Real estate appraisers — the people who value homes before a bank hands out a mortgage — could be in danger of having their jobs wiped out by technological advances. Just as farm workers lost jobs to machinery, and robots killed off factory-based work, automation is creeping into home appraisal. Zillow Group claims it has developed algorithms that can both gather facts about neighborhood values, but also more nuanced price indicators — like whether or not a living room... [read more]

When it launched in 2004, online real estate brokerage Redfin blazed a trail for companies such as Findwell, Compass, TripleMint, ZipRealty and LG Fairmont. But while it’s been expanding steadily and increasing revenues — it was involved in the sale of 75,000 homes worth more than $40 billion since its launch through the end of 2016 — the company is still far from profitable. Now, as Redfin gears up to go public, real estate insiders say the success or failure of the... [read more]