Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Nudge 2.0

The post goes out to all my MLS peeps-

Earlier this year my company partnered with the guys from 1000watt Consulting and launched a new web app we called Nudge. It’s a simple little app that helps real estate professionals answer the age old question, “How’s The Market?” As part of Nudge we came up with a number of cool “indicators”. These indicators were animated graphics that were a visual way of displaying market conditions. Here’s a sample of and indicator showing whether its a buyers or a sellers market.

Agents set the indicators, and send these as a short “Nudges” via email, Twitter, or post them on their Facebook page or blog. The secret to these is they all include the magic ingredients to any successful digital marketing campaign.

1. A bold Headline.
2. A compelling Image.
3. A few short lines of text.
4. A strong call to action.

With Nudge 2.0 we went a step further and also added the ability to upload their own images or link to photo from their Instagram account. So far the response of Nudge 2.0 has been fantastic. Our first webinar for Nudge, hosted by Chris Smith, sold out 100 slots in less than 30 minutes. The ability to add their own images has really been the killer feature we were looking for. Here’s a few samples.

Name That Barista!
http://getnudgeapp.com/users/81/reports/17138

Are Home Prices Static?
http://getnudgeapp.com/users/7290/reports/17145

Open House
http://getnudgeapp.com/users/1521/reports/17155

So enough of the shameless plug. Here’s where you come in. We would like to get the word out to agents about Nudge and need your help. So we set up a program, a quick way to make some of that “non-dues revenue” goodness. Here’s how it works:

1. We set you up with special link/promo code.
2. You send at least 2 dedicated emails to your membership promoting Nudge before the end of the year. (We’ll even write the email for you)
3. We pay you $10.00 for each Nudge account that goes to billing (Nudge comes with a 30-day money back guarantee)
4. You’ll be able to track your progress via a special Nudge Revenue Dashboard. (Maybe we’ll post a “leader board” on Vendor Alley)

The offer to your membership will be discounted from the normal yearly price of $149. We will also provide support and host a weekly webinar every Wednesday to help agents get started. Nudge doesn’t require any MLS integration so it will be simple to get started.

Maybe you’ll earn enough money to help fund your Holiday Party. Or take the staff out to a nice lunch. Or buy your favorite Vendor a steak dinner or take them to the ballet.

If you’re interested just email me. If you want to play around with Nudge 2.0 just email me and I’ll set you up with a free Nudge promo account.

But wait there’s more….

I’ve already been approached by some MLS Providers who would like to use Nudge as a tool for communicating with their own members. Here’s what I mean;

Maybe you want to tell them about the trade show you are hosting.
http://getnudgeapp.com/users/81/reports/17157

Or maybe about that Lockbox buyback program
http://getnudgeapp.com/users/81/reports/17156

Nudge is simple and fun way to send out short messages that your members will read. If you are interested in a Nudge licensing plan for your MLS just, you guessed it, email me.

For more information on Nudge you can visit www.GetNudgeApp.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

gr

P.S. Here’s a short video I put together about Nudge 2.0

Warren Buffet Bets Big On Real Estate

HomeServices and Brookfield Announce a New Residential Real Estate Franchise Brand—Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices®

“The combined networks of more than 53,000 Prudential Real Estate and Real Living Real Estate agents generated in excess of $72 billion in residential real estate sales volume in 2011, and operate across more than 1,700 U.S. locations.

“Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is a new franchise brand built upon the financial strength and leadership of Brookfield and HomeServices,” said Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. “I am confident that these partners will deliver value to the residential real estate industry, and I am pleased to have Berkshire Hathaway be a part of the new brand.”

“We are honored and proud to be entrusted with the use of the Berkshire Hathaway name as our new real estate franchise brand,” said Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO of HomeServices. “We will convey the strength of Berkshire Hathaway’s reputation and its associated principles of integrity and financial stability in everything we do.”

The message is loud and clear. Warren Buffett has decided its time to bet on real estate again. And bet BIG.

This is great news for all of us in the real estate industry. But lets peel away the layers of the onion.

