Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

The Zoffer

For as long as I can remember one the most effective “call to action” in real estate has been the venerable…

“What’s My Home Worth?”

You can find this messaging on all manners of of real estate media. Some products do it better, than others. Hell, the reason we are even talking about Zillow is the “Zestimate”, which is the personification of that call to action.

But it turns out the Zestimate was really more geared towards Buyers (and voyeurs). But it’s a Sellers market. So what’s a Zillow supposed to do if it wants to drive Seller leads?

Enter, Zillow’s “Instant Offers“. Or what I’m calling a “Zoffer“. Which gives the value proposition,

“I can sell your home in one week!”

Zillow is testing this in 2 markets, Orlando and Las Vegas. And the entire industry is collectively losing its shit. Check out the comments on Inman’s post, Zillow launches ‘Instant Offers’ pilot program for homesellers, to get a taste.

I think its a ballsy move driven by a real need to generate seller leads for it Premier Agents, but also as a counter to all the hype surrounding Opendoor. Zillow wants to show Wall Street its got its sexy back.

Are they crossing the line? Are they becoming a broker, or just a matchmaker? Lots of questions.

I think its too early to tell. But I’m super curious to see if it works. And if any of those agents need a good CMA, I know where you can find one.

Listing Bits: The Upstream Pivot with FBS CEO Michael Wurzer

I had a chance to sit down with Mike Wurzer again at NAR Midyear to discuss the recent announcement about Upstream, well, not really being “upstream” anymore. This was recorded before NAR announced the details to their additional funding. More on that in a later blog post.

The first step of problem-solving is to assign blame. Right?

That seems to be part of Upstream’s tactics in explaining their delayed progress at NAR’s May Legislative Meeting in DC. They succeeded in raising the heartrate of today’s guest – by implying that a lack of cooperation from vendors is to blame for the snail’s pace of the project. Upstream also made a big announcement regarding what they term as a pivot, but may be more appropriately called a 180.

Michael Wurzer is the President and CEO of FBS, an employee-owned company committed to exceeding customer expectations. Their signature product, Flexmls, is a standards-driven technology platform connecting real estate professionals to their customers with collaboration tools that deliver timely and accurate information. FBS products serve 185 organizations and 2,000-plus agents in the real estate sector.

Under Wurzer’s leadership for the past 20 years, FBS has worked to constantly evolve and embrace change. They were among the first to build a web-based system, striking a balance between the stability of being an established company and creating a culture of innovation. Today he examines the Upstream pivot in detail, discussing how the Upstream messaging has evolved over time, the pain points the initiative was working to address, and the need to foster collaboration among industry players.

What’s Discussed:

The major players in the Upstream initiative
How the Upstream messaging has evolved over time
The major Upstream pivot announced at NAR’s Legislative Meetings
How the pivot was influenced by feedback from experienced MLS professionals
Greg’s take on the fundamental change in premise of the Upstream initiative
The pain points the Upstream project was working to address
– Ability to sync listings
– Integration with third party products
The buy-in for Upstream from big brands
Upstream’s explanation for its delayed progress
The need to foster collaboration among industry players rather than assigning blame
– All focused on solving broker problems
The CMLS campaign to highlight the value of the MLS
The controversy over RPR’s team of developers
The confusion re: the meaning of a ‘live demo’
The ability to enter a listing from third-party system as a RESO objective
The evolution of technology in the real estate software space
– ‘We’re building the airplane as we’re flying it’
Success stories in MLS system consolidation
The beauty of competition in shaping market dynamics
Zillow’s next steps in light of the Upstream pivot
The need for clarity of communication re: syndication
What the Upstream pivot means for AMP
Wurzer’s prediction of what’s next in real estate tech innovation
Upstream as ‘another option’ rather than a revolution

Resources:

Realtor Magazine Article

“Upstream Returns to Earth” by Matt Cohen

Connect with Michael Wurzer:

Email mwurzer@flexmls.com
Twitter
Blog

Placester offers free IDX websites to N.A.R. members

Inman News’ Teke Wiggin on Placester’s new offering.

NAR offering free Placester websites to Realtors

“The National Association of Realtors is offering free property search websites to all members as part of a new deal with real estate software provider Placester.

The partnership makes it possible for all Realtors “to build an online presence they can control,” said CEO Matt Barba in a statement. And it could fuel Placester’s efforts to build a massive user base that could be receptive to buying upgrades.

A previous deal between the trade group and Placester made basic versions of Placester sites available to Realtors for $5 a month. Under the new deal, the two are offering Placester websites for no charge.

The free mobile-friendly websites come with features including IDX [Internet Data Exchange] listing integration, “global listings search,” homepage with slideshow, mortgage calculator, social media share buttons and editable listing search, about and testimonial pages.”

This is exactly why I’ve never had a desire to enter the agent website business, it’s a race to the bottom.

But it looks like it’s not “free” in all markets.

“For 60 of the 600 multiple listing services covered by the product, agents must pay a surcharge to activate IDX-powered property search.”

I wonder how many agents do those MLSs cover? Also, it’s well known that less than 90 MLS providers contain about 90% of the all the active listings available. So it will be interesting to see how “massive” their user base grows.

I written about this before but my take on these freemium models is the the TAM (total available market) isn’t large enough.

I do think this is a big win for N.A.R. members. But if you read the comments in Inman’s article you’ll see that agents are keen to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sheesh!

LIBOR and BNAR implement RealSafe

LIBOR and BNAR getting serious about REALTOR(R) safety

The Long Island Board of REALTORS® and the Buffalo Niagara Association of REALTORS® are joining the growing list of libor_logoMultiple Listing Services and REALTOR® associations deploying the Real Safe Agent system, which includes the Northern Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service and the Fort Smith Board of REALTORS®. “Staying safe means preventing a crime, not reacting to one. So, when I presented the Real Safe Agent system to my BOARD, we knew we needed to purchase the system for our members”, stated Dave Legaz, President of LIBOR. “As a former NYPD Sergeant, it’s clear to me that Real Safe Agent understands both REALTOR® and criminals; and allows the agents to prevent a crime without jeopardizing a sale.”

Good to see Lee and Susan making progress on this. Also check out this post about The Beverly Carter Foundation.

Sponsored By Paragon Connect