Tech Nest: The Proptech Podcast Nate Smoyer

Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research, joins Tech Nest today to discuss real estate data and some of the myths around mortgage rate lock-ins.
Altos Research offers local and national real estate data to financial institutions, real estate pros, and investors. Simonsen reveals that the lock-in effect started in 2014, not 2022, due to falling mortgage rates making homeowners hesitant to sell. He highlights the importance of viewing data from various angles and explains how Altos Research tracks the active market, focusing on pricing, inventory, and trends.
Altos Research just recently announced a new product feature, adding pending data to show properties under contract, giving a quick, accurate market snapshot.
Mike also shares insights as to how the future of real estate data will see more sources and better analysis, though affordability issues will likely remain (sadly). Despite affordability challenges, purchasing a home is expected to get simpler as advances in tech could lead to faster underwriting and quicker closings, streamlining the home buying process.
More about Mike and Altos ResearchAltos Research tracks the US real estate market in real-time. For over 15 years the company has provided national and local real estate data to financial institutions, investors, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals across the country.
Altos Research was acquired by HW Media in December 2022.Mike Simonsen is the founder and president of real estate analytics firm Altos Research, which has provided national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country for more than 15 years. An expert trendspotter, Mike uses Altos data to identify market shifts months before they hit the headlines and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Bloomberg, and other publications. 
Connect with Mike on LinkedinFollow Mike on TwitterFollow Altos Research on TwitterCheck out Altos Research

Chet Kittleson, Co-founder and CEO of Far Homes, shares how the company is simplifying international home buying. Born from the pandemic's remote work trend, Far Homes helps people buy and sell homes abroad, starting with Mexico. They offer a thorough real estate search platform, connect buyers with local agents, and focus on high-demand markets like Cancun and the Riviera Maya. 
Far Homes aims to be the go-to for global cross-border purchase financing, with tools like the Financing Finder making the process easier. One thing Chet points out is that despite all the possibilities with technology, agents remain a vital part of the equation when it comes to buying real estate both abroad and domestically.
More about Chet and Far HomesFar Homes is a real estate company that is making it easier to find and buy homes in international destinations in a world where more and more people can live and work anywhere. Founded by real estate industry veterans in 2022, the company is working to simplify the international home-buying and selling experience through a technology-powered marketplace. Far Homes has built a database of pre and new-construction, and existing homes for sale making it easy to find the home you want. The company has a bilingual customer service team who respond quickly, and a network of local, multi-lingual partner agents with experience helping buyers from outside the country navigate the home buying and selling process.
Far Homes has raised more than $2 million from PSL Ventures, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, and DoorDash co-founder Evan Moore, among others.
Chet is the CEO of Far Homes, a US-based real estate start-up focused on simplifying the international home-buying experience. Chet started Far Homes in 2022 when the rise of remote work gave more people than ever the opportunity to live and work anywhere in the world, dramatically increasing the need for support in finding and buying a home in another country. 
Prior to starting Far Homes, Chet spent 6 years at Redfin where he first led New Ventures, building off his strong background in partnerships to create millions of dollars in high-margin revenue before becoming the GM of Marketplaces. 
Connect with ChetFollow Far Homes on TwitterCheck out Far Homes

This week's engaging interview is with Stephen "Capz" Capezza, President of Side. Stephen shares his journey in real estate and provides a deep dive into Side's unique brokerage-as-a-service model. Side is a true pioneer in the real estate brokerage space as the only brokerage-as-a-service platform. The success of this platform can be seen based on the industry recognition many of their agents have achieved, including lists from Real Trends.
Stephen shares his experience and what he's witnessed throughout his decade-plus tenure, leading real estate technology teams, the trends that have come and gone, and what's needed now for brokers to be successful. Tune in for an enlightening conversation about the future of real estate for agents and brokerages.
More about Stephen and SideSide is the pioneer and the industry’s only real estate brokerage-as-a-service platform that empowers the very best agents, teams and indie brokers to create and grow their own companies — without the time, cost or risk of operating a brokerage. Unlike consumer-facing brokerage brands, Side works behind the scenes to provide our partners with time-saving technology and premier support services. This way, they’re free to focus on what matters most: serving their clients and communities.
Agents partner with Side to help them create a company and act as that company’s brokerage of record and back-office support. The companies that make up Side’s network are locally owned and operated boutiques that are empowered with the full resources of a national brokerage.
Stephen 'Capz' Capezza is President of Side. He has significant industry experience, and a deep understanding of the specific needs of the top-producing agents and teams Side partners with. 
Capz has decades of experience managing high-impact sales and customer success teams. Before Side, Capz was at Zillow Group, where he served as senior vice president of business operations. In this role, he oversaw Zillow Premier Agent, which connects consumers searching for homes on Zillow with real estate professionals. Zillow Premier Agent serves over 150,000 agents nationally and generates over $1.2B in revenue. Capezza joined Zillow in 2015 following the company’s acquisition of Trulia, where he spent two years leading Trulia’s San Francisco sales and operations teams.
Connect with Stephen on LinkedInFollow Side on TwitterCheck out Side

In this conversation, I talk with Ned Murphy, the General Manager at Level M, about the state of the multifamily industry and the role of smart buildings. 
We discuss the impact of new construction on the market, the competitive dynamics and concessions in the industry, and the challenges of hardware and software integration. Ned shares more about Level M as a next-generation platform, aimed at helping existing properties adopt smart technology. 
One blocker to adopting smart building technology has been around measuring the ROI of both software and hardware. Ned digs into some of the misconceptions here and highlights the importance of tailoring value propositions differently, to different stakeholders, in order to achieve adoption. 
Smart building technology is evolving fast, and its becoming more clear the benefits extend beyond resident experience or management convenience. Listen in to hear more about the evolution of multifamily smart buildings.
More about Ned and Level MLevel M is the next-generation smart apartment and property automation platform for multifamily. With revolutionary hardware and premium user experiences, Level M uniquely delivers smart access control, property automation, and building intelligence solutions that are cost-effective, dependable, and future-proof.
Ned was the Co-founder of Dwelo helping guide the company for six yers before being acquired by Level Home Inc. He leads the companies multifamily business. 
Connect with Ned on LinkedInFollow Level M on LinkedInCheck out Level M

In this episode of Tech Nest, we have a returning guest, David Sullivan, on the show. David was previously CEO of a company called Till, which was acquired by Best Egg. David's been working to bring flexible rent solutions to the renters market, and through the acquisition by Best Egg, is now better positioned to do so. 
We get into the challenges of disrupting the property management industry and the complexity of embedding point solutions, such as flex rent, in multifamily. The effects of the pandemic on the rental market and the shift towards renter-centric solutions has changed some things for all parties involved, some of those changes for the better. 
This discussion isn't just about flex rent options, however. We get into a handful of topics such as the importance of building trust and durability in the industry as a point solution provider, the benefits of SOC 2 compliance, and some of the trends moving the proptech industry forward when we talk about property management and tenant-centric solutions. There's a little bit for everyone in this one. Listen in to what David's got to say.
More about David and Best EggBest Egg Flexible Rent gives renters control of when they pay their rent by splitting rent into 2, 3, or 4 payments during the month while ensuring rent is paid in full and on time to the property. 
David is the Managing Director of Best Egg Flexible Rent.  Prior, David was the COO of the American Home, a rental housing REIT, and has spent time investing in Fintech startups at Route 66 Ventures. 
Connect with David on LinkedInFollow David on TwitterFollow Best Egg on TwitterCheck out Flexible Rent through Best Egg

This is the type of conversation I should have had on the show a long time ago. Industry veteran, brand-builder, and all-around great guy, Brian Boero joins the show today. Brian is Co-founder at the branding and strategy agency, 1000WATT. They focus exclusively on working with brands in the real estate vertical including brokerages, lenders, and technology companies.
One of the first topics I was eager to get Brian to dig into was on the importance of brand and storytelling within the real estate industry. You'll hear insights shared aimed at the broker / agent, but also applicable advice for proptech companies. One theme Brian points out is the tendency of companies to talk about features instead of benefits and why that's detrimental to do so.
Of course, we couldn't avoid the evolving topic of real estate commissions. The topic affects more than just agents, but any business that is built around transaction volume and that could be impacted by new rules coming to the industry. Don't delay, download and listen.
More about Brian and 1000WATT1000WATT is real estate's branding and strategy agency. Founded in , our clients range from brokerage, proptech, mortgage, title, home builders and everything in between.
Brian has been in real estate media, marketing and technology since 1997. Before Co-Founding 1000WATT, Brian served as President of Inman, real estate’s leading trade media company, and as CEO of VREO, where he created e-signature and document management software for tablet PCs. Brian has led dozens of companies through complex brand and marketing challenges and leads the 1000WATT team daily.
Follow Brian on TwitterConnect with Brian on LinkedInCheck out 1000WATTIt's not too late to snag your ticket to 1000WATT's Brand and Marketing Summit. More info here: https://1000watt.net/events/summit/