Technology Evaluation Archives

It’s Your Data – Make Sure You Can Use It!

I do a lot of work helping MLSs choose their next MLS technology vendor and I also work with brokers that use multiple real estate technology tools. The one thing both sets of technology have in common is the fact that without good data the technology is worthless. Numerous roadblocks exist today, however, on the data front that often derails the best software. Some roadblocks come from within the MLS but some come from the technology vendors themselves. MLSs can serve as roadblocks to listing and sales data at the source, meaning they may put arbitrary restrictions on data use [...]

By THE WAV GROUP|2018-05-03T21:24:23-07:00December 9th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

Fear of Agent Ratings

The real estate industry seems to want to avoid judgments and ratings of any and all kinds. It may be for good reason, or it may be for fear. The reality is that agents resist ratings for fear and reason. Most people react to change with emotion and justify that emotion with logic. Fear According to the source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, fear is an emotion induced by a perceived threat that causes entities to quickly pull far away from it and usually hide. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:23-07:00November 25th, 2013|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Technology Evaluation|8 Comments

LeadRouter Gets Much Better

LeadRouter is the solution that is used by the REALOGY firms to manage the hundreds of thousands of leads generated by the franchises and the franchisees across the world. It is arguably the most commonly used lead management solution on the planet. Today, it just got better for the agent and for the consumer. In Thursday’s version release, LeadRouter has taken steps to allow agents to immediately contact the consumer by phone when the lead comes in, and the record of that contact record is automatically published in LeadRouther. It is simple, elegant, better. If you are not a LeadRouter [...]

By Victor Lund|2016-06-30T05:25:24-07:00November 20th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Technology Evaluation|3 Comments

IDX Reboot
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IDX Reboot

Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation

IDX Reboot

This is a rather obscene notion, but sometimes the best way to innovate is to ask a bunch of questions about the status quo. For brokers and MLSs to innovate, they need to question the effectiveness of IDX. I would not question its value. Rather, I believe that it has uncompromising value to MLS participants and subscribers. I question how we can make it more valuable. Perhaps it is time for a reboot. A reboot is a process where you turn something off and turn it back on to stop routines from running that undermine the operation of the machine. [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:25-07:00October 24th, 2013|Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|2 Comments

One Path for MLSs and Large Brokers to Work Together More Effectively

As many of you know there is quite a bit of discontent with selected large brokers and their MLS relationships. While there are many components to this discontent, there is one tangible action step that MLSs can take to help improve the relationship. The Realty Alliance recently published their Fair Display For MLS Public Facing Websites Document. Fortunately, our experience suggests that most MLS websites comply with these rules. For any MLS that already offers a site or is considering launching one here are the gotta have rules you must follow to be in compliance with The Realty Alliance’s dictate: [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:25-07:00October 23rd, 2013|Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|3 Comments

RE Technology Top 5 Articles of the Week

Webinar: Is Your Website Designed to Meet the Needs of Tomorrow's First-Time Homebuyers? With new mortgage regulations on the horizon and a larger pool of first-time homebuyers ready to take action, the needs of the next generation of buyers are changing. Join us for a webinar that will review the growing interest among consumers in homeownership programs and how you can use your website to leverage this market opportunity. Date: Thursday October 24th, 2013 Time: 2 pm Eastern / 1 pm Central / 11 am Pacific 5 Steps to Maximizing Your Marketing Budget The most important number you need to [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:25-07:00October 18th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

Brokers: Total Transparency of Agent Performance & Activity Is Here
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Brokers: Total Transparency of Agent Performance & Activity Is Here

Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Technology Evaluation

Brokers: Total Transparency of Agent Performance & Activity Is Here

Lead management services have been around in some format for years, of course, and many tech companies have been putting a lot of effort into delivering tools that tie the broker, office manager, and team leader. Agents historically (and still today) are inconsistent at best with responding to online leads (and are usually worse at follow-up). Brokers need to fix this! CRM providers are responding to two trends we see emerging that are changing the landscape of lead management for brokers. The first one is confounding. Agents want syndication and online advertising but only respond to about 1 in 4 [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:25-07:00October 11th, 2013|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Technology Evaluation|4 Comments

RE Technology’s Top 5 Articles of the Week

Does Your Website Capture Leads or Let Them Get Away? Getting visitors to your site is only half the battle of online advertising. If your website does not convert even the highest quality visitors to leads, your online lead generation efforts are doomed to failure. Your website needs to both engage your visitors with the information they are looking for and ask for their contact information so you can reach out and turn them into clients. 5 Reasons to Use a Virtual Tour In conversation with Tim Denbo of VirtualTourCafe, we asked a simple question: "Why should agents create a [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:26-07:00September 23rd, 2013|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

Pilgrims vs. Portals

History tells many stories of long ago that reflect on the conditions of today. I came across a story about the Pilgrims that made me think that in some way, it is similar to the real estate industry and portals. In 1630, a Pilgrim court dealt a nasty blow to one of its settlers. They ordered him to be incarcerated, burned his house, confiscated all of his goods, then ultimately exiled him from America. The Pilgrim’s name was Thomas Morton, and they said that he was a danger to society. Morton went to England and pleaded with the English court, [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:27-07:00September 20th, 2013|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services, Technology Evaluation|7 Comments

It’s Time to Re-invent the Search

There’s a fundamental problem in the real estate business today. Since time immemorial real estate ‘searches’ have utilized a property-centric approach that ignores the other 50 percent of the business: the buyers. In the real estate industry, we focus so much on displaying listings hoping to attract a buyer without spending nearly enough time and resources to analyze and understand the market segment that are the drivers of the purchase. This is also symptomatic of the industry’s fundamental focus on the needs of agents, not consumers. Doesn’t it make more sense to focus on the needs of the consumer? The [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:27-07:00September 10th, 2013|MLS Insights, Reports, Technology Evaluation|2 Comments

Last Call For WAV Group 2013 MLS Technology Survey

If you haven’t already signed up this is your last chance to have your MLS participate in the WAV Group 2013 MLS Technology Survey. Last year we had 75 MLSs participate with over 15,000 agents and staff taking part. This year we expect to have even more participate. Three Free Reports For Participating National Roll-up Report Every MLS that participates will receive the national roll up report, which provides a summary of the overall findings for all of the vendors reviewed. This will include comparisons to results in 2012, what users and staff like most about each system as well [...]

By THE WAV GROUP|2018-05-03T21:24:27-07:00September 10th, 2013|Main category, Suveys and Research, Technology Evaluation|1 Comment