Rapattoni and iHomefinder Partner on VCCAOR Website

Rapattoni has long offered Association websites and MLS consumer property search solutions in the markets that they serve. I believe Rapattoni may have been among the pioneering MLS vendors at offering such a solution. Having said that, there has been little attention paid toward innovating the search component of that platform. In the deployment of the new website, Rapattoni and iHomefinder collaborated to deliver an elegant solution. This week, the California based Ventura County Coastal Association of REALTORS (VCCAOR) debuted their new website powered by iHomefinder. Board President Cindy Diaz-Telly spoke with the WAV Group about the site. According to [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:02-07:00May 14th, 2012|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|0 Comments

Onboard Targets ListHub Reports with New Product

In a press release found below, Onboard announced the launch of Listings 360 insight Advisor. This product is a reporting solution like Listhub Reports, and FREE!  However, Listings 360 does not include syndication at this time. The first customer in line to release the product is Chicago multiple listing service provider, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). Connecticut MLS (CTMLS) and Metropolitan Regional MLS (MRIS) have also licensed the solution for their subscribers. WAV Group spoke to MRED CEO, Russ Bergeron to understand the strategy behind the launch. Bergeron indicated that MRED likes to offer more than one product option when [...]

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 [...]

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

MLS and Brokers need community managers

Like many others in real estate, I’ve spent the last few days devouring the new brand timelines launched for Facebook pages. This new medium is the focus of this article, but consider other publishing requirements in business today as you read this: website publishing, youtube publishing, twitter, etc. My expectations were sky-high but after several hours I realized that Facebook timeline is going to be a lot harder to implement than most real estate professionals think. As it stands now, there is a clear divide between brands that have adopted the timeline feature set full on and those that have [...]

Top MLS trends for 2012

WAV Group is among the ranks of consulting and research firms dedicated to the success of the Nation’s MLSs. Given the company’s involvement at the strategic planning level, there are several developing themes being nurtured.     The top six trends are: Listing Syndication Premium Service Offerings MLS Consumer Websites Online Signatures Data Licensing Data Sharing […]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:13-07:00March 1st, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

MLS Domains Association acknowledges likely competing bid for MLS Name

MLS Domains Association acknowledges likely competing bid for .MLS Operator of real estate website MLS.com appears poised to apply to ICANN Minneapolis, February 20, 2012: MLS Domains Association announced today that at it will likely not be making the only application to ICANN for the new .MLS top-level domain on the Internet. ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and is responsible for managing top-level domains worldwide. Its window for applications for new TLDs is open from now until April 12, 2012. “We know of one other likely applicant,” said Bob Bemis, president of the Association. […]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:14-07:00February 17th, 2012|Main category|0 Comments

Real Estate Digital to build new MLSLI Consumer Website

Although Real Estate Digital is a new brand in the real estate industry, the management and owners of the company are industry vetrans whose consumer website prowess dates back to the first consumer property search solutions. Real Estate Digital was formed when former LPS company executives formed the new company with assets acquired from LPS early in the fourth quarter of 2011. Since Real Estate Digital began standing on its own, they have shown a remarkable, albeit somewhat predictable ability to transition customers over to the new company and continue the growth of the products under their new brand (THINK [...]

MOVE launches the Real Estate Network for Franchises

Franchise Networks have taken the first step to declare their independence from the MLS rules and regulations, and third party listing websites. Today MOVE, operators of REALTOR.com and the Listhub listing syndication network, announced that they have created a data sharing solution called the Real Estate Network. Participant in the network include the two largest REALOGY networks of Century 21 and Coldwell Banker along with Realty Executives and RE/MAX. Under the terms of the agreement, the four participating Franchise Organizations will reciprocate in a listing data share of property listings for public display each other’s franchise websites. New Century 21 [...]

New Study Measures Consumer Interest in MLS, Reinforces Efforts to Obtain .MLS Top-level Domain

The WAV Group has published results of research that demonstrates the high value consumers place on the term “MLS”. The research, commissioned by the MLS Domains Association, includes surveys of consumers using MLS public websites and of a representative sample of consumers who have purchased or sold real estate in the last twelve months. It supports three key conclusions: For consumers, an MLS represents property search, home valuations and “the good stuff”, as one respondent described it—the term “MLS” equates to high quality, educational, objective information about property; A majority of consumers prefer MLS sites as sources of real estate [...]

Why Dominant MLSs are Vulnerable

Today, there are numerous MLSs that have become dominant companies relative to their smaller competitors. In the world of survival of the fittest, one would assume that the large and strong eat the small and weak. But this is not necessarily true. For the purposes of this writing – I am using the term MLS to refer to MLS vendors and Regional MLSs. Most MLSs in the United States grew through merger and acquisition than through organic growth. As these companies began to reach dominant scale, they realized that they could provide agents and brokers quality MLS services more efficiently. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:18-07:00January 9th, 2012|Main category, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|1 Comment

Smarter Agent throws arrow at Zillow and others

Brad Bloomberg of Smarter Agent is a fighter, and I like that. He takes a position and battles from his corner of the ring. Today, he released a blog post on their company website goes nose to nose with Zillow, Trulia and REALTOR.com. Given that his company is suing them all for patent infringement (another story) – they will never be friends anyway. But this new war is one about his view of listing syndication. Post Title : Listing Aggregators like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com can Erode the Value of your Business. The money quote: ……(syndication) “devalues the business of.. [...]