Biggest Real Estate Shake-Up in 100 Years

TECH IN THE NEWS

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THE HOTTEST THING IN TECH
Biggest Real Estate Shake-Up in 100 Years

The days of leisurely browsing open houses and casually contacting realtors may be over. A seismic shift in the real estate industry, triggered by a series of multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuits, is set to fundamentally change how we buy and sell homes. Find out how it affects you.

New Rules, New Landscape

The National Association of Realtors (NAR), the powerful industry group that sets the rules for the US housing market, has agreed to a $418 million settlement with home sellers who alleged unfair commission practices. This landmark decision has paved the way for rule changes that are poised to revolutionize the realtor-client relationship.

Sellers' agents are now prohibited from offering commissions to buyers' agents on multiple listing services, and realtors are now required to negotiate commissions directly with their buyer clients in writing before even showing them a property.

What This Means for You

• No More Casual Browsing: Before any house hunting begins, you'll now likely be asked to sign a buyer-representation agreement, outlining the terms of service and the realtor's commission.

• More Diligence Required: Homebuyers will need to be more proactive in vetting agents and negotiating commissions.

• Potential for Savings: It might be more complex, but the new rules could lead to lower commissions and more transparency for buyers.

• Workarounds Exist: If you don't want to pay an agent's commission directly, there may still be options (like private sales) available.

The Bottom Line

The new rules will likely make the home buying process more complicated, but they also offer an opportunity for savvy buyers to save money. With a bit of diligence and the right agent, homebuyers could benefit in the long run. Buyers will need to be more proactive and informed, but for those that are, the changes could lead to lower commissions and greater transparency.

It could also lead to a major shakeup of the realtor market as less efficient and successful players are weeded out of the system in favor of those that consistently deliver real value to buyers. It could even lead to a price-war in which larger agencies and conglomerates that can offer more competitive commissions or better service outcompete those that don’t.

So will this change just create more paperwork, or will it significantly change buyer/seller habits on the ground? We should know more soon.

Speaking of Transparency, we have partnered with UlapX to offer businesses a free initial AI readiness consultation to help Commercial Real Estate companies unlock the benefits of Explainable AI in the sector.

FOR INVESTORS
Open Deals

Request an intro to founders - invest@thetech.buzz

1. 🔥 Robotics for Agricultural Efficiency - Pittsburgh - Built & deployed robotic hardware for the largest U.S. tree nurseries, reducing costs and increasing efficiency by 50x. Hardware and AI data layer. Beginning to scale globally. Post-revenue, at capacity. (Seed+)
   

2. 🔥 Quant Trading Software Company - New Jersey - Large-scale automated day-trading algorithm designed for volatile U.S. equity markets. Profitable through extensive backtesting and live simulation. Seeking equity investment for software company.

3. Cricket for the Modern World - India - Physical and virtual ecosystem fostering cricket experiences for enthusiasts and upcoming pros. Data-driven, locally proven, globally scaling. (Seed)

4. ⏱️ AI Agent Employees - New York - Sophisticated workflow automation for businesses towards fully autonomous organizations. Previously-exited founder. Backed by Tribe & Kenetic. (Seed)

5. Outbound B2B Campaign AI Co-Pilot - Lexington, MA - Turn any CRM into an AI optimized sales agent for personalized customer campaigns. Founder previous exit to PE. Notable Angel on board. Top Hubspot App. Post revenue. (Seed)

6. Therapy for Baldness - Los Angeles, CA - Developed by ex-Kythera R&D Leader. Virtual development model and world class team seeking to fund POC study. (Seed)

🔥 — hot deal!
⏱️ — leaving soon.

FOR EMPLOYERS
Job Candidates

Request an intro to candidates - jobs@thetech.buzz.

1. Struck Capital Venture Associate, ex-West2East (Russell Wilson) Director of Special Projects, ex-Phoenix Holdings Investment Associate. Harvard BA. Vietnamese pro basketball player.

2. Lockheed Martin Software Engineer, ex-Rutgers Junior Full Stack Developer. Secret clearance. Expertise in C++, PHP, SQL. Rutgers BA in Computer Science.

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Tools

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Tech

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DEALS WE’RE WATCHING
Closed Deals:

Automated Manufacturing - Massachusetts digital and 3D printed manufacturing startup Re:Build Manufacturing raised $120M from General Catalyst.

Sonic Tumor Treatment - MN medtech startup HistoSonics raised a $102M Series D led by Alpha Wave Ventures, backed by previous investors including Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

AI Surgery Data Analysis - Boston medtech startup Caresyntax raised an $80M Series C round plus $100M debt from Symbiotic, BIONIQ, BlackRock and more.

Deals & Companies to Watch:

AMD - The chipmaker is acquiring New Jersey server maker ZT systems for $4.9b to access its deep expertise in silicon systems and software design for its Instinct AI chips to rival Nvidia’s GPUs.

AST SpaceMobile - The Starlink Competitor's market value closed at a record high of $8b on confirming its inaugural commercial network launch. It’s working with AT&T, Verizon, to provide cell service.

Funding Buzz Watch:

Alpha Intelligence Fund - SoftBank, SK, LG Electronics, Hanwha Financial, and a Thai conglomerate are all joining a $130M fund established by Tokyo-based VC firm The Edgeof aiming to invest in AI startups.

Foresite Capital - The California/NYC-based VC firm closed its AI in healthcare and life sciences-focused fund at $900M.