Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

BHGRE inks largest franchise deal in Realogy history.

Ed Krafchow gave Prudential the boot and is now under Sherry Chris‘s Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate banner.  This is a 20 year deal and gives BHGRE a big footprint in California.

It seems like Wendy Forsythe, BHGRE VP of Network Services, has painted every real estate event green before anyone gets there.  To say that BHGRE has been aggressive in their industry marketing efforts would be huge understatement.  These guys spend a lot of green to get green, if you know what I mean? (sorry couldn’t pass that one up!)

I’m wondering about the reaction from the other franchisors. Brookfield (headquartered in Toronto) had acquired two franchisee companies in the last couple years (they already owned Royal LePage), GMAC Real Estate and Real Living.  Since the Real Living deal was announced last November they have been quietly working on merging under the Real Living banner and word on the street is they will be launching a brand new state of the art website Q4 of this year.

Matt Carter over at Inman News has a comprehensive article on this recent deal with BHGRE and other franchisors.  You can check it out here.

But no matter, this day belongs to Sherry Chris and her team.  Congrats!

This Buds for you!

Bud Fogel

RUMOR ALERT!

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RESO Meetings – We all need to pay more attention to this…

Matt Cohen has an excellent recap of the 1st day of the RESO meetings.  You can check it out at:

http://www.realtown.com/mattcohen/blog/rets-fall-2010-day-1

I tried making a comment on his post but the captcha image seems not to be working so I’ll make it here.

I think Bob Bemis is correct in that if RESO, doesn’t deliver MLS providers will find another way.

But I disagree that it won’t be a vendor solution.  Creating a standard where apps can be released nationwide thru multiple MLS providers at once is a huge incentive.

I’ve heard of several vendor iniatives towards this (a la an API) and I hope that some of these will be made more public at CMLS.  [Crossing my fingers and toes!]

Your CMLS checklist

CMLS is just a couple days away so I thought I would put together a quick check list for those of you attending:

1.  Check out http://CouncilofMLS.com.  It’s the official website of CMLS and has been recently updated with new content. Plans are to have the discussions at CMLS conference to be continued at the website afterwards.

2.  iPad.  While I’m still carrying my laptop I’m finding my iPad to be indespensible when attending conferences of this type.  It always on, easy to carry, allows me to check my e-mail, as well as an impromptu demo device.

3.  If your rocking your iPad than having a Verizon MiFi or something similar is a must. Hotel internet connections in meeting rooms are notoriously flakey.  Plus you have the costs of in-room internet access.  Trust me, its worth it.

4.  Get your Twitter on!  Follow the conference at http://Twitter.com/CMLSConference and don’t forget the hashtag #cmls2010

5.  Be ready to engage.  The best sessions are those that our interactive.

Oh, and an extra liver, if you have one!

I arrive tomorrow.  See you there!

gr

The online real estate race heats up!

Which one will win?

I remember being at a party and asking Mark Wise what was the origin of the name “Threewide“, the company he co-founded. Mark being from a NASCAR state smiled and told me that in racing when 3 cars come up around a bend they are “three- wide” (See photo).
A three-wide pass is considered a dramatic move in auto racing. It’s risky but can make the difference between winning, losing, or crashing in to the wall.

A perfect metaphor for how I see things developing in the online real estate space. Let’s take a look at our drivers.

Steve Berkowitz, CEO of MOVE

Steve Berkowitz. MOVE‘s new CEO. With the ink still drying on the revised operating agreement between MOVE and the NAR, Steve has decided to put the pedal to the metal and for a cool 13 million in cash take ListHub for a spin. I like this guy’s style. It will be fun to watch.

Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow

Just weeks ago Zillow promoted Spencer Rascoff to CEO and they been making a few moves themselves with their recent deal with Yahoo! Spencer’s sponsors wants a win (in the form of a successful IPO). It will be interesting to see if Spencer, a notoriously hard worker, has what it takes to win the checkered flag.

Pete Flint, CEO of Trulia

Don’t count Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO of Trulia, out of the race (remember those Google acquisition rumors?) Pete’s a super smart guy and definitely has his eye of the prize. The SEO mechanics at Trulia are considered some of the best in the business. But it seems like Pete is a bit behind since MOVE’s (ListHub) and Zillow’s (Yahoo!) news. Who know’s he might be drafting, waiting for the perfect moment to swoop!

Good luck guys! Let’s just hope nobody gets hurt!!

New WAV Group white paper: “The Property Delta”

With the recent announcement that MOVE has acquired ListHub makes the focus on listing data more timely. That’s what makes this white paper from WAV Group such a good read.

Although the paper doesn’t paint a pretty picture for “professional” websites a couple things jumped out at me.

Edina Real Estate (on the LPS platform) is displaying a hell of a lot more IDX data than the other vendors, over 44 fields. The closest is RE/MAX (run by eNeighborhoods) which is displaying 32 fields. The others are just left in the dust.

