Your Comprehensive Guide to Real Estate SEO
Nowadays, many businesses, including those in the real estate field, rely on online presence, something that seems inseparable from so many success stories. And what is the most important part of the online presence?
SEO, of course.
It's a constant question for real estate agents — how to keep up with Google and optimize their SEO. We all know good SEO equals a good ranking on Google, and a good ranking on Google means more leads, and more leads mean more sales.
We see how everything within this chain is interconnected. Pull one element from it and the whole process will fall apart. So now you see how important it is to keep optimizing your SEO.
Back in the day, all you needed was to have keyword-rich content and you would have been guaranteed to score high on Google. Today the process is becoming more and more complicated, yet easier and easier.
Here, we've compiled everything that will help you to understand how Google and SEO work. Let's start:
What does SEO stand for?
SEO has two main meanings: Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Optimizer.
Search Engine Optimization means everything that helps your website to appear in the top position of the search results.
Search Engine Optimizer is the person who is responsible for doing the search engine optimization for a website.
As we mentioned earlier in this article, we want to talk about the first meaning, Search Engine Optimization.
If you want to know more about the person who is doing the SEO, we have another article on that titled, Who is a Real Estate SEO Expert?
What Is SEO?
SEO is the process of ranking up the pages on your website in the search engine results page (SERP). The world's most popular search engines are Google and Bing.
SEO is vital for any kind of website, blog, personal, shopping, companies, and of course real estate professionals.
In this article, we will talk about real estate SEO. But before we start, we need to understand how search engines work:
How Do Search Engines Work?
Each search engine has its own structure and algorithms, but all of them follow three main processes:
Crawling
Indexing
Ranking
Crawling is the process by which search engine bots visit your website and understand that you exist.
Indexing is the process of saving your data and information in search engine databases.
Ranking is the process by which search engines decide whether or not to display your pages in search results.
What Are the SEO Cornerstones?
SEO has three main types or categories:
On-page
Off-page
Technical
All the things you hear about SEO belong to one of the above categories. Let's jump to each category, and talk about the most important stuff you have to do for your real estate website.
ON-Page Optimization
On-Page Optimization means any visible or invisible things that are related to just one or several pages. It can be the content, it can be the images, it can be the UX/UI, or — more advanced — it can be link structure, etc.
Keyword research
Keyword research is the foundation of any successful on-page optimization strategy. By identifying the right keywords to target, you can optimize your content and drive more relevant traffic to your website.
Start by brainstorming a list of keywords that are relevant to your real estate business. Consider both broad keywords, such as "real estate," and long-tail keywords, such as "luxury homes for sale in [city]." Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to gather data on search volume and competition for each keyword.
Once you have a list of keywords, incorporate them naturally into your website's content. Avoid keyword stuffing, as this can negatively impact your rankings. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that incorporates your target keywords in a natural and meaningful way.
If you want to to prepare your keywords list, don't even think about not reading our Real Estate SEO Keywords article.
Optimizing Meta Tags and Descriptions
Meta tags and descriptions play a crucial role in on-page optimization. These elements provide search engines with information about your web pages and can influence your website's click-through rates.
Start by optimizing your page titles. Include your target keywords and make sure they accurately reflect the content of each page. Next, optimize your meta descriptions. These short snippets provide a brief summary of your page's content and can entice users to click on your website in search engine results.
When optimizing meta tags and descriptions for real estate websites, it's important to be descriptive, compelling, and concise. Use action-oriented language, highlight key selling points, and include a call-to-action to encourage users to click through to your website. Learn more about these on our comprehensive article, SEO Titles and Meta Description.
Content
Content is king when it comes to on-page optimization. High-quality, engaging content not only appeals to your target audience but also satisfies search engine algorithms.
When creating content for your real estate website, focus on providing value to your readers. Write informative blog posts, create in-depth property descriptions, and include helpful guides and resources. Incorporate your target keywords naturally throughout your content to improve its relevance and visibility.
In addition to written content, consider incorporating other forms of media, such as images and videos. High-quality visuals can enhance the user experience and make your website more engaging and memorable.
