Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Long and Foster sold to HomeServices

Long & Foster sold to Warren Buffett company

“The acquisition price was not disclosed. Warren Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. HomeServices of America gets a company with a 50-year track record, $29 billion in sales volume last year, about 11,000 real estate agents and more than 230 offices across the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey and North Carolina. Long & Foster’s Prosperity Mortgage business originated $3.3 billion in home loans last year.

Long & Foster will continue to be run by its existing management, with founder Wes Foster serving as chairman emeritus. Long & Foster president and chief operating officer Jeff Detwiler will become CEO.

“Finding the right partner to maintain the legacy, culture, and integrity of Long & Foster was of utmost importance to me,” said Foster. “I couldn’t be more pleased that we are joining an organization known for its impeccable reputation and commitment to protecting brands. Joining HomeServices ensures that our history of market leadership and industry expertise continues.”

Monster deal.

CoreLogic acquires Clareity

CLAREITY SECURITY SOLUTIONS NOW A PART OF CORELOGIC REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS SUITE

““The Real Estate industry is full of visionary tech companies driving all of us forward,” said Chris Bennett, executive leader of Real Estate Solutions for CoreLogic. “Every day, a cutting-edge app or web service is introduced to agents and brokers to help them find and serve customers. The addition of Clareity solutions to the CoreLogic Real Estate Solutions suite helps tech companies deliver those innovative tools to users more transparently. We think our mutual cultures of commitment to moving our industry forward through innovation is a terrific catalyst for the benefit of our customers.”

Gregg Larson, founder and CEO of Clareity, who will be joining the CoreLogic executive team states, “We’re thankful for our employees, customers, and integration partners for their continued trust in Clareity. We’re confident that CoreLogic’s dedication to customer centered innovation will help fuel the growth and enhancement of the Clareity line of solutions.”

A huge congrats to both teams! Gregg, Matt, Troy, Amy, and the rest of the Clareity team have built a solid business that is a perfect fit for CoreLogic.

A few thoughts.

I hope they keep the MLS Executive Workshop going, but its hard to see a path forward under CoreLogic (but one can dream).
I guess the MLS Survey is kaput.
This is also a huge opportunity for some. Seems like T3’s MLS Division got an earlier Christmas present.

Boston Logic gets big investor

I’ve been traveling so I’m catching up on some stories I thought deserved attention. Here’s one of them…

Boston Logic Accelerates Growth with a Significant Investment from Providence Equity

“Boston Logic (http://www.bostonlogic.com), a software-as-a-service (Saas) technology platform that powers enterprise and boutique leading real estate brokerages nationwide, today announced it has received a significant growth investment from Providence Strategic Growth (PSG), the growth equity affiliate of Providence Equity Partners, a leading global private equity firm with $47 billion in assets under management. Boston Logic will use the investment to accelerate its ability to provide its real estate customers with technologies that help their businesses succeed.”

Providence is no joke. They own Hulu, Ironman, Top Golf, and CDW. This is a big player entering our space.

I had a chance to talk to Boston Logic’s CEO David Friedman yesterday. While he wouldn’t give me the exact amount Providence Strategic Growth (PSFG) invested, he did make a couple comments.

“There are literally 100s of software companies focussed on the real estate vertical. Most of them are small, with less than $5MM in annual revenue. We see an opportunity to be a dominant enterprise in a fragmented market. This vertical is enormous. We see opportunities every day. We vet lots of them and focus on a few. With PSG’s help, we’ll be able to seize many more of these and grow even faster”

As I see it Berkshire Hathaway, Vista Equity, Newscorp, and now Providence have all noticed this space and put their money on the table. Gotta wonder what other deals may be announced. NAR Annual always has some surprises.

Listingbook and RLS2000 now part of new firm, Elm Street Technology

Elm Street Technology Poised for Growth, Launches Elevate for Real Estate

“Two best-in-class acquisitions, including one of the most established real estate marketing brands used by millions of consumers — Listingbook, has catapulted Elm Street Technology into the real estate industry spotlight. Headed by a team of well-known real estate industry entrepreneurs, Prem Luthra and Randall Kaplan, Elm Street Technology today launches Elevatetm, a new Digital Marketing System that uses advanced automation to move Elm Street Technology towards delivering “everything real estate agents and brokers need for new leads and client-for-life retention, all in one place.”

Lots to chew on here. I’ve always thought Listingbook had a lot of promise but was hampered by a flawed (and ever changing) business model and poor design. That being said, they have a large MLS footprint and I know some agents have sworn by it. I’ve never heard of “RL2000“. Reading the press release I’m not sure if both brands/products are going away and now becoming “Elevate”, or what. If that’s the case then it sounds like MLS permissioning nightmare.

“According to Luthra, Elm Street Technology is in the process of rolling up other successful technology and marketing services companies. “We will be able to deliver everything a broker or agent needs from lead generation, to customer for life retention solutions,” he says.

I wonder who’s next?

This “roll up” strategy is interesting, others have tried with mixed success. I think it all comes down to the fit of the products and people. Ideally playing to each others strengths while complementing any shortfalls.

