Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the power of the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Each week on The Download, Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deeper look at the top-read stories of the week to give you what you’ll need to meet Monday head-on. This week: As Howard Hanna CEO Hoby Hanna offers his unvarnished opinions on NAR, we’re looking at other industry leaders who are calling for change while focused on growth.

Diplomacy is an essential element in the practice of real estate. After all, we’re always looking for win-win solutions, staying chill during intense negotiations and measuring our words when working with clients.

Sometimes, however, it’s time for some truth-telling and plain speaking, especially from those in positions of leadership and authority. That’s why this week, readers couldn’t get enough of Howard “Hoby” Hanna’s straight talk on the National Association of Realtors (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement and the brokerages, including his own, that were left high and dry.

In a wide-ranging two-part interview, Hanna discussed how he believes NAR’s MLS rules punish innovation, especially in the middle of a tough housing market, while making it harder for brokerages to compete against consolidating rivals with big public money to back them.

He also talked about Clear Cooperation, Internet Data Exchanges (IDX) and Virtual Office Websites (VOW), and told Inman why he’s thinking about leaving NAR and its affiliated MLSs.

“Am I leaving tomorrow?” Hanna asked. “No. But I am sitting back and saying NAR has to get its house in order. NAR has to focus on what they do best, which is homeownership advocacy. And I’ll sit back and watch a little bit and see how it plays out.”

Today on The Download, we’re looking at industry leadership, including those who are accomplishing big things while helping others make the most of new opportunities and those who are calling for change.

We’re also asking you to weigh in on this week’s Pulse question: What aspect of real estate has changed most in the past 5 years?

How empowerment builds profitable, culture-first brokerages

Treat real estate agents right, broker-owner Michelle Valverde writes, and results will follow, including brokerage growth and resilience.

Finding Financial Freedom: How Danielle Lurie paves the way

Coach Melanie Klein profiles an industry leader who helps women leverage real estate as a wealth-building tool that provides long-term security, flexibility and the freedom to pursue their passions.

In a post-settlement world, let’s get rid of procuring cause

According to managing broker Spencer Krull, with mandatory buyer-broker agreements, it’s time for NAR to get rid of the “participation trophy” of procuring cause.

Aggravated agents? The problem isn’t the market (it’s you)

Many agents lack structure and support, branding expert Alyssa Stalker writes, but what they need is real business mentorship, repeatable systems, ongoing marketing education and more.

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

ARKI, a company that leverages artificial intelligence to improve how construction, engineering and architectural systems collaborate, has announced its arrival in the United States, Inman has learned. The company is emerging into the domestic built world with case studies that claim to cut project time by at least 50 percent.

In a statement shared early with Inman, ARKI CEO and co-founder Natalia Bakaeva said that legacy systems are walled off and not designed to coalesce.

“We founded ARKI to address the critical inefficiencies caused by siloed data and the time-consuming nature of traditional AEC [architecture, engineering and construction] workflows,” said Bakaeva. “Our AI empowers design professionals to access the knowledge they need instantly, predict potential roadblocks, and ultimately create better, more efficient designs. Expanding to the U.S. market is a pivotal step in our mission to revolutionize the global built environment.”

The term, “built world” was birthed to delineate between actual, physical properties and assets and their digital doppelgängers that exist in software, rendering systems and other digital formats.

ARKI is one of six entities that are part of a cohort under the guidance of Equity Angels, an entrepreneurial advisory group aimed at unlocking access to critical resources for minority-led startups.

ARKI’s core product enables multiple stakeholders to make decisions using combined datasets from a building project’s major systems and processes. It eliminates superfluous communications, reveals unseen hurdles, eliminates delays, and thus, shrinks workflows while ensuring compliance, efficiency, and safety.

It can process 2D and 3D planning assets and use computer vision to identify and make searchable project drawings and documents generated from all stakeholders, in turn creating deep, “live libraries” of real-time data and content, significantly reducing redundant work, improving risk management practices, improving budget confidence and accelerating project timelines.

“ARKI has already garnered traction internationally, working with firms such as RAW Design, LINK Arkitektur, FWBA Architects and KPMB Architects — a world-renowned architectural practice based in Canada,” the press release stated. “This early adoption underscores the need for ARKI’s innovative approach to AEC data management.”

Equity Angels was founded in 2024 by Kenya Burrell-VanWormer and Katherine “Kat” Winston, each of whom has a diverse tenure in real estate leadership, technology and entrepreneurship.

Email Craig Rowe

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

A little more than two months after purchasing a 17 percent stake in Australian real estate classifieds firm Domain, CoStar Group has entered a definitive agreement to purchase the firm for $1.9 billion.

CoStar Group, with the help of Macquarie Capital, spent $285 million on the 17 percent stake, which shakes out to $2.70 per share based on current AUD to USD conversion rates. CoStar will purchase the remaining Domain shares for $2.85 per share, totaling $1.5 billion. Domain shareholders, the Courts, and the Australian Government’s Foreign Investment Review Board still need to approve the deal, which is slated to close late August.

Andy Florance | Credit: CoStar Group

“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with Domain and to see [owner Nine Entertainment]’s support of this transformative transaction,” CoStar Group founder and CEO Andy Florance said in a written statement. “As one of the first and most experienced digital real estate companies in the world, CoStar Group brings a proven track record of building high-traffic online marketplaces that deliver real value.”