Content can be the blog posts you are publishing, or even the description of your property pages, as well as market updates pages, etc.
Heading Titles
Heading tags (H1, H2, H3) organize webpage information and indicate its importance to search engines. They create headings and subheadings, making it easier for users to scan and understand content.
Media (Images and Videos)
Images and videos are essential for showcasing properties and capturing the attention of potential buyers. However, they can also impact your website's performance if not optimized properly.
To optimize images, make sure to compress them to reduce file size without sacrificing quality. Use descriptive file names and Alt tags that include relevant keywords. This not only improves accessibility for visually impaired users, but also provides search engines with more context about your images.
For videos, consider hosting them on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and embedding them on your website. This reduces the load time of your pages and ensures a smooth user experience. Add relevant descriptions and keywords to your video titles and descriptions to improve their visibility in search results.
Structuring URLs and Internal Linking
URL structure and internal linking are often overlooked aspects of on-page optimization. However, they play a significant role in improving website navigation and search engine visibility.
When structuring URLs for your real estate website, make them descriptive and user-friendly. Include relevant keywords and separate words with hyphens. Avoid using long, complex URLs that are difficult for users and search engines to understand.
Internal linking is another important aspect of on-page optimization. Use internal links to connect relevant pages on your website, improve navigation and help search engines discover and index your content more effectively. Incorporate anchor text that includes relevant keywords to enhance the relevance of your internal links.
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page optimization acts as a vote of confidence from other websites, signaling to search engines that your real estate website is a reliable and relevant source of information. As such, investing in off-page optimization is really crucial for your business.
Backlinks
High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites are a cornerstone of off-page optimization for real estate websites. When reputable websites link back to your real estate site, it signals to search engines that your content is credible and valuable. As a result, your website's search engine ranking is likely to improve, driving increased organic traffic from users seeking real estate-related information.
To acquire high-quality backlinks, real estate professionals can engage in outreach to industry-relevant websites, collaborate with local businesses, and contribute guest posts to reputable real estate publications. By fostering genuine relationships with other websites and producing valuable content, you can naturally attract authoritative backlinks, bolstering your website's off-page SEO profile.
Guest Posting and Content Marketing
Guest posting on industry-specific websites and contributing valuable content to real estate publications is an effective way to enhance your real estate website's off-page optimization. By sharing your expertise and insights with a wider audience, you can establish your website as a trusted authority in the real estate niche, attracting both backlinks and referral traffic.
In addition to guest posting, content marketing efforts such as creating informative blog posts, infographics, and videos can further amplify your real estate website's off-page optimization. By crafting compelling content that resonates with your target audience, you can attract natural backlinks and social media shares, reinforcing your website's online authority and relevance.
Social Media
In today's digital age, social media platforms serve as an indispensable tool for amplifying your real estate website's off-page optimization. By maintaining an active presence on popular social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, real estate professionals can engage with their audience, share valuable content, and foster a community of loyal followers.
Social media signals, including likes, shares, and comments, contribute to your website's off-page SEO by indicating to search engines that your content is resonating with users. Additionally, social media provides a platform for sharing your website's content, potentially leading to increased visibility, backlinks, and referral traffic. By strategically leveraging social media, real estate professionals can augment their off-page optimization efforts and solidify their digital footprint.
Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a powerful off-page optimization tool for real estate professionals looking to enhance their local visibility. By claiming and optimizing your GMB listing, you can ensure that your real estate business appears prominently in local search results, complete with essential information such as your address, phone number, and customer reviews.
Maintaining an updated and comprehensive GMB profile not only improves your real estate website's local SEO, but also establishes trust and credibility with potential clients searching for real estate services in your area. Furthermore, positive reviews and ratings on your GMB listing can bolster your website's online reputation, further solidifying your off-page optimization efforts.
Reviews
Online reviews are a crucial component of off-page optimization for real estate websites. Positive reviews from satisfied clients can significantly enhance your website's credibility and trustworthiness, influencing potential clients' decision-making. Encouraging satisfied clients to leave reviews on platforms such as Google, Yelp, and real estate-specific websites can contribute to a positive off-page SEO profile for your real estate business.
