Matterport’s Narrow Moat and the Future of Virtual Tours
Founded in 2011, Matterport had already taken on more than $60 million in investment before launching powerfully in real estate by 2016. They have taken on substantially more investment since.
CMA to Listing Agreement to MLS to Commission Check
Cloud CMA now integrated with Lone Wolf Transactions including zipForms and TransactionDesk - check it out.
MoxiWorks to Compliment Zap?
Not sure if MoxiWorks will replace Zap or not, but it is pretty clear that Moxi has some powerful traction. What is being done in Canada is not likely to have much bearing on what is done here in America – but it is a signal.
Howard Hanna Holds onto Top Spot – Named #1 Privately-Owned Real Estate Company in the Nation
Howard Hanna continues to out-perform year after year. All of us at WAV Group ask you to join us in celebrating the great accomplishments of this family-owned business. In the face of stiff competition from publicly held companies, this excellent company continues to thrive by staying profoundly focused on the relationship between customers and agents.
Brokers Need to Revisit VOW Websites
From 2009 to 2013, WAV Group spent a significant portion of our brokerage consulting on explaining what a Virtual Office Website (VOW) is and how it is different from an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) website. Now VOW websites are being discussed again in brokerage meetings and for good reason. Digital paper only brokers have been able to build spectacularly successful businesses that leverage IDX to develop referrals that take a 30% bite out of agent commissions. Brokers who care about the income of their agents should review this carefully.
Four of the Industry’s Top Leaders Join Broker Public Portal Board
WAV Group has had the privilege of working with the Broker Public Portal since it was a concept developed by a few MLS executives and a handful of brokers from The Realty Alliance. They shared a vision for delivering a consumer search experience provided by businesses that support the consumer with buying and selling homes, not advertising. Today that vision will be carried on by four new Board Members, Dana Strandmo of BHHS (nationwide), Lacey Conway of Latter and Blum (Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi), OB Jacobi of Windermere (10 States), and Shelley Specchio of MIBOR (Indiana). From those early days, brokers [...]
Cleveland, Dayton, Northwest Ohio MLS Systems Partner to Share Listing Data
Today, three of Ohio’s significant MLSs have announced a reciprocal access agreement. All three are CoreLogic Matrix markets, eliminating the need for agents to learn a different system when they link into the other MLS market. This is a very cost effective way to accomplish many of the goals of data sharing. Kudos to the folks in Ohio that discovered the vision for collaboration that is appropriate for their area.
Lone Wolf launches Digital Title Orders
Lone Wolf has extended the functionality of their marketplace to include the functionality of ordering title within the forms application. This saves a step for real estate professionals and makes the home purchase process more streamlined for the consumer.
Real Estate Agent Eligible for PPP Loans Until March 31st
The second wave of federal loan funding to small businesses includes $250 Billion earmarked to small businesses. As of right now, about $128 Billion of that money is still available. Last week, the federal government extended the benefit to independent contractors including real estate agents.
How NAR Got It Wrong in 1988 May Teach Us Something About Today
When George Slusser joined WAV Group to lead our Mergers, Acquisitions, and Valuations team, we all reviewed his book titled Acquiring Profit. I love reading old business books because time is a cruel fact-checker, and also because the thoughts of leaders in the past give us great guidance for our current forecasting predictions. Namely, don’t make them. When the book was written, the National Association of Realtors predicted that their membership would shrink from 820,000 to 500,000 by Y2k – the year 2000. At that time, there were also around 70,000 brokerages. The thought of industry leaders at the time [...]
eCommission Launches Access: An Innovative Way for Real Estate Agents to Pay for Goods and Services
eCommission, the nation’s leading provider of working capital to real estate professionals, announced today the launch of Access, a Buy Now, Pay Later solution created exclusively for the real estate industry.
Pay Attention to Home Ownership Division Launched at Inside Real Estate
I connected with Ned Stringham from Inside Real Estate by phone to learn more about the announcement of their Home Ownership Division and was excited by what I learned.