This just popped back up on my Twitter feed. I just read it again, I had forgotten how goddamn good it is. Jessica Swesey of 1000watt breakdowns what every vendor should understand about real estate, brokers and agents. This is mandatory everybody, stop what you are doing and read this now.

Things proptech startups should know

There are many paths. But at the end of the day, agents drive pretty much everything. That may sound like an easy answer, but it’s not, for a lot of reasons. Agents are expensive to reach, require a lot of in-person selling, onboarding and training — even for “simple” software. And there’s a LOT of churn. People seem to try on this career like a hat in a store window, then move along to other pastures often. 
And there’s this: An irregular, commission-based income and a regular credit card charge for a software or service subscription just don’t live well together. 
And whereas virality can work wonders with other business apps like Slack, agents tend not to want to tell others about new tools they suddenly can’t live without.

Jessica Swesey

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SmarterAgent sues Real Estate Webmasters, HomeAway

“SmarterAgent invented systems and methods generally related to location-aware search engines, providing content to those location-aware search engines, and making databases supporting location-aware search engines more efficient,” the complaint against HomeAway reads. “SmarterAgent has offered for sale software applications embodying or related to those inventions.”

I had written about the patents SmarterAgent had and how they might continue to enforce them. But here’s the super impressive part…

In 2013, SmarterAgent LLC split into two separate entities – SmarterAgent LLC and SmarterAgent Mobile. The former focused on patent licensing and the latter on mobile technology. In 2018, Keller Williams acquired a controlling stake in SmarterAgent Mobile, as the real estate franchise giant moved toward buildings its new end-to-end real estate platform and consumer-facing home search website and app.

So it looks like SmarterAgent only sold a “controlling interest” in the company that controlled the “mobile technology”, not the “patents”. Those Blumbergs are pretty freaking “smart”!

Canadian Real Estate Association Taps Lone Wolf as National Transaction Management System

CREA intends to maintain The WEBForms® branding on the forms product, but it will now be powered by TransactionDesk and made available to CREA’s membership of over 100,000 REALTOR®members. CREA will be supporting the integration of the TransactionDesk suite into MLSs across Canada. TransactionDesk is already integrated into the MLS® systems in some major markets like Toronto, and TransactionDesk integration connectors have already been developed for CoreLogic® Matrix® and Black Knight Financial® Paragon® MLS systems. Other integrations are planned.

I gotta say I’m super impressed with what Lone Wolf has accomplished since it was acquired by Vista Equity Partners.

From the crew at W+R Studios!

LionDesk® launches innovative AI technology, Lead Assist™, ahead of refreshed platform

 LionDesk® , the leading Real Estate CRM platform that helps sales professionals connect, communicate and close leads faster, is proud to announce “Lead Assist™,” an automated lead conversion assistant. Nicknamed, “Gabby,” Lead Assist will qualify incoming leads with the goal of booking appointments, while agents focus on current business activities. 
Closely mimicking true artificial intelligence, Gabby will engage with incoming leads and existing clients via text message to further determine lead quality and speed response to general customer needs with the ultimate goal of qualifying the lead for the agent. 

Gabby, Kelle, Siri, and Alexa sounds like the next lineup of the Spice Girls.

Aside from that I love the video that LionDesk came up with to highlight the value proposition of this new feature.

I recently did a podcast with LionDesk’s CEO David Anderson. You can check that out here.

The Clash. The Police. Journey. Talking Heads. Some of the most well-known bands in recent history also happen to have some of the most powerful names. Names that describe their music and articulate what separates them from everyone else. Just like those bands, the name of your real estate brand has a job to do. So, why are so many of us afraid to break traditional paradigms? Why is every brokerage Insert-Last-Name Realty? And why are so many logos a roofline? What if you liberated yourself from what everybody else is doing and made your own kind of music? 

We recorded this podcast live after Marc spoke at the MLS Summit, an event hosted by Annie Ives of The MLS™/CLAW.

Marc Davison is the cofounder of 1000watt, an agency dedicated to helping real estate brokerages, tech vendors, mortgage and title companies, MLSs and associations build better brands through marketing and design. Prior to 1000watt, he served as the Vice President of OnBoard Informatics and founded Access Media. Marc’s resume also includes a long stint in the music business as a musician and manager, and he is the author of All Area Access: Personal Management for Unsigned Musicians.  

Today, Marc shares the parallels between building a band and building a company, discussing how his background in music informs his work at 1000watt. He offers insight around the dynamics of the team at 1000watt, describing the unique voice of the company and how its name serves as a differentiator. Listen in for Marc’s challenge around breaking paradigms in branding your real estate organization and learn how your name, logo and messaging can work together (in harmony, of course) to articulate what’s important to you as a company.

What’sDiscussed: 

How Marc’s background music relates to his work at 1000watt

The parallels between building a band and building a company

How 1000watt’s unique voice differs from its team members

Marc’s take on real estate as an intoxicating, aspirational business

The significance of thinking of your company as a product

Marc’s insight on the charisma of the name W+R Studios

How names serve as vehicles to create differentiation

Why 1000watt chose to brand itself as an agency vs. consultancy

Marc’s challenge around real estate terminology (i.e.: Team, Realty)

The necessity of alignment among names, logos and messaging

Resources:

The MLS Summit

TheMLS.com

All Area Access: Personal Management for Unsigned Musiciansby Marc Davison

‘An Uncommon Brokerage Vision’ in 1000watt

Nick Shivers

The Police – Bring on the night -LIVE PARIS -79.

Secret Agent Man

Connect with Marc:

1000watt

1000watt Blog

Marc on 1000watt

Marc on LinkedIn

Zillow’s New Insight on the Unit Economics of the iBuyer

To this point, we assumed that the iBuyer model would target homeowners willing to pay for convenience and that the average consumer would continue to employ a real estate agent—and earn more money for their patience. But Zillow’s Q4 numbers reflect that homeowners can actually make MORE selling to the platform than they would with a realtor. So, how does this information impact the potential market share of iBuyers moving forward? And how will it affect the way agents do business?

Today, Rob and Greg are discussing the change in leadership at Zillow, debating the company’s performance under Spencer Rascoff and Richard Barton’s motivation to return as CEO. They explore the possibility of a merger between Opendoor and Zillow, uniting the former’s mastery of workflow with the latter’s proficiency at lead flow.

Rob and Greg also speak to Redfin’s potential to adopt the iBuyer model and the way of thinking shared by Redfin and Opendoor. Listen in to understand the full implications of Zillow’s Q4 iBuyer unit economics learn how the iBuyer market may impact the industry in light of this new information.  

What’s Discussed: 

Barton’s motivation to return to Zillow as CEO

Zillow’s performance under Rascoff’s leadership

Opendoor’s complementary mastery of workflow

Zillow’s hiring of Arik Prawer to run iBuyer operations

The shared philosophy between Redfin and Opendoor

The implications of Zillow’s Q4 iBuyer unit economics  

How iBuyer unit economics may impact realtors

Connect with Rob and Greg:

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

Zillow’s 2018 Q4 Results

‘Homeowners Net More Selling to Zillow Than with a REALTOR’ in Notorious ROB

‘Spencer Rascoff Out as CEO of Zillow’ in Vendor Alley

Mike DelPrete’s Presentation at Inman Connect

Our Sponsors:

Cloud MLX

The Red Dot

IT Manager – Heartland Multiple Listing Services

Position Summary:  Responsible for the overall operation, support, and maintenance of internal IT networks, hardware and software systems as well as providing internal support for the RAMCO CRM system operating on MS Dynamics CRM.  Position will assist Director of Technology with 3rd Party Vendor integrations for CRM and Multiple Listing Service systems. Administration of internal IT is performed in conjunction with and while supervising the Systems Administrator position…

To find out about this and more please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

Vice-President of MLS and Business Technology – Naples Area Board of REALTORS

The Naples Area Board of REALTORS® is seeking a Vice-President of MLS and Business Technology. Naples is a three-time winner of the title happiest and healthiest city in America. Our paradise coast is an incredible place to live and work.

Summary:
The Vice President of MLS and Business Technology is responsible for the full operation, supervision, evaluation, delivery and maintenance of all Multiple Listing Services (MLS) and supporting products….

To find out about this and more please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

This episode was recorded live at the Clareity/Corelogic MLS Executive Workshop in Scottsdale.  Art and Josh were good sports when I spotted them at the lobby bar at the Scottsdale Plaza.  Also, full disclosure, I think I’ve had at least one drink.

What’s it going to take to get vendors to transition away from RETS to Web API? RESO is hoping that both a carrot (providing easy-to-use replication tools) and a stick (large MLSs putting a ‘death date’ on RETS feeds) will facilitate the move.

Art Carter is the Chair of the 2019 RESO Board of Directors and CEO of California Regional MLS. Josh Darnell is the Chief Architect at RESO and Founder and CEO of kurotek, a real estate tech consultancy. Both Art and Josh are committed to RESO’s mission around creating and promoting the adoption of standards to drive efficiency in the real estate industry.

Today, Art and Josh discuss the transition from RETS to Web API and discuss what RESO is doing to rectify the replication issue. Art gives us an update on the progress of RESO’s search for a new CEO, describing the combination of technical skill and evangelism the organization is looking for in a leader. Josh shares his take on independent systems like Trestle and Spark API and walks us through the RESO initiatives that address the separation of listing input. Listen in for insight into the ongoing evolution of real estate standards and learn how you can support RESO’s work to give agents access to the data they need.

What’s Discussed: 

The progress of RESO’s search for a new CEO

What RESO is looking for in a leader for the organization

What the RESO Board is doing to rectify the replication issue

RESO’s understanding that standards will continue to evolve

RESO’s focus on giving agents access to the data they need

Josh’s take on independent systems like Trestle, Spark API

The intent behind RESO’s RCP010 and RCP019 initiatives 

Why we will eventually rely on MLSs to handle compliance

The value of working together in an open-source model

Art’s insight on how proprietary systems impact innovation

Why vendors need to accept that RETS is going away

Who Josh would like to see at RESO’s Workgroup meetings

What it will take to get vendors to transition to Web API

Resources:

Mike Wurzer on Listing Bits EP035

OAuth

Trestle

Spark API

RESO on RubyGems

Amy Gorce at RESO

Connect with Art & Josh:

RESO

Josh at RESO

kurotek

Art on LinkedIn

CRMLS