Redfin CEO, Glenn Kelman shows us all how its done.
Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, wrote a blog post entitled “SOPA Witch-Hunters, Count Me Out” and then just hours later entirely retracted the whole blog post.
“But I was still wrong about whether the boycott was a violation or a shining example of free speech. It’s a shining example. If you have ever gotten into an argument in which you hoped your unassailable logic would slay the will to live of the other side, please print this blog post out. My will to live has been slain for the moment, and I can’t delete it so I just have to eat it.”
In this post Glenn is so utterly brave, beautifully human and damn inspiring.
South Florida Sh*t Storm
This will be fun to watch!
‘Fort Lauderdale Realtor Group sues Miami Realtor Group’
The South Florida Business Journal reports things are heating up in South Florida.
“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.
I can’t believe they cited the “Lanham Act”.
Speaking of listing syndication…
I sent this post out to Vendor Alley Private Newsletters subscribers last week but thought it was worth a re-post today.
I’ve been reading a few interesting perspectives on listing syndication.
Here’s the first one:
Jon Colie, President of Champion Realty – Guest posting on MRIS‘ blog, REsource
If you think about it, a national aggregator selling agents leads off of a website becomes less about the quality of the listing database and far more about the quantity. More listings mean more “eye candy” thus more opportunities to sell agent placement.
Champion Realty is a HomeServices Company, natch!
And the second comes from a comment made on a Vendor Alley post about Brookfield acquiring Prudential:
Brad Blumberg, Smarter Agent
Am I the only one who finds it amazing that the entire real estate relo and franchisor business of Prudential just sold for $110 million, and Zillow Market Cap on that day was over $600 million. Has the value of the real estate purchase shifted to the aggregators at the expense of the value of real estate brokerage businesses. Think Edina realty, when they pulled listings from Trulia, was thinking about creating local value in their brand instead of adding value to the aggregators?
Smart!
The Vendor Alley Holiday Wish List
Not sure what to get your favorite Vendor for the holidays? Not sure what YOU want under the Christmas tree? Have no fear we’ve got you covered!
1. Bose-mobile communications kit -$30.00
Many of you have a Bose Noise canceling headsets for plane travel. They also make a great headset for conference calls from your mobile phone or on your computer with this great adapter.
2. Red Oxx -Air Boss $225.00
“The only carry-on bag you’ll ever need”. I love this bag, because I hate to check in.
3. MacBook Air 13″ $1,599.00
These are standard issued equipment at W&R Studios. My guys love them.
4. PlugBug! -$34.95
I love twelvesouth, I already own their BookBook for iPad and get tons of compliments. But they just released this and it’s pretty near the top of my Christmas List.
5. Jack Spade “Mill” Leather Dopp Kit -$155.00
I love the style of this dopp kit. My choice in color would be Tobacco (as shown).
6. Tweetbot for iPhone. $2.99
The new Twitter app for iPhone sucks. I just switched to this and love it.
7. Moleskine Classic Extra Large Soft Cover Ruled Notebook (7.5″ x 10″) -$19.95
I like Moleskine notebooks but not a big fan of the smaller hard cover versions that are so popular. I need a lot more space to write (and draw) and prefer a soft cover that fits better in my notebook case/backpack.
8. Field Notes $9.95 – Original
But if you are looking for a small notebook I recommend these. I’ve always have one available in my back left pocket for just like the ad says “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.”
9. “Get Excited and Make Things” Print (30″ X 24″) by Matt Jones $1,000 (They are out of smaller sizes)
We all need a little motivation sometimes and there’s nothing better than this to hang on your wallin your office/cube/ or in the home office. Inspired by the “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters of WWII it reminds us the creating things are supposed to be fun.
10. Mophie juice pack plus – $99.95
For my day to day use of my iPhone 4S I don’t have any problem with battery life. But it seems when I’m traveling I need a little piece of mind and that’s why I have one of these in my bag (black, of course).
11. Origami Workstation -$29.95
There are a lot of iPad case out there that have built in keyboards. Plus I my normal set up at home with my MocBook is a wireless keyboard and mouse. I just like using a mouse rather than a trackpad if i have the choice. So this Origami Workstation really caught my eye. I get a good protector case for my wireless keyboard and it also serves as a stand and keyboard for my iPad. Brilliant!
You can also see this list on my Delicious Stack.
Happy Holidays!
Inman News 100 Most Influential Leaders In Real Estate – I made it!
Inman News’ list of the 100 Most Influential Leaders In Real Estate is out. For the 3rd year in a row I’ve made the list. You can check it out here:
http://www.inman.com/inman100/2011/greg-robertson
I started this blog in 2007 and am constantly amazed at the growth of its readership/traffic. Including the fact that in just one week I’m just about sold out of all advertising slots for the entire year of 2012.
I sincerely appreciate your support.
