Another chip falls off Move's shoulder

I won’t try to read between the precious few lines of the press release announcing Lorna Borenstein’s departure as Move’s president.

But I will offer this opinion: I hope the company takes this opportunity to leave behind once and for all the arrogance and bellicosity that has marked its executive ranks since the beginning of online real estate time.

When Lorna Borenstein spoke on a panel at Real Estate Connect last July, I was struck by the carelessness with which she repeated the mistakes of her predecessors. There was the condescension laced with hostility toward others in the space (Zillow and Trulia got the worst of it in this instance); the expressions of Realtor love that seem forced; the defensiveness uncharacteristic of a “category leader.”

I kept thinking “Why is she doing this?” as she spoke.

Stuart Wolff fancied himself a filmmaker before getting into legal trouble.

Mike Long righted the ship admirably, but engaged in an unadmirable sort of Realtor populism aimed at “interlopers.”

Allan Dalton, an undeniably smart man well liked by many in the industry, seemed to think sneering was a good communications strategy. I still can’t watch this video without feeling ill, even though I agree with some of his underlying points.

Steve Ozonian broke this mold, but was eclipsed by the dark shadow of Wolff’s regime. Errol Samuelson, Realtor.com’s current president, always speaks with brains and class.

I hope the company takes cues from them as they turn yet another page.

— Brian Boero