Technical Optimization
Technical SEO involves optimizing your website for search engine crawling and indexing. It focuses on the technical aspects that affect search engine rankings, such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, and structured data. By adhering to technical SEO best practices, real estate websites can improve their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more qualified leads.
Speed Optimization
Website speed is crucial in user experience and search engine rankings. Slow-loading websites can lead to high bounce rates and lower search engine rankings. To optimize your real estate website for speed, consider compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing HTTP requests. Additionally, choosing a reliable web hosting provider and utilizing content delivery networks (CDNs) can further enhance your website's speed and performance.
Structured Data and Schema Markup
Implementing structured data and schema markup on your real estate website can enhance its visibility in search results and provide richer snippets, such as star ratings, reviews, and property details. By incorporating structured data markup for properties, local business information, and real estate listings, you can improve the way search engines understand and display your website's content, ultimately increasing its chances of ranking prominently in search results.
URLs structure
A clear and descriptive URL structure can contribute to better search engine visibility and user experience. When creating URLs for real estate listings and property pages, consider using descriptive keywords and avoiding unnecessary parameters or dynamic URLs.
A well-structured URL not only helps search engines understand the content of the page, but also makes it more user-friendly for visitors navigating your website.
Mobile-Usability
With the increasing use of mobile devices, ensuring that your real estate website is mobile-friendly is essential for both user experience and SEO. Google's mobile-first indexing means that the search engine primarily uses the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing. Therefore, optimizing your website for mobile devices, including responsive design and mobile-friendly content, is crucial for achieving high search engine rankings and providing a seamless user experience across all devices.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are navigational aids that help users understand their current location within a website's hierarchy. Implementing breadcrumbs on your real estate website not only improves user experience and site navigation but also provides search engines with additional context about the relationship between pages. This can contribute to better indexing and understanding of your website's content, potentially leading to improved search engine rankings.
Robots.txt
The robots.txt file allows you to control which pages and resources search engines can and cannot access on your real estate website. By properly configuring your robots.txt file, you can guide search engine crawlers to focus on indexing your most important pages while preventing them from wasting resources on irrelevant or duplicate content. This can help optimize the crawl budget allocated to your website and ensure that search engines prioritize indexing your valuable real estate listings and content.
Learn how to optimize your robots.txt file in Robots.txt: A Comprehensive Guide for Real Estate Websites.
Sitemap
A comprehensive XML sitemap can assist search engines in discovering and indexing all relevant pages on your real estate website. By providing a clear map of your website's structure and content, you can ensure that search engines crawl and index your pages more efficiently.
Additionally, regularly updating and submitting your XML sitemap to search engines can help ensure that new and updated content is promptly recognized and indexed.
Learn how to optimize your Sitemap.xml file in The Ultimate Guide to Sitemaps for Real Estate Websites.
To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.
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[Podcast] Navigating the Home Buying Process: Tips From the Best with Scott Curcio
In this episode of Million Dollar Question, host Jessica Edgerton delves into the intricacies of the real estate market with Scott Curcio, an esteemed real estate agent from Baird and Warner, and his repeat client, Ellen. They explore the challenges and opportunities of homebuying in today's market, offering valuable insights and advice for prospective buyers.
From navigating low inventory and multi-bid situations to the importance of finding the right agent, Scott and Ellen share their experiences and expertise, providing listeners with actionable tips for success in the housing market.
Connect with Scott:
Email: [email protected]
Visit: scottcurcio.com
Listen to this podcast on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Visit the episode homepage for show notes and more detail.
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Real Estate Tech Leaders Discuss Transformative Impact of Artificial Intelligence
Tech leaders took the stage at the 2024 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings to discuss the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) into real estate business practices. Several hundred real estate agents attended Tuesday's "Emerging Business Issues and Technology Forum," where a panel of experts explored how these technologies are transforming the industry, enhancing client interactions and shaping the future of real estate transactions.
The panel was moderated by Julie Whitesell, chair of the Emerging Business Issues and Technology Forum and broker in charge at Meybohm Real Estate. After welcoming the audience, Whitesell kicked things off by asking the panelists about the current landscape of AI and real estate technology.