Thank you,
Greg
Here are some others you might recognize
Merri Jo Cowen
Russ Bergeron
Art Carter
Bob Bemis
Rebecca Jensen
Bob Hale
David Charron
Saul Klein
Matt Lerner
Mark Lesswing
Brian Larson
Gregg Larson
Errol Samuelson
Ian Morris
The MLS system landscape and the MLS Vendor of the future.
A few thoughts about what I’ve been hearing and observing about the state of MLS systems and vendors
Flash’s dead, baby.
I’ve written about the problems and issues of some MLS vendors MLS platforms be written in Flash. and now this, Adobe announced they will no longer continue to develop a Flash version for mobile devices. So to me the debate ends here, MLS vendors who’s new versions rely upon Flash have two choices. Develop a separate HTML5 or equivalent version of their MLS system or create separate “native” versions of their MLS systems that run on mobile devices (iPhone, Droid, iPad, etc.). Either prospects are not great, but….
I’ve seen Discover MLS’ offering and now recently got a sneak peak at LPS’s REinsight new MLS system and was impressed (both are built using Flash). They not only look great, from a UI perspective, but there is some real innovation going on. One of things that struck me about LPS’s REinsight was the blending of the LPS public records data along with MLS data. This is great for creating all inclusive CMAs and other reports. Plus from a map search perspective you can see an MLS listing and also click on the property next to it (that might not be in the MLS database) and up pop public records data, which is super cool. One database, no need to exit out of the MLS system and log in to a separate app, the data is all on the same map/listing view.
I haven’t yet seen CoreLogic’s Fusion product (also developed in Flash) but I have to imagine an MLS system integrated with RealList data would be a hit. CoreLogic does have some hurdles, Tempo, doesn’t work on any browser except Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. And now Fusion won’t run on an iPad. Not anyone’s fault, who could have predicted the iPad’s popularity. But some MLS Vendors, like Solid Earth, appear to be heading to an “iPad first” strategy.
One argument I hear a lot from these MLS Vendors is that according to their analytics less than 2% of MLS subscribers are using iPad to access their current MLS systems. This is just whistling through the graveyard in my opinion.
The Octagon
The issues I talk about above really make for some interesting thoughts about the competitive landscape of MLS Vendors. I see a few scenarios.
Innovation. MLS Vendors who have MLS systems that run on multiple devices, won’t have to develop or mange multiple code bases. These MLS Vendors are free to leverage their develop resources towards other innovations instead of solving cross compatibility issues. A huge advantage as I see it.
Less choice. With the recent acquisition of Tarasoft by CoreLogic lowered the choices in MLS systems vendors. And with CoreLogic still dominating the public records side (has anyone really canceled their RealList contract as RPR has suggested?) are they getting “to big to fail”? Put in another way, do MLS Providers want to have a single vendor control so much of their mission critical applications and data?
It seems the value proposition for other smaller (alternative?) MLS Vendors are starting to get more attractive.
1. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
2. More innovation
3. More personal service.
Sounds good to me.
New Business Models
The reality is that its hard being a pimp. MLS system sales have always had a long sales cycle and with the down real estate market not many large/medium MLS Providers are in a hurry to go thru a conversion. So some MLS vendors are opting to start new business models. FBS comes to mind. MLS Providers are also branching out. Metrolist’s Marketplace comes to mind.
Focus is also becoming a big factor. I noticed this in two areas recently.
1. LPS sold their broker and agents division (now R.E.D. Real Estate Digital)
2. CoreLogic recently sold their Membership Director product back to MMSI.
Welcome to the 3rd Party
I also see a big boon for 3rd Party Software developers in the future (hooray!) Managed and standardized databases and APIs are all in the near future. The aforementioned Marketplace is a perfect example of a new distribution model for real estate specific web apps to be sold. If MLS Providers and Vendors can successfully change the behavior of MLS members to look to buy these apps through a portal, and that portal is easily accessible through their MLS system, 3rd Party software companies stand to benefit immensely. Talk about “non-dues revenue”!
You are witnessing the rebirth of MLS Vendors
I see in 2012 MLS Vendors hammering out their strategy for the next NAR annual meeting Orlando. At that conference I think we are going to see a lot of new innovative stuff, not just from the product side but the re-invention of what it means to be an MLS Vendor going forward. I’m excited about the possibilities.
Canada selects Point2 as exclusive listing syndicator.
Oh Canada!
My sources tell me that the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has selected Point2 as the exclusive listing syndicator for all of Canada’s MLS listings. Word is Point2 beat out other potential companies, including ListHub.
Point2, which is headquartered in the Saskatchewan province of Canada, should announce something soon. While Zillow and Trulia do not operate in Canada at this time there are other sites such as Oodle and Zoocasa that do.
I think that International Real Estate is going to be a big topic in the upcoming years and Point2 is moving in the direction of providing multinational listing syndication services, which could differentiate themselves going forward.
Early congrats to Saul, Walt and their team for the win.
East Bay Regional Data, Inc. is looking for a new CEO.
Check out the Vendor Alley Job Board for more details…
Best Vendor Alley Sticker “In the wild” photo ever!
