April 2012

Are People Really Resistant to Change?
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Are People Really Resistant to Change?

Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Our Company, Our Services, Reports, Strategic Planning, Suveys and Research

Are People Really Resistant to Change?

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Broker Summit put on by the Michigan Association of REALTORSâ this week in Detroit, Michigan. The topic I was asked to speak on was the “Future of Real Estate”, just a small topic right? But this was really a fun topic because it gave me an opportunity to talk about some significant changes I have witnessed over the years impacting our industry, like the change in the broker/agent relationship, changes in technology and the changing role of the consumer and what these changes mean for our future. In this post I don’t [...]

By THE WAV GROUP|2018-05-03T21:25:05-07:00April 27th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Our Company, Our Services, Reports, Strategic Planning, Suveys and Research|0 Comments

METROLIST NAMES SLUNAKER AS PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Denver, CO – Metrolist® announced that Kirby Slunaker has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective March 13, 2012. “In Kirby, we have chosen a seasoned business leader to continue our transition as a high quality service-oriented organization serving Colorado Realtors®,” stated James T. Wanzeck, Metrolist Board Chairman. “Kirby has deep experience in transforming and leading top companies, such as VISA USA, eBags, FedEx, MDC Holdings, and, most recently, Pendum LLC. With an executive of this caliber, we’re extremely well positioned to take the company to a new level.” Slunaker was chosen as interim Chief Operating Officer (COO) [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:25:05-07:00April 27th, 2012|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Press Releases|0 Comments

Listings MUST include at least one photo, period.

The attached article from Anastasia Wilcott, a frustrated real estate consumer, points out the pain that is created when listings are published without any photos. I read the attached article on RETechnolgy this week and it inspired me to talk about a big issue that could be remedied very simply: lag time in listing photos. Every MLS has their own rules about requirements for posting photos. Some require a photo within 24 hours, some are as long as 7 days after the listing is live. The current rules harken back to a time when a photographer was needed to take the shot, [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:25:05-07:00April 27th, 2012|Broker-Agent Information, Clients, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|0 Comments

Listhub launches new dashboard

Years ago, before ListHub, Point2, and Postlets, – if a broker wanted to publish listings to a third party consumer facing website, they would need to hand enter the listing or manufacture a data feed. ListHub was among the pioneering companies that helped brokers solve this problem. Today, in most MLS markets around the nation, ListHub offers a free service to brokers that will send broker listings to hundreds of websites. Today, ListHub released an upgrade to this system that offers more brokers options and flexibly in choosing their publisher partners. For MLSs, ListHub now allows you to share your opinion about each [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:25:05-07:00April 25th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category|2 Comments

CoreLogic Executive Seain Conover provides insight

WAV Group partner Victor Lund interviewed CoreLogic® executive Seain Conover to learn his view of the MLS software business. Mr. Conover founded, and along with his dedicated partner, built up an MLS software development company called Tarasoft®. Last year, Tarasoft® was acquired by CoreLogic®. MatrixTM, Tarasoft’s flagship MLS platform brand continues to be offered globally. Why did you sell Tarasoft® to CoreLogic®? It is always fun to get the conversation started with a challenging question. If you know Seain, you know that he is a fairly reserved person with a kind heart, great work ethic and a big smile. He [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:25:06-07:00April 24th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

REALTOR.Com Shoots across bow of Trulia and Zillow

The industry knows the dirty little secret. Many third party listing websites are full of garbage data. In a major online marketing effort, REALTOR.com is telling this story. Inaccurate listings are not appearing here and there, but more than half the "for sale" listings on many sites populated from syndication are duplicates, already sold, expired, pending, or bank owned homes that are not for sale at all. Bad real estate listing information is bad for the real estate industry. So many of these sites claim to be consumer centric, but they blatantly and knowingly allow data to be fed to their [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:25:06-07:00April 23rd, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

MLS Innovation from DiscoverMLS and iMapp
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MLS Innovation from DiscoverMLS and iMapp

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MLS Innovation from DiscoverMLS and iMapp

DiscoverMLS, the company in large part responsible for driving significant innovation in the MLS industry, and iMapp, the company that pioneered the concept of advertising inside the MLS system, are at it again. The two companies have paired up and have announced a new initiative that creates an alternative to the traditional model of purchasing an MLS system separate from a Tax system. Whenever we at WAV Group conduct agent and broker research we hear pleas for better ways for MLSs to integrate all of their core tools to make them easier to work with. This initiative answers one of [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:25:06-07:00April 20th, 2012|Main category|1 Comment

MRIS providing aid to Homeless Shelter

I caught this article this morning on the Property Portal Blog. MRIS provides this inspiration to other MLSs around the nation. If there was ever a cause that the MLS and Associations of REALTORS should support - it has got to be helping the homeless. Print this article and bring it to your next board of directors meeting. Get approval to help out your local homeless shelter. Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), one of the largest MLS portals in the US serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area including Maryland, Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, has announced that it has entered into a title [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:25:06-07:00April 19th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

Century 21 touches franchises with 2012 plan

Century 21 is cool. And that is a new thing for a 40-year-old real estate brand. I purchased my primary home from a Century 21 agent because of the agent, not because of the brand. However, in the past few years, Century 21 started looking cool. Being a cynic and a skeptic, I did not really believe that they were cool. Sotheby’s is luxury, Coldwell Banker is business, BH&G is lifestyle, ERA is old school, and Century 21 is Middle America. None of those brands are cool. That changed for me today. WAV Group works with lots of brokers. They [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:25:06-07:00April 12th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Marketing|1 Comment

Where have all of the leads from MLS Consumer Websites gone?
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Where have all of the leads from MLS Consumer Websites gone?

Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Reports

Where have all of the leads from MLS Consumer Websites gone?

Every time we conduct a survey with agents they tell us how little they know about the number of leads or listing exposure they are receiving from their MLS Consumer Websites. Some agents know the sites exist-some don’t even know that much. It is pretty much universal that agents are not getting regular reports telling them how valuable their MLS consumer website is to their business. When asked how interested they would be in getting a lead generation report from their MLS, there is pretty much unanimous interest in receiving this valuable information. In the most recent Member Customer Satisfaction [...]

By Marilyn Wilson|2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 9th, 2012|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights, Reports|4 Comments

Set your plans now for CMLS

This year, the most exciting and fulfilling conference will again be the CMLS by the Council of MLS. It is a conference like no other, dedicated fully to excellence in providing Multiple Listing Services to real estate professionals. This year, the CMLS conference will be in one of America’s greatest cities – Boston! Our hostess for the event will be Kathy Condon and her team at MLS Property Information Network or MLSPIN. Men have hosted the conference the past couple of years and done a respectable job, but we all know that women rock in organizational skills. Thanks to Kathy, [...]

By Victor Lund|2018-05-03T21:25:07-07:00April 8th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments