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24 09, 2014

Trulia Weekly Update Is Released

By |2018-05-03T21:23:58-07:00September 24th, 2014|Main category, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Trulia Weekly Update Is Released

I don’t really know if this is just something that Trulia is testing or if this is something that they rolled out system-wide, but I received a lovely real estate update this morning It is not a heavy piece, but it certainly popped into my inbox 18 New Listings, 2 open houses, 9 price reductions, download the mobile app, home value lead capture and median sales price. Aside from my first impression of the execution being very positive, it made me wonder…… Where else would this type of daily email be a practical way to touch professionals or consumers? For [...]

18 09, 2014

Allre Causes Brokers To ReThink Strategy

By |2018-05-03T21:23:59-07:00September 18th, 2014|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|6 Comments

The FSBO dam just sprouted another leak, and brokers better pay attention. If you have not heard about Allre, you better watch the video below right now. It is a collaboration between banks like Prime Lending, Home Insurance providers, home warranty companies, and even a lock box vendor to facilitate FSBO sales. The fee to the consumer is ZERO – nothing. There are no brokerage services at all, so they completely surpass all RESPA regulations. It is 100% FSBO. The only thing that will sit between Allre and success is venture capital. If they attract enough venture capital to attract [...]

11 09, 2014

Midyear Broker Website Benchmarks

By |2018-05-03T21:23:59-07:00September 11th, 2014|Main category, Marketing, Technology Evaluation|1 Comment

WAV Group just completed providing our broker clients with a review of their Google Analytics for September. Something rather remarkable happened this month that has confirmed a strategy that we have long suspected, but have not had enough data to confirm. Virtual Tour Videos Drive More Traffic Than Listing Syndication on Broker Websites. Quite a number of WAV Group broker clients have been publishing automated virtual tours to YouTube for a few years now. They are using vendors like Property Panorama, RealBiz, Virtual Tour Café, Imprev, VHT or some other solution. We do not endorse any product over another but [...]

4 09, 2014

MOVE acquires Point2 Syndication Contracts

By |2018-05-03T21:24:00-07:00September 4th, 2014|Broker Technology Research, Main category, MLS Insights, Press Releases|Comments Off on MOVE acquires Point2 Syndication Contracts

It looks like MOVE, operators of Realtor.com have taken a stride that is not altogether different from the success that Zillow is garnering with their acquisition strategy. MOVE is doing their best to control the pipelines that deliver advertising to portals in the United States. MOVE already owns Listhub, the largest syndicator of listing content. Now they pick up their nearest competitor - Point2 - much in the same way that Zillow picked up Trulia. The biggest difference, beyond taking out a competitor, is that they will removing a layer of duplication of listing syndication. Spencer Rascoff of Zillow describes [...]

25 08, 2014

We’re Losing the Race for Relevance – How to Stem the Tide

By |2018-05-03T21:24:01-07:00August 25th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Reports|Comments Off on We’re Losing the Race for Relevance – How to Stem the Tide

Idea #1 - How to Take Credit for the Industry’s Service Quality Every real estate association I have the pleasure of working with is struggling with how to re-invent themselves. Everybody knows it’s a problem at some level, but yet there has been no fundamental change in the focus, governance or scope of associations in several years. Are we just going to sit by and watch the association business go away?  Should it go away?  Has the value of an association run its course? My fundamental belief is that Associations CAN and DO play an important role in the industry, [...]

5 08, 2014

Real Estate Book and Homes & Land Under One Roof

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

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 [...]

23 07, 2014

Your Spam Filter May Be a Lead Source

By |2018-05-03T21:24:03-07:00July 23rd, 2014|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, Reports|Comments Off on Your Spam Filter May Be a Lead Source

Leads sometimes come from humans. That’s a light joke. The point it is that when technology companies test lead capture and routing systems, they typically test them with stock lead content. Unfortunately, many real human leads do not contain stock text. Real humans write real questions and sometimes use language that may not be whitelisted for your spam filter. **It happens! One of the good ways to check your lead generation and a delivery engine is to compare reports. Look at the lead reports that you get from publishers like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com or Homes.com. Look at them carefully and [...]

15 07, 2014

Consulting Minds Think Alike

By |2018-05-03T21:24:03-07:00July 15th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services, Strategic Planning|1 Comment

On the eve of publishing a WAV Group paper on listing syndication, consulting firm Clareity Consulting published a paper on the same topic days ahead of us. They did a great job on their paper and Victor Lund considered delaying or eliminating the WAV Group paper from publication. But a read of both papers is probably healthy for today’s real estate brokers, MLSs, and publishers. Clearly, listing syndication remains an abrasive business struggle in real estate. Both Clareity and WAV Group address syndication issues with clients every day – which is certainly what prompted both firms to independently publish papers [...]

26 06, 2014

Howard Hanna Promotes 5700 REALTORS on Realtor.com

By |2018-05-03T21:24:04-07:00June 26th, 2014|Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning, Technology Evaluation|6 Comments

Today’s real estate broker faces some difficult decisions when it comes to online advertising. The choices are often predicated upon what your competition is doing; what sellers demand; traffic and leads generated by your website or franchise website; website owner terms of use; who gets the lead; who pays – agent or broker. It is really quite a mess. It is so bad, that many large firms have walked away from it entirely and leave it up to the agent. Other firms have taken the proverbial bull by the horn and worked hard to market listings online is a very [...]

12 06, 2014

The Triad of Consumers, People, and REALTORS

By |2018-05-03T21:24:10-07:00June 12th, 2014|MLS Insights, Press Releases|2 Comments

There were a few very interesting articles in the Washington Post this week. Unlike industry commentary about the Zestimate, this one took place in public. The Washington Post stirred the pot a bit, as only the politically divided would do so naturally. The battle was epic. At 5:30 AM, David Howell of McNearney Associates published a piece titled “How Accurate is Zillow’s Zestimate? Not very, says one Washington-area agent. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2014/06/10/how-accurate-is-zillows-zestimate-not-very-says-one-washington-area-agent/ At 5:31, Stan Humphries, Zillow Chief Economist responded in his article titles “How Accurate is the Zestimate? Zillow says the tool is helpful when used the right way.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2014/06/10/how-accurate-is-the-zestimate-zillow-says-the-tool-is-helpful-when-used-the-right-way/ You [...]

30 05, 2014

Increase Home Listings By 27 Percent

By |2018-05-03T21:24:10-07:00May 30th, 2014|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing|2 Comments

  How would you like to increase your business garnered from your website by 27%? That’s right, 27%. I had to say it again because people often do not believe in testing or research to determine what works best for their business. In fact, many companies today “take the high road” and completely ignore trends and tactics that can improve their business because they get stuck with their fondness for what they have and stop moving ahead. Here is the example of how research and testing can drive improvements in company online effectiveness. Thankfully, the company the largest broker in [...]

28 05, 2014

FBS To Support MLS With Listing Syndication

By |2018-05-03T21:24:11-07:00May 28th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on FBS To Support MLS With Listing Syndication

Since listing data feeds came into existence, they have been the providence of MLS vendors like FBS and their peers. There are also controls that go down to the listing detail level that enables listings to be opted out of things like IDX (with written seller approval in most markets). In a blog post today, FBS CEO Michael Wurzer discusses this functionality that is delivered through a standard feature in FlexMLS called Listing Export. Arizona Regional MLS serving the greater Phoenix, AZ area is among the first FBS clients to use this functionality for a wide range of syndication to [...]