Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

IRES, REColorado and Pikes Peak ink data -share

IRES, REcolorado and Pikes Peak REALTOR® Services Corp. enter data-sharing partnership

“Information and Real Estate Services (IRES), a Loveland-based regional multiple listing service (MLS) that serves Boulder, Weld, Larimer, Logan and Morgan Counties and also holds partnerships with other regional MLSs to expand access across the state, today announced a data-sharing agreement between IRES and REcolorado utilizing RPR. A similar agreement with Pikes Peak REALTOR® Services Corp. (PPRSC) has been in place since December 2017.”

Whoa, I wonder what changed? ????

Back to the future for Palm Springs MLS members

Palm Springs Regional Association of REALTORS® listened to their members

“VESTAPLUS™, the newest MLS system to enter the MLS industry and serving over 20,000 REALTORS® to date, inked a deal to bring back their software to the members of the Palm Springs Regional Association of REALTORS® (PSRAR) due to strong demand from PSRAR subscribers. The MLS™/CLAW a luxury MLS services provider in Beverly Hills and Malibu is the provider of VESTAPLUS™. The VESTAPLUS™ software will be delivered via a 3-way agreement between the Palm Springs Regional Association of REALTORS®, The MLS™/CLAW and California Regional MLS (CRMLS)”

With CRMLS latest expansion it looks like they have 4 MLS System of Choices: VESTAPLUS, Matrix, Paragon, and FlexMLS. It’s good to be an MLS Vendor these days.

Kirby Slunaker, CEO of REColorado, resigns

CEO of REcolorado, the state’s largest MLS, resigns

Kirby Slunaker

“Kirby Slunaker has resigned from his position as President and CEO of REcolorado,” Deborah Shipley, the organization’s marketing and communications manager, said in a statement. “This was a personal decision made by Kirby.”

It seems kind of sudden, but I guess when you’re done, you’re done. Kirby came from outside the industry and brought some interesting perspectives to the industry and the job.

Needless to say there are going to be a lot of people interested in this gig.

The 2020 Swanepoel Power 200 list keeps it interesting

Rich Barton took the top spot from Ron Peltier this year, with Gary Keller coming in at number 2. So that means two “technology companies” CEOs are on top of the list. ????

I count about 18 MLS Execs making the list this year, which I think is up 2 from last year.

Bob Hale, CEO of the Houston Association of REALTORS was the highest MLS exec, moving up 1 spot to #26.

The list also includes Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS at #35, up 1 spot from last year, Brian Donnelan, CEO of Bright MLS #75, John DiMichele, CEO of Toronto Real Estate Board, Teresa King Kinney, CEO of the Miami Association of REALTORS #108, Rebecca Jensen, CEO of MRED, LLC, #120, Merri Jo Cowen, CEO of Stellar MLS (formerly MFRMLS) #121 Kathy Condon, CEO of MLSPIN #130, Matt Consalvo, CEO of ARMLS #131 , Dionna Hall #141 CEO of Realtors of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale, Jim Speer CEO of One Key MLS (formerly New York MLS) #146 Jeremy Crawford, CEO of First Multiple Listing Service, Tom Hurdelbrink, CEO of Northwest Multiple Listing Service, Anne Marie DeCatsye CEO of Charlotte Regional Realtor Association and CarolinaMLS at #179, John Mosey CEO of Northstar MLS #180, Emily Chenevert, CEO of Austin Board of REALTORS, #183 Brad Bjelke CEO of UtahRealEstate.com, #184, Chris Carrillo, CEO of MetroMLS #185,

Sam DeBord, CEO of RESO was listed at #154 and Denee Evans, CEO of CMLS was listed at #181.

Notable vendors include Errol Samuelson of Zillow Group at #38 (up two spots from last year), Chris Bennett of CoreLogic at #56. Mike Wurzer went up a few spots to #87. Morgan Carey, CEO of Real Estate Webmasters is listed at #129, Grier Allen, CEO of BoomTown is at #133, Joel Macintosh CEO of WolfNet #142, David Anderson, President of LionDesk went from the “Watchlist Group” last year all the way to #148 on the big list, right in front of yours truly, Greg Robertson at #149 (woohoo!). Charles Williams, CEO of Buyside, #157. Brian Boero and Marc Davidson of 1000watt #161, Mark Schacknies & Leo Pareja co-founders of Remine made the list at #164, Andrew Flachner, co-founder of RealScout at #168, Marilyn Wilson and Victor Lund of the WAV Group at #169, Mitch Skinner of LarsonSkinner up a few spots at #173, Suzanne Mueller of Realtor.com #188, John Mazur, CEO of Homesnap came in #199.

