WAV Group Consulting Newsletter Archives

FBS To Support MLS With Listing Syndication

Since listing data feeds came into existence, they have been the providence of MLS vendors like FBS and their peers. There are also controls that go down to the listing detail level that enables listings to be opted out of things like IDX (with written seller approval in most markets). In a blog post today, FBS CEO Michael Wurzer discusses this functionality that is delivered through a standard feature in FlexMLS called Listing Export. Arizona Regional MLS serving the greater Phoenix, AZ area is among the first FBS clients to use this functionality for a wide range of syndication to [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:11-07:00May 28th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off

The Right and Wrong of Broker Data

There is a lot of confusion about real estate listing data today. I believe that the confusion is the cause of agitation that pits technology companies, consumers, real estate agents, pundits, MLSs, Franchises, and Associations of REALTORS against one another. For many, there is a belief that the listing data is free and access should be provided to all. The reality is that the listing data is legally bound to the real estate listing broker who is the custodian and responsible party for that data. Being a custodian, or the responsible party has nearly boundless latitude and altitude. Today’s real [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:12-07:00May 7th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services|3 Comments

Resourcefulness

If anything put fear back into the real estate industry lately, it was the sluggish first quarter performance. There are few valid explanations for it. Inventory is at a reasonable level and interest rates are low. People should be buying homes like they did last year. Rather than trying to figure it out, it is time to apply a healthy dose of resourcefulness into the business. The best way to do that is audit your expenses and your people. A typical story There are times when WAV Group finds significant problems in a business that management did not see. But [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:12-07:00May 7th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services|Comments Off

Professional “Standards” – Are we kidding ourselves?

We have had the pleasure of facilitating several strategic plans in the past few months with many of the nation’s leading Associations. We have seen an important theme emerge in many of these discussions – Professional Standards. While most organizations feel as though they are doing a good job of maintaining current expectations for professional standards, some weaknesses have been revealed. When asked, most organizations will readily admit that there are agents and brokers that are NOT upholding the Code of Ethics and standards of conduct to the level that most members are. Even though boards regularly admit that there [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:12-07:00May 7th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services|Comments Off

Video Marketing – Becoming Mainstream

With all the marketing tools at your disposable, what should you use to stand out from the competition? Staying ahead of the curve allows you to maximize your marketing ROI and attract new clients. We are all looking for the secret sauce – the way to differentiate our business from the pack and gain a strong leadership position that none of our competitors will ever be able to match. While we can dream, we can never realize this goal unless we continually look for ways to re-invent our business. To be a star in real estate, we always need to [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2020-11-06T06:51:15-08:00May 7th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Our Services, Reports, Technology Evaluation|10 Comments

WAV Group Releases Broker Technology Adoption and Satisfaction Study

WAV Group partner Victor Lund is pleased to release the results of our recent survey to measure what technologies brokers have adopted and how satisfied they are with each. The survey also measured how likely a firm is to replace a technology supplier in 2014. In order to understand how technology plays a role by size of firm, answers were collected in ten groups ranging from firms with 1-9 agents to firms with more than 1500 agents. This report is provided to the industry with our compliments. WAV Group performs this type of research across the real estate industry to [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:13-07:00April 9th, 2014|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Our Services, Reports|5 Comments

Calculating ROI on Syndication to Publishers
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Calculating ROI on Syndication to Publishers

Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Our Services

Calculating ROI on Syndication to Publishers

WAV Group provides enterprise brokers with a monitoring service to measure their listing syndication strategy. It is a thorny and emotional topic where risks and rewards are balanced delicately. Undoubtedly, this week brokers who do syndicate to publisher websites are reviewing their reports from last month. Here are a few things you should look at. Listing Views Obviously, you want to know the number of times that your listing was viewed on each publisher website. The easiest way to view listings by the publisher is to look at reports from your listing distributer – like Listhub, Point2, reDataVault, etc. If [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:14-07:00April 9th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Our Services|3 Comments

Protect Broker Data with Anti-Scraping

If you are a broker or an MLS, you must treat your data as an asset. By and large, our industry does a great job of protecting the front door of data access, but the back door of data scraping is wide open. It begs the question, if you care about data protection, why are you only scrutinizing the legitimate data users without hunting for the nefarious and illegitimate data thieves? Thieves that want to steal data send robots out onto the internet to do their pickpocketing, and they do it quite well. Reviewing Distil Networks’ reports with Matt Cohen [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:14-07:00April 9th, 2014|MLS Insights|Comments Off

Early Success Can Be Tricky – Take Care!

We work with all types of companies and organizations and have the opportunity to see many different approaches to successfully delivering products and services. Successful companies have many similarities and when you look into them closely you see certain constants. These companies almost always have strong leadership, values and a clear vision that is understood by everyone that works there. When you look back at their evolution you see a company that stayed on track to their core mission. You’ll see a company that understood the basics and paid attention to detail, their customers, what the market was asking for [...]

By THE WAV GROUP|2018-05-03T21:24:14-07:00April 9th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Our Services|Comments Off

A Potential New Role for the MLS

The home buying process and obtaining a mortgage are inextricably linked. The Mortgage industry has been pushed to the forefront by the recent mortgage crisis, marked by unprecedented rates of loan delinquencies, defaults, and foreclosures. Recent studies on this topic cite various causes, including risky product offerings, economic conditions, a housing price bubble, adverse selection, and questionable marketing practices Today, MLS organizations are positioned to play a much broader role through their network of subscribers to leverage technology to make the process of buying and selling a home much more efficient and effective. Some of the most innovative MLS organizations [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:15-07:00March 13th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights, Reports, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off

Important Information from the NSBA

It is a great honor to be able to serve on the Board of Trustees of the National Small Business Association. Below is a piece by NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken discussing important issues facing all small business across industries, including real estate. I look forward to sharing more valuable information like this from the NSBA with our industry! To become a member of the NSBA visit nsba.biz Inside the Beltway - March The Monthly Update on Small-Business Policy By NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken Small Business Policymakers On Wednesday, March 5, the Senate Small Business Committee voted [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:24:15-07:00March 13th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Our Services|Comments Off

How Data Killed The REALTOR

If you look at the demise of Encyclopedia Britannica, you see a clear roadmap of how history will repeat itself to cause the demise of the REALTOR®. Up until 1994, the Britannica sales associates sold about 120,000 hard copies. Salespeople consumed the most amounts of profits from the transaction. The salespeople at Encyclopedia Britannica protected their data. The three or four thousand pages of the books were protected by copyright. Then came the Internet, and more importantly, Wikipedia. The Britannica sales person was disrupted by a price point of free. The cost of data was disrupted by user-generated content. Adapt [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:24:16-07:00March 13th, 2014|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights|7 Comments