LIBOR and BNAR getting serious about REALTOR(R) safety

Did you know that nearly 1/3 of REALTORS(R) STAY in situations where they feel unsafe as they strive to make a sale.  Nearly 4 in 5  do NOT ask for Identification/Verification before meeting a client.  Just about everyone (88%) of agents are alone when showing a home to new prospect. Bottomline, many agents put themselves at risk REGULARLY.  While real estate is an amazing industry that provides exciting career opportunities to nearly 2 million people every year, it’s a job that deals with the public.  By definition, it puts agents at risk. The Long Island Board of REALTORS® and the Buffalo [...]

How Do Top Homes.com and Realtor.com Compare?

Since internet is among the top three most important methods of generating real estate leads and online listing sites rank as one of the most valuable tools, every agent is challenged to leverage these resources for creating, capturing, and closing leads. But, how can agents effectively compare the value propositions of marketing on the most popular real estate sites? An analysis of online marketing solutions from Realtor.com and Homes.com show that their marketing tools stack up pretty solidly when compared side by side, offering a range of options to suit any agent’s CRM strategy, marketing budget, and revenue goals. Both [...]

Industry Vet Russ Cofano joins eXP Realty

We want to congratulate Russ Cofano for his exciting new position at eXp Realty as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Legal Counsel! I used to have a job as the Chief Strategy Officer when I was at Fisher-Price. It is SUCH a fun position where you can have a real impact on the growth and innovation of a company! Congratulations Russ!  Can’t wait to see what amazing news you bring to the industry in this position!   BELLINGHAM, WA – July 29,  2016 – eXp World Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: EXPI) today announced that industry veteran Russ Cofano has joined the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:10-07:00July 29th, 2016|Press Releases|0 Comments

Be Uncomfortable

It is pretty well known that Google is now Alphabet – a re-imagined company that is comprised of a variety of businesses around the focus of organizing the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful. Building a new brand on top of Google was an uncomfortable decision, but there is much to be learned from it. The Alphabet Companies (full list here) Google – Search Engine, Android, Gmail, and YouTube Calico – Healthcare company aimed at extending life Verily – Smart contact lenses X Labs – Research and Development Deep Mind – Artificial Intelligence Access – high-speed internet Jigsaw [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:17-07:00April 20th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, MLS Insights|0 Comments

Fox and Roach Reports Success With Buyside

There are a lot of technology applications that look promising, none more so than the recent launch of their Home Valuation System on foxroach.com powered by Buyside™. Fox and Roach is the largest Berkshire Hathaway Home Services company. Their offices cover many regions including Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. In WAV Group broker website effectiveness studies, BHHS Fox & Roach ranks in the top 10 for the most traffic of any broker in America. Last month, they launched the Home Valuation System, built by Buyside™ that created a landing page for every off- market property and IDX listings [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:17-07:00April 20th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, MLS Insights|0 Comments

3 Ways for MLSs to Frustrate and Alienate Brokers

SOLDS, VOWS and the RESO Data Dictionary are NOT Optional for MLSs Some MLSs are creating unnecessary and even illegal challenges for their brokers as well as for the technology suppliers that support their brokers, by not complying with NAR rules…some of which that have been in place for YEARS! I hear regularly from brokers and technology vendors that they run into roadblocks all the time when they try to access SOLDs for their IDX feed, a Virtual Office Website (VOW) data feed and most recently, the RESO Data Dictionary dataset. I’m going to start with a little history lesson [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:18-07:00April 20th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, MLS Insights|0 Comments

What can the Real Estate Industry Learn from FIRST Robotics?

Robots are cool. High school students building 120-pound robots in just six weeks to compete in sporting-like competition with and against other robots is cooler. Being a mentor for a local FIRST Robotics team, Spartronics Team 4915 of Bainbridge Island, Washington since it’s inception three years ago is the coolest, most rewarding, non-profit volunteering experience I have ever had. I have learned so much, and it got me to thinking about a couple of concepts that define FIRST and how it relates to what I do. So what could the real estate industry learn from FIRST Robotics? First About FIRST [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:18-07:00April 20th, 2016|Main category|0 Comments

Real Estate Around the Nation

Home building has been the last area of the real estate market to recover from the recession. Generally, it’s believed that builders were hit the hardest during the recession. Many builders use leverage to purchase land and take loans for home building. When the investment market for these loans dried up and the value of the land collapsed, many were forced to downsize, cease operations, or in some cases shutter everything. Coming out of the recession, builders have been slow to get started. It took a number of years for the market to work through the distressed and bank owned [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:18-07:00April 13th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information|0 Comments

Be a Part of the Change!

WAV Group is a part of strategic plans very often for some of the largest MLSs and Associations in our industry. When conducting strategic plans we hear from brokers and board members that their organization is out of touch with today’s reality. So how do you get your board in touch? You can pay thousands of dollars for several of your board members to attend industry events. Many of these events can be very valuable for the content that is presented, the networking, and peer-to-peer learning. The CMLS conference and the AEI conference are two great opportunities for MLSs and Associations to get in [...]

Annual Swanepoel Power 200 Recognizes WAV Group

Howard Lund had a philosophy about lists. He said that it is great to be on the good ones, but don't take too much pride in it. He shared his thoughts on this whenever I made honor roll, or was recognized for accomplishments in sports. It is the type of fatherly wisdom that sticks with you. I think that Mr. Swanepoel and his team does a good job in their selection - a process too difficult to imagine. Its an honor to receive the recognition, and I am especially proud of my partner, Marilyn Wilson. Her dedication to her trade [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 13th, 2016|Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

The Future is Now: Thought Leadership from Two of Inman’s Top 101

We're proud to announce that our founding partners, Marilyn Wilson and Victor Lund, were recently named to Inman's annual list of the top leaders in the real estate industry. The award recognizes their forward thinking visions about how the industry can and must adapt to change. Marilyn, according to Inman, is "an articulate spokesperson about the threats and the challenges faced by the industry," while Victor is "an advocate for big strategic initiatives that the legacy industry must undertake to survive." "It's interesting to be acknowledged as one of the industry leaders because we operate a very small business," Victor told [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:27-07:00December 17th, 2015|Main category, Our Services|1 Comment

MLS Policy for Days On Market

Depending on where you are, Days on Market could be a hot topic. Perhaps the most sensitive area to Days on Market is San Francisco. I had a chance to talk to Steve Mavromihalis of Pacific Union about this topic last week. Steve is one of the most productive agents in the nation. Every year, WAV Group watches the listing count for Pacific Union go down by two thirds starting just before Thanksgiving and lasting until March or April – that’s 5 months of the year. Clearly this has P&L implications and budgeting implications for the brokerage. The truth is [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:27-07:00December 16th, 2015|Main category|1 Comment