Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Norfolk

In this three part series I’ll be focusing on Dominion Enterprises (more specifically the new Homes Media Solutions division). In Part II and III of this series I will give my thoughts and observations about its future, challenges and opportunities. This post first appeared on the Vendor Alley Private Newsletter feed on May 15th, 2011

Part I

In this first post I’ll focus upon a little background. Dominion Enterprises was established back in 2006 when Landmark Communications split with COX Communications. Back then Landmark Communications and COX were partners in Trader Publishing (which owns among other things Auto Trader Magazine). COX got Auto Trader, Dominion got a bunch of magazines; Harmon Homes, Cycle Trader, For Rent Magazine and Homes.com (which they acquired after Homes.com filed for bankruptcy). Then Dominion went on a buying spree buying such companies as Katabat, Pullan Communications, Advanced Access, Number1Expert (Best Image Marketing), and eNeighborhoods (and I’m sure I’m missing a few).

I was eNeighborhoods’ EVP when we were acquired. What struck me and my counterparts as weird was it was Dominion’s philosophy that each “sister company” would compete against each other. Apparently this was a strategy that served Dominion well with print. Separate IDX process, separate data centers, separate sales teams, separate marketing efforts… fucking insane. The only thing that was shared, and I believe is still the practice today, is that everyone filled out a paper time card.

Long story short the real estate magazines revenue started to tank, faster than anyone ever thought, as real estate agents/brokers moved their advertising dollars online. Plus some of their smaller acquisitions began to falter as the larger acquisitions took more of “Norfolks” (Norfolk,VA is the city where Dominion Enterprises in headquartered) time and attention. And the party was almost over for real estate.

In early 2008 Landmark Communications, Dominion Enterprises parent company, decided to sell. Landmark also owned The Weather Channel. We all know what happen later that year–the bubble burst and the economy went in to a tail spin. Oddly enough The Weather Channel was sold (by Lehman Brothers no less) but unable to sell, Dominion Enterprises took itself off the market.

Which left the future uncertain for Dominion Enterprises and it’s businesses. It’s no wonder in 2009 Glassdoor.com listed Dominion Enterprises at one of the “Worst Companies to work for”.

I had already left eNeighborhoods in May of 2008 along with Stu Siegel, Dave Meyer and my current business partner Dan Woolley. In my next post I’ll focus on Homes.com and eNeighborhoods, two key players in their new Homes Media Solutions division.

You can read Part II in this series now by subscribing to the Vendor Alley Private Newsletter. Otherwise Part II will be posted here at a later date.

The Vendor Alley Real Estate Events Calendar

This was one of my projects over the weekend. Robert Drummer of iMapp and I worked together on creating a site that would have all the major real estate events listed. The best way to make this happen was involve all of Vendor Alley readers. So we have two ways to enter events:

1. A form. Just fill out the form and we will update the calendar with these events on a daily(ish) basis.
2. Bulk upload. If you have a bunch of dates for your events you can also fill out an Excel file we provide and email it to us.

If you have any ideas on making it better please feel free to comment. Click the link on the top of this page or just click the link below to check it out:

Vendor Alley Real Estate Event Calendar

Thanks!

gr

RETechnology turns one year old

I wanted to throw a quick shout out to Victor, Marilyn, Melissa and the entire WAV Group team reagarding RETechnology.com’s first anniversary. Their numbers speak for themselves:

“100 MLSs representing 657,000 agent and broker subscribers. Today, MLSs are providing their subscribers with over 5,000 educational articles and reports and access to a directory of more than 3,500 product descriptions.”

I was skeptical at first hearing about this concept but Victor and his teams perseverance has paid off. I’ve recieved more than one inquiry about Cloud CMA from MLS providers and when I asked them where they heard about us they mentioned RE Technology.

Congrats!

Full Press Release Below:

RETechnology.com Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary
Real Estate Technology Portal Shows Growth with MLSs, Audience, and Functionality

Arroyo Grande, CA – RE Technology, Inc., is proud to announce that since launching in May 2010, RETechnology.com has become one of the largest real estate media companies in the United States. Since last year this real estate technology database and content community has grown from last year’s launch with MRED to reach more than 100 MLSs representing 657,000 agent and broker subscribers. Today, MLSs are providing their subscribers with over 5,000 educational articles and reports and access to a directory of more than 3,500 product descriptions.

“A large part of RETechnology.com’s success is credited through its partnership with over 100 MLSs across the country,” explains RE Technology’s CEO, Victor Lund. “Adoption rates and enthusiasm from the real estate community has been extraordinary. The RE Technology team deserves all of the credit for managing and supporting the company’s growth.”

The most recent MLS partnerships to provide RETechnology.com to their membership include:

Birmingham Association of REALTORS®
Carolina MLS
Centralized Real Estate Information Services, Inc.
Collin County Association of REALTORS®
Greater Northwest Indiana MLS
Leigh High Valley MLS
Miami Association of REALTORS®
MLS Property Information Network
Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati
Northern New England Real Estate Network
Northern Oklahoma Regional MLS
Northwest MLS
SoCalMLS
The MLS®/CLAW
Williamette Valley MLS
MLS executives and agents/brokers alike have praised the depth and quality of the content RETechnology.com regularly distributes.

“Thanks for posting (this article),” commented Brad Andersohn. “You guys are rockin’ the RE tech world!!”

“RETechnology.com is the most relevant way to research technology in our industry. You get more specific information here than you ever would by searching Google or Yahoo, where the results may or may not be what you are looking for and will most likely be biased. As a trainer at MRED, I am always looking for the newest tools and technologies. RETechnology.com is exactly what this industry has needed. It is objective and comprehensive. You can search and compare any product. I highly recommend RETechnology.com at every one of my training sessions; for real estate, this site has everything you could need to help you grow your business,” says Jerry Hoffman.

RETechnology.com is continually adding new functionality to better promote their service and create a more user-friendly environment. In the last year the following milestones were achieved:

1.) Currently provides a database of over 5,000 articles/reports and 3,500 product descriptions to over 657,000 real estate professionals

2.) Launched a daily and weekly email newsletter specific to either agents/brokers or MLS executives

3.) Created premium pages for their premium vendors and embedded RSS feeds into the vendor’s online profiles

4.) Users can subscribe to RETechnology.com’s RSS feeds and rate/comment on content and products they have questions about or would like to review

5.) Site wide and newsletter vendor advertising packages

RETechnology.com tracks and reports on emerging technology trends and has over 30 industry thought leaders contributing articles on a regular basis to their online subscriber base of over 657,000 REALTORS®.

ABOUT RE TECHNOLOGY, INC.

RE Technology, Inc., is the most comprehensive real estate technology website, reaching over 657,000 real estate agents and brokers. By embedding directly into MLS systems across North America, RETechnology.com makes it easy for agents to access clear product descriptions, objective product reviews, and stay current with technology trends. Providing a rich assortment of tutorials, how-tos and technology training articles, RE Technology helps agents understand the benefit technology can bring to drive business and how to strategically implement them. RE Technology, Inc., is colored with user ratings and comments, creating a rich community of product feedback and user-driven endorsements.

To learn more about RE Technology, Inc., please visit www.retechnology.com.

# # #

Press contact:
Paden Followwill
Editor at RETechnology.com
paden at retechnology dot com
(805) 503-5506
www.retechnology.com

Homes.com adds Bing Maps 7

Dominion Enterprises‘ Home Media Solutions announced a “Home Value Channel”, you can check out the press release at the bottom of this post. But what I was really impressed by was the implementation of Microsoft’s Bing Maps 7. Check this out, super sexy!

Full Press Release Below:
________________________________________________________________
Homes.com Launches Home Values Channel

NORFOLK, Va., May 23, 2011—Homes.com, anchor website for Homes Media Solutions and a division of Dominion Enterprises, announced today the launch of its new Home Values channel. Designed to serve as the first step for consumers seeking more information about a home’s market value, the channel’s innovative tools provide a wealth of property information to help educate consumers on local market conditions.

Home Values gives users highly accurate estimates of property values based on a proprietary, automated valuation model from SmartZip Analytics, Inc. It has valuable information about the property, including estimated value over time, last sold date and price, and a mortgage estimate. Home Values also delivers information on nearby homes for sale and recently sold properties.

Homes.com is the first major real estate search site to utilize Bing Maps 7, the latest in mapping technology.   Using three different perspectives, including the closest bird’s eye view in the industry, Home Values offers users a clear, crisp and easy-to-navigate view of the neighborhood they are searching, both on the web and on Homes.com mobile.

“The new Home Values channel on Homes.com is an industry-leading set of home valuation tools that meets the information demands of consumers. It connects millions of consumers with local real estate professionals who have the market insight to supply an even more precise value estimate for a property,” said Jason Doyle, vice president of Homes.com. Doyle added, “The launch of Home Values and the unveiling of our new brand are the first of many upcoming developments at Homes.com designed to connect more consumers visiting Homes.com with our preferred local professionals.”

“Millions of home owners, buyers and investors look to Homes.com as a trusted resource for their real estate research,” noted Tom Glassanos, president and CEO of SmartZip Analytics. “We are excited to partner with Homes.com to bring them our objective assessment of fair market values on over 75 million homes across the U.S.”
Multimedia – Download screenshots of Homes.com’s Home Values by clicking here.