Congrats to everyone! I apologize in advance if I missed anyone.

Zillow does a better job of highlighting KW listing agents than the new KW.com

KW launches revamped, neighborhood-centric website

“Our redesigned KW.com is centered on our core efforts to further optimize the home experience for consumers,” Darryl Frost, a spokesperson for Keller Williams, told Inman. “More updates on our web-based home search will be unveiled in sync with the release of our updated consumer app early in 2020.”

I’ve been poking around the new site. There are a few interesting features, and I wanna do a full review later, but one of the first impressions, besides that it is SUPER SLOOOOOOOOOOW, (which I’m sure they will fix), is the attribution. Comparing KW.com listing detail page to Zillow’s page it looks like Zillow does a WAY better job of highlighting KW agents.

Keller Williams listing on KW.com

The agent/office attribution is kind of a joke, even for their own agents. It doesn’t include any way to contact the agent. You can click on “Find Agent” and start filling out a form. Lame.

Now let’s take a look at Zillow.com

Keller Williams listing on Zillow.com

Once you scroll. a bit down you see the agent’s name very clearly, his photo KW logo and telephone number. Nice! This is from what I understand is per an agreement KW did with Zillow.

So, as it stands now if I were a Keller Williams agent, I would consider sending consumers a link to Zillow, not the new KW.com to look at properties.

Looking for a new gig?

Senior Developer – W+R Studios

“W+R Studios is seeking a Senior Developer with advanced Ruby on Rails skills to play a key role in a growing, agile product development team. This person will work with our team of programmers, designers, project managers, and senior management on existing and new web and mobile apps for the real estate industry. The primary responsibility of this position is to develop new products, features, and fixes for our subscribers. We have offices in Huntington Beach, CA and Boulder, CO and are open to adding more remote positions in select areas.”

Check out the Vendor Alley Job Board to find the industry’s best and brightest and find out more how you can become a part of the team at W+R Studios.

Coverage

Looks like my hashtag, “#PutItOnTheMLS”, which first appeared here, got some love on the cover of the latest issue of REALTOR Magazine.

It’s not the cover of the Rolling Stone, but I’m surprised how much this made me smile.

Opendoor weirdness

Friday Flash: The year things got weird

“No, 2019 was the year consumers, also known as people, began to do very strange things in very significant numbers.
 
Two years ago, many in the industry thought the idea of a home seller paying 7-10% in fees for the privilege of getting a low-ball offer on their home was crazy, a pathway only for the desperate. 
  
Turns out lots of people were willing to do this in 2019. “

Brian Boero, 1000watt

Over the holiday break, I kept thinking about this insightful post (as usual) from Brian Boero of 1000watt. It pairs nicely with a webinar I did with Tyler Hixson, Opendoor’s Director of Real Estate Partnerships & Strategy.
You can watch the replay of the webinar in the video below. But one of the more “weird” things that came out of the discussion is that a vast majority of consumers were willing to pay the fee from Opendoor AND the agent’s full commission. They saw value in both. They appreciated the certainty and speed that Opendoor provided but also saw value in the guidance they received from their agent.

Think about that. In an age where many business models are trying to push commissions lower, or get rid of them entirely, many consumers are willing to pay more.

The fact that iBuyer offers have gone from “lowball” to fair market value might also be a factor. Here’s a quote from a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

“The new study from Mike DelPrete, a scholar in residence on real-estate technology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, found Opendoor and Zillow typically purchase homes for just over 1%, or around $3,800, less than the value of the home as determined by First American Financial Corp. , a real estate title insurance company.”

These two shifts are more significant than people realize. iBuyers are not an either-or proposition, but something entirely different.

Things definitely got weird in 2019, hell I would include the entire decade. What weirdness this new decade will bring is what I’m excited about.

Back to work.

MARIS appoints new outside directors

“MARIS MLS announced today that it has appointed two external directors, Craig Cheatham, president and CEO of The Realty Alliance, and John Mosey, president and CEO of NorthStar MLS, to its broker-driven board. This decision comes after MARIS separated shareholder governance from ownership
 in a move that ensures greater agility, diverse perspectives and balanced decision making.“

I think the more interesting story here is that Tim was successful in separating shareholder governance from ownership. I know many an association/MLS saddled by an outdated corporate structure. John Mosey is an excellent choice. Craig Cheatham is a curveball but exactly the type of move I expect from Tim, a bit unexpected and somewhat controversial.

Sponsored By Paragon Connect