August 2012

The Unproductive Agent Exposed

In today’s Real Trends eMail update, Steve Murray talks about an important topic for REALTOR Associations and Brokers – the unproductive agent. The unproductive agent is both a blessing and an anchor on our industry. However, taking advantage of the unproductive agent may be a great source of new business for an emerging business model in real estate brokerage. The unproductive agent is a great source of revenue. Lets face the reality – without the unproductive agent paying dues to REALTOR Associations, the Associations would fail, or at least be delimited. The nation’s largest trade association, which does the most [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:53-07:00August 31st, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments

What’s Right for Me?
Gallery
What’s Right for Me?

Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation

What’s Right for Me?

A new era is born for MLSs delivering technology solutions to their subscribers: Tiered Pricing. What do I get from My MLS/Association? Service levels offered by MLSs across the nation vary widely. Some MLS offerings are as minimal as a base MLS system, rules enforcement, and a RETS server. No training or help desk (vendor does that); no tax system, just a core MLS. Minimum Service MLS: This is really not as minimum as it sounds. MLS systems today are feature rich and have many necessary features that come standard like: CMA; User defined Hot Sheet; Roster; Prospect Management & [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:53-07:00August 29th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|1 Comment

How the MLS ‘Language’ May Die
Gallery
How the MLS ‘Language’ May Die

MLS Insights

How the MLS ‘Language’ May Die

In many ways, the MLS is like a dictionary. They each contain the language of their respective communities – in a dictionary, these are words; in the context of the MLS, these are listings. The MLS and the dictionary each began as books and have been modernized and digitized to fit the online space. A dictionary does not tell a story, it is merely a set of words. In a similar way, the tools that are layered on top of MLS data give the agent the ability to verbalize data into meaning. The data does not have real meaning until [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:53-07:00August 28th, 2012|MLS Insights|0 Comments

Annual WAV Group MLS Technology Survey – Get the Benefits!

WAV Group has always been passionate about research and helping our industry obtain data that assists professionals in making the right decisions for their organizations. We conduct numerous studies every year to that end and this September we will be fielding one of the most important studies we do, the annual WAV Group 2012 MLS Technology Survey. We started this survey in 2011 meaning 2012 will be the first year we are able to see how this critical data is trending and to see how our vendors are moving up or down in various rating areas. We would like every [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:53-07:00August 28th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services, Technology Evaluation|0 Comments

MLS Photo Fail

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is a rather famous old adage that refers to the notion that an idea with complex meaning can be conveyed in a single image. It allows the viewer to experience large amounts of information in a moment, and in doing so - often have an emotional reaction. In real estate, photos are the most powerful and compelling elements of a listing - they are the essence of meaning. Many suggest that without the substance of a photo, you fundamentally do not have a listing. The notion dates back to the days of Aristotle, [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:54-07:00August 28th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|8 Comments

MRED Gives Company Website a Facelift

MRED Launches the New Look and Enhanced Functionality of MREDLLC.com LISLE, IL–(Marketwire – Aug 20, 2012) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced that it has launched the new MREDLLC.com. This redesigned website gives real estate professionals across the Midwest a more interactive and user friendly site with which to learn about the extensive set of products and services provided by MRED, including easy access to its workhorse MLS system, connectMLS™. This new site is the place to find tools Realtors® can use and to get all of the information and training on how to use [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:54-07:00August 20th, 2012|Clients, Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

Contagion is a New Word for Brokers

If you spend much time around me, you would know that I get attached to words like “curate,” and use them so frequently that it annoys the good people who are around me every day. I am working on that. I have been a student of the effort to develop, to launch, and to save the Euro. A currency sharing standard among nations is more serious, and more important than a data sharing standard. However, in many ways real estate data sharing standards are analogous. I love some of the terminology used by economists and leaders to talk about the [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:54-07:00August 17th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

Great Companies Execute Effectively

Marilyn Wilson's post yesterday set off a storm. The DMV, known for its historically horrid service experience has changed their ways. They do a good job, at least here in San Luis Obsipo, CA. When WAV Group is providing strategic planning support to an MLS, Association, Technology company, or broker - we measure stuff. There is usually a comparison chart created that shows a checklist of features or service offerings that compares company or product A vs. company or product B, C, and D. This is an important exercise and the information drawn from this type of benchmarking is helpful [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:54-07:00August 16th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, MLS Insights, Product Management, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

Who Has Better Service – Real Estate or the DMV?

So here’s a good one for you…isn’t the DMV one of those organizations that everyone just loves to hate? These bureaucratic organizations have been the brunt of many jokes over the years. They’re known for their rude and inefficient people and processes, right? I say, not so fast, though. We love to criticize them, but guess what? The DMV in California now sends customer satisfaction surveys out to their recent “guests”. In the California DMV they have implemented a ticketing system that makes it easy to get in and out of the office quickly. Why? Because they listened to their [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:54-07:00August 13th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights, Suveys and Research|3 Comments

RE Technology weekly traffic

In a way, RE Technology is a sand box for WAV Group. We get the opportunity to look at patterns of behavior and communications among real estate agents and brokers on a macro level and a micro level. Recently, we began to modify activities to determine how it may impact RE Technology readership. Our latest test was to change the time that the RE Technology daily digest goes out. The RE Technology daily digest is an interesting communication tool. Only agents who opt into getting the RE Technology newsletter receive it. Most agents choose to access RE Technology content through the message [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:54-07:00August 10th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights, Product Management, Technology Evaluation|0 Comments

WAV Group White Paper: Brokers Missing Their Customers

Many real estate brokers believe that search engine optimization is a key tactic to master in their online strategy. There is a tendency to use statistics to make assumptions about your search engine optimization strategy that can lead you astray and have you investing your efforts and marketing dollars ineffectively. We all know the NAR research. 35% of buyers and 40% of sellers start their home search online. This is a totally misunderstood statistic. It does not tell us where the consumer starts their search online. Do not assume that it is a search engine like google, MSN, AOL, or [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:55-07:00August 9th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

dotLoop and Trulia partner up

Press Release: SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Aug 01, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- INMAN CONNECT -- dotloop, the first real estate software company that eliminates paperwork and Trulia, a leading online marketplace for homebuyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals, today announced a partnership to simplify the real estate process from search to close. As part of the partnership program, Trulia and dotloop will jointly promote their online real estate services to agents and homebuyers. Under the partnership, Trulia and dotloop will jointly promote both services to member agents, and help simplify real estate transactions by bringing the process online. More [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:55-07:00August 2nd, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments