Data Only Brokers

There are lots of brokers who subscribe to MLS services. They are called participants, and as participants they are provided data rights beyond agents, and way beyond vendors or third parties. Moreover, participants are the nucleus of reciprocal offers of compensation, an agreement that if one broker represents a willing buyer and the other broker represents a willing seller, they will share compensation. There is a new brokerage model that has entered the MLS sphere, and I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing. I will call this type of brokerage a "Data Only Broker" or [...]

Loyalty Marketing in Real Estate

An innovative concept known as loyalty marketing was heralded by the launch of American Airlines AAdvantage in the early 80’s and has since evolved to become competitive table-stakes as loyalty programs have saturated the business landscape. It is curious that an industry like real estate, powered by 80% repeat and referral business has missed the mark on loyalty marketing. Real Estate is not the only industry getting it wrong. It’s safe to say that the majority of programs consumers experience today have been designed “By Boomers for Boomers,” all while fundamental shifts in consumer purchase behavior demand that new models [...]

RE Technology Releases 2012 MLS Technology Guide

MLSs seeking to educate themselves and their members about technology, as well as discover sources of non-dues revenue, can leverage this easy-to-use guide. Arroyo Grande, CA (June 2012) – MLSs and real estate Associations face myriad challenges in today’s changing technology landscape. A new guide from leading real estate technology media site, RE Technology, aims to assist them in overcoming these challenges with descriptions of leading tech companies and products. Interested organizations can download the 2012 MLS Technology Guide for free at RETechnology.com. Information in the guide is presented in a clear, concise format. Product categories covered include agent ratings, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:56-07:00June 27th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Press Releases, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on RE Technology Releases 2012 MLS Technology Guide

Market Leader Ships SharperAgent to 100,000 customers

Market Leader had a reseller agreement with Imprev, the leading Agent, Broker and Franchise marketing services provider for years. It was successful, and the relationship ended amicably when Market Leader purchased Imprev's competitor, SharperAgent. The effort was in concert with Market Leader's strategic vision of building an end-to-end platform that supports real estate professionals from lead generation to closing and customer retention. Market Leader announced today that the Sharper Agent marketing suite has been integrated into all of the Market Leader products and made available to all 100,000 agents who are registered to that platform. In concert with the release, [...]

ListedBy.com Appoints Roger Noujeim as Vice President of Marketing

Former Point2 executive brings extensive industry experience to help guide ListedBy’s direction and growth NAPA, Calif. – May 31, 2012 – ListedBy (www.ListedBy.com), the real estate industry’s first free online marketplace and social network with integrated live bidding and auction functionality, today announced the appointment of Roger Noujeim as vice president of marketing, to lead the company’s global marketing and branding strategy. As member of the executive team, Noujeim will play a key role in guiding ListedBy’s direction and growth, with a focus on accelerating market penetration and adoption. “We are ecstatic to have someone of Roger's caliber join our [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:59-07:00May 31st, 2012|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, Press Releases, Product Management|Comments Off on ListedBy.com Appoints Roger Noujeim as Vice President of Marketing

Edina Realty and Broker Syndication Choices

The news of Edina Realty pulling their listing from Realtor.com have been rippling through the industry since announced. There are probably a small handful of brokers who have done the same, but that is about it. This became newsworthy because Edina Realty is a big broker – really big. Moreover, the parent company, Home Services of America is second only to NRT in terms of being the largest brokerage in America. NRT has about 750 offices and 250,000 sides. Home Services have about 300 offices and does about 125,000 sides. There is a lot at stake for syndication and online [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:00-07:00May 25th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on Edina Realty and Broker Syndication Choices

Rapattoni and iHomefinder Partner on VCCAOR Website

Rapattoni has long offered Association websites and MLS consumer property search solutions in the markets that they serve. I believe Rapattoni may have been among the pioneering MLS vendors at offering such a solution. Having said that, there has been little attention paid toward innovating the search component of that platform. In the deployment of the new website, Rapattoni and iHomefinder collaborated to deliver an elegant solution. This week, the California based Ventura County Coastal Association of REALTORS (VCCAOR) debuted their new website powered by iHomefinder. Board President Cindy Diaz-Telly spoke with the WAV Group about the site. According to [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:02-07:00May 14th, 2012|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Rapattoni and iHomefinder Partner on VCCAOR Website

PWR Launches 10K Reports

The Minneapolis Association of REALTORS developed a company called 10K a few years ago. The mission of the company is to offer REALTORS outstanding market analytic reports. They have been canvasing the country offering the product through MLSs and REALTOR Associations. Pacific West Association of REALTORS (PWR) is a large and recent new customer for 10K. WAV Group had a Q&A session with Lalaine Castillo, PWR VP Marketing and Communications to understand the strategy behind their vendor selection. Question:What differentiated 10K from other stats vendors? Answer:10k understands the business of REALTOR associations and our members,  having deployed similar solutions for [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:02-07:00May 13th, 2012|How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on PWR Launches 10K Reports

Onboard Targets ListHub Reports with New Product

In a press release found below, Onboard announced the launch of Listings 360 insight Advisor. This product is a reporting solution like Listhub Reports, and FREE!  However, Listings 360 does not include syndication at this time. The first customer in line to release the product is Chicago multiple listing service provider, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). Connecticut MLS (CTMLS) and Metropolitan Regional MLS (MRIS) have also licensed the solution for their subscribers. WAV Group spoke to MRED CEO, Russ Bergeron to understand the strategy behind the launch. Bergeron indicated that MRED likes to offer more than one product option when [...]

Trulia becomes more Broker-Centric

Brokers have been on a rant for the past few years. Online publishers went too far to compel agent and broker advertising on their sites. They pursued rigorous policies that masked the listing agent and listing broker from the consumer. This had three profound effects and led to several types of actions: Removal: In disgust, some brokers retreated from syndication completely (See Edina Realty, Shorewest REALTORS and others) Enhancements: Some brokers went with the flow and enhanced or featured their listings to take over publisher sites in their area (See Howard Hanna and many others). Data Games: Some brokers gave [...]

RENTALS! A Market Quickly Slipping Away From REALTORS®

Every agent I know is looking for new opportunities for generating additional revenue.  At the same time I hear again and again that many agents are not interested in working on rental properties because there’s “not enough money in it”. Driven by this ambivalence, many MLSs are ignoring the rental market. This perspective is a HUGE mistake, in my view.  Let me share some “fun facts” with you to help you understand why I say that… First: Did you know that experts are now predicting that rental properties will constitute up to 40% of the overall residential real estate market [...]

Move Announces 2x More Revenue than Zillow

Today, there are two front-runners in online property search – Zillow and Move. They are both public companies. Falling in line behind them are two private companies, Homes.com and Trulia. Here is how the revenue stacks up on the public companies. Move, Inc., Operators of Realtor.com who is in partnership with AOL Real Estate and MSN real estate for publishing broker listings reported revenue of $47.7 million today. Move did not report any earnings or losses. Seattle Upstart Zillow has been on a run, increasing traffic to levels comparable with Move and purchasing companies. They reported revenue of $22.8M and [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:04-07:00May 4th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing, Press Releases|Comments Off on Move Announces 2x More Revenue than Zillow