Jeff Allen, president of CubiCasa, said it is easier than ever to enhance media and outputs on listings.
"This is where AI has had a particularly big impact," Allen said. "You can now generate a floor plan from a smartphone, virtually stage photos with AI and create virtual tours with much less effort. It's getting easier, more affordable and more accessible for agents to raise the bar."
Sam DeBord, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization, discussed how his nonprofit supports agents who are Realtors® with data standards and processes that create efficiencies for all participants in real estate transactions. He explained that the future listing experience will not just be data fields and pictures.
"There's a lot more media out there," DeBord said.
When the discussion turned to AR, DeBord pondered a future where smart glasses with embedded cameras might assist agents with their listings.
"You could walk through a property and take video very quickly and easily," he said. "That could turn into a 360-degree video, it could turn into a floor plan – it could be all kinds of different things that practitioners could use to improve the consumer experience."
Scott Richard, vice chair of the Emerging Business Issues and Technology Forum and owner of Richard Realty, highlighted the importance of embracing new technologies despite the rapidly changing environment.
"When you adopt a technology early, you become an expert in that field eventually," Richard said. "Don't be afraid to adopt the technology. It doesn't matter what it is; just start doing it. It's eventually going to get easier for you."
Speaking on the impact of smartphones in marketing, Richard noted that there have been significant advancements in the past few years.
"You have the most powerful marketing tool possible right in your pocket," he said. "I can create a cinematic-style listing video on my cellphone that rivals a production company. It's available, and it's in the palm of your hand right now."
Chris Christensen, NAR director of technology policy, shared insights into how NAR staff works with committees to help develop and refine AI policy. He stressed the importance of member involvement in shaping policy.
"Your participation in the process really matters," Christensen said.
Christensen also discussed exciting new startups in the real estate landscape and highlighted his support for companies in Second Century Ventures' REACH scale-up program.
"REACH is curating a list of new technologies to help your business," he said.
Julie Whitesell concluded the session by emphasizing the word "opportunity" to the engaged crowd of real estate professionals.
"You all have a great opportunity to take advantage of the things you learned and try new things," she said.
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Brokers and Tech Vendors Demand a Less Fragmented MLS Data Access System
WAV Group's tech workgroup met to recap the recent Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) conference. By all accounts, the RESO API standards have made remarkable strides to make it easier for brokers and their vendors to access MLS records for their applications – but we have a long way to go on this critical mission, because the industry is still heavily fragmented.
Some systems like Trestle and MLS Grid have made the effort of consuming MLS data more reasonable by consolidating across multiple markets, but for most brokers and vendors, they are still relying on the real estate transaction standard (RETS). This is not intended to be a technical post, but will explain what is happening today across more than 500 MLSs and offer ways that MLSs can help with fragmentation.
Background on MLS Data Distribution
In the early 90s, MLSs pioneered the process of making the MLS records available to brokers and their vendors. Initially, the transport method was file transfer protocol, or FTP. Basically, each MLS dumped all of their data onto a server and brokers and vendors could go grab it. From there, it was sorted and normalized so products worked across different markets. It is hard, painstaking work. National tech firms would literally download all MLS data from more than 1,000 MLSs at the time – every day!
FTP was replaced by RETS in the late 90s when IDX was born. RETS is still in place in just about every MLS market today. With RETS, brokers and vendors do not need to pull all of the data every time (like FTP) but can pull only those parts of the MLS records that changed since the last time they were accessed.
RETS was a major leap forward, but the effort to painstakingly map data that uses different field names and field numerations is horrible. Most of all, RETS is a real estate industry specific method of organizing and moving data – completely foreign to the methods that anyone outside of the real estate industry would ever know or understand. Aside from the learning curve, RETS also usually requires full replication of the MLS data on the vendor servers.
