Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

C.A.R. closes the loop

California Association of Realtors® (C.A.R.) Standard Forms Now Available Directly Within Dotloop – No Uploading Required

“This is an important addition to dotloop’s transaction management platform and one that will provide enhanced value for both current and future California-based users,” says Marnie Blanco, dotloop VP, Industry Relations. “With direct access to C.A.R.’s Standard Forms, California-based agents, transaction coordinators, teams and brokers can now ensure their transactions close in the most seamless and efficient means possible.”
California agents will no longer need to download and import forms into the dotloop platform, thereby saving them valuable time.”

Great win for Zillow and their dotloop users. No mention of any financial terms. I still remember being there when Austin Allison was on stage with Joel Singer debating the use of these copyrighted forms on dotloop. Austin thought it was perfectly okay to use these copyrighted forms in dotloop without permission or license. When I asked Austin how many songs he had on his iPod that he actually paid for, I got a few laughs from the audience but Austin looked confused.

Hard to believe this all went down seven years ago. I wonder if he is going to crack open a Cab tonight and pour one out in celebration.

Fear and why iBuyers Offers and Zestimates belong in your CMAs

Jay Thompson, writing on Inman News, Why iBuyers and Zestimates belong in your CMAs 

“Greg Robertson, W+R Studios co-founder, was attacked, called clueless, and challenged as to whether he had any industry experience (yes, almost three decades worth.) IBuyers, also highlighted in the headline, got one mention. Nothing else in the survey report was discussed. A few commenters waded into the fray showing understanding of why they at least look at Zestimates and sometimes mention them in listing presentations. The vast majority of commenters sounded off on the evils of Zillow and the Zestimate.”

I will say I am “clueless” about many, many things. My wife will tell you as much.

Sorry this post is a little long, but I think it touches on a lot of issues (not to mention a shameless plug for my company ????).

Jay, as you may know, is a former broker (The Phoenix Real Estate Guy) and worked at Zillow in Industry Relations for some time. His article is in response to an article published on Inman News about W+R Studios’ announcement of the results of their inaugural survey, 2020 Best Practices of CMAs and Listing Presentations.

Here’s more from Jay…

“No one, including Zillow, W+R Studios or me, is saying the Zestimate should be used as a comparable in your CMA. Of course it shouldn’t be, that’s not its intent or purpose. But to ignore it is to ignore something your clients are looking at and wondering about. Address it upfront, leave out your personal feelings about Zillow, and put any objections to rest early in the process. The listing presentation is the ideal time to address it with sellers, and the CMA is the perfect place to have it on record. “

Emphasis mine

Cloud CMA pioneered ways of including Zestimates to compare against actual sold prices from the MLS data as part of a Cloud CMA report. This has since been copied by other vendors. I was surprised by the amount of push-back we got when we introduced it. Many MLS organizations (after pushback from their members) made us turn the report page off by default, or in some cases, turned off altogether. But every time I sat down, one on one, with a broker or MLS executive and showed them how the report page worked, they understood, “wow this is great, agents are going to love it.”

This happens all the time. Many agents and brokers just hear/read “Zestimate” or “iBuyer” and begin to see red.

As we can see in the survey results and the comments on the article there is still a lot of fear out there. And as Mr. Hurbert once wrote, “fear, is the mind-killer”.

Flash forward to a little less than a year ago when W+R Studios introduced a way of including iBuyer Offers (with Opendoor) in Cloud CMA. We were met with the same type of fear and got a lot of push back and false claims.

“You’re going to put agents out of business!”
“Shame on you Cloud CMA!”

And those were the polite ones. I took these comments hard. We put many of our partner MLS organizations in a tough spot. They began to get calls from their members that “Cloud CMA was sending our CMAs to Opendoor!” (not true). The misinformation got so bad we had to create a document refuting some of the most outrages claims.

But we held firm because we knew, to paraphrase Jay, the listing presentation is an ideal time to address iBuyer Offers, and the CMA is a perfect place to have it on record.

Dan and I are always looking for new ways to innovate, and we are willing to take risks and keep our customers ahead of the curve. Even if these ideas seem crazy or counter-intuitive at the time.

