Drones: A Game-Changer for Real Estate Marketing

For most real estate agents, marketing with aerial photography or video has been considered an extravagance reserved only for high-dollar properties and luxury homes. However, a new federal policy now permits Realtors to market properties at all price-points in ways that were cost-prohibitive in the past. The “Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule,” expands the possibility for commercial drone usage for the real estate industry—without the previous restrictions and complicated application process. With this new accessibility, aerial photography and video are shaping up to be the next evolution of transformative real estate marketing solutions. While video has already proven its value for [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:04-07:00September 27th, 2016|Marketing|1 Comment
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Social Networks vs. Local Expertise: A New Challenge for Brokerages

The opinions and experiences of friends and acquaintances have always shaped the way people think about buying, owning and selling homes.  New research suggests that the social networks that influence attitudes towards real estate decision-making today are more likely to be national, not local, and the consequences could be serious.  Thus, consumers are making critical decisions about buying, selling, owning or renting in part based not on conditions in the markets where they live but on the experiences of friends who may live across the continent. The new way people think about real estate presents real challenges to real estate [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:08-07:00August 16th, 2016|Broker Technology Research|Comments Off on Social Networks vs. Local Expertise: A New Challenge for Brokerages
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Mastering Market Literacy

Perhaps the most valuable lesson that real estate consumers learned from the housing crash was that home values can fall as well as rise.  More than seven million families lost their homes to foreclosures and short sales; a brutal wake-up calls that though homeownership is safer than most investments it still involves risk.  Today’s buyers are very aware that a single wrong decision or factors beyond their control can cost them dearly. That is one reason 90 percent of today’s buyers think it is very important to have an agent with knowledge of the real estate market.[1] Successful listing presentations [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:11-07:00July 21st, 2016|Marketing|Comments Off on Mastering Market Literacy
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Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends: 3 Takeaways for Real Estate

One of my favorite research rituals is the annual release by Mary Meeker of her Internet Trends Report, the latest of which was issued on June 1. Meeker was catapulted into the financing world spotlight as the lead manager at Morgan Stanley for Netscape’s IPO in 1995. Later that year, she and Chris DePuy at Morgan published The Internet Trends, and it quickly became the definitive digest of the current state of the Internet, as well as discerning big-picture trends. Meeker would go on to serve as a research analyst for another notable Morgan Stanley IPO in 2004: Google. Today, [...]

By |2020-07-10T12:05:21-07:00June 14th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Reports|Comments Off on Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends: 3 Takeaways for Real Estate
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Consumer Questions a Broker Website Must Answer

There are less than 2% of the homes for sale around the nation today. Typically, that number is 3.5%. Hence we are in a sellers’ market. So the consumer thinks – “Where am I in the market?” What Home Can I Buy? Over 90% of consumers looking to purchase a home have one to sell. The rest are currently renters or second home purchasers. Buying a home is never about buying what you want. It is always about buying what is right for you. The old story of Location, Location, Location is a bit lost on me today, unless it [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:17-07:00April 25th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information|Comments Off on Consumer Questions a Broker Website Must Answer
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The New Process for RFPs in Real Estate

This change was caused by a quiet revolution. During the Y2K surge that transitioned software from mainframe to browser, there was recognition that the old process of software development was too bureaucratic, slow, and overly regimented. An alternative to traditional project management that emerged in the early 2000s is called Agile software development. They use terms like Scrum, Extreme Programing, Dynamic System Development Method, Feature-Drive Development and many others. The overarching focus of all of these methodologies is to deliver frequent, high quality working software, delivered in “sprints,” which are measured in weeks, not months. The result is continuous improvement. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:19-07:00March 30th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, MLS Insights|Comments Off on The New Process for RFPs in Real Estate
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Using Market Data to Drive Media Coverage

Are you getting published in your local media? Is your firm shaping the way opinion leaders and real estate consumers view critical issues in your housing market Associations, MLSs, and brokerages have access to the best local data ever available on trends in their local markets. Sales, prices, inventories, time on market—every day real estate professionals interpret these and other data to win the confidence of their customers and clients. You have a significant opportunity to turn market data into news that attracts business and establishes credibility. National data services like RealtyTrac and CoreLogic as well as sites like Realtor.com, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:20-07:00March 22nd, 2016|Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Using Market Data to Drive Media Coverage
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Graceful Vendor Termination

System conversions are very difficult in real estate. If there is one eternal truth, agents will absolutely resist change no matter what. Even with MLS system conversions where the death of the application, vital to their business, is eminent; they hang on during the parallel period until the very end. Then there is a flood of complaints about failure to notify them or train them. It’s a way of life that extends beyond the MLS system to the brokerage system. More and more, brokers are providing end-to-end business systems to their agents. Over years, the company trains and supports the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:22-07:00February 29th, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on Graceful Vendor Termination
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Brokerage Reputation Management Starts With Loving Yourself

Real estate brokers have a difficult time battling the challenges with reputation management. Brokers hire agents. Agents deliver services to the consumer. The consumer judges the brokerage on the service level of its agents. Brokers try to hire well to preserve their reputation. Around and around it goes. Many brokers to do not track their reputation as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI). They track unit volume, agent count, broker dollar, and so many other things. Only a few firms use services like Quality Service Certified or Real Satisfied or Testimonial Tree to measure satisfaction. Those brokerages who are following best [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:23-07:00February 15th, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on Brokerage Reputation Management Starts With Loving Yourself
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Who Will Install The Giant Rats of Real Estate?

If you visit New York City regularly, you will sometimes encounter a giant inflatable rat on the sidewalk outside businesses experiencing union disputes. Organized labor has also joined in the fight against companies like Airbnb and Uber. Ken Jenny of Trancen often remarks that: “with Airbnb, you have one of the largest hotel companies in the world who does not own a single hotel room. With Uber, you have the largest taxi cab company in the world who does not own a single taxi.” I would add that Facebook has become the largest publisher in the world and they do [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:39-07:00July 10th, 2015|Main category|1 Comment
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WAV Group Named to the Swanepoel Power 200

The most comprehensive list of the most powerful and influential people in the real estate industry has once again been released. Known as the SP200 (Swanepoel Power 200), this annual list is published by Stefan Swanepoel every January. There have been numerous other lists from time to time, but the SP200 stands as a milestone in the comprehensiveness, detail and objectivity it strives to portray. You can review the entire 2014/2015 list in detail at www.sp200.com. Comparable to Forbes, Fortune, JD Powers and other outside the industry lists, the SP200 utilizes a large selection of criteria. It takes hundreds of hours [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:51-07:00January 14th, 2015|Main category|Comments Off on WAV Group Named to the Swanepoel Power 200
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CMLS Wrap UP

The Council of MLS held their annual conference in California last week. It was most well-attended show in its history. They did a great job of blending outside perspectives from leading technology firms with MLS-to-MLS sharing. Kudos to the CMLS board of directors and the California Regional MLS led by Art Carter and their staff who were the hosts. It may be the most well-run conference in real estate. Even the vendors were happy, especially those on the innovation track. My understanding is that the legal meetings went really well. SourceMLS is off to a great start. And, the message [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:58-07:00October 1st, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on CMLS Wrap UP
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