The best Inman stories from 2015: staff picks

It’s a good thing stories aren’t children, because writers (and editors, and publishers) definitely have their favorites.

These weren’t necessarily the most-read or most popular stories on Inman this year, but they were the ones we liked the best, both self-written and penned by our colleagues. Enjoy!

Amber Taufen‘s top stories of 2015:

Rupert Murdoch playing hardball with Zillow

How will nationwide marriage equality ruling affect real estate?

Why the next great real estate innovation won’t be visible

How one brokerage generates 80% of its leads using content marketing

Zillow Group claims 5 percent ‘wallet share’ of agent advertising

A Tesla will not change your life much — being liquid during the next downturn will

The hybrid brokerage dilemma: Why better tech shouldn’t necessarily yield a consumer discount

The script that lost a sale

How mobile technology has changed real estate

The dangerous truth about business today that no one is discussing

The one item needed to sell your home for top dollar

How to execute killer online lead conversion

Dani Vanderboegh‘s top stories of 2015:

5 things Kanye West can teach us about real estate

The ultimate guide to selling tiny homes: Part 1 and Part 2

DIY home staging: Tips from the pros

Selling homes of the dead: Do you divulge their bloody past?

Donald Trump, you’re wrong

6 marketing lessons learned from Donald Trump’s campaign

Realtyperson, heal thyself: Why you should move every 5 years

What I’ve learned as the mother of millennials

5 ways to get more eyes on your content

5 reasons why real estate investing has never been hotter

6 factors that impact the value of a home

Andrea V. Brambila‘s top stories of 2015:

Zillow execs evoked ‘Thelma and Louise’ before jumping ship from Move

Deal or no deal: MLSs talk terms with Zillow Group

Special report: How and why real estate needs to clean house

NAR approves $12M/year ZipLogix deal to offer free online transaction management to all Realtors

MLSs anxious about their role in Upstream

ListTrac’s plan to sell agent and consumer behavior data

MLSs defend ListTrac data deals

Referrals from non-real estate agents can be tricky — or even illegal

Teke Wiggin‘s top stories of 2015:

Guaranteed home sales: A profitable gimmick for many top producers

Special report: tracking systems zero in on what buyers really want

Buyers using app to get lockbox codes, tour listings without agents present

How virtual assistants are boosting agents’ profits — and risks

New payment tech helping renters use debt to cover housing costs

Sex offender info often should be shared by buyer’s agents: NAR, attorneys
Meet social agents, real estate’s new middlemen

Special report: the bottom line on online leads

Should real estate agents drive fancy cars?

Gill South‘s top stories of 2015:

Inside Ben Kinney’s flourishing real estate empire

DJ Grubb winning with a traditional real estate model

Zillow whistleblower revealed

Behind-the-scenes look at the Zillow/Trulia/News Corp. listings battle

Realogy and PHH alter joint venture terms as MSA debate heats up

8 ways Google is circling real estate

Biggest US brokerage puts its listing portal on ice

Brad Inman‘s top stories of 2015:

Zillow closes Trulia acquisition

Upstream and Broker Public Portal projects are announced

Housing market gains momentum

TRID takes effect

Hybrid brokers in the spotlight

Zillow acquires dotloop