The main thing that got us through the periods I wrote about above was, in the end, our customers (MLS organizations, brokers, and agents) trusted us.

In a recent “Friday Flash” blog post, titled “What are you saying” Brian Boero, CEO of 100watt wrote:

“Honestly, I am glad we have arrived at a point where there are no more red lines to transgress. I used to get revved up about this stuff too. Now, Zillow buys, owns and sells homes, Realtor.com charges referral fees, and yet good agents, teams and brokers continue to do their thing. “

Unlike Brian, I don’t think we are there yet. We still need to get over our fear of these new (old?) models, which as Rob Hahn and I discuss in recent Industry Relations podcast point out, keep turning more and more towards agent inclusion. We need to focus our energy on more positive things. We have a lot more to worry about than Zestimates and iBuyers.

I just hope the industry can take the advice of what a wise old hippie once said…

“You gotta let that shit go, man. Let it go.”

Realtor.com offers iBuying marketplace

Realtor.com® Now Gives You Options to Sell Your Home, Your Way

“Realtor.com® is the only national home search site to compare different selling options and enable consumers to determine the right fit with just a few clicks. Users simply provide basic information about their home and Seller’s Marketplace will present them with available options in their area. Homeowners will see side-by-side estimates for sale price, timeline and more with no upfront cost or commitment.”

Well, they certainly took their time but I think realtor.com implementation of side by side comparisons is a good one for consumers. Reminds me of the first implementation of Zillow’s “Instant Offers” before they took everything in-house.

This also represents a big shift from what I’ve seen/heard from larger iBuyers. Typically they have not wanted to participate in side by side comparisons. Companies that have offered services of aggregating iBuyer offers have been met with cease and desist letters. But with the current economic environment, things are changing quickly.

The other angle to this is what can be perceived as a “partnership” between realtor.com and Opendoor against Zillow.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”

Plop…plop

I was asked to participate in a virtual happy hour with Zillow co-founder and CEO Rich Barton and Errol Samuelson. Both Rich and Errol demonstrated how to make their favorite cocktails. I was the “surprise guest” after Rich and Errol, and came up with this short skit on the preparation of one of my favorite drinks. In preparation for the event, I put the skit in script form.

INT. MASTER BEDROOM – EVENING

GREG sits at the edge of his bed. He is wearing a suit. His tie is very loose. Next to him, on his nightstand, is a lamp turned on, a glass of water, a book, and a framed photo of BOB HALE.

GREG

Well, those two drinks certainly look very tasty. I prefer Tanqueray over Hendricks, but that’s a personal choice, ERROL.
What I’m going to share with you now, is the preparation of another classic cocktail. Traditionally this would be taken after a big meal and long night, so in that sense, it might be classified as “digestif”. This spirit has 3 main ingredients.
Aspirin, Sodium hydrogen carbonate, and Citric acid.
Lucky for us these 3 ingredients are already pre-mixed.
The only mixer you’ll need is water.
In North America, and really around the world the popular name for this libation is Alka-Seltzer.
The drink is typically served bedside.
Let me demonstrate.
The first thing you need is a glass of water. (Motions hand to glass) I would go with shorter glassware, since, as I mentioned, we are bedside.
Also, you want to make sure the water is warm.
Now you take the convenient packet. (reaches into drawer of nightstand) Hold it over the glass of water. And tear the package, gently. Ideally, you don’t want to touch the tablets with your fingers.

GREG drops two tablets of Alka Seltzer into the glass of water. It begins to fizz.

GREG

Now, wait for the tablets to evaporate. Pro-tip, the warmer the water the faster the tablets will dissolve. But honestly, I find watching the bubbles cascade upwards very soothing and meditative. (Greg raises the glass and looks at its bubbles)
Now. The question of consumption comes in. Do you take a few swigs? Or all in one gulp? There is really no right answer. I am of the opinion of the one gulp approach. Treat it like a tequila shot in Cabo. Just, down the hatch in one swift motion!

GREG grabs the glass of Alka Seltzer and drinks it in one gulp.

