Anywhere settles Moehrl and Sitzer/Burnett lawsuits
Anywhere Real Estate, owner of Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s and several other iconic real estate brands, has reached a settlement on two pivotal lawsuits for the real estate industry.
4 Steps To Protect Against Sexual Harassment In Your Association or MLS
If you're concerned about sexual harassment in your real estate company, here's what you can do to make changes for the better.
Ben Caballero does it again: HomesUSA.com launches new listing technology for home builders
Ben Caballero is relentless when it comes to creating new technology and achieving major milestones. The founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, Ben is currently the No. 1 ranked real estate agent by RealTrends and has been every year since 2013. He is clearly the world’s most productive agent. Ben is an exclusive listing agent for over 60 home builders. He invented the technology for builders that helped earn him three Guinness World Records for home sales and a slew of accolades, including “Most Innovative Agent” by Inman News and a Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurship from Keller Williams, presented by Gary [...]
The Threads App
In seven hours of release, Threads hit the million-user mark. Is it a Twitter killer or an Instagram killer?
WAV Group mourns passing of Lorne Wallace
As the saying goes, they just don’t make them like Lorne and his generation of visionary, gutsy entrepreneurs anymore. Lorne had a unique vision for the industry, founded in profitability. His background as a chartered accountant gave him a unique perspective so valuable to brokers, most of whom grew up focusing on top line sales, not profitability. He was a constant crusader teaching brokers how to manage expenses, simplify their operations and build sustainable businesses.
New 2022 Realtor Tech Survey Reveals Advances, Shortcomings
Today the National Association of Realtors released its annual Technology survey of members, one of my favorite yearly research studies. With over 2,400 responses, it provides excellent insight into how tech innovations are impacting the real estate business now and in the future. Not many surprises, but this new research confirms the acceleration of tech adoption as one positive factor fueled by the pandemic. Here are some quick highlights: -eSigning rules: Looking back at the last 12 months, respondents ranked eSignatures as the most impactful tech tool (79%), with lockboxes (67%) and local MLS apps/technology (67%) tied for second place. [...]
A big jump up for hot PropTech startup zavvie
MoxiWorks is a real estate industry titan, serving 800 brokerages and their 400,000 agents, connected to over 500 MLSs and 150-plus tech partners. Today, zavvie announced integration with MoxiWorks, making its white label marketplace for brokerages and vastly expanding its ability to offer iBuyers and Power Buyers solutions with the addition of MoxiWorks powered brokerages. zavvie integrates with MoxiPresent, known as the easy-to-use, feature-stuffed, and ultra-versatile real estate presentation builder. MoxiPresent can now showcase instant iBuyer offers for sellers and information about Power Buyers, including “cash offers” and “buy before you sell” modern bridge solutions for buyers and current homeowners. [...]
Facebook Death by Advertising and the Broker Public Portal
By now, you likely know that the Broker Public Portal and Homesnap have dissolved their joint venture. Much in the way that social media sites should hold true to limiting algorithm advertising and display all of my friend's feeds, the Broker Public Portal will display every listing and are committed to being ad-free.
Where Will Zillow Go Next?
This week, Zillow announced that Stan Humphries is retiring. He is an economist and the person that some have called the father of the Zestimate. The primary reason we looked at Zillow’s financial history today was in reference to this change in leadership.
California Rental Listing Service Launches
In a joint press release, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATON OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) and Rental Beast announced they are partnering up to launch a California statewide rental search site. The plan is for the state to sponsor the program that invites REALTORS®, brokers, and their MLSs to collaborate on delivering the most comprehensive rental search serving consumers across the state, and America.
California Legislature Approved 4 New Bills to Support Building Millions of Units of Affordable Housing in Commercial Corridors
California, like many states, suffers from a lack of affordable housing. According to the California Department of Finance, the median price of a single-family home in May 2022 in California was $898,980, up a significant 1.6% over the previous month and an increase of nearly 10% over the same time last year. AB 2097, amounts to a statewide boost to residential and commercial development near public transit. The bill prohibits local municipalities from imposing any minimum car parking requirements for projects located within a half mile of metro, bus, or other transportation centers. AB 2221, incentivizes ADU(Accessible Dwelling Unit) construction by clarifying rules around “granny flats”. Under existing law, developers are allowed to add the units only to existing multifamily buildings. AB 2221 extends that allowance to proposed projects. It also clarifies local agencies’ timelines for approving ADU, or accessory dwelling units, projects and raises certain height limits, and other changes.
NCRMLS continues to expand: Now covers more than half of North Carolina
North Carolina Regional MLS has created an impressive and unique alternative to the data share models promoted by other MLSs. Through NCRMLS’s wholesale cooperative model, they have proliferated in North Carolina and now reach into southern Virginia with their latest announcement. What’s the big buzz? Jody Wainio, the current President of NCRMLS, explains the significant advantage of their wholesale cooperative model is that it brings everyone under one set of rules. It also ensures data integrity and fosters broker cooperation. But, most importantly, it eliminates duplicate MLS memberships and the accompanying fees. The data share models, Jody says, “can have [...]