The Wave of Un-Syndication

January 28, 2012 Leave a comment

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A couple of days ago, I posted four real estate predictions for 2012 that I thought would ‘Rock’ the industry this year.  I’ve heard from a couple of my colleagues that told me that my observations on listing syndication were not an accurate reflection of how the industry feels.  Well – - – it didn’t take long for the first prediction to start manifesting itself right before our very eyes.

Abbott Realty Group (ARG), a well-respected, residential brokerage company in San Diego, CA posted the following video on its YouTube channel.  Take a look:

 

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Still think that brokers across the country will never pull out of REALTOR.com, Trulia, Zillow, et. al.?  Jim Abbott, the President of ARG, outlines some compelling points in favor of yanking a firm’s listings from these aggregators.  As the year unfolds, it will be interesting to see how many other brokers follow ARG’s lead.  Stay tuned.

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The Difference Between Short Sales, Foreclosures and REO’s

September 8, 2010 2 Comments

  
Practitioners in the real estate industry sometimes throw around acronyms and terminology that we understand, but in many cases our clients do not.

Here is a prime example: short sales, foreclosures and REO’s (Real Estate Owned).  I found this short video clip that does a great job in explaining the differences.  The guy in the video is Spencer Rascoff, the COO of Zillow.

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The Race For a National MLS is On

November 23, 2009 Leave a comment

 

Within the last two weeks, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) unveiled its vision of a national property database called the REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) that would be available to its membership starting in the second quarter of next year.  After I watched NAR’s online presentation of the RPR the first thing I concluded (read my post here) was that they were going to build a national Multiple Listing Service (MLS) even though they stated numerous times during the presentation, “This is not a national MLS.”  I didn’t buy their statement two weeks ago and I’m not buying it today.  I wish they would just call a spade a spade and get on with it.

While the NAR and the oodles of MLS’s serving their membership haggle over how they’re going to tweak or preserve the status quo, Google is busy blowing up the old model and rewriting the rules of the game.

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RPR – Like Watchin’ Deer in the Headlights

November 19, 2009 Leave a comment

Since the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) first unveiled the REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) at NAR’s Convention in San Diego this past week, I have been intently following and participating in the online conversation so that I can fully understand the breadth of this behemoth.  My conclusion thus far – - – This WILL change everything!  From how individual REALTORS® in the field do business to how local Association’s and MLS‘s operate to how the consumer perceives us.  Trust me; this is the biggest thing to happen to our industry in last twenty-five years.  Nothing even comes close.  What is amazing to me is that most REALTOR® (my guess is 90%) haven’t even heard of the RPR yet.  Mention the RPR and it’s like watchin’ deer in the headlights.  Most have no clue.

Why is that?  Why the indifference?  My guess is that our industry is so focused on pulling itself out of the economic malaise of the past sixteen months that this game-changer has gone unnoticed.  In addition, even though it has been introduced, you can’t get your hands on it yet.  (NOTE: The official release date of RPR is sometime in April of 2010.)  It’s all talk and talk is cheap.  Most REALTORS’® attitudes mirror a line from one of my favorite movies, Jerry Maguire: ”Show me the money!”  Not literally; but figuratively.  They want NAR to, “Show me the product!”.

In case you don’t want to watch the 90 minute NAR webinar or read the press release or read the hundreds of real estate blogs that are covering this important endeavor, here is a condensed synopsis for you.  I’ve added my own thoughts and musings after each bullet point to give you my take and to make you think.  If you think that I’m too far “out there”, feel free to ignore the commentary sections.  I won’t be offended.  WARNING – even though this is condensed, it’s still a bit lengthy: Read more of this post

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Will the National Association of REALTORS Unleash the 800 Pound Gorilla – - – a National MLS?

November 7, 2009 Leave a comment

Late yesterday afternoon, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) announced that on November 12, they will unveil a new web site called HouseLogic designed to provide home owners with a smart, simple resource to help them manage their homes wisely and to help REALTORS® extend their relationship with consumers through the entire lifecycle of homeownership.  While the specifics are still sketchy at this point, it is clear that NAR’s latest foray into the world of online real estate is not just a simple blip on the radar screen but rather a major trembler within our industry.

For the past couple of years, NAR has been working on a project called the ‘Realtors Property Resource’ (RPR) that has been shrouded in secrecy.  In fact, even the name was a mystery.  It had been called ’Gateway,’ ‘The Real Estate Channel’ and the ‘Library/Archive.’  Those of us in the industry weren’t even allowed to know all the details about the project.  Was it for consumers?  REALTORS®?  Would it provide data on every property in the US?  Was it designed to be a property valuation tool?  Would it take the place of REALTOR.com?  Or, dare I ask – - – Was it intended to be a national multiple listing service?  It was like throwing darts from 50 yards to try and hit an ant – who knew?

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Google Maps Enter the Real Estate Search Field

July 7, 2009 Leave a comment

Image via CrunchBase

Google just upped the ante in the competitive field of real estate listing search engines.  In a move that certainly had a few established players (i.e. REALTOR.com, Zillow, Tulia, et.al.) do a double take, Google Maps incorporated a new tool into its site that links buyers and renters to available properties.   The feature was only launched in Australia and New Zealand yesterday, but I understand that selected metropolitan areas in the United States are already able to utilize the service.

The following is an instructional video on how to utilize the service:

more about “Google Maps“, posted with vodpod

 
So what’s the big deal?

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