Texas Brokerages Go Paperless with the HAR-branded SureClose® Software

PRESS RELEASE:  HOUSTON (May 14, 2012) PropertyInfo Corporation®, a Stewart company, announced today the successful adoption by Heritage Texas Properties of the Electronic Transaction Solution (HAR-ETS), powered by SureClose, to go paperless.  Available only since January, Houston Association of REALTORS®'s HAR-ETS has already increased efficiencies for many of the organization’s 24,000 real estate professionals and their clients, and has enabled companies such as Heritage Texas Properties to remove paper from the closing process.  “Heritage Texas Properties is committed to providing our customers with the most efficient and economical solutions available, and HAR’s Electronic Transaction Solution powered by SureClose has enabled us to vastly [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:00-07:00May 23rd, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Clients, Main category, Press Releases, Product Management, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Texas Brokerages Go Paperless with the HAR-branded SureClose® Software

Edina Realty Says Goodbye to Non-Broker-Controlled Websites

Edina, Minn. – May 22, 2012 –Edina Realty announced today that it will no longer send its property listings to Realtor.com. However, due to technical issues, the company advises that it could take 10 days or more for its entire listings database to disappear from Realtor.com. Last November, Edina Realty also made a strategic move to stop sending its real estate listings to Trulia.com, a non-broker-controlled real estate aggregator. Edina Realty is participating in a nationwide outcry against non-broker-controlled websites over concerns with data inaccuracy and consumer privacy. Another cause for concern is the fact that sales leads often go [...]

Are App Stores the Next Zillow or Trulia?

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to the idea of App Stores in the real estate technology industry and it has raised a number of questions that I want to put out there to inspire a conversation with the industry. Let me say right up front that I am not neutral in this discussion, as I am one of the founders of RE Technology which has, as an option, the ability to create an eCommerce store which is different, but related to, an App store. My partner Victor did a great job of discussing the differences in his [...]

MLSs and the Marketing Center

MLSs have long been a marketing center in some small way. Agents working with buyers and sellers create reports that are organized to provide listing information to clients. The reports are very useful, but aside from the ability to insert a broker logo, agent photo, and contact information, the design of these reports often falls short of achieving the goal of a well-branded and unique marketing piece. Some MLSs have begun to partner with providers to enhance or augment this MLS system functionality, and offer marketing systems that have full feature functionality. MRIS, Metrolist Colorado, MLSListings, MLSLI, and a handful [...]

RPR “Best Practices” Case Studies – Keys To Adoption

Every MLS and Broker in the country knows how difficult it is to successfully roll out new products to REALTORS®.  There are so many technology options out there and it’s so difficult to get a busy agent’s attention. It’s even more difficult to convince them to try out a new service that may help project a more professional image when they are in the throes of trying to conduct business. WAV Group has watched Realtor Property Resource® (RPR®) with interest as more and more MLSs and Associations have signed up for this service. From its early beginnings, the product has [...]

RPR Broker Case Study – Helping Brokers Understand and Use Realtors Property Resource®

WAV Group provides consulting services brokers across the country to help them find the most effective ways to leverage the technology tools they have chosen for their agents. Some of those tools are provided by MLSs as part of their monthly subscription fees. In working with brokers we have learned how stressed the life of a broker is. Their agents, clients, accountants and office staff pull them in a million directions.  Their daily tasks make it virtually impossible to keep up on all of the latest technologies being offered to them. Today, WAV Group is introducing the third in a [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:02-07:00May 10th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Product Management, Reports, Suveys and Research|Comments Off on RPR Broker Case Study – Helping Brokers Understand and Use Realtors Property Resource®

RPR Agent Case Study

WAV Group provides consulting services to MLSs and Associations to develop strategies and plans for business success. In working with MLSs and Associations we have learned how difficult it is to help agents and brokers understand the value of new technologies in their daily business.  Today, WAV Group is introducing the second in a series of Case Studies developed for NAR’s REALTOR® Property Resource or RPR®. These Case Studies are designed to help REALTORS® understand the unique benefits of using RPR in their daily business to help position them as THE local expert. WAV Group developed these best practices by [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:03-07:00May 9th, 2012|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|5 Comments

Trulia becomes more Broker-Centric

Brokers have been on a rant for the past few years. Online publishers went too far to compel agent and broker advertising on their sites. They pursued rigorous policies that masked the listing agent and listing broker from the consumer. This had three profound effects and led to several types of actions: Removal: In disgust, some brokers retreated from syndication completely (See Edina Realty, Shorewest REALTORS and others) Enhancements: Some brokers went with the flow and enhanced or featured their listings to take over publisher sites in their area (See Howard Hanna and many others). Data Games: Some brokers gave [...]

TOP 5 AGENT & BROKER ARTICLES OF THE WEEK!

  Note: If you do not have a RE Technology account, please contact April at april@wavgroup.com, and I will be happy to create a complimentary account for you.  More than 70 MLSs and Associations offer RE Technology as a free member benefit - contact Melissa@retechnology.com for a program overview.     RE Technology wants to support our MLS partners by highlighting articles that peeked the most amount of agent and broker readership.  The goal of this effort is to provide content for MLSs to re-purpose to their members. Feel free to use these articles in any of your communication programs [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:04-07:00May 4th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Clients, Main category, Our Company, Our Services, Reports, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on TOP 5 AGENT & BROKER ARTICLES OF THE WEEK!

RENTALS! A Market Quickly Slipping Away From REALTORS®

Every agent I know is looking for new opportunities for generating additional revenue.  At the same time I hear again and again that many agents are not interested in working on rental properties because there’s “not enough money in it”. Driven by this ambivalence, many MLSs are ignoring the rental market. This perspective is a HUGE mistake, in my view.  Let me share some “fun facts” with you to help you understand why I say that… First: Did you know that experts are now predicting that rental properties will constitute up to 40% of the overall residential real estate market [...]

CRMLS Partners With Homes.com for Full Offering

Today’s real estate technology companies are partnering with MLSs at an unprecedented rate. This trend is brought about by natural gravity. The MLS is the primary source of fundamental technology for real estate professionals. WAV Group is beginning to see a number of MLSs pursuing a variety of strategies for offering non-core MLS services. Historically, MLSs only pursued site licenses for technology for their members, paying a price per member per month. This trend expanded as emerging products like Listhub, Property Panorama, and Listingbook began to offer Freemium services, where the MLS offered a free basic version of the product, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:04-07:00May 3rd, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Press Releases, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on CRMLS Partners With Homes.com for Full Offering

Two Brokers Go YouTube on Syndicaiton

Listing Syndication has become one of the more polarizing business topics in the real estate industry. Everyone seems to have a view, and many groups are trying to figure out how to fix it. There is no doubt that some companies are benefiting from syndication, but most find only little or moderate success. We seem to be hitting an inflection point with syndication where a lot of change is about to happen - slowly I suspect - like all real estate trends. The Council of MLS published two surveys this week - one for consumers and another for professionals. They are [...]