About Kevin Hawkins

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So far Kevin Hawkins has created 335 blog entries.

Survey: Industry Leaders Show Record Confidence in 2018 Economy, Housing

An unprecedented 73% of top real estate executives say the U.S. economy will improve or improve significantly. That’s the highest level of confidence real estate leaders have expressed since Imprev started its annual Thought Leader Economy & Housing Outlook Study in 2012. These numbers are simply stunning. Top real estate executives’ confidence in America’s economy has more than doubled since October 2016. Then just 32% said the U.S. economy would improve or improve significantly. The 2016 survey was conducted immediately prior to the U.S. presidential election. The highest confidence level prior to the current study was 54% in 2012. The [...]

By |2018-01-20T12:00:51-08:00January 20th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Survey: Industry Leaders Show Record Confidence in 2018 Economy, Housing
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Real Estate’s First HyperLocal White Paper Discovers A “Movement”

Social media, mobile technology and marketing automation: those are the three ingredients that are changing real estate in a profound and everlasting way. And, unlike many skeptics, I believe it’s for the better. My proof is the emergence of a “HyperLocal Movement” in real estate that the confluence of these three has fueled. Now there is really nothing new about the “idea” of HyperLocal in real estate. No other industry has been more focused on being local than ours. Many agents have legitimately been practicing hyperlocalism for years, if not decades. What is new is what's happening NOW with hyperlocalism, [...]

By |2018-01-19T12:00:23-08:00January 19th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Real Estate’s First HyperLocal White Paper Discovers A “Movement”
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Great PR Begins First and Foremost with Understanding the Media

For the last few weeks, I have been wearing the hat of a reporter. All I can say to the journalists whom I have worked with over the last couple of dozen years: I now feel your pain when it comes to unsolicited pitches from PR people. Moreover, I apologize on behalf of seasoned PR pros who would be as disappointed from this experience as I am. I now understand why many of you treat me with immediate suspicion and even an attitude of disdain if you have never worked with me before. It appears my chosen profession is still [...]

By |2018-01-09T06:12:12-08:00January 9th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Great PR Begins First and Foremost with Understanding the Media
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Results From Real Estate’s First HyperLocal Survey

WAV Group and other consumer research have consistently shown that buyers want neighborhood expertise above all else. It's more important to consumers than an agent’s ability to negotiate or communicate. It’s often even more important to consumers than trust. So you would think that the most common agent business model would be designed to exploit that opportunity, right? But you would be wrong. Yet if you ask agents, they will tell you they indeed have deep local expertise – often they see themselves as being the “top” local expert. But if you look at what they do in their day-to-day [...]

By |2017-12-13T11:00:56-08:00December 13th, 2017|Suveys and Research|Comments Off on Results From Real Estate’s First HyperLocal Survey
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Holiday Lights Obsession, Explained

No, my house has not been featured on “The Great Christmas Light Fight.” My thousands of lights are neither programmed nor synchronized to holiday music. The International Space Station can’t see my Bainbridge Island, Washington home from orbit. I am just a guy who every year, for the last 20-plus years, has found the time to squeeze in dozens of hours to brighten our home for the holidays. From climbing ladders and walking on our high-pitched (formerly wood-shake) rooftop, to donning lights, stars and a blazingly bright cross made by our then 8-year old son and his granddad, to blanketing [...]

By |2017-12-12T17:00:54-08:00December 12th, 2017|Main category|Comments Off on Holiday Lights Obsession, Explained
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FBS and ARMLS: 10 years done, more to come

When you are a technology provider and can say you've had a client for more than a decade, you've really have achieved something remarkable. FBS has been providing its Flexmls software to ARMLS, the largest MLS in Arizona, and its more than 38,000 subscribers for the last decade. When you also announce you've just signed a new multi-year contract extension with that same client, you've achieved something exceptional. That's the news from Fargo, North Dakota today and Michael Wurzer, CEO of FBS, Creators of Flexmls. According to their news release, what has made the relationship long-lasting is leadership that are [...]

