Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Realtor.com (and NAR’s) new ad

I like it. They are starting to dial in their new messaging.

I see two issues facing Realtor.com

Issue #1

Most consumers like to going to third party sites, like Expedia, Kayak, and such. They really don’t care about “accuracy” (neither of those sites have Southwest flight information as an example.) That’s why I’ve never thought Realtor.com beating the drum of “we have the most accurate data” ever resonated with consumers. But they keep double downing on it every year, and based on the rising traffic of Zillow and Trulia it hasn’t worked.

Consumers don’t want to go the Airline’s site because of a perception they can get a better deal elsewhere. And granted sometimes the experience is a lot better (UI and comparing other airlines fares for instance).

I know real estate isn’t like the travel industry, I’m not saying it is, I’m just saying consumers like to go to third party sites. It should be no surprise Zilow and Trulia are doing well.

Issue #2

I heard a story. One of the portals had done a few consumer surveys. And one of the reasons respondents didn’t want to go to Realtor.com was they didn’t want to be contacted by “REALTORS”. Ouch. This shows how naive consumers really are when it comes to real estate portals. But poses a big problem with your brand is “REALTOR” dot com. But the facts are, according to NAR surveys, close to 90% of buyers would use the same REALTOR again. So there’s a huge disconnect.

While I don’t think on its own “accuracy matters” is going to get the job done, marrying it with a positive spin on REALTORS is heading in the right direction.

ZipRealty agents now powered with Cloud CMA

ZipRealty sure are smart people…

: )

Full Press Release below:

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W&R Studios expands Cloud CMA Broker Edition footprint with nationwide ZipRealty agreement


ZipRealty now provides a customized version of Cloud CMA to all their real estate agents.

Huntington Beach, CA (July 9th, 2014) – W&R Studios, a software company, announced today the implementation of a nationwide agreement to provide all its real estate agents a customized version of Cloud CMA.

Cloud CMA is an online report generator for real estate professionals. Real estate agents using Cloud CMA have the ability to create custom comparative market analysis (CMA) reports, buyer tours, property reports and flyers.

“We have been working with ZipRealty for several months, implementing a customized version of Cloud CMA for all their agents, and the response has been great. We are very proud to work with a such a talented team of professionals,” stated Greg Robertson, co-founder of W&R Studios.

“Cloud CMA is the best CMA and Buyer Tour software out there. That’s why we provide it to all ZipRealty agents. The presentations are powerful, mobile-friendly, fully customizable, and ready in minutes. Cloud CMA has been a real difference-maker to help our agents convert more leads into clients and closed transactions!” added Van Davis, Broker Operation, Zip Realty, Inc.

“Zip Realty’s customized edition of Cloud CMA is one of the best we have ever implemented. And we look forward to working with them in the future to help their agents find more success,” concluded Mr. Robertson.

Dan Woolley and Greg Robertson are co-founders of W&R Studios and will be attending and speaking at the Inman Real Estate Conference in San Francisco July 16th to 18th. They will be featured on the session of “How to Create, Build and Launch Things People Want”.

For more information on the Cloud CMA Broker Edition please visit http://CloudCMA.com/real-estate-brokers.

About W&R Studios:
Founded in 2008, W&R Studios (http://wrstudios.com) is a privately held 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 providing a “less is more” approach to software design, elegant user interfaces, and using the latest in agile programming, W&R Studiosʼ software applications are at the same time powerful, yet accessible to everyone. W&R Studiosʼ products include Cloud CMA (http://CloudCMA.com) and Nudge (http://getnudgeapp.com), an easy way to share real estate knowledge and stand out.

For more information please contact:
Greg Robertson

greg at wrstudios dot com

(855) 977-8834 ext. 702

Sponsored By Paragon Connect