Also the big difference in total number of listings on each site. Some of this is due to the fact that Realogy sites are still only display their own listings (LAME!) and others are showing all IDX listings. But the other factor is the “Zombie listings” that appear on the the aggregator sites like Zillow and Trulia.

Click here to download the report.

MOVE acquires ListHub

More details to follow. Here’s the press release:

——————————————-

Move, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Threewide Corp., Operator of ListHub

ListHub Enables Move to Provide National Syndication and Unified Market Intelligence Solutions
CAMPBELL, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE), the leader in online real estate, today announced the acquisition of Threewide Corp., operator of ListHub, the nation’s largest online real estate listing syndicator and provider of advanced performance reporting solutions for brokers, real estate franchises, multiple listing services (MLSs) and real estate web sites. ListHub products and services include syndication of 2.4 million property listings from 270+ MLSs and 38,000 brokers to more than 70 real estate marketing web sites, as well as streamlined data management and reporting analysis used to monitor online listing performance.
With the addition of the ListHub brand, Move will deliver even greater value to MLSs, brokers and real estate web sites as a single trusted source for national online listing syndication and reporting services empowering real estate professionals to reach more consumers while efficiently managing their online marketing strategy from one standardized dashboard.
“Online real estate today can be a fragmented experience for consumers and real estate professionals, and the related content is often inaccurate,” said Move, Inc., Chief Executive Officer, Steve Berkowitz. “By acquiring Threewide and elevating the ListHub brand to a primary product offering at Move, we’ll combine Move’s core competencies of listing aggregation, relationship management and the delivery of effective marketing services with ListHub’s leadership in national syndication and market intelligence. Through our combined strengths, we’ll successfully aggregate and connect vast amounts of data from a variety of sources, ensure the data remains accurate and fresh, and standardize the market reports real estate professionals rely on to guide their online marketing efforts and demonstrate value to clients. We believe this will soon result in a considerable improvement in the overall experience for both consumers and real estate professionals, regardless of where a property listing is displayed.”
Together, Move and ListHub will consult and work with key constituents in the real estate industry to demonstrate how its newly combined products and services can help MLSs, franchises, and brokers increase their online marketing effectiveness, safeguard the use of listing data, and reach more potential buyers and sellers efficiently through the national ListHub syndication network.
“We are very excited to become a part of the Move Network and we look forward to bringing even more value to our partners and customers going forward with the support of Move,” said ListHub President, Luke Glass. “Our vision for the ListHub product remains to provide real estate brokers and agents with a single, neutral platform that gives them control and transparency in the online marketing of their listings. ListHub is committed to growing the value of the ListHub network, continuing to bring together content providers and publishers, while supporting their ability to engage with one another with ease and confidence.”
With this acquisition, Threewide becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Move Sales, Inc., a subsidiary of Move, Inc., and ListHub will join Move’s other industry-leading business-to-business brand solutions used by real estate professionals to market client listings and their brands to buyers and sellers. ListHub products, services and the management team of professionals will remain with the ListHub brand, now backed by Move.
Move completed the transaction on Monday, September 20, 2010, for total consideration of $13 million cash. The acquisition is expected to be dilutive to GAAP EPS by approximately $0.01 to $0.02 in 2011 and non-dilutive to adjusted EBITDA (earnings from continuing operations before interest, taxes, stock-based compensation and charges, depreciation, amortization and other non-recurring charges).
ABOUT THREEWIDE CORP. AND LISTHUB
Threewide Corporation was founded in July of 1999 and has specialized in solving data management issues in the real estate vertical since its inception. In mid-2000, the company began to focus on the digital capture, packaging, and transport of data for brokerages, Multiple Listing Services, and other industry vendors. In 2007, Threewide launched ListHub, the nation’s first listing asset management system for brokers. ListHub syndicates MLS listing information from the MLS or other reliable data sources to an array of online marketing sites and provides the brokerage with reporting and analysis of online advertising results. For more information about Threewide Corporation and ListHub, visit www.listhub.com.
ABOUT MOVE, INC.
Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE) is the leader in online real estate with 12.7 million(1) monthly visitors to its online network of websites. Move, Inc. operates: Move.com, a leading destination for information on new homes and rental listings, moving, home and garden and home finance; REALTOR.com® the official website of the National Association of REALTORS(R); Moving.com; SeniorHousingNet; and TOP PRODUCER Systems. Move, Inc. is based in Campbell, California.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management’s view of Move’s future expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of Move, its subsidiaries, divisions and concepts to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. These risk factors and others are included from time to time in documents Move files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Move’s future results. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Move cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, Move expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

WAV Group is hiring for RETechnology.com

Another job posting was added to the Vendor Alley Jobs Board.

Check it out:
Sales and Business Development

LPS and Instanet looking for talent.

Make sure you check out the Vendor Alley Jobs Board. Two positions posted today:

Senior Product Manager
LPS

Sales Specialist-Broker Service
Instanet Solutions

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