.

01/02/2008 06:37 PM by Gary Smith, Realtor® (The Michigan Group - Livingston)

Jonathan - thanks for a great list - the good news is I read several of these - need to add a few more!  

01/02/2008 07:12 PM by Clearwater Real Estate - Tampa Bay FL Homes & Condos for Sale- Cyndee Haydon (Belloise Realty)

Jonathan - It's bookmarked and thank you for compiling the list.

01/02/2008 08:24 PM by Norma Toering Rolling Hills & Palos Verdes Property (REMAX Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Peninsula)

Jonathan, I already subscribe to these, but I can't figure out how to subscribe to Dustin's. I prefer google reader and it takes me to rss and  I don't know how to do that.

01/02/2008 08:24 PM by Missy Caulk Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Jonathan~ thanks for compling this list.  I've already been enjoying 4realz.net. 

01/02/2008 08:24 PM by Lisa Ryan~Selling Princeton,West Windsor and Montgomery Township New Jersey (Prudential NJ Properties)

Jonathan ~ Good luck with the battle, and thanks for the recommended reading. I'll scoot past them over the next few days! Cheers in '08!

01/02/2008 09:23 PM by Des Moines Iowa Real Estate- Brian Wentz REALTOR® (Burnett Realty)

Thanks for including GeekEstate on the list -- much appreciated:)

01/02/2008 10:49 PM by Drew Meyers (Zillow)

Missy, I had no problem setting up 4realz.net with my google reader. Are you sure you are using .net and not .com?

Pat, :) Oh I have opinions and I am not afraid to share them!

Drew, You are welcome. Thanks for stopping by.  Now where's the return link love???? I'll be watching.

John, Thanks for the tip!  Reading it and loving it.  Have you heard of the book

To everyone else, I am glad you liked the list!

01/02/2008 11:40 PM by Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp)

Jon: Thanks so much for the great list! 

Missy: Here's the feed for 4realz: http://4realz.net/feed/

Let me know if you have any more trouble getting it into Google Reader!  

01/03/2008 01:22 AM by Dustin Luther (4Realz)

thanks for the opportunity to get 25 points

01/03/2008 03:34 AM by Georgina Hunter Maui Realtor (Jim Sanders Realty Inc. - Maui)

Jon,

Thanks for including BusinessWeek's Hot Property blog on your list. It's an honor considering all the other good blogs out there. We've been a little light over the holidays, but now that it's a new year we hope to come out with some worthy reading.

Peter Coy 

 

 

01/03/2008 10:45 AM by Peter Coy

Great list Jonathan. Not an easy task reducing all the great real estate blogs out there down to 10. Certainly an honor to see our blog included along with such respectable counterparts.

Would like to suggest a few blogs that we at 1000Watt read daily to your group. They include:

http://www.flexmls.com/blog

http://mashable.com

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/

The last two are not real estate centric however, they offer relevant news and thoughts that really stimulate great thinking.

Marc Davison
Partner 1000Watt Consulting.  

01/03/2008 11:47 AM by Marc Davison

I've been reading about half of these.  I'd add Bloodhound to the above... they are usually mixing it up over something in the industry. 

01/04/2008 05:33 PM by Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People (Century 21 Network Realty)

Peter, Thanks for the linklove today on the Hot Property! Was not expecting it in the least. Very cool.

Marc, Thanks for the suggestions.  I don't read the flexmls.com blog.  Will add it to my reader today.  Love Guy's blog, but thought it was not quite relavent enough for real estate agents. Mashable is great, but they post SO much that it clogs up my reader so I recently unsubscribed.

Lane, I used to read Bloodhound religiously but recently I decided to unsubscribe from their rss feed, and it was the greatest thing to ever happen to me. They have some great contributors no doubt, but Greg Swann uses so many big words and his posts are so long that removing them from my RSS reader freed up hours of productive time from my day. ;)

01/04/2008 09:12 PM by Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp)

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