Around the year 2015 or so, RESO published the first WebAPI standard. An API is an application programming interface. Every technology student is taught to work with APIs – and they work pretty much the same across all industries. It is based on Odata, a global technology protocol. Basically, it is a lot easier than RETS. Alongside the RESO WebAPI standard is the RESO Data Dictionary. The Data Dictionary determines what we call "fields" in the MLS records, along with how they are formatted – for example, a full bathroom = 1, not "one" or "full' or whatever name the MLS picks. The Data Dictionary allows for automated mapping of the data between the MLS system and the broker or vendor solution.
The Problem of Fractionalization Continues to Plague Broker and Vendor Systems
One of the most important inflection points for the RESO WebAPI and Data Dictionary standards happened when the National Association of REALTORS® issued a mandate that all Realtor association owned MLSs have one year to update their systems to the new standards that are released each year. In theory, every market should be on the same standard by the end of the year in which the update is published. NAR has not enforced the standard by penalizing or revoking an association's MLS charter for non-compliance.
Sadly, the industry does not move to the new standards all at once. It is piecemealed as various MLS vendors make the conversion to the new standard. MLS data aggregators like Trestle and MLS Grid tend to update all markets representing about three-quarters of all MLS data in America, but the balance of markets changes randomly, and often without much notice. When these systems change, it breaks the data mapping to the applications.
RESO has done a great job of offering certification to MLSs, and recently to vendors and brokers. The organization will look at your data and make sure that you are aligned with the current certifications. The problem here is that the 1,300 fields represent about 70% of the data in the MLS. As a result, any application that requires all fields, or most fields (like a VOW) are missing some key data from the WebAPI. In many markets, vital local data related to farms, waterfront, ski-in / ski-out accessibility, or hurricane shutters are not in the payload. RESO makes great strides to include more and more fields each year, but we are still a long way from the finish line (if a finish line even exists). Because of this, many large brokers and vendors still use RETS instead of the more efficient WebAPI.
What Brokers and Vendors Can Do to Solve the Fractionalization Problem
Be an advocate for positive change!
First and foremost, the best way to solve the fractionalization problem is to continue to support RESO. It's a non-profit, so you benefit from the contributions.
Secondly, voice your opinion at your local MLS. Any MLS can participate in CoreLogic's Trestle program or MLS Grid. Trestle provides a full data set including non-Data Dictionary fields. This is particularly important in Navica, Rapattoni, Black Knight, and to some degree, FBS. FBS was the first vendor to launch the SparkAPI, and they now offer the WebAPI as well. Consumers of data from FBS markets have a single access point in the Spark Datamart for all markets, and FBS maximizes adoption of RESO standards. Having your MLS join one of these multi-market programs like Trestle or MLS Grid also delivers a great backup to the local offering. It essentially provides a front-end-of-choice for technology providers.
Overall, the industry is moving in a positive direction to eliminate fractionalization of MLS data, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to the volunteers and staff at RESO for making real estate applications much better and less expensive to brokers and agents.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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WAV Group Releases 2024 Brokerage Technology Roadmap Part 3: Data Management
As technology continues to redefine the landscape of the real estate industry, brokerages are increasingly relying on data-driven strategies to stay ahead of the curve. Part 3 of WAV Group's 2024 Brokerage Technology Roadmap dives deep into the critical realm of data management. Let's explore the cornerstone of data management outlined in this report: creating a robust data collection policy and strategy.
At the heart of effective data management lies the foundation of a meticulously crafted data collection policy and strategy. This strategy is not merely about gathering data, but about doing so in a manner that enhances operations, improves decision-making, and ensures compliance with legal standards such as GDPR and CCPA.
Effective data management hinges on a multifaceted approach that encompasses diverse methods of data collection, ensuring both accuracy and efficiency. By employing direct submissions, observations, and leveraging third-party sources, brokerages can construct a comprehensive dataset that forms the bedrock of informed decision-making.
Furthermore, privacy and transparency are paramount to building a trusting relationship with stakeholders. Ensuring that consumers, agents, and employees are fully informed and consenting to data practices fosters an environment of cooperation and trust. This commitment to transparency extends to aligning privacy and security measures with international standards like GDPR and CCPA, safeguarding data through encryption and strict access controls to mitigate the risk of breaches.