If you look up wwww.BershireHathawayHS.com (BHHS) on WhoiS you find out that the URL was purchased by HomeServices back in June of 2012. So either Home Services was already making plans to rebrand itself back then or this deal has been in the works for a long time.

This move solves Brookfield’s brand problem with Prudential. Since the Prudential name was going away they needed to come up with a brand the Pru brokers would not stick their noses up to. How are you going to compete with a “piece of the rock”? I think the Berkshire Hathaway brand will be something that will be very enticing to Pru brokers. I mean, what agent, at a listing presentation wouldn’t want to say that their company is owned by Warren Buffett?

Which brings me to another point. This could be a big risk for Berkshire Hathaway. They are leveraging the Berkshire Hathaway name for the first time. And who are the stewards to this exclusive brand? Real Estate Agents, which are just a couple steps above used car salesmen on the public respect scale.

Ron Peltier as Chairman makes sense. Earl Lee as CEO is interesting. Buffett is famous for being a great business operator and cultivating managerial talent. Broker-owners love Earl, but will he cut the mustard?

The other two execs, recently pictured with Earl on the August cover of RIS Media’s REAL ESTATE Magazine, are also interesting choices.

Aleya Chattopadhay rose from the ranks of Brookfield to become the CMO. She has a lot of experience internationally and in conversations I’ve had with her I can attest to her smarts and passion about the industry.

Steve Phillips came from GMAC Relo division before he joined Brookfield. I wonder since this is technically a JV between BHHS and Brookfield if they are still employees of Brookfield or have they left Toronto for good?

Time will tell.

The rate this industry is changing is dizzying. Think about it.

Here comes the Canadians!
Brookfield acquires GMAC Real Estate
Brookfield acquires Real Living, then merges GMAC Real Estate brand into Real Living.

Here come the “Interlopers”!
Zillow goes public
Trulia goes public

The Old Guard makes a stand!
Realogy goes public

There go the Canadians!
HomeServices acquires majority stake in Real Living and Prudential RE from Brookfield.

My head hurts!

A few takeaways:

HomeServices of America has always had a stable of multi-branded real estate companies. Think Long Real Estate, Edina, Prudential X,Y, Z etc. While I can’t see a company like Edina changing brand names I do see the Prudential brands under HSofA moving toward the BHHS brand. This will give them a web presence they haven’t had before. If I was Zillow and Trulia I would be watching these developments very carefully.

A wise man once told me that Joint Ventures never work. In this case HomeServices owns the majority share, so that will help, and Brookfield gets the cachet of being partners with Warren Buffett.

You gotta feel for the staff at what was GMAC, Real Living and Prudential Real Estate. They been through 3 years of nothing but change, and now this!

The Harley Rouda story that leaked yesterday I reported on. Was it an honest mistake, a crossing of wires due to the Hurricane? Or was Harley tweaking Brookfield’s nose?

No matter. Right now I’m optimistic on real estate’s future.

So Nouriel Roubini can go suck on it. The Housing Recovery is official, Warren Buffett said so!

Brookfield RPS sells majority interest of Real Living and Prudential to HomeServices

Rouda returning to lead HER as Berkshire Hathaway takes stake in Real Living

“Brookfield has sold, or plans to sell, that controlling interest in Real Living to HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B)-owned owner of numerous local residential real estate brokerages, according to the HER press release.
HomeServices, however, has yet to post the announcement on their website.
HER has retained the right to use the Real Living trademarks for a year as the regional brokerage considers the direction HomeServices takes the Real Living brand, according to Jim Stevenson, HER’s senior vice president of marketing.”

This is huge news. You gotta feel for everyone at Real Living, GMAC and now Prudential Real Estate. These guys have gone thru major changes in the past 3 years and it going to change even more.

Greater Ft. Lauderdale Assn. and Miami Association of REALTORS settle.

As reported here the Greater Ft. Lauderdale and Assoication of REALTORS (RAGFL) sued the Miami Association of REALTORS (MAR) for…

“Through its false and deceptive advertising and other contact MAR has brazenly sought to drive and has driven members away from RAGFL and diverted new members from joining RAGFL thereby causing damages to RAGFL,” says the complaint, which alleges violations of the Lanham Act.”

