I worked in real estate for about 8 years as a software developer for a tech-forward brokerage.

There's a ton of money and data flowing through this industry. There are plenty of dilettante agents who are far overpaid. There've been a number of startups trying to tackle this (ZipRealty, Zillow, Compass OpenDoor).

My cynical take is that these startups begin with consumers, but end up serving agents and brokers, because that's where the money is.

So I don't think displacing the agent relationship is going to be a winning strategy, because buying a house is a rare large purchase of a non-fungible asset which can positively or negatively affect your life. (Not talking about investors.) Just like folks hire lawyers for divorces, accountants to review ISOs, or business sellers hire brokers, there is value in hiring an expert for high-stakes, rare purchases.

This is a great book about the value of middlemen: https://www.amazon.com/Middleman-Economy-Brokers-Everyday-Ma...

However, there is plenty of room to improve the user experience and make things simpler, and this seems like a good start.