New WAV Whitepaper – Brokerage Technology – An Industry Needing Backbone!

Brokerage Real Estate Technology An Industry Needing Backbone Brokers, large and small, face significant challenges they did not face 20 years ago.  Profit margins have eroded and control over their independent contractors has been minimized.   The consumer has taken on a much more vocal role in the process and is forcing transparency and responsiveness never before experienced.   Some of these challenges are related to technology and the advance of the Internet while others are cultural challenges that have come about through the changing broker/agent relationship.  Our new white paperexplores the issues behind the broker’s challenge to gain better control and visibility [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:58-07:00November 3rd, 2010|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Twitter for Real Estate|Comments Off on New WAV Whitepaper – Brokerage Technology – An Industry Needing Backbone!
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Who cares about the photo on your business card?

There was an intriguing article on Agent Genius today about whether or not to include your photo in your real estate branding. The article generated a lot of good feedback from agents on both sides of the fence. Actually I think is fundamentally the wrong question to ask.  As the former VP Marketing for Fisher-Price, in my opinion, branding has NOTHING to do with whether you include a photo or not. Brands are built on a clear definition of your unique value proposition.  They are also built on DELIVERING against your value proposition consistently and better than anyone else.  Fisher-Price, for [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:59-07:00October 7th, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|Comments Off on Who cares about the photo on your business card?
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Concerned about Lower Real Estate Commission Rates? Try Transaction Management

Today’s real estate consumer communicates very differently with their agent than in past times.  Unlike boomers who like to get to know their agent and work with them in person, Gen Y’s prefer to do most things electronically.  They ask for you to send them an update to a contract via text.   They want you to set them up on auto email from your MLS system to look for listings that match their search criteria. Bottomline, they want to just “get it done". They don’t have the time or interest to really get to know and the true skills you [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:01-07:00September 24th, 2010|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category|Comments Off on Concerned about Lower Real Estate Commission Rates? Try Transaction Management
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The RPR – Data Seeker Update

The RPR Data Seeker Update It has been almost twelve months since the San Diego NAR conference when RPR had their coming out party and began the data wars our industry finds itself in.  Maybe it didn’t actually start the whole issue of using MLS data for non-traditional purposes, but it certainly put it in our mainstream discussions.  It also made the whole concept of using MLS data for purposes other than selling properties a concept that the industry was willing to consider.  This was a big shift and one that hadn’t had much energy since REGIB (Real Estate Business [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:02-07:00September 21st, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Our Company|Comments Off on The RPR – Data Seeker Update
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Professional real estate websites are losing the battle for consumers online.

Professional real estate websites are losing the battle for consumers online. Todays real estate consumer has a dizzying array of websites that provide them with access to real estate listings.  There are numerous third party websites like Zillow and Trulia as well as national real estate Franchise sites and local real estate company websites.  Consumers likely assume that all of these sites offer the same quality of information. Unfortunately this isnt the case. This white paper from the WAV Group chronicles research findings on the consumer search experience.  WAV Group has calculated the differences between third party websites, franchise websites, and broker websites [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:02-07:00September 20th, 2010|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Virtual Office Website Series|Comments Off on Professional real estate websites are losing the battle for consumers online.
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Zillow updates faster than Trulia but leaves listing agent behind.

Since the introduction of Virtual Office Websites, I have picked up the habit of scheduling listing alerts. My interest is not only in keeping up with listings of comparable homes that would influence my homes’ value, but also to see how data moves to third party listing websites. Today’s new listing is 755 Via Laguna Vista, San Luis Obispo CA 93405 Copy and paste it into Zillow and Trulia and see what you get. Right now, you will see that the listing is not for sale on Trulia, but they have built a lovely landing page with deep information. Zillow [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:02-07:00September 15th, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|Comments Off on Zillow updates faster than Trulia but leaves listing agent behind.
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How To Set-Up A Facebook Fan Page

Due to a high level of interest in learning more about Facebook Fan Pages, we have researched and provided the following step-by-step approach to setting up a Facebook Fan Page. We hope you enjoy! Without a doubt it can be tricky to locate the “Add a Facebook Page.” To jump straight to this page, and avoid the multi-step navigation process outlined below, here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php If you cannot access the “Create a Page” link above, follow the below steps. 1.) Go to the home page of your personal Facebook page, and click the Account button 2.) Click “Account” and [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:03-07:00August 18th, 2010|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on How To Set-Up A Facebook Fan Page
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Third Parties making money from disorganized real estate

My Rant - WAV Group has been pretty outspoken about third party listing websites. They exist because brokers, MLSs, and Associations have not elevated their thinking about listing syndication. I think that it is time for CMLS, NAR, Realty Alliance, or some mutual benefit organization to step up and harness listing distribution and revenues from listing distribution to return revenue to its rightful owner - the brokers. Here are the problems 1.  Data that appears on third party listing websites is grossly inaccurate - as high as 40% in some markets. Inaccurate data leads to bad leads, irritated home buyers [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:04-07:00July 9th, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|Comments Off on Third Parties making money from disorganized real estate
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Electronic Faxing becoming a “core” service offering for MLSs

Core service offerings for MLSs continues to evolve and expand as MLSs look for ways to help their subscribers save money while serving the needs of their clients better. According to the 2009 CMLS MLS Operations Benchmarking Survey, nearly 60% of MLSs now provide Electronic faxing and Document Management as a core service offering. As noted in the 2009 WAV Group Transaction Management Adoption Study, usage of methods for processing transactions online continue to grow.  Agents first become comfortable with processing forms online. That process worked so well that they are now quickly adopting other online tools to make the process of [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:04-07:00June 30th, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Electronic Faxing becoming a “core” service offering for MLSs
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Android passes the iphone but is far behind Blackberry

  Big news from Googel Googles Android OS overtook the Apple iphone in US smartphone market share during the first quarter of 2010. Real Estate application developers should take note.  Many real estate technology providers have been quick to lead with iPhone apps, but have lagged in support for the Android or Blackberry.  This is not universally true - for example, GE led with their support for Palm, followed by Blackberry.  GE Announced this week that eKey support for iPhone. According to the NPD Group, Google now enjoys 28 percent of the smartphone market, earning the company the second-place spot [...]

By |2010-05-11T21:49:41-07:00May 11th, 2010|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category|Comments Off on Android passes the iphone but is far behind Blackberry
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FBS – A Model For Cooperation

Having grown up in the MLS business and seeing it evolve from the days when we replaced books with MLS systems to today, where MLS sales are only made through taking a competitor’s account, I know how competitive the MLS technology landscape is.  Over the past 20 years or so, we have also seen this market mature and with that maturation we have also seen intense price pressure placed on our MLS vendors to the point today where I question whether we have gone too far.  MLS vendors today are the cornerstone of our entire real estate technology industry.  Nothing [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:07-07:00May 6th, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on FBS – A Model For Cooperation
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FBS – A Model For Cooperation

Having grown up in the MLS business and seeing it evolve from the days when we replaced books with MLS systems to today, where MLS sales are only made through taking a competitor’s account, I know how competitive the MLS technology landscape is.  Over the past 20 years or so, we have also seen this market mature and with that maturation we have also seen intense price pressure placed on our MLS vendors to the point today where I question whether we have gone too far.  MLS vendors today are the cornerstone of our entire real estate technology industry.  Nothing [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:07-07:00May 6th, 2010|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on FBS – A Model For Cooperation
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