Regular audits play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of data security measures. By conducting routine evaluations and updates to policies, brokerages can proactively identify and address emerging threats, demonstrating a commitment to upholding the highest standards of data protection. Additionally, meticulous oversight in negotiating data licensing agreements ensures that brokerages strike a balance between protecting their legal and financial interests while accommodating future needs through flexibility and scalability. Architectural frameworks must be designed with scalability and flexibility in mind, leveraging cloud services to handle increasing data volumes and complexities while ensuring uninterrupted access to critical information.
Part 3 of the WAV Group's 2024 Brokerage Technology Roadmap sheds light on the complexities surrounding data collection policies, storage solutions, API management, data visualization, and reporting procedures tailored to real estate brokerage management teams.
Download the full report here.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Maximizing Home Value with Innovative Real Estate Services
Revive CEO Michael Alladawi recently joined KFI host, Dean Sharp, AKA The House Whisperer, in the studio to discuss some new and innovative approaches Revive is pioneering for Realtors and home sellers to make the most from the sale of their homes. Here's a recap of their conversation.
Revolutionizing Home Sales: Revive's No-Cost Approach to Enhancing Property Value
Dean Sharp: Michael, could you start by sharing how Revive is different from traditional real estate services?
Michael Alladawi: Absolutely, Dean. Revive is unique because we offer homeowners a way to enhance their property's value without any upfront costs. This is especially helpful for those overwhelmed by the expenses and hassles typically associated with preparing a home for sale.
The DIY Dilemma and Revive's Solution
Dean Sharp: Springtime often means growing 'honey-do' lists and DIY frustrations. How does Revive help homeowners manage these challenges?
Michael Alladawi: We take on everything from providing the contractors to handling permits, design, material sourcing and more, which simplifies the renovation process. Our goal is to ensure homeowners can significantly increase their sale price, handling all the heavy lifting without the financial burden.
Why Not Just Flip the House?
Dean Sharp: Why does Revive not just flip homes directly? Seems to be a common practice among investors.
Michael Alladawi: Our mission is to support homeowners. By purchasing homes at about 80% of their value and renovating them, we let homeowners benefit from the increased sale price. We take less risk and charge a flat fee, which means more profit for the homeowner and a fair business model for us.
How Revive Works with Homeowners
Dean Sharp: Can you explain Revive's process and how it aligns with a homeowner's needs?
Michael Alladawi: Whether it's urgent repairs or anything from minor to major upgrades, we assess the property and determine the best approach at no cost to the homeowner. We then manage the renovation process, utilizing our network of supported contractors who focus solely on delivering quality work efficiently.
Revive's Supported Contractors and Service Programs
Dean Sharp: What makes a Revive-supported contractor different?
Michael Alladawi: Our contractors are focused on the job at hand, not the distractions of running a business. This specialization ensures they can deliver quick and reliable renovations, which is a huge benefit for homeowners.
Dean Sharp: And what about the programs Revive offers?
Michael Alladawi: We have two main programs. Our standard option is great for homeowners with a flexible timeline and involves no upfront costs, that program is known as our Renovate to Sell program. Our Sell360 program is for those who need quick transactions, where we handle everything from purchase to renovation, and the homeowner keeps all the profits minus a service fee.
Dean Sharp: Michael, your insights today have been incredibly enlightening. Thanks for sharing how Revive is making a positive impact in the real estate market by helping homeowners maximize their investments.
Michael Alladawi: Thank you for having me, Dean. I'm excited about helping more people not leave money on the table.
To view the original article, visit the Revive blog.
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[Podcast] Guide to Better Mergers and Acquisitions with Victor Lund
Ready to gain insider knowledge on mergers and acquisitions? Join us on this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered as James and Keith are joined by Victor Lund, author of Acquiring More Profit and CEO at WAV Group and RE Technology, and advisor to the Broker Public Portal.
Learn the strategies behind successful M&A deals from one of the industry's top experts as he guides you through collaboration, culture, proper evaluations, and more. Don't miss out on this essential information!
For the definitive and in-depth guide to mergers and acquisitions, check out Victor's book: Acquiring More Profit.
Listen to this podcast on:
Apple
Spotify
YouTube
Other
Visit the episode homepage for show notes and more details.
