Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Rob Overman leaving LPS to join ShowingTime

Rob Overman

Looks like Rob Overman is leaving LPS and heading to ShowingTime.  Rumors of this has been out there for a couple weeks.  I did happen to speak with Rob today and confirm the news about his new gig.  He has been working with the ShowingTime team for many years while at LPS, and always thought of them as talented guys.   In his current gig Rob is working remotely from home for LPS. Rob lives in a suburb of Chicago, where ShowingTime is located, and is now looking forward to working in an office with others.

ShowingTime sounds like a good match for him.  Rob was quick to point out that he enjoyed his time at LPS but was looking for a new challenge.  Good to see him stay in the industry.  Congrats!

 

“Seller” Video

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Making a Move (Inc.)

If I had to pick the biggest story in U.S. real estate this year (aside from the ongoing housing crisis) I would have to say Zillow’s IPO. But looking back I’ve been really impressed at what an incredible year Move, Inc. has put together. Yes, that’s right I said Move.

When you take a look everything Move announced in 2011 you have to say that these guys have been hard at work. Not convinced? Take a look at some of the bigger stories.

January 13. Move, Inc. powers AOL. One of the untold stories about this deal is it was actually a “take away” from LPS. So they not only signed AOL, but took the business away from a competitor. – Well played.

February 11. Realtor.com Android App was showcased a the 2011 Mobile World Conference. In the world of mobile this is a huge deal.

April 21. Move, Inc. signs listing syndication deal with Zillow. Crazy? Like a fox.

April 26. Realtor.com launches iPad App. By far the best real estate app on the iPad.

July 18. Move acquires Social Bios. I’m looking forward to see the implementation points Realtor.com does with this technology.

August 17. AOL Real Estate Launches New Search Experience Powered by Move, Inc. The fruits of their agreement begin to bear fruit.

November 1. Release first real estate CRM app to be powered by HTML5. Super cool update to their Top Producer application.

November 3. Realtor.com goes global. Oh yeah, they launched an international site, just for kicks.

November 21. Reverse Stock Split takes effect. I think this is more a mental thing than anything else.

Plus their Find app has been launched in several MLS markets around the country.

And that’s not including another biggie: “Connections” which allows Realtors to generate leads from listings within a specifc zip code (even if those listings are not their own). While I think Realtor.com lost the “high ground” with this service I do think by displaying all photos within that sponsored zip code is a clever way of placating most agents.

And then they launched a Facebook app dubbed “Social Connections“, with Ernie Graham (founder of recently acquired Social Bios).

Whew, no wonder Audie is so damn busy!

Just half of those initiatives would be a huge undertaking. There are some potential game changers on this list. But, as a wise man once said, “ideas are just multipliers of execution”. 2012 needs to be Move’s year of executing the vision (generating revenue) of what the 2011 bumper crop products and services.

So, what do I take away from this? If Zillow, Truila or anyone else wants to play in this sandbox Berkowitz, Samuelson, Beardsley and the the rest of the Move team is ready for a fight.

Brookfield Residential acquires Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services

Talk about a piece of the rock!

Brookfield has already acquired GMAC Real Estate and Real Living (which now both operate under. This huge news in the world of Real Estate Franchisors. Brookfield has now seemingly overnight become one of the major franchisor in the United States (think Realogy or RE/MAX).

“Through its various brands, Brookfield’s residential real estate franchisees are now present in all 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and Portugal, with a network of approximately 80,000 real estate agents, 2,800 real estate brokerage locations and more than $150 billion in annual residential real estate transactions.”

See Full Press Release here.

RE/MAX signs deal with Homes.com

I heard through the grapevine last week that RE/MAX International (LLC?) has signed a deal with eNeighborhoods Homes Media Solutions, for it’s new marketing system Home Connect. Details are a bit early but it appears RE/MAX agents will have access to some of Homes Connect features and will be able to upgrade to other features. Sounds similar to the Market Leader and Keller Williams for eEdge. But as I said details are still forthcoming.

There are a couple things I like about this:

1. It’s great to see eNeighborhoods Homes Media Solutions get their enterprises sales mojo back. With products like Mercado sun setting, and the siphoning off their IDX business, it was huge to see a deal of this size come out of the pipeline.

2. It’s good for RE/MAX. Outside looking in it appears the franchise is going through a transition period (isn’t everybody in this market?) and it’s good to see them making investments toward the future.

I have a lot of questions still. How does Homes.com fit in? What about LeadStreet? What components are included? How much does it cost to upgrade? But I’ll save that for a later post.

Congrats to Andy and his boys for a nice win!

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