In a short letter issued today it appears the shit storm has passed. As both parties have agreed to a “confidential Settlement Agreement”. I’m hoping to see Rick and Teresa hug it out in Orlando at The Peabody Hotel as the ducks walk by.

RESO Board of Directors Announced

RESO Announces Board of Directors Election Results

“Rich Lull, LPS MLS Solutions, will join the Board of Directors as the newly elected Class B Director serving a one-year term. Rob Overman, nōshun software, was re-elected to serve a two-year term as a Class B Director. The newly elected Class C Directors include Russ Bergeron, MidWest Real Estate Data LLC, and Jeremy Crawford, MLSListings Inc., both of whom were elected to serve one-year terms. Steve Byrd, Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc., and Rebecca Jensen, UtahRealEstate.com, were re-elected for additional two-year terms as Class C Directors.”

Missed this announcement last week. Great to see such talent involved with RESO.

Niki Rapattoni named Executive Vice President.

Rapattoni Corporation Names Niki Rapattoni Executive Vice President and Ralph Hoover Senior Vice President

“Andy Rapattoni, President and CEO of Rapattoni Corporation, said, “Niki has been my right hand in all decisions made at the company for four decades. Her forte has been creating the atmosphere here at Rapattoni, personally overseeing the staff’s individual growth, and directing the expansion from a small facility to 30,000 square feet. In addition, I am pleased to see Ralph’s growth with the company continue. He has been a vital component to the success of our MLS product and we look forward to having him serve on the Rapattoni board of directors.”

Long overdue. Congrats Niki!

Mobile Realty Apps is looking for a new National Sales Managers

This is fresh from the Vendor Alley Job Board:

POSITION TITLE: National Sales Manager MLS Accounts and National Sales Manager Broker Accounts
REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer

Mobile Realty Apps has demonstrated outstanding growth over the past couple of years and has established itself as a leader in mobile technology for MLSs and real estate companies. Winner of the 2012 Most Innovative Real Estate Startup at the Inman Conference in July 2012, Mobile Realty Apps offers a full set of leading edge mobile products for real estate professionals and the consumers they serve, from their custom branded native apps to their augmented realty technology HomeSpotter.”

Check out the Vendor Alley Job Board to find out more.

Cloud CMA launches at HAR

Sam Scott, HAR
Super thrilled about this. Thanks to Bob, Rene, Sam (pictured) and Shawn for helping make this happen!

Full Press Release Below:

Cloud CMA now available through Houston Association of REALTORS®
Award winning CMA tool will be launched at HAR’s largest education and technology conference, “The BIG e”

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA (October 23, 2012) – Web-software company, W&R Studios announced today that their flagship product, Cloud CMA, will now be available to the members of the Houston Association of REALTORS®.

Cloud CMA is an online report generating software designed for real estate professionals to easily create custom client handouts for buyers and sellers. Report sets include a comparative market analysis, buyer tour, property report, and flyers. Cloud CMA merges data from the MLS with various web sources such as WalkScore, Yelp, Panaramio, Zillow and more to generate content rich reports. Report data is presented in an easy to read and intuitive manner that guides agents and clients through all stages of their transaction.

“HAR has a well deserved reputation of being one of the most innovative MLS providers in the country so we are very proud that HAR has elected to offer Cloud CMA to their membership,” stated Greg Robertson, co-founder of W&R Studios, the creators of Cloud CMA.
Cloud CMA can be accessed from any computer or mobile device regardless of brand. Reports can be generated by simply sending an email, and automatically shared with clients. Reports are stored in ‘the cloud’ and generate a unique link to their location that agents can easily share via email, social media channels, and websites or blogs.

“Cloud CMA is a natural fit for our members who have already integrated a host of HAR technology tools into their daily business,” said Houston Association of REALTORS chairman-elect Danny Frank. “This product will enable them to customize the reports they produce and truly give themselves a competitive edge.”

Cloud CMA will be presenting at “The BIG e”, HAR’s biggest education and technology conference on Thursday, October 25, 2012. Cloud CMA will be available to HAR members on a subscription basis with monthly and yearly options. Interested real estate professionals are also eligible for a 30-day free trial.
For more information about Cloud CMA, please visit: http://CloudCMA.com

About W&R Studios
Founded in 2008, W&R Studios (http://wrstudios.com) is a privately held web software company co-founded by Dan Woolley and Greg Robertson. W&R Studios focuses on creating simple yet focused web applications for the real estate industry. By utilizing a “less is more” approach to software design, elegant user interfaces, and the latest in agile programming, W&R Studios’ software applications are powerful, yet accessible to everyone. W&R Studios’ products include Cloud CMA and Nudge (http://getnudgeapp.com), an easy way to share real estate knowledge and stand out.

About The Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR)
The Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), founded in 1918, is comprised of 24,000 real estate professionals engaged in every aspect of the industry, including residential and commercial sales, leasing, and appraisals, and property management and counseling. It is the largest individual dues-paying membership trade association in Houston, and the second largest local Association/Board of REALTORS® in the United States. HAR’s mission is to help its members achieve ongoing success.
HAR is a representative for the free enterprise system and the protection of private property rights. It is part of a network that includes the National Association of REALTORS® headquartered in Chicago and Washington, D.C., the Texas Association of REALTORS® in Austin, and approximately 1,800 local associations and boards throughout Texas and the United States.
The term “REALTOR®” is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Know your customer – NAR Member Profile 2012

I always look forward to receiving NAR’s yearly Member Profile. It’s a great way to get insight about my customers. It’s like I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars doing extensive research, but I didn’t, it only cost me about $150 bucks. I believe this last report came out in May but it’s full of interesting stats.

2012 Member Profile: Demographics

The 2012 Member Profile contains information on member business activity in 2011, member demographics and firm affiliation and business characteristics. Some demographic highlights:

▪ The latest data shows that 60 percent of members are female, and the typical age of members is 56 years old.
▪ The median age of NAR members has increased from 52 years in 1999 to 56 years in 2012.
▪ Forty-eight percent of REALTORS® have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
▪ The most common prior careers for members was in the management, business, or financial sector or in sales or retail.
▪ Three-fourths of members report real estate is their only occupation and nine in ten own their own home.”

The biggest mistake I see many vendors make is not paying attention to the first bullet point; Your average customer is a 56 year old women. Which means she graduated high school around 1973.

Now I realize that not all 56 year olds are the same. And some vendors say they are going to focus on technically savvy agents. That’s their choice, but truly great products are products that everyone can use. It reminds me of our motto at my first company, IRIS, LLC.

“There are no computer illiterate people, just people illiterate computer software.”

Ponder this as you go from a 10 point font to an 8 point font to make room for that must have button on your next web page or app.

MLSLI’s 11th Annual MLS Tech Fair – Love on Long Island.

I’m not sure about you but my list of “go to” trade shows is shrinking. But I was pleasantly surprised last week when I attended MLSLI’s 11th Annual Tech Fair. Jenny Natale and the rest of the MLSLI staff did a fantastic job putting a great show together. Here’s a few take-aways of why I think this show has been around for 11 years.

1. Membership. MLSLI has over 20,000 members. That’s a big pool of agents to draw upon for attendance.
2. Lots of vendors. They even had a guy with helicopter drones for that aerial shot of your mansion in The Hamptons
3. Speed dating for Vendors (not what you think!); It’s a breakfast where agents could sit with vendors and ask questions.
4. Boxed lunch kept agents in the venue.
5. Great speakers for breakout sessions. (BTW: If your MLS or association is looking for someone to help you with a great strategy for Facebook and other social media sites you should really hire Stacey Harmon, she gets it.)
6. An “Appy Hour” at the end of the show where you could demo your latest CMA software over a Tanqueray and tonic. No wonder I loved this show!

Pro Tip: La Parma for Italian food, east on the Jericho Turnpike. Amazing food!

My thanks to MLSLI for all their wonderful hospitality.

See you next year!

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