By |2017-12-11T13:14:52-08:00December 11th, 2017|Main category|Comments Off on FBS and ARMLS: 10 years done, more to come
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FBS Acquires Solid Earth

If 2018 does indeed turn out to be “The Year of Consolidation” in the MLS world, then the stage was set today in the MLS technology world by FBS. One of the most respected and innovative tech firms serving the real estate industry just helped with the consolidation trend. Michael Wurzer, who heads up FBS, creators of Flexmls System and the API that started it all (Spark Platform), announced today the acquisition of Solid Earth’s Spring software platform and the hiring of the Spring team, including its CEO Matt Fowler. This marks FBS first acquisition. Ever. Considering the company was [...]

By |2017-12-04T07:05:02-08:00December 4th, 2017|Clients, Main category, MLS Insights, Press Releases, Technology|Comments Off on FBS Acquires Solid Earth
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An Invitation to Broker-Owners and Other Top Brokerage Execs

How confident are you in the US economy? That’s just one of the questions that for the last six years Imprev has asked top executives as part of its annual Thought Leader Real Estate Confidence Survey. Its 2017 Survey is now underway, and if you are a brokerage industry Thought Leader, Imprev wants you to participate. The Survey is designed expressly for broker-owners, and C-level executives – Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Revenue Officers, basically every title that begins with a “C” – who manage real estate franchises or brokerages. You can [...]

By |2017-11-29T14:36:55-08:00November 29th, 2017|Main category|Comments Off on An Invitation to Broker-Owners and Other Top Brokerage Execs
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Consolidation: What PR Tactics Can Help?

2018 could very well be the “Year of Consolidation” in the MLS industry. With the recent NAR move towards an “MLS of Choice” policy, we are likely to see a huge momentum build towards consolidation, especially in the second half of next year. That’s because smaller MLSs are going to find profitability under their current pricing model impossible. The simplest (and most often the best) solution will be to merge. By failing to plan for the role communications and PR plays within a consolidation, you are planning to fail. That’s because an effective communications and PR plan is vital to [...]

By |2017-11-29T14:27:53-08:00November 29th, 2017|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Consolidation: What PR Tactics Can Help?
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Hits and Misses from NAR Chicago

Chicago is a baseball town. Even with the Cubs disappointingly not returning to the World Series this year, you can’t escape seeing someone wearing a Cubs or White Sox hat or shirt every day in Chicago, even in November. McCormick Place, home to this year’s REALTORS® Conference & Expo, sits just two-and-a-half miles north of Comiskey Park, where the Sox play – their South Side team. So you get an idea of how far away this convention center is from the heart of downtown. And the proximity to a pro baseball park also gives me the perfect excuse to use [...]

By |2018-07-01T00:07:23-07:00November 7th, 2017|Main category|Comments Off on Hits and Misses from NAR Chicago
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What’s on your NAR Chicago Checklist? A Pre-NAR must read

My theory about conventions is this: if you plan your schedule well, your convention will go well. If you don’t, it won’t. It’s as simple as that. With Second City, our next destination, good planning could make or break how you measure the success of your NAR experience in the Windy City. Each year before I head out to the largest annual gathering of real estate agents and brokers, an estimated 20,000+ from across our nation, I like to look for some of the golden nuggets tucked away in the schedule and on the Expo floor. I cull through the info [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:35-07:00October 30th, 2017|Main category|Comments Off on What’s on your NAR Chicago Checklist? A Pre-NAR must read
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Managing PR Risks Throughout Consolidation

The MLS industry faces rapid consolidation within the next few years. In just the last couple of years, the WAV Group estimates that the number of Multiple Listing Services firms have shrunk by about 15 percent, from about 750 to some 650 today. And that’s just the beginning. This is not a new business phenomenon: the energy industry over a 20-year period, from 1995 to 2015 has shrunk by half. In travel today, 16 cruise ship brands are owned by just three firms, as are the nine major rental car company brands. Only 7 hotel conglomerates own the 80 hotel brands that dominate [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:36-07:00October 24th, 2017|Main category|Comments Off on Managing PR Risks Throughout Consolidation
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