One remarkable year, and one resilient industry 

When real estate visionary Stefan Swanepoel first came to me with the concept of a new way of covering the residential real estate industry we all love, I thought for just a second that his streak of smart ideas was coming to an end. Journalism as a business had not exactly been on fire, and the news in our space had become a bit boring, sprinkled with unnecessary drama and in need of new voices. 

Now, a year after our launch, it's easy to see that Stefan was right. In a time of fast-rising interest rates, growth despite challenges and lawsuits that could change the way agents get paid, the news of real estate is more important than ever. Whether you are an agent, executive, broker or tech leader, you need to simultaneously focus on your business at this moment and think about what's next — all while staying on top of the competitive landscape.

In our first year, our readers and staff have learned a lot. Hoby Hanna taught us you can pull listings from IDX and survive. J. Philip Faranda reminded us that agents should sometimes fire a client, and Nick Bailey suggested that your email inbox might be holding you back. And each day, the news of the moment we cover can be exhilarating, complex and even alarming.

I've heard from many new and old friends that we are succeeding in doing what they believed we were capable of. When I share my hope that we do our best to reduce the noise, find new voices to elevate and maybe even lift up the industry a bit, they smile and continue to root for our success.

As an organization, we are thankful that you have embraced our vision to deliver the news in an impartial and objective way, including the format and crispness of our work. We are obsessed with getting this right and hope it shows.

We are just getting started. On behalf of our entire team, thanks for being with us from our early days, and without a doubt, what will be riveting years ahead.