MARIS MLS Pursues Outside Board Director Program

In a press release today, the MARIS Board of Directors announced that two new outside directors have joined their board – Craig Cheatham, CEO of The Realty Alliance and John Mosey, CEO of Northstar MLS.

By |2020-01-03T09:28:56-08:00January 3rd, 2020|MLS, MLS Insights, Press Releases|0 Comments

How The FBI Foiled a Wire Transfer Scam

Wire Transfer scams continue to plague the real estate industry, but brokers are deploying countermeasures and collaborating with the Federal Bureau of investigation to catch these criminals. WAV Group was provided with an insiders’ overview of a recent victory by the FBI to shut down a huge ring of scammers. The story was amazing.

By |2018-10-09T09:39:38-07:00October 8th, 2018|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Upstream Revealed

As many of you know, WAV Group has been working with a group of brokers and franchises for more than a year on a project called Upstream. Today, Upstream is a corporation with one of the strongest board of directors in our industry. It has been an honor to work with the board along with the CIOs and CTOs of their corporations to define the Upstream application and talk to enterprise level technology firms who have the capacity to deliver such an enormous solution. Until now, very little information has been shared openly across the industry. Until the company’s governance [...]

Is too much Agent- Centricity at the heart of the industry dysfunction?

A couple of months ago I wrote a post called the “Challenge for Positive Change” that highlighted many of the relationship dysfunctions we are experiencing in the industry today. We have the honor of working with large brokers as well as MLSs, Associations, technology companies and even title and home warranty providers. We see misperceptions and distrust running rampant between each of these groups. It’s clear that there are many that are feeling as though our industry could be working together much better than it is at the moment. Fast forward a few weeks and we get to CMLS and [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:24-07:00October 24th, 2013|Clients, Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

Howard Hanna enters Michigan Market

At a joint press conference held in Ann Arbor, Michigan this afternoon, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services announced that Edward Surovell Realtors of Ann Arbor, Michigan has become part of the Howard Hanna family of real estate. Surovell is one of the largest real estate companies in Michigan and was #1 in homes sold last year in Southeastern Michigan. As Surovell joins Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, it becomes part of the 4th largest real estate company in the United States and the #1 home seller in PA and OH, with almost $6 billion in volume and 34,292 transaction sides [...]

FSBO Sites Grow as Broker and Franchises Languish

One of the pleasures of working at the WAV Group is the barrage of business questions that we are tasked to answer on a regular basis. Often, the questions challenge conventional understandings about the effectiveness of strategies in real estate. A key strategy discussion among executives at large broker firms and at large franchise organizations surrounds listing syndication to FSBO websites. Syndication strategies that each firm chooses varies relative to local market competition and consumer behavior. I highlighted that last sentence because it is the most important statement in this blog post. Many brokers and franchises are looking at what appears [...]

William Raveis Wins Inman Most Innovative Real Estate Brokerage Award

Last Thursday afternoon was a surreal moment for William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance.   The company was announced as the “Most Innovative Brokerage or Franchise” at Inman News’ 2011 Innovator Awards, held in the beautiful Hilton San Francisco. Inman’s Annual Innovator Awards recognize exceptional national achievements in real estate technology and marketing.  To give a simple analogy: winning an Innovator Award is akin to winning an Oscar at the Academy Awards.  Every year, the real estate glitterati, from world renowned brokerages to Silicon Valley startups-gone-mainstream, gather in San Francisco and New York to talk about [...]

Why IDX at all? A response to 7DS Associates

I cannot speak for The Realty Alliance, Leading RE or any other brokerage. But I can summarize the sentiments of WAV Groups’ broker clients.  This will hopefully shed some light on the question of IDX usefulness, and the issues that are concerning brokers across America representing 200,000 REALTORS. Brokers are upset with recent changes to NAR’s model IDX rules and regulations. Brokers claim that the two recent modifications to IDX, and a third policy revision under consideration; NAR’s MLS Policy Committee failed to contemplate (or appreciate) who owns the data and who is legally responsible for it. The first policy change extended IDX [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:42-07:00April 30th, 2011|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments

The Realty Alliance and Nation’s largest brokers want IDX Reform

In a press release today, The Realty Alliance joined the ranks of Leading RE and other brokers who are making an effort to overturn the recent actions by the NAR MLS Policy Committee to extend IDX privileges to franchise organizations. Chief rationale is that only the procuring broker may authorize and share their listing data with anyone who is not a member of the MLS. Press Release: Joe Horning, Chairman of the Board, The Realty Alliance LARGE BROKERS ASK FOR REPEAL OF FRANCHISE EXEMPTION FOR IDX The Board of Directors of The Realty Alliance sent a letter yesterday to the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:44-07:00April 18th, 2011|Main category|0 Comments

IDX Data Use Workgroup Submits Recommendations

I just received a copy of the Report of Recommendations of the IDX Use Work Group of the Multiple Listing Issuse and Policies Committee. I have had a blur of calls from The Realty Alliance, Leading RE, MLSs and Franchises alike today. There are many significant concerns. At the heart of the recommendations is the new rule that IDX listing content may be distributed by RSS or other electronic means (anyway you want) to any third party without any restrictions what so ever. Brokers and Agents still have restraints on the use and display of the data on their own [...]

The Realty Alliance Top 20 for January 2011

The online ecosystem for real estate search is a very competitive place on a variety of levels. As we reported in early January, WAV Group is taking a deep look at the online effectiveness of a group of the largest brokerages in America, The Realty Alliance. From month to month, there is always a bit of movement and this month shows some gains and some losses in the top 20. Congratulations to Edina Realty who jumped up to third position. They jumped ahead of nearby leading brokers Crye-Leike and SibscyCline. Both SibscyCline and Crye-Leike are still leading Edina in page [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:25:53-07:00February 7th, 2011|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments

The Realty Alliance Top 20

WAV Group Research launched WIN Reports in 2010. On a monthly subscription basis, we provide detailed market reports for MLSs and Brokers on consumer property search dynamics in their market, and contrast that with dynamics from markets around the country. Below you will find a few snapshots of The Realty Alliance Broker Traffic Report. Although we track all members of The Realty Alliance, what follows is a Top 20 summary. Of Particular note, Howard Hanna Real Estate has the most visited brokerage website in America. Congratulations to the team at Howard Hanna for overtaking the leading position formerly held by [...]