About Homes Media Solutions
Homes Media Solutions is a leading provider of marketing and media services for real estate professionals, including brand advertising, property listing exposure and syndication, website design, search engine marketing, hosting and data management services and instant response lead generation. Through its flagship brand Homes.com, which reaches over 6 million visitors monthly, as well as AgentAdvantage, Advanced Access, eNeighborhoods and NUMBER1EXPERT®, Homes Media Solutions connects real estate professionals with active homebuyers and sellers. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., Homes Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. For more information, visit www.Homes.com.

About SmartZip Analytics, Inc.        
SmartZip Analytics is a leader in real estate analytics, helping banks, real estate professionals and consumers make smart decisions about real estate. Backed by Intel Capital and adopted by leading real estate websites and businesses, SmartZip’s products offer valuable insight about pricing, investment quality, risk, desirability and likelihood to sell. SmartZip home values, ratings and analysis are available for over 75 million homes in 56,000 U.S. neighborhoods.  SmartZip is a privately held corporation headquartered in Pleasanton, California, and can be found on the web atwww.smartzip.com.

Saul and Walt’s Excellent Adventure

I got a chance to catch up with Saul Klein and Walt Baczkowski in Washington D.C. last week at the CMLS Listing Syndication Workshop. As you may know Point2 was acquired by Yardi late last year. It was an entertaining chat as Saul and Walt told me about a trip that took them from Saskatoon to Transylvania. Yes, that Transylvania.

Yardi being a global company has a shop in Rumania with about 50 programmers. Yardi’s CEO/Owner thought that Saul and Walt could help with some organizational issues and asked them to join him on a trip.

The plane flight brought them through Germany. Ever wonder what they call a Big Mac in Germany? Well now you know…

The programming shop was in a city pretty close to the forest where Vlad, in which the character Dracula was based, killed a bunch of people by impaling them. Talk about adventures in real estate!!

Both Saul and Walt had a bunch of great stories about their trip from which I can surmise:

1. Rumanian programmers are very talented.
2. Rumanian women are very attractive.
3. You need to be very careful of gypsies.

BTW I’m not making this shit up.

For two guys who have been in the industry awhile its just another crazy adventure, and from the sound of it they are enjoying the new challenges!

Walt and Saul

Post NAR Midyear musings…

It was one of the most talked about NAR Midyear Conferences in recent history. Decisions were being made that effected how listings were displayed on the internet and how much money REALTORS would have to pay to “survive”, ($40.00 per year, it turns out.) Now that the dust has settled I’ve put together a mixed bag of my thoughts and observations.

CMLS Listing Syndication Workshop
Sold out in less than 24 hours this event was a huge success. I may be biased but CMLS really put together an outstanding event, so look for more of this type of stuff in the future. Congrats to Merri Jo Cowen and the entire CMLS Board of Directors for pulling this off. See photos here.

IDX listings, Franchisors, and RSS.
“Repeal”, “Rescind”. “Suspend”, “Franchisor”, “Broker Network”, WTF?. I’m not going to do any deep analysis, so many other people have done a great job writing about this topic. It’s just becoming so ridiculous I’m getting bored with it. PREDICTION: NAR will punt on these issues again in November.

CIVIX Patent.
Anytime NAR calls an emergency meeting and has industry consultants, with big names coming up to the microphone one by one to tell you how great something is, you better watch your back. NAR thinks it’s doing the industry a huge favor by making the MLS vendors pay up. Me thinks these MLS vendors (especially the two largest) might have something to say about this. PREDICTION: NAR won’t be able to pony up the 7 million to settle this thing (without major modifications to the deal), which means it’s everyone for themselves.

Inman News
I gotta say Tim Smith, CEO of Inman News, and his team is killing it lately. Two big moves announced at NAR Midyear, Chris Smith aka “Tech Savvy Agent” has left MOVE to become Inman’s Chief Evangelist, they announced a recent deal with LPS Real Estate Group to handle there online advertising, and a new “invitation only” Data Summit is going to be held a couple days before the Connect Conference in SF this year. Plus I really like some of the changes they’ve made to conferences, and their Agent Reboot roadshow has been a huge success. Looking forward to Connect in July to see what else Tim has in store for us!

Dominion Enterprises Reorg
This was announced a few days before NAR Midyear began. I’m writing a 3 part series about Dominion Enterprises and what I see the challenges and opportunties may be. Part I is already available to Vendor Alley Private Newsletter subscribers, and I’ll be posting it later next week.

3 sites you should check out:
http://ReachFactor.com
http://howsthemarket.com
http://www.cmls2011.com/

and the the category you’ve all been waiting for….the award for Best Dressed Vendor goes to Ohan Antebian from RPR.

Best Dressed Vendor NAR Midyear 2011

Sponsored By Paragon Connect