“With our technology, scale and the innovation we’re known for, we see a tremendous opportunity to enhance the Australian property market,” he added. “By combining Domain’s deep expertise with our global experience and best practices, we will build a more compelling user experience at a lower cost — driving greater value for agents, vendors and homebuyers. We will also create value for our customers globally by incorporating Domain’s learnings and best practices into our marketplaces outside of Australia. We are confident this acquisition will foster more competition in Australia.”

The Virginia-based behemoth’s acquisition of Domain, if approved, would add another layer to its ongoing rivalry with News Corp, which owns Domain competitor REA Group, real estate listing company Move, Inc., and its subsidiary, Realtor.com.

Domain is the second-largest real estate classifieds firm in Australia, next to REA Group. Domain’s latest earnings results, which account for six months instead of three per Australian reporting standards, logged a 7 percent increase in revenue to AUD 217.2 million (or USD 139.4 million). Domain’s owner, Nine Entertainment, said the platform reaches an average of 6.6 million visitors each month.

Domain’s digital businesses, which include advertising solutions and three real estate print magazines, were flat for the half-year.

Meanwhile, REA Group saw third-quarter revenue rise 6 percent year over year to $271 million. REA Group’s Australian site, realestate.com.au, reached 12.3 million average monthly unique visitors during the quarter.

Domain Chair and Non-Executive Director Nick Falloon said CoStar is the company to help Domain “further realize” its potential, as its current owner embarks on a massive restructuring of the company’s executive board and divisions to save AUD 100 million over the next two years. Nine reduced its divisions to streaming and broadcast, publishing and marketplaces, the latter of which includes Domain and automotive content platform Drive.

Nick Falloon | Credit: Nine Entertainment

“The Domain Board has carefully considered the CoStar Group proposal and believes it represents compelling value and a high degree of certainty for Domain shareholders, through the cash offer and limited conditionality,” he said in a prepared statement on Friday. “This proposal reinforces the strong fundamentals of Domain, which we are confident will be further realized with CoStar Group’s support.”

In CoStar’s first-quarter earnings on April 29, Florance expressed his excitement about acquiring Domain while noting that CoStar will be able to leverage the best parts of Domain, OnTheMarket and Homes.com to bolster each site’s performance. This move could help CoStar tighten its Homes.com marketing spend, as its newly formed Capital Allocation Committee calls on the company to seek additional cost savings.

“One element from Domain that will benefit Homes.com and OnTheMarket is depth advertising, similar to signature ads for Apartments.com and LoopNet,” he said. “Domain offers four tiers of advertising that offer increasing levels of exposure as you move up their ad tiers by utilizing sort order, larger search placards, and social application retargeting. We will be adopting the best practices of Domain in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.”

“We see numerous opportunities to create additional value for Domain following the potential acquisition,” he said.  “… We will bring what we built with Homes.com to Australia and the United Kingdom and win over consumers. Domain is also a strong entry point into Australia’s commercial real estate market.”

Email Marian McPherson

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Home insurance prices in California are expected to rise for the next two decades, and all Californians should be prepared to share the burden of higher costs, according to an expert panel that met last month in Sacramento.

In the wake of one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history, the recent LA-area wildfires, the panel said the impacts on real estate will continue to grow, and access to homeowners insurance is now a top concern among buyers.

The experts said that in order for insurance to become widely available again, the state would have to attract capital back to the market. The burden of higher insurance premiums must also be shared among all residents, even those in low-risk areas, according to David Russell, director of the CSU Northridge Center for Risk Management and Insurance.

“In high-risk areas, to be able to afford to insure, they’re going to have to raise the premium on someone else. We have a cost-sharing issue,” Russell said. “I’ve seen huge rate increases in my own policy, even though I’m in a low-risk area, and I [have] filed no claims, ever. So, these risks are being socialized, and there are California citizens who don’t want to pay a part of the premium that someone else has imposed on the system.”

Over 55 percent of agents who were recently surveyed by the California Association of Realtors said access to homeowners insurance was their No. 1 concern, more than double from last year.

Agents also said that insurance availability was nearly tied as a top concern with affordability as the greatest challenge facing the industry this year, outpacing inventory and interest rates.

“Most of our Realtors are having to address the insurance problem up front,” said Sanjay Wagle, senior vice president of governmental affairs for CAR. “Traditionally, it’s just been the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and now, that insurance component is really affecting affordability depending on the area you live in…[it has] become a high priority.”

The panel noted that construction workers are being pulled toward Los Angeles, where there is high demand after the fires, and where they can earn more than in other areas of California.

Panelists encouraged homeowners to check to make sure they aren’t underinsured, which they noted was becoming more common, particularly among those who lost homes in the Southern California wildfires earlier this year.

“Altadena families underinsured by millions are losing generational wealth,” said Emily Rogan, senior program officer at United Policyholders. “Purchase as much additional replacement cost insurance as you can.”     

The panel said that both the state and individual homeowners needed to do more than simply buy insurance to mitigate the risk of natural disasters. 

“We cannot insure our way out of this problem,” said Michael Wara, director of the Stanford University Climate & Energy Policy Program. “The thing that is not happening enough is actual physical risk reduction. We need to reduce risk so there is less risk to transfer, and so we can afford that risk transfer.”

Email Taylor Anderson