Flying back to Seattle from San Francisco gave me a couple of hours to reflect on Inman Connect SF. When I bumped into founder Brad Inman mid-way through the event, he looked at me and said with a proud smile and on his face and in his eyes, “It reminds you of the original Connects, doesn’t it?” It sure did.
This may be one of the most redefining moments in the history of real estate technology. Technology vendors who wish to make their products available to Upstream brokers and franchises must connect to the Upstream today. Upstream does not charge vendors to use the service. I would like to invite you to learn about Upstream during a webinar that we are hosting on RE Technology on Wednesday, August 1st. Because of the capacity limitations on our GoToWebinar service, we may only allow the first 1000 to register. P
What’s the key to being the BEST at what you do? Natural talent helps, but the different between a good athlete and a GREAT athlete is a CONSISTENT discipline. Olympic athletes train EVERY day, usually 2 or 3 times MORE than their peers. They do whatever it takes to get a competitive edge and they do it REGULARLY. Michael Phelps, 28 time Gold medalist is credited with training harder than any of his peers – 365 days per year for 6 years including holidays, weekends and even after swimming meets.
According to an announcement made today, real estate agents in the Silicon Valley California based MLSListings now have the ability to change price and edit public and private remarks though the MLS-Touch mobile application. Another key new field that they are planning in the future is listing status update. The data modified in MLS-Touch flows into both CoreLogic’s Matrix product as well as Black Knight’s Paragon product and all the MLSListings data feeds. The release indicates that these editable fields are the first of many that will continue to be added over time.
It's been a little over a year since the Council of MLS rolled out the 1000watt created “Making the Market Work” branding campaign. Remember the initial energy? Social media channels were buzzing. New videos were proudly created, touting the value and the benefits of the local MLS to consumers (and professionals). Website home pages were blazoned with fresh new images promoting this powerful new messaging. New full-page ads run publicly. There was a genuine esprit de corps in the industry.
Homesnap, the industry-endorsed national home search platform, today announced that it has sent over one million free leads to listing and buyers agents. These leads are shared by Homesnap to help real estate agents build their brand and connect with potential clients.
Always. Never. Every. Everyone. Everybody. All. Must. These are some of the most dangerous words in our vocabulary. For writers and speakers, as my nephew in Alabama would say, these words are as about as useful as a steering wheel on mule. That’s because these words are typically perceived to be an exaggeration.
One of the most interesting things about being an expert witness is recognizing how companies can avoid costly litigation. Zillow actually tested the courts in the case of VHT v. Zillow. The facts of the case were reported by Inman News. In summary, VHT filed for copyright on their images. The copyright was granted. VHT then provided a notification of their filing and requested removal. Zillow refused. VHT sued. The court awarded damages. I think the case is on appeal. This issue is not with Zillow or any other portal, it is about protecting the rights of copyright holders and giving privacy to families that buy homes.
The role of a member of an MLS Board of Director is multifaceted, but divided in part to areas around voting control, and in part around strategic guidance. A trend emerging at the largest MLSs in the nation is to invite outside directors into the board room.
In this day and age, it is ridiculous to be on a property site and see active listings with no images included. If we want to give sellers the marketing exposure their property deserves and buyers the shopping experience they require, then it’s time to get us past this problem once and for all!
When the real estate industry brokerage leaders and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) leaders gathered to reimagine a better national consumer search experience, Chicagoland MLS Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED) jumped right in. They believe in the mission of the Broker Public Portal and have licensed Homesnap since July of 2016. The company has committed not only treasury but also significant volunteer effort.
Real Estate is a fickle industry, cycling back and forth from favoring buyers to favoring sellers. It does not take an economist to develop a strategy for when to advertise for buyers and when not to. Certainly, real estate is in a condition of buyer saturation today. Brokers and agents who are advertising for buyers are mismanaging their advertising spend.
