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So far Victor Lund has created 1342 blog entries.

Agents Love MLS Newsletters

When RE Technology was founded by WAV Group partners in 2010, the goal was to provide an information resource inside the MLS system that would sharpen agent understanding of technology in real estate. We will forever appreciate MRED, MRIS, MLSListings, and MFRMLS for introducing the first 100,000 users to the service. Today, 91 MLSs and over 700,000 users have access to RE Technology as a member benefit. Because technology companies sponsor the service, there is never charge to the MLS or the broker or agent. The concept behind RE Technology is to support MLSs at delivering insightful information about technology [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:00-07:00September 3rd, 2014|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Another Broker-Governed MLS Gets RESO Certification

Perhaps its just because, or happenstance, or not. But MLSListings, based in the heart of the Silicon Valley in California, is the second MLS in the nation to join MRIS in RESO Server Certification. Like MRIS, MLSListings is a broker governed MLS. In truth, the title of the article was drafted to get you to read this article. The fact is that MRIS and MLSListings, along with many of the COVE Group MLSs repeatedly lead the industry in adopting best practices. Its in their DNA. And yes, Anne Bailey does a great job facilitating the COVE group and both of [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:00-07:00September 3rd, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Strategic Planning, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Another Broker-Governed MLS Gets RESO Certification

MyOnlineYardSign Attacks MLS IDX Policy

Generally speaking, real estate business media companies write a pretty respectful commentary regarding the well-developed MLS IDX policy. Sure, the policy is a living document and the MLS Policy Committee is an open forum for clarifying the policy and amending it from time to time. But generally, it is a well adopted program that publically exemplifies cooperation among brokerage firms. Today, Travis Saxton of Real Trends promoted a product called MyOnlineYardSign. The product allows real estate agents and brokers to put contact information and the company logo on their photos for free. Watermarking of this type has been around for [...]

MLSs Need To Focus on the Customer Record

The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) is clearly picking up steam at driving standards across the real estate industry. A pivotal inflection point in the success of standards is the adoption of those standards by MLS service providers and their vendors. One of the vendors who is particularly aggressive at adopting those standards is FBS, developers of FlexMLS and Spark. You can translate “particularly aggressive at adopting standards” to leadership in real estate technology. I will be using FlexMLS to demonstrate my point thought out this article, but to be clear – many MLS Vendors and MLS service providers are [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:00-07:00August 25th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Reports|Comments Off on MLSs Need To Focus on the Customer Record

An Industry Can Change In A Moment

There are many in our flocks that don’t have a calculus for a manifestation of change. It just seems to rub them the wrong way. The belief is that, among those who fight change, there are the people who have wired the world for their own success. I don’t think so. I believe that fear of change is something internal, and innate in the nature of some portion of our humanity. It is probably not a bad thing either. It makes change difficult, and perhaps more worthwhile. After considering all of the testimony, documentary evidence and arguments of counsel presented [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:01-07:00August 25th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on An Industry Can Change In A Moment

Advertiser’s Nirvana is CRM

If you want to see the marketing department at Lowe’s or Home Depot salivate – tell them you have a data source that will notify them of the Name, phone number, address, and information about the property they just purchased. In fact, you will even be able to tell them the closing date and the move in date. That is the kind of information that is in CRM solutions and until now, that data has not been mined for advertising. Nobody understands this better than Trulia, the company that may have the most highly adopted CRM solution in America. In [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:01-07:00August 25th, 2014|Main category|2 Comments

Who Syndicated My Listings?

We have learned over the last half-decade of doing listing syndication that it is complicated, especially for firms that have multiple offices, multiple associations, multiple MLSs, and possibly a franchise or network. We call this overlapping syndication disorder and the existence of this disorder can lead to syndication fraud. Last month, Amy Gallagher of Century 21® Hometown Realty in California encountered a fraud attempt that was blocked by ListHub. This is an important component of our service that you may not be aware of. Gallagher’s firm participates in three primary MLSs along the central coast of California and is also [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:01-07:00August 25th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Who Syndicated My Listings?

The End Of War Between Zillow and Trulia

There is a major war going on in the taxi industry today. Uber and Lyft are duking it out. Both companies have deep cash pockets and they are deploying it in marketing and undercutting each other. It is pretty hard to know which service is better as they work hard to drive market share. As Zillow marches toward the stock swap to join forces with Trulia, perhaps a new wisdom of that transaction will reveal itself. They just avoided a very expensive war where the two of them may have killed each other off to reign supreme. It is pretty [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:01-07:00August 13th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on The End Of War Between Zillow and Trulia

Sometimes Profitability is NOT as Important as Market Share

Of course, the ultimate goal of any business is to create profitability for its owners, shareholders, and stockholders.  Without profitability, the business will cease to exist. To quote Kenny Rogers, sometimes you need to know when to hold up and when to fold up, though.   There are times when a company is in a significant competitive situation where it needs to go into the market guns a-blazing and grab as much market share and mind share as it can. In the market we’re in right now, some might think the worst is over.  They may think it’s time to start [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:02-07:00August 6th, 2014|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Sometimes Profitability is NOT as Important as Market Share

Real Estate Book and Homes & Land Under One Roof

Real Estate Media Holdings, LLC, a Lion Equity company, has broadened its investment in the real estate marketing space by adding Homes & Land, a leading real estate media brand, to its portfolio, along with the additional brands Estates & Homes, Rental Guide and Home Guide. The group purchased NewPoint Media Group, publishers of The Real Estate Book, in June of 2012. Both The Real Estate Book and Homes & Land publish local real estate magazines in hundreds of markets across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean through a network of independent business owners. In addition, both brands power high [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:02-07:00August 5th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights, Press Releases|Comments Off on Real Estate Book and Homes & Land Under One Roof

Zillow Announces Trulia Acquisition

Two of America's third party real estate portals have entered into a definitive agreement for Zillow (Z) to purchase Trulia (TRLA) for $3.5 billion in stock-for-stock trade. The Board of Directors of both companies have agreed to the transaction which represents a 25 percent premium to Trulia Stockholders, based on Trulia's closing price on Friday, July 25, 2014. The transaction will now face regulatory approval. Goldman, Sachs & Co. brokered the transaction. Trulia CEO Pete Flint will retain that title, join the Zillow Board of Directors along with one other designee, and will remain the leader of the Trulia.com business unit. He will report [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:02-07:00July 28th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Press Releases|Comments Off on Zillow Announces Trulia Acquisition

Goomzee Growth

MLS Mobile is a highly competitive space. There are so many companies challenging for the lucrative contracts that I am afraid to list them all here. We get press releases sent to us almost every day about who has signed a contract with this MLS or this Mobile provider. One of the things that angers me when we get these press releases is that many of them are renewals. I am not sure what is press worthy of a renewal – but that is another story for another day. Goomzee announced this week the addition of a bunch of new MLS [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:02-07:00July 24th, 2014|Marketing, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Goomzee Growth