Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Cloud CMA now integrates with Buyside data

Cloud CMA launches new data integration with Buyside

“Agents who create listing presentations with Cloud CMA are about to get a new edge in their efforts to win clients thanks to a new integration with data firm Buyside.
The integration, which was announced Tuesday, will let agents directly incorporate Buyside’s real-time market data into their presentations. Pennsylvania-based Buyside compiles data from online portals, open house software and various other sources to identify how many people are looking for a particular type of property at any given moment.”

Jim Dalrymple II at Inman News

We’ve always made it a point to be inclusive of data and tools that help brokers and agents look awesome in front of their clients. Showing the homeowner real-time data of the number of buyers looking for homes like theirs is a no-brainer. This new integration does exactly that with just the click of a button.

2020 is going to be a great year for Cloud CMA customers. I’m so grateful and proud of our team at W+R Studios and I can’t wait to share with you what they have been cooking up!

Opendoor partners with Cloud CMA

Cloud CMA will now include all cash offers from Opendoor

“Last year, W+R Studios unveiled a tool called iBuyer Connect, which allowed agents to incorporate all-cash offers from investors into their listing presentation. Robertson told Inman that most of the interest from investors at this point had been home flippers, but now adding Opendoor as a partner in the platform will allow agents using iBuyer Connect to present all-cash offers to owners of turnkey homes.

Agents who refer clients to Opendoor ultimately have two options. Negotiate a traditional listing agent commission with the seller – who will also be paying Opendoor a transaction fee that averages 7.1 percent – or forgo the listing agent commission and receive a 1 percent referral fee from Opendoor.”

We’ve been working on this for over a year. What I think is going to be transformational about this is the software integration between Cloud CMA and Opendoor.

The experience of creating a CMA and going right in to generating an offer is like nothing out there. It really gives agents the advantage in simplicity and speed. And its only going to get better.

Homebeat

Homebeat Webinar

I sat down with W+R Studios‘ Chief Design Officer, Damien Huze, and talked about Homebeat by Cloud CMA.

“Cloud CMA’s iBuyer Connect has legs.”

I couldn’t come up with a better headline than Inman News in their post today about Cloud CMA’s new feature “iBuyer Connect” so I just stole it. : )

Cloud CMA’s iBuyer feature has legs
New feature from W&R Studios is patent-pending, now open to investors nationwide

“In August, W&R Studios began testing iBuyer Connect, originally called Cloud Investor Connect, in Southern California. It gives an agent the option to request cash offers from iBuyers after creating a CMA for a property, provided that the property meets the requirements of an iBuyer.

Should any iBuyers that are part of the iBuyer Connect network choose to submit an offer, the agent can then go to a listing presentation armed with one or more cash offers to present to a prospective seller, along with a CMA.

If the seller accepts the investor offer, the agent will represent the investor as a buyer’s agent. The agent might also win the listing, in which case the agent could also serve as a dual agent. The feature doesn’t comes with any additional cost, and the compensation agents receive from an iBuyer varies by company and market.

Our current test is with a Southern California company who is focused on flipping homes. Venture backed iBuyers like “Opendoor” are typically making offers closer to market value. Cloud CMA can work with both models.

We recently celebrated the results of agents who used iBuyer Connect for the first time to make transactions. The response from these agents has been great.

We are also surveying all agents using iBuyer Connect and are very encouraged by the results (we sent the survey out to a pool of 250 participants and got 35 results back).

When asked, “How likely would you use this feature on future listing presentations?” Over 85% said they were “Very Likely”, “Likely” or neutral.

Here are some other quotes from the survey.

“The services works as advertised, the communication from the investor was great. “

“It could work for certain properties. We would use it again in the future.”

“I think this is a great new tool and look forward to using it again. “

“The offer was extraordinarily low… but still useful for selling an investor network to clients.”

“I really appreciate the service. I believe that it is great to have that service available when listing homes, especially when the home needs work and you dont need to wait for an offer.”

I reached out to one of the agents, Briar Warren of Murrieta, who successfully sold a home using iBuyer Connect, you can read her comments on our press release here.

As we continue to test this feature we are learning how to provide even more value to Cloud CMA subscribers. We think agents can provide a great experience to their clients by enabling them to participate in this growing iBuyer marketplace.

Looking for a little help….

My company, W+R Studios, is running a “Fall Promo” this year. For the first time we are offering all agents the chance to try all our products in the Cloud Agent Suite free until the end of the year. That means agents could have as much as 3 months of free service, this includes our premium product, Cloud Attract, which is usually over $100 per month. And also for the first time we are releasing the new Cloud CMA to all current and new agents.

I recruited some of our W+R employees and made a short video to promote the special offer. I really think it came out great.

What we need to do now is spread the word. So we’ve made it super simple for our friends who want to help by providing 2 things.

1. A co-branded landing page. Here’s what MFRMLS’ looks like:

2. A personalized Media Kit. This will have sample emails, copy, social posts, everything you need. Check out this link to see what MFRMLS Media Kit looks like —->Click to see MFRMLS Media Kit

So please drop Katie or me a line and we will build you a co-branded landing page and send you a personalized media kit.

katie [at] wrstudios dot com
greg [at] wrstudios dot com

If you don’t need a landing page or kit, just sent them to http://cloudagentsuite.com

One of the side effects I’m noticing is that this promotion really helping driving adoption. A lot of the signups are for free member benefit tools. So help me, help you!

The team has some pretty hefty goals, so even if its one email, or one post on your MLS login page, it would really help.

Thanks in advance!

Curious about iBuyers?

I think CRMLS did an excellent job of summarizing iBuyers in a recent blog post.

Curious About iBuyers? Check Out This Helpful Guide

Fundamentally, iBuyers are companies (or divisions of companies) that make fast, automated cash offers on real estate listings. Then they turn around and sell the listings, potentially remodeling or otherwise updating the properties in the process.

Some critics claim the iBuyer model is no more than an update on traditional home flipping. Proponents, however, point to the technological advances iBuyers have made. Each iBuyer has its own automated valuation model (AVM) that helps them price listings – some even using machine learning and neural networks to come to a price estimate. When it comes time to sell the listings, some iBuyers incorporate technologies such as augmented reality and identity verification to make the buyer’s experience seamless, painless, and high on the “wow factor.”

The blog post is very concise. It also talks about how Cloud Investor Connect works in their market and how it lets agents participate.

There’s been a lot of new activity in this space as current players are expanding in to other markets and new entrants like Bungalo are getting in to the game. I’m sure iBuyers will be a good topic for the hallways at CMLS.

Alain Pinel chooses Cloud CMA

Alain Pinel Realtors Unveils Dynamic, “Best Of Breed” Technology Strategy

“As sole proprietors of their own business, agents deserve the confidence of knowing that their data and tools belong to them exclusively. We have chosen a model that gives agents flexibility and options without extra cost on their part,” said Zane Burnett, Vice President of Digital Innovation & Technology at Alain Pinel.
APR has inked partnerships with the following companies:

ActivePipe: Automated email marketing with exclusive property feed integration

Adwerx: Automated, geo-targeted social and display advertising of property listings

Cloud CMA: Deep property, comparable sale and buyer reports presented in a branded format

RealScout: Collaborative home search between agents and buyers and email alerts powered by “computer vision”

Contactually: An intelligent CRM that automates common tasks required of agents

Several of these applications are integrated; all will be available to APR agents through a single sign-on (SSO) dashboard within the company intranet.

Smart guys.

The New Cloud CMA

We launched Cloud CMA back in early 2010. And its grown to be one of the most popular 3rd party software applications in real estate. But it was due for a refresh.