I also respect Prem for getting in to the mix again. Pulling something like this off isn’t easy and will be full of challenges. Having people in this industry that aren’t afraid of hard work and have a strong entrepreneurial spirit is what makes this industry so great. Best of luck to Prem, Randall and Todd.

Zillow Group to Acquire Bridge Interactive Group

Zillow Group (ZG) to Acquire Bridge Interactive Group

“”Bridge Interactive has an outstanding team that has pioneered some of the industry’s most innovative solutions for helping MLSs and brokers manage their data,” said Errol Samuelson, Zillow® Group chief industry development officer. “Bridge Interactive’s offerings simplify a sometimes tedious process that many of our agent, broker and MLS partners face on a daily basis. We’re confident our partners will see tremendous value in Bridge Interactive’s offerings, and we’re excited to help Bridge Interactive expand their platform to drive further efficiencies for brokers and MLSs.”

Congrats to Pace and team!

Lone Wolf acquires WhereToLive.com

Heard about this awhile ago, I guess its official now…

Vista Equity-backed Lone Wolf buys WhereToLive.com

““This acquisition aligns with our vision of a completely integrated real estate business,” says Lorne C. Wallace, CEO of Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies. “At Lone Wolf, we have a clear vision of a real estate eco-system. We believe that a single point of entry, whether for leads, agents or listings, is critical for an efficient and successful brokerage. This acquisition brings the WhereToLive clients and us one step closer to that vision.”

Lorne has been on a tear lately.

Constellation Software (the guys who bought Market Leader) acquire Zurple.

Teke Wiggin from Inman News

Market Leader’s new owner also purchased CRM provider Zurple

“Market Leader provides a customer relationship management system and some online marketing products. Since Zurple basically does the same thing, the acquisition raises the possibility that Constellation might integrate or blend the two.

Zurple offers a website, a customer relationship management system and online advertising management. The advertising managed by Zurple drives prospective buyers and sellers to the Zurple-powered website where some register their contract information.”

It’s kind of getting lonely out here…. : )

Timing is everything

May 8, 2013

Trulia Acquires Market Leader For $355M To Take Its Business Beyond Listings And Into SaaS For Real Estate Professionals

“Online real estate company Trulia has announced it plans to acquire real estate SaaS CRM provider Market Leader for approximately $355 million. The SEC filing is here.

Trulia said the combined company will have some 46,000 “premium subscribers” — or more than “any other online real estate marketplace” (likely an indirect reference to rival Zillow).

Emphaisis mine.

September 4, 2015

Zillow Group Announces Sale of Market Leader to the Perseus Division of Constellation Software

“Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), which houses a portfolio of the largest and most vibrant real estate and home-related brands on mobile and Web, today announced the pending sale of Market Leader to the Perseus Division of Constellation Software, Inc., an international provider of market-leading software and services, for $23 million USD. The sale is expected to close early in the fourth quarter.

Emphasis mine.

Constellation Software also bought AgentOffice (back in 2008), which is run by their Emphasys Software division.

I just have two words to say about this deal. Ian Morris.

Post merger bloodbath at Trulia

Trulia's new president of Trulia, Paul Levine
Trulia’s new president, Paul Levine
Zillow Completes Acquisition of Trulia for $2.5 Billion in Stock; Forms “Zillow Group” Family of Brands

“Paul Levine, previously Trulia’s chief operating officer, has been named president of Trulia, reporting to Rascoff. Pete Flint, co-founder and former CEO of Trulia, has joined the Zillow Group board of directors, as has former Trulia board member Greg Waldorf.”

I think Paul Levine is a great choice. What I’m not convinced about is how long they will keep separate companies. Although, by changing the name to “Zillow Group” it does appear that they might stick with this strategy.

I don’t think it could have gone any other way for Pete. But, after selling his company for multiple billions, he deserves to drop the mic and leave the stage.

“In connection with the close of the acquisition, the companies eliminated approximately 280 positions, primarily in San Francisco and Bellevue, Wash., due primarily to redundancy in the combined company’s sales and administrative organizations. Another 70 positions will be eliminated as of the end of the second quarter, at which time Zillow Group will have approximately 2,000 employees. The approximately 350 affected employees have already been notified.”

As the saying goes, “that’s show business”. I was surprised this happen so fast, but I guess ripping of the bandaid was the best solution. Although Trulia did (does?) have a great company culture. I’m sure these “eliminations” hit the team hard.

Bottom line is that the other shoe has dropped. Zillow Group is now in place. Murdoch is still keeping his cards close to the vest. Grab some popcorn.

Redfin Buys Walk Score.

Looks like Kelman couldn’t let 2014 go by without doing some acquiring of his own.

Redfin Buys Walk Score

“The acquisition is Redfin’s first and the reason for it is simple: We want to give folks a complete portrait of what it would be like to live somewhere new, within the house and in the surrounding neighborhood.”

I’ve been a bug fan of Walk Score for a long time. It was one of the first APIs we integrated in to Cloud CMA. Over the years when giving demos I would ask the audience if they have heard about Walk Score, at first I would explain it. But now they have done such a great job or working with MLS that I usually just get a lot of heads nodding.

Huge congrats to Matt Lerner and the rest of the Walk Score team.

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