“While maintaining our primary focus on the safety and wellbeing of our members, NAR has used the circumstances surrounding this pandemic to consider how we can evolve and better prepare for the markets of the future,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. “Decades of investments in technology and a commitment to organizational growth allowed NAR to execute an overwhelmingly effective and fully virtual legislative conference in May, and we’re excited to build on that experience to provide an even more productive and engaging virtual Conference & Expo this November.”
I think we all knew this was going to happen but it feels like a gut punch.
“The 2020 Real Estate Almanac includes the following five sections:
-The SP 200, a ranking of 234 of the nation’s most powerful and influential leaders -The ORE 200, a ranking of the nation’s 200 largest MLSs and 200 largest local and state Realtor associations -The Tech 500, indexing 279 technology services providers, in 63 different functionalities -Real Estate Enterprises, a ranking of the nation’s 20 largest franchise brands and holding companies -The Mega 1000, a ranking of the nation’s 1,000 largest brokerages”
Hats off to the team at Swanepoel’s T3 Sixty shop. This thing is a beast, and as a true real estate technology geek, I love it. It will be my go-to reading material for many morning coffees to come. And one of few books on my desk for reference.
I was lucky to get an advanced copy and am super impressed by the layout and the detail of the information presented. This is a must-have for brokers, MLS organizations, and associations who are looking at the wide landscape of technology solutions available in real estate. Swanepoel has leap-frogged many organizations that in the past have only delivered a fraction of this content.
It also a great reference for vendors to see what other companies are providing similar solutions. Kudos to T3 Sixty!
Pro Tip: If you are making notes in the margin use a ballpoint pen.
“Our agents and brokers are looking for new ways to serve their clients safely and effectively,” said John Breault, Vice President of MLS & Member Services for State-Wide MLS. “HomeVisit makes it easy to explore a home inside and out without physically visiting the property. “
Look like agents can order professional photography and videos, 3D house models, single-property websites, aerial videos and photos, virtual tours, and printed materials to support their real estate marketing efforts all through Matrix.
Lots of competition in this space but the workflow tie-in seems like a winner.
So I wrote a book. I’m self-publishing it. I’m getting some final feedback on the copy/content and finishing up the images, but in the next few weeks, we will be sending it to the printer. So, I’m looking for some feedback.
But first, let me tell you a story. I began writing the book almost two years ago. One of my favorite artists is John Coltrane. My son’s name is Cole, which was a compromise I made with my wife. Which should give you an idea of how much of a geek I am.
John Coltrane used to live in Long Island, NY. MLS of Long Island (MLSLI) holds a tech fair every year in October and his house isn’t far from the hotel I stay in. So each year I’ve driven by it. There’s a plaque outside the house that memorializes it. It’s not Graceland or Paisley Park. It’s was just the humble home of a great artist.
For inspiration, I wrote the first words of my book outside that house. Since then I’ve struggled, started, and stopped multiple times. Then, last year I was attending a trade show on content marketing in Cleveland and ran into an old colleague/friend of mine, Charles Warnock. I hired Charles years ago to run marketing at eNeighborhoods and now had a consulting business called Content Marketing Factory. We have been keeping in touch but had a chance to catch up with a couple of drinks at the conference. Charles mentioned he was co-authoring a book on enterprise innovation and digital transformation. Immediately I told him I was working on a book too, and was having trouble completing it and staying focused. He was excited by the idea of the book. So I struck a deal with Charles and he has been invaluable in helping me get the book completed.
So I’ve been working with the graphic designers on my team to create the cover of the book. I’ve decided on a layout and now I’ve narrowed it down to 3 different versions of that layout. So I’m looking for feedback on these three final designs. That’s where you come in.
The name of my book is “The Art of the CMA”. I’ll write more about the concept and content of the book in a later blog post.
Design #1
This the basic layout. I’m using Neutra (pronounced noy-tra) as the main font. It’s named for a famous Architect, Richard Neutra. Neutra is used in a lot of signage. It’s the same font I used for our building signage at W+R Studios building and the original W&R Studios buttery soft t-shirts. I like the fact that the font is tied to dwellings. The public library in Huntington Beach was designed by him, right before he died and his son took over the project.
The green I use is the same green as Cloud CMA. But I only mention Cloud CMA once in the book.
The sub-headline “Winning Listings by Mastering Real Estate’s Best Marketing Tool” isn’t final, but I haven’t come up with anything better.
And of course, the illustration is of a house, with a dollar sign symbolizing the value.
Design #2
In this version, we have added multiple colors to the line color of the illustration. Like an artist’s palette. The feedback I’ve heard so far is that it looks too close to a company logo during “Pride” month. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Design #3
Here the artist’s palette vibe and color are more prominent and we changed the color of some of the copy.
So there you have it. I’ve created a quick poll that you can fill out below. Or write something in the comments or just send me an email. I’m beyond excited about this project and happy to have all of you share in its creation.
“Myra was introduced to organized real estate when she joined the Houston Association of REALTORS®as Chief Communications Officer. She has also served as Vice President of Public Affairs for the Pacific West Association of REALTORS® in Los Angeles, CA, and Vice President of Public Affairs for MLSListings, Inc. in San Jose, CA. “
Myra is great. I first met her when she worked at the Pacific West Association of REALTORS (PWR). Great to see her back in the mix again.
“Comparative Market Analyses (CMAs) have traditionally been a clinical, often tedious part of helping sellers sell and buyers buy – tracking down comps, adjusting for amenities and construction oddities, and trying to keep leads away from random online evaluations. With Cloud CMA, that’s no longer the case. The CMA is now an empowering decision maker and creative marketing asset.”
Inman News is re-launching its webinar channel with none other than Cloud CMA Live. Join me tomorrow (Tuesday, June 16) at 11:00 AM PDT along with Technology Columnist Craig Rowe to see what all the buzz is about. I’m going to give a full demo of Cloud CMA Live and answer questions from the online audience.
“Integrated with its scheduling platform and currently available to 32,000+ agents in select MLSs with nationwide availability in June, ShowingTime LIVE Video equips agents and their clients to take part in live video showings without needing to download additional apps, providing an authentic showing experience.”
This looks sick, and ShowingTime is in a great position to get real adoption on its platform. They have already scheduled “tens of thousands” of virtual showings.
This video from 2018 really hits hard. These may not be problems we started but we have to ask ourselves how can we, in the organized real estate industry, can come together (and be proactive) to make sure we do everything we can so these practices never happen again.
“Every one of us is trying to find our new normal. We need to find ways to stay connected to clients and do business remotely. Consistency is key to getting us through this crisis so we can stay calm and make the most of it. Tune in EVERY WEEKDAY at 9:00 am Pacific to our new Coffee Chats series. Drink your cup of coffee and sit with us for 30 minutes of inspiration, information and actionable tips to make your business stronger.”
I just did a “Coffee Chat” yesterday with Marilyn. I got to give a demo of our new Cloud CMA Live enhancement. Marilyn has been doing several of these with some great guests, and they are available on the RETechnology YouTube channel.
Looking forward to listening to this conversation with Jim. To register please click the link below.
“Exchanged data is in the process of being integrated into both MLS systems — REcolorado’s Matrix™ listing database by CoreLogic and IRES’ custom in-house system — which will allow users to access available listings across both systems once the integration is complete. The shared data encompasses listings that include up to 40 photos for each listed residential property, townhome and condo, multifamily property and parcels of land. Property statuses include “active,” “coming soon,” “under contract” and “sold,” which can include up to three years of sold inventory history.”