Technology Evaluation Archives

Cartavi Adds Gusto to Version 3.3

Since being acquired by DocuSign, Cartavi has been working away at developing the golden triangle of the real estate document management echo system: Forms, Signature, and Storage. Better yet, they focus on making it happen on mobile first. Before this new release, signing a document was kind of clunky. You had to open your document in DocuSign, add signatures, sign it, then pull the completed document back into Cartavi. Now, you can sign any document right inside of Cartavi using DocuSign Ink. New Integrations They took a complicated workflow and narrowed it down. When you look at a document today [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:18-07:00January 20th, 2014|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Press Releases, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

Brokers Should Audit Their MLS

2014 may well be the year of the broker, or as they are referred to in MLS speak, the year of the Participant. If your MLS has adopted the National Association of REALTORS® template for MLS Rules and Regulations, you will find that brokers are Participants and agents are Subscribers. As a Participant in the MLS, brokers accept full responsibility to adhere to MLS rules and regulations. The MLS does a pretty good job of enforcing those rules. But who among you is making sure that the MLS is not running afoul? WAV Group MLS clients are traditionally the largest [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:20-07:00December 30th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Main category, MLS Insights, Strategic Planning, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

Build Broker Support of your MLS Consumer Website with this FREE tool!

Build Broker Support of your MLS Consumer Website with this FREE tool! MLS Consumer Facing websites collectively deliver millions of leads and thousands of inquiries for their subscribers every year. In every market that I have evaluated the MLS delivers 2 to 3 times the number of inquiries that any other leading third party site does including Zillow and Trulia. Sadly, most brokers and agents are not aware of this amazing value they receive from their MLSs. I solidly believe that if MLSs did a better job of communicating the amazing marketing value of these sites, brokers of all sizes [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:21-07:00December 19th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

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 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