Someone once said design isn’t just how a product looks, but how the product works. I think in both cases the new Cloud CMA nails it. We made a short video with a few W+R Studios members responsible for making it happen.

The look and feel of the new Cloud CMA is designed to be new, yet familiar. We know that customers have developed a sort of muscle memory to create reports so we didn’t want to mess with that. Alternatively, customers will be able to switch between the new and “classic” version.

Hi Res version here.

We integrated public record data so that users get a head start creating their CMAs. Using this data to populate key fields for the subject property improves the algorithm to choose the correct comps. We also added the ability to select and de-select comps from the larger expanded map interface.

Hi Res version here.

Most enhancements to Cloud CMA were added to the Customize step, which was getting a bit unwieldy. So we cleaned up the page layout to give users a clean slate to customize their reports.

Hi Res version here.

Of course the UI/UX are important but the output, the printed reports, are what really matters. The key to good reports is a mutual respect between the agent and client. Our design team came up with a brand new default theme called “Modern”. These reports are “sano” as the old surfers say in Huntington Beach, meaning “super clean”. I think the design team has knocked it out of the park. Of course, previous report themes in Cloud CMA will also be available.

All of this was done to match the look and feel of our other products in the Cloud Agent Suite.

We began showing this to agents and MLS executives in Washington D.C. at the NAR Midyear meetings. The response has been phenomenal. MLS providers with site licenses are going to love to be able to show even more value to their members by introducing the new Cloud CMA. As part of the new launch, we re-shot 14 How-to videos for Cloud CMA. You can check them out here. Keep in mind agents will be able to switch back to the “Classic” Cloud CMA anytime they want. So, this along with the new videos will make launching the new Cloud CMA a no-brainer.

We will launching the new Cloud CMA in select markets over the next couple months. We also have the ability to turn on individual accounts, just reach out to Katie if you want, and she will get you up and running.

I was watching Elon Musk speaking to his shareholders yesterday. He began with “this is going to sound cheesy but at Tesla, we build our cars, with love, we really care”. Elon got a bit emotional and went on to say, “At a lot of other companies, they’re built by the marketing department and the finance department. There’s no soul, you know?” I know exactly what Elon is saying.

I know I’m gushing a bit but I’m super proud at everyone at W+R Studios for making this happen. Their dedication, and soul, shows in every pixel.

This is going to be a huge year for Cloud CMA and we are just getting started, we have a few more tricks up our sleeve which I will be happy to share with you next month. Stay tuned.

Ad sponsorships available

I have 4 ad sponsorships available. You can find out more details here.

These usually go pretty quickly, so get in touch! vendor.alley@gmail.com

W+R Studios launches Cloud Agent Suite hub


W+R Studios Launches New Product Hub

“On cloudagentsuite.com, new and existing subscribers to W+R Studios’ products can easily see what’s available in their market, try all products free of charge, view training videos and launch applications from a single place. Subscribers will have one login for all subscriptions.

“This will also better serve agents in areas where multiple products are site licensed by their MLS provider. With this new hub agents we be able sign up for all site licensed products with one entry. The best side effect of this process is that it will greatly impact adoption numbers across all W+R Studios’ products,” said Greg Robertson, co-founder, W+R Studios.

Super proud of the design team at W+R Studios, they really designed a gorgeous and functional site. W+R Studios has 4 products, developed at multiple times. So that meant four different websites. The new site does 3 things.

Number one is give the agent one place to go to find out about the products offered by W+R Studios and try them all (depending on the market) for free. Unlike most third party software vendors W+R Studios has always had a way for agents to come to the site and begin using its products without having to talk to a sales person first.

Number two is a “Launchpad” that gives agents quick and easy access to all products via one page. W+R Studios believes this will be super helpful with adoption in site license areas.

Number three is a place to learn. W+R Studios recently hired a full-time video producer. Her job is to create instructional, “how to” and “why?” videos that can be accessed from the “Learn” section of the site.

Sponsored By Paragon Connect