H
eather Harmon, a third-generation broker and proptech expert, shares her insights on the real estate tech landscape in the latest episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered. With over three decades of experience, including founding four companies and working with startups as an advisor and investor, Harmon knows what agents need from technology.

    Many tech companies fail to understand the nuances of the real estate business, thinking they can simply build a solution without truly grasping the complexities. Harmon's role is to help them see what they're missing. "Venture capitalists often don't get it," she says. "That's where I come in – to educate them on our industry."

    As someone who led Opendoor's mortgage division after her company was acquired by the iBuyer, Harmon has a unique perspective on their success and challenges. She believes Opendoor has been unfairly maligned, having achieved its goal of providing certainty for sellers. "They don't need to dominate the market; just a small fraction of transactions is enough for them to be viable."

    Harmon hopes that the industry's current struggles are not a speed bump, but rather a fork in the road towards a new reality. She advocates for evolving both processes and technology: "We can't just deploy tech to old ways of doing things – we need to rethink our entire approach."