Set your plans now for CMLS

This year, the most exciting and fulfilling conference will again be the CMLS by the Council of MLS. It is a conference like no other, dedicated fully to excellence in providing Multiple Listing Services to real estate professionals. This year, the CMLS conference will be in one of America’s greatest cities – Boston! Our hostess for the event will be Kathy Condon and her team at MLS Property Information Network or MLSPIN. Men have hosted the conference the past couple of years and done a respectable job, but we all know that women rock in organizational skills. Thanks to Kathy, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 8th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Set your plans now for CMLS

WAV Group Partner Mike Audet to Speak at Michigan Association of REALTORS® Broker Summit

The real estate industry is going through a number of significant “shifts” today that will change the way our industry operates in the future.  These shifts are the result of natural pressures building up.  The pressure occurs slowly over time but when it reaches a critical point change has to happen and we believe we are seeing this on a number of fronts in our industry today.  Mike Audet, founding partner of WAV Group, will be the keynote speaker at the Michigan Association of REALTORS® "Broker Summit" event being held in Detroit, Michigan on April 25th.  Mike will talk about these key [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 6th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Strategic Planning, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on WAV Group Partner Mike Audet to Speak at Michigan Association of REALTORS® Broker Summit

MLS Wins Mobile, or Fails the Agent

If you have been to a real estate conference in the past three years, you may have heard a session about mobile technology. Those strange phones that every person in America carries with them everywhere they go is also a computer. Only a few hundred million people know this secret today. MOBILE IS A CORE MLS SERVICE Sorry for shouting and pardon my sarcasm.  Today’s MLS providers are failing to support agents (and consumers) with a mobile solution. This is not an opinion. It is a fact. We have surveyed agents everywhere in America, and at best, MLSs get a [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 6th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Does the Conflicted and Cynical Consumer even need an agent anymore?

I had a fascinating conversation with a friend of mine who was describing her hellacious experience purchasing and ultimately foreclosing on a home.  Since we, at WAV Group, solidly believe that we do not listen to consumers enough, I thought it would be fun to share her story, word for word, uncut, to help all of us understand what, at least one consumer, is thinking these days.  Sobering words….I hope it inspires every one who reads this to think about ways we can “make it up” to those consumers that we let down… Enjoy….. I don’t know a lot about [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 4th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Does the Conflicted and Cynical Consumer even need an agent anymore?

Award-winning Joomla web site featured by Apple in the new iPad campaign

As you may know, RE Technology is built on an open source content management solution called Joomla. Joomla competes with WordPress and Drupal in this category. Choosing a platform is never an easy task and I am sure that a debate among strong willed patriots from each of the open source camps would end in a draw. You can pick any one of them and have great success. Today, RE Technology has been averaging about 1.7 Million visits a month and we have not had any down time! That is awesome performance, especially contrasted against this site, which is built [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 3rd, 2012|Main category, Marketing|1 Comment

AFIRE’s 2012 Conference Heats Up – Marilyn Wilson to speak

We know you’ve been to your share of boring real estate conferences, filled with lackluster speakers tackling the same topics you’ve heard a dozen times before. Breakout sessions, if available, offer the same-old, same-old. That’s not what AFIRE is all about.  We’re just 9 weeks from the opening of our AFIRE conference, Courageous Leadership, in Scottsdale, Arizona...and we can’t wait! As a member of the AFIRE Advisory Board, I can't wait to share all of the exciting news about this year's event! AFIRE is a dynamic event created by women who are leaders in our industry. It's been created for [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 2nd, 2012|Broker-Agent Information, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on AFIRE’s 2012 Conference Heats Up – Marilyn Wilson to speak

Mike Audet Speaks at Realcomp’s Tools of the Trade Expo

WAV Group partner, Mike Audet,  spoke last week at Realcomp’s “Tools of the Trade Expo” in Dearborn, Michigan at the beautiful Michael Guido Theater complex, in the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.  Mike gave an Industry Update to the Brokers on numerous topics from Syndication and Shifts in Real Estate Technology to Data Licensing Opportunities.   This event could well be the model for other MLSs to follow in providing great outreach support to the members. From the keynote address by BravoTV’s Jeffery Lewis, star of “Flipping Out” and presentations including […]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:08-07:00March 26th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Clients, Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services|Comments Off on Mike Audet Speaks at Realcomp’s Tools of the Trade Expo

iPad Listing Presentation Apps are hot for 2012

If you appreciate research, you will enjoy some of these statistics. They point to the prioritization of tools that agents and brokers are seeking to improve the effectiveness of their marketing. The survey conducted by Imprev was presented to agents and brokers attending the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World conference. Keynote: They want iPad Listing Presentation Apps. With Apple selling more than 250,000 iPads a week - it is clearly a game changer that professional real estate agents are adopting. RE/MAX in concert with Imprev is the first company to launch a franchise-wide listing presentation tool for the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:08-07:00March 23rd, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, Suveys and Research, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on iPad Listing Presentation Apps are hot for 2012

Reticence of luxury and second home market to join regional MLSs

We are lucky enough to work with brokers and MLSs around the country.  It provides us with a unique perspective to notice trends that may not be readily apparent any other way. Here’s just one of the trends I have noticed in our work over the years.  While many parts of the country have been successful in joining together to create highly successful and productive regional MLSs, there is one weakness I have observed again and again.  Many times a luxury or second home market close to a larger metropolitan region will join the regional effort. I’m not going to [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:08-07:00March 23rd, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|2 Comments

Victor Lund to speak at Leading RE Conference Monday

WAV Group partner, Victor Lund has been invited to speak at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Conference on Monday, March 26th, 2012 in Orlando, FL. 1 PM EST. Leading RE is one of the best organized and most highly respected group of brokers in the United States. They are comprised of real estate brokerages from across the nation who are independent  (not a franchise) and each of them qualified for membership by having the highest market share of any independent brokerage in their region. Today’s real estate brokerage is lifting its head once again from the slumber [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:08-07:00March 22nd, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on Victor Lund to speak at Leading RE Conference Monday

Free WAV Webinar on Technology Adoption Keys and New “Free” Service for MLSs/Association

Real estate technology is changing in dramatic ways today at both the MLS and broker levels as we have detailed in recent white papers, “The Shift in Real Estate Technology” and “Real Estate Technology – Keys to Adoption”.   MLSs and Associations now have more opportunities than ever to offer their members technologies that make their business lives easier and more efficient.   A number of these new models for introducing the right software today are a win/win for both the vendors and the customers as they rely on “value selling” and often allow revenue to be realized on both the vendor [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:08-07:00March 20th, 2012|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Free WAV Webinar on Technology Adoption Keys and New “Free” Service for MLSs/Association

Associations and MLSs carefully watch Florida Realtors case

The state REALTOR Association of Florida, Florida REALTORS is among the most successful and innovative Associations in America. Real Estate Industry Solutions, a Florida REALTORS wholly owned for-profit company, has launched two products that are nationally recognized for their outstanding success at improving the effectiveness of REALTORS, TechHelpline and MLSAdvantage. Their formssimplicity product is currently embroiled in litigation it brought against their former vendor, Instanet. Instanet launched a website about the case called Transparency Is Good. It is a painful case. Today, Associations and MLSs around the country are keeping a watchful eye on the REIS case. Litigation in business is part of life, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:08-07:00March 16th, 2012|Main category|Comments Off on Associations and MLSs carefully watch Florida Realtors case