Side CEO says independents are the future, launches SideOS

While much of the housing industry is focused on the current wave of consolidation consuming the space, real estate brokerage Side is placing its bet on local and regional independent brokerages being the future of the industry. “The prevailing narrative in the industry today is that there are going to be two or three brands that dominate real estate forever. This is not the future of the industry we want to see,” Guy Gal, the co-founder and CEO of Side, said. “At Side, we are investing in the other side of that narrative — in local, community boutique, that is what we are investing in, and we are looking to rally and organize the industry accordingly.” The launch of SideOS Part of this mission is the recent launch of SideOS. On the one hand, SideOS is the same operating platform that runs the back offices of more than 600 real estate companies that are already a part of Side, but now firms no longer have to be brokered by Side have access to the technology. In late July, the company announced that the SideOS platform was now available for large independent and franchise-affiliated brokerages that want to keep their own brand, license and leadership, marking the first time Side has...