Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Lights, camera, action!

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Ladies and Gentlemen the stage has been set. The lights are up. The curtain has risen.

The Players

Dominion Enterprises (aka Homes.com aka Best Image aka Advanced Access aka eProspecting aka eNeighborhoods) – My personal favorite ; )
Andy “Bulldog” Woolley, Bob “Coach” Morse, “Sweet Michael Hayes” and their newest member Sal “The Kid” Aguiar have been on a winning streak, and 2007 is starting off good. Rumor has it this dream team has something big brewing that’s gonna shake things up.

Move, Inc (aka HomeStore, Realtor.com aka Top Producer)
Is the Canadian (aka Errol) up for the challenge? What’s the secret project Alan is working on? Why did Marty and Mona leave? More questions than answers as their second act begins.

FNRES (aka FNIS)
What will John Hensley do with all his new toys? rDesk (aka fDesk), Lightning CMA Plus (another personal fav), Agent Office (or whatever they it call now), and Cyberhomes.com. And will Marty let him play? My guess is that John will scrap everything and start from scratch.

And lets not forget Paragon MLS (Bev, what version are they on?) I’m sure Rick Sherwood and the boys have something up their sleeves.

FBS
If you haven’t read Mike Wurzer’s new blog you should. Gives you some insight to what’s behind this their success. This employee owned company from North Dakota is ready to rock and roll.

Marketlinx (aka Interealty, aka First American)
Lots of questions here. Can they keep up the tempo? Who’s the company’s foreman? Is Joe still happy? ; )

Rapattoni
No news I can add here that hasn’t been blasted to everyone’s inbox already.

Tarasoft
They’re from Canada and want to be taken seriously. Did I mention they’re from Canada?

Let’s hope the agents show up, so far there are more empty seats than not. It’s a shame, a group like this needs a good audience. But then again…
there’s no business like show business!

Dominion Enterprises acquires eNeighborhoods

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Dominion Enterprises Acquires eNeighborhoods

Makes largest real estate technology acquisition to date, greatly expanding customer base, industry expertise

Norfolk, Va., March 22, 2007 – Dominion Enterprises, a leading media and information services company, announced today that it has acquired eNeighborhoods, the nation’s premier real estate data, technology and marketing solutions provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Reaching more than 400,000 real estate professionals through its individual agent and enterprise products, eNeighborhoods is the leader in providing a comprehensive set of tools to attract and retain home buyers and sellers. Founded in 1997 and employing 140 people in Boca Raton, Fla., the company provides real estate professionals the most up-to-date, localized information available about properties, neighborhoods and schools.

“eNeighborhoods is a powerhouse in the real estate industry. Their award-winning products and services in marketing, Web sites and direct mail are only part of their story. They are also a cutting-edge data and technology company, providing aggregation, development and hosting services for some of the biggest names in the industry,” said Peter Ill, senior vice president and general manager of Dominion’s Internet real estate businesses.

Current eNeighborhoods clients include some of the country’s largest MLS providers
and RE/MAX International through the management of remax.com and LeadStreet.

This announcement follows a series of recent Dominion Enterprises’ acquisitions intended to extend the company’s leadership in the real estate industry. With the addition of eNeighborhoods’ reach in agent and enterprise technology solutions, Dominion now provides one of the most comprehensive offerings of technology tools for real estate professionals.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Dominion Enterprises Conrad M. Hall said, “In the last 10 years, eNeighborhoods has emerged as a leader in gathering and presenting the information that is most critical to real estate professionals in the United States. We view this acquisition as an exciting new addition to our portfolio of real estate businesses that will expand our capabilities in data mining and distribution.

Dominion’s portfolio of real estate solutions currently includes: Homes.com, a homes-for-sale portal and Web services provider; Advanced Access, a leading provider of Web design, Internet marketing and hosting services for real estate professionals; NUMBER1EXPERT, the premier provider of Internet marketing services to top-producing real estate agents; Katabat, a leading Web site and lead management provider for brokers; eProspecting, a leader in real estate marketing solutions; and HarmonHomes.com. Dominion Enterprises is also the largest publisher of free distribution residential real estate magazines including Harmon Homes, Home Solutions, New Homes & Living, and Distinctive Homes.

Stu Siegel, Chief Executive Officer and founder, will continue to lead eNeighborhoods and will take on an additional strategic role helping guide Dominion’s efforts to maximize the company’s opportunities within the real estate space.

