Four Trends That Will Rock the Real Estate Industry in 2012

January 23, 2012 2 Comments

If there is one thing that I’ve learned in the real estate business over the years it’s that change is constant.  New tools, programs, regulations and innovators make this an industry that doesn’t stand still.

From computerization of Multiple Listing Service data to smart phones to mortgage preapprovals to digital signatures; innovation waits for no one.  You either embrace it or get out of the way.

So without further ado, here are my predictions for the upcoming year and some of the things that I believe will rock our industry (again):

1.  Listing Syndication and Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Will Come Under Fire

It has been commonplace over the last couple of years for companies and agents to syndicate their listings to as many real estate web sites as possible to increase the chance that their properties will get noticed by home buyers who will in turn contact an agent to buy a home.  Sounds like a plan – right?

Enter Edina Realty.  Edina is a mega broker with 60 real estate offices and over $5 billion in sales located in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.  In late 2011, Edina stopped syndicating their listings to national websites.  Why would one of the top ten real estate companies in the US decide to shun syndication?  If you listen to them, there are three reasons: Read more of this post

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Psst . . . Don’t Tell Anyone!

June 2, 2009 2 Comments

"Sell my listing . . . but don't tell anyone."

Image courtesy of Flickr

When I first got into the real estate business year’s ago, occasionally I would run into a seller that told me to sell their home quickly at the highest price but with some of the following caveats:
  • “Don’t put a sign on my front lawn.  I don’t want my neighbors to know that I’m selling.”
  • “Don’t put my home in the MLS.  I want to keep the sale of my house as private as possible.”
My response was always the same; “Are you out of your mind?”  Actually, I conveyed my message a little differently but the point was always the same; “Mr. & Mrs. Seller, in order for me to get your home sold in the shortest period of time at the highest price, I need all the tools available to me.  That includes . . . . “  At the end of the day, I would get the listing, use all the tools and eventually sell the home.
  
I can understand this line of reasoning from a seller (hmmm – not really) but from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), I’m floored!
  
Read more of this post

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