GREG

Ahhhh!

GREG

There you have it. You’ll be feeling better in no time. Now keep in mind, this cocktail can also be served in the morning.
Thank you RICH and ERROL for including me and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the party.
But keep in mind, you should always follow one simple rule. (Puts up index finger)

GREG

Never, go big on the first night.
Thanks, everyone.

Bill Andrews leaves Remine Annette Sheffler leaves SentriLock, both headed for Black Knight

Bill Andrews, and maybe at this point I should clarify, Bill Andrews Sr. since he has made this industry a family affair. His son Bill Andrews is National Sales Manager- MLS relations at RateMyAgent and his other son, Ryan Andrews is Director of MLS relations at LionDesk. ????

Bill Sr. has joined Black Knight, this is after joining Remine back is October 2019. Bill has worked for several companies in the industry, I think it goes something like this. Rapattoni, Tarasoft, CoreLogic, Zillow, Remine, a little consulting, and now Black Knight.

Also, fellow DeVry grad, Annette Sheffler, has left SentriLock and joined Black Knight as a product consultant.

I’m also hearing rumors about one or two others that could be making moves. Don’t know who or where yet, seems like the powers to be haven’t taken their finger off the chess piece yet.

Great to see that Black Knight is not sitting still during this crazy time and making investments in what matters most, good people.

The sky is not falling on iBuyers

Zillow suspends home buying due to COVID-19

“Zillow said Monday it will temporarily stop buying homes in all 24 markets where it operates in response to public health orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest real estate startup to shift how it operates as the disease caused by coronavirus continues to spread.”

TechCrunch

Zillow is the latest iBuyer to suspend buying homes. Redfin was the first to announce and Opendoor after. I believe Offerpad just announced something similar yesterday.

Here’s the thing, I’m hearing a lot of people say that this coronavirus could be the end of iBuying. But its important to remember right now nobody is buying. With “stay at home” and “shelter in place” orders being given it’s pretty hard for any broker, agent, appraiser, county recorder clerk to do any business.

I think there are several factors that will actually help iBuyers once we are out of this crisis. People will want more certainty in the transaction, and less human contact showing homes.

The important thing to remember is that we are all connected, and we are all in this together.

Zillow Group stock surges

20%. Holy shit!

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.

Does realtor.com have their heads in the sand?

Everyone’s rushing to be an iBuyer — except for Realtor.com

“Industry observers said the fact that Zillow views iBuying as a do-or-die phenomenon makes Realtor’s indifference that much harder to understand.
“How do you have a situation where it’s an existential threat to one portal, but the other is twiddling their thumbs at the back of the classroom?” asked Mike DelPrete, a scholar in residence on real-estate technology at the University of Colorado who studies iBuyers. “I don’t think [Realtor] needs to be buying and selling houses directly,” he added. “That’s not what this is about, and that’s probably a bad idea for them.”

I’ve been curious about this for a long time. I still surprised how many people still don’t understand the value proposition that iBuyers give consumers. The narrative on Wall Street still seems to be centered around iBuying as “flipping” houses. ????‍♂️

Greg Schwartz steps down at Zillow Group.

Zillow Announces Key Leadership Changes

“Schwartz joined the company in 2007 as its first head of Sales and helped grow Premier Agent and other services to reach nearly $1.3 billion in revenue in 2018. Schwartz was named chief revenue officer in 2010, chief business officer in 2015, and became president of media and marketplaces in 2018. He leaves a highly experienced leadership team in a strong IMT segment. Zillow Group’s IMT segment beat financial expectations in the third quarter of 2019, and expanded margins through operating leverage in the first nine months of the year, driven primarily by solid performance in Premier Agent.”

What a great run. $1.3 Billion with a “B”.

Looks like Errol is getting increased responsibilities.

“Errol Samuelson, Zillow Group chief industry development officer, will assume oversight of  Zillow’s New Construction business and Display Advertising. Lucy Wohltman, vice president of New Construction and Display Advertising, will report to Samuelson.”

Zillow’s pivot is something to behold. I can’t think of anything like it before.

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