“Dominion Enterprises is the right company at the right time,” said Siegel. “Online real estate is wide open with no clear industry leader. We feel that Dominion has the knowledge and capital to be the leader in this space, and we want to be part of that winning team.”

About eNeighborhoods, Inc.
Since 1997, eNeighborhoods, the nation’s premier compiler of home and neighborhood information, has been providing real estate professionals with a comprehensive set of tools to attract and retain home buyers and sellers with the most up-to-date, localized information about property, neighborhoods and schools. In 2002, eNeighborhoods achieved the REALTOR Benefits® status with endorsement from The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The company also has strategic alliances with major real estate franchisers: Realogy, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, GMAC, Prudential, Keller Williams, EXIT Realty and RE/MAX, as well as many of the major independent brokerages. eNeighborhoods is the proud founding sponsor of NAR’s Good Neighbor Award which educates, encourages and rewards outstanding community service by real estate professionals throughout the country. Stu Siegel, the company’s CEO, has been selected as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Eastern Technology CEO of the Year. For more information on eNeighborhoods, visit eNeighborhoods.com.

About Dominion Enterprises
Dominion Enterprises, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., is a leading media and information services company serving employment, real estate, automotive, recreation and industrial markets in the United States. The company operates a variety of technology businesses that offer Internet marketing, Web site design and hosting, lead generation, CRM, and data capture and distribution services including Advanced Access, PowerSports Network, and Dealer Specialties. The company has more than 500 paid and free magazine titles such as For Rent, Harmon Homes, The Employment Guide, Boat Trader, Cycle Trader and RV Trader with a combined weekly circulation of over 5 million, and more than 40 market-leading Web sites such as ForRent.com, EmploymentGuide.com, Homes.com, and TraderOnline.com reaching more than 8 million unique monthly visitors. The company has nearly 6,600 employees nationwide and 2006 annual revenue of over $850 million. For more information on Dominion Enterprises, visit dominionenterprises.com

Wait for it…..wait for it…

fabio.jpgThe big news will be announced later today. We will give you a hint, the big news has nothing to do with Fabio.

Check back here tomorrow for a huge announcement….

extra-big.gifWe’re not kidding. This is big news that is going to cause a lot of buzz in the real estate industry. And don’t worry it’s not an announcement about a new “home valuation site” being launched…..

Death of the MLS?

tombstonephp.jpgCalling all MLS geeks! We want to give everyone a heads up to a brand new blog from the guys at FBS. The new FBS Blog discusses, among other things, the “Death of the MLS?”. Michael Wurzer, President and CEO of FBS, does a great job explaining the issues and talks about possible solutions. Repeat after me….”standards”.

The site is well written and insightful. Good stuff, knock ’em dead Mike!

Only 2 trade shows left….

benstein.jpgAs Century 21 conference kicks off in Vegas this week we only have Prudential’s trade show in San Diego next week then we’re pretty much done with all franchise shows. All shows reported attendance was way down from previous years. Now the question is; “Where am I going to make up all the sales that I expected from the trade shows?”

Anybody got any ideas? Anyone…Anyone……Anyone?

LIVE! RE/MAX Annual Convention Atlanta, GA

remax.jpgGreetings from HOT-LANTA! Actually it was below 50 degrees and windy when we arrived, but hey, lets give it up for the A-T-L! The folks at RE/MAX International moved their annual convention from New Orleans to Atlanta this year. With all the news coming from New Orleans these days it proved to be a good move. However, attendance was waaaaaay down this year. Not sure if it was good breakout sessions, the market, the city or what, but many vendors and suppliers in the convention hall were complaining about “booth traffic”.
Hard to fault anyone at RE/MAX International, they put on a quality show and treat their “Approved Suppliers” with respect. But if you can’t sell your stuff at a RE/MAX Convention, then where can you???? Our advice, scale down. Leave a few guys at home for your next convention. No need to have 7 guys standing in your booth.

??…formerly Realigent formerly HomeSeekers…

reali.JPGLooks like some big changes are in for Realigent. Word on the street is FNRES has come knocking on their door. I wouldn’t classify this as a hostile acquisition but it sure doesn’t sound friendly. I’m told Realigent management couldn’t keep up with their debts, so they had no choice but to sell. Well no worries for them now, FNRES notified them their services were no longer required. Tough business this real estate technology stuff.

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