Here we go again: a couple of websites have sprouted up that seek to replace property agents. It’s not the first time we’ve heard the story, and in most cases, the same thing happens: the platform that tries to replace the agents will end up working with the agents instead (which happened to us). When we launched Stacked in 2017, our initial vision was to bypass the property agent entirely. We invested in a sophisticated backend system to mirror the sales process and even brought in an expensive 3D Matterport camera (we spent hours trying to create free 3D tours of homes), mistakenly thinking it would be a powerful selling point. We also allowed free listings, hoping to attract direct sellers, but it all ultimately didn’t work out. So while it’s possible that such platforms could replace a slice of the agents’ function, realtors are too deeply embedded in the process, for now, to replace completely....