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Crunching the Numbers: What Q1 2024 Can Tell Us About the Months to Come
The first three months of 2024 have come and gone, marked by increasing numbers across North American markets — and a surge in optimism to match.
Let's have a look at the numbers:
Numbers on the rise
When comparing the beginning of 2024 with 2023, we're seeing more increases than decreases — in fact, across nearly all categories, there's been growth.
We've seen a subtle increase in listings under contract — as subtle as 0.5% — alongside a 7.5% increase in inventory, and an 8.1% increase in new listings. Less subtle is the 32.2% increase in off market listings, a category in which we've seen continued growth over the course of the market's most recent years.
Our only reduction when comparing this quarter to last year's is in listings sold, which saw a decrease of 4.2%.
What this tells us about the rest of 2024
As mentioned, this is hardly the first time we've seen an increase in off-market listings in recent years — in fact, we often find it to have the most substantial increase across all categories. While there are many reasons that sellers and buyers are pursuing off-market options, it's as important to understand as it is to take action.
To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.
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CoStar Acquires Matterport
Andy Florence hit the center stage at the HousingWire Gathering in Scottsdale, Ariz yesterday morning. It was a packed house. If there is one thing that you can say about Andy Florence, when he and his leadership team commit to something, they go in 100%. Early this week, Matterport was trading at just under $1.4B.
When WAV Group worked with Matterport as a startup to launch into real estate so many years ago, we witnessed the awe of real estate professionals who immediately recognized the breakthrough innovation of the Matterport experience in real estate marketing.
If you recall your first Matterport experience, you surely witnessed true technology innovation. The ability to move through rooms, and understand space through the doll house animation delivers an online home viewing experience like no other.
With CoStar's massive domination of commercial real estate, rentals, and a top competitor in residential real estate portals, Matterport will be componentized into the marketing of all existing and proposed building structures.
The announcement caused Matterport stock to jump from $1.70 per share to nearly $5 on the release. Sadly, we had exited our positions in Matterport long ago as their stock price languished. The price surged the valuation of Matterport up over $1.4 billion this morning on the news release.
Press release follows:
Matterport, the Global Leader in 3D Digital Twins, to be Acquired by CoStar Group
The Transaction is Expected to Increase the Development and Deployment of Matterport's Advanced AI and Digital Twin Technology
SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 22, 2024 — Matterport, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTTR), the spatial data company leading the digital transformation of the built world, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with CoStar Group, Inc., a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets, pursuant to which CoStar Group will acquire all outstanding shares of Matterport in a cash and stock transaction valued at $5.50 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $2.1 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $1.6 billion based on the closing price for CoStar Group common stock on April 19, 2024. Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by Matterport's Board of Directors, Matterport stockholders will receive $2.75 in cash and $2.75 in shares of CoStar Group common stock for each share of Matterport common stock.
Founded in 2011, Matterport pioneered the development of the first 3D capture solution to deliver dimensionally accurate, photorealistic virtual tours or "digital twins" for any type of property. Matterport's proprietary and patented technology enables anyone to digitize a property using a variety of camera technologies including cameras found on most smartphones. Matterport also produces a line of innovative 3D capture devices, including the company's flagship LiDAR-based Pro3 camera which is capable of high-precision indoor and outdoor capture. At the center of the solution is Cortex, a powerful artificial intelligence software engine that automatically generates the 3D digital twin and virtual tour while providing property insights like detailed property dimensions, room layouts, and more.
Matterport's 3D technology is utilized in nearly every sector of real estate, spanning residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, and industrial spaces, among others. Over the years, Matterport has curated what is considered the largest and most precise collection of spatial property data worldwide, with over 12 million spaces captured in 177 countries, and representing more than 38 billion square feet of digital property under management. Contributing to this growth, Matterport has established a global network of several thousand photographers, capture services technicians, and service partners producing hundreds of thousands of new 3D digital twins for properties each month.
CoStar Group operates some of the most effective and widely recognized real estate information solutions and online property marketplaces in the world including Apartments.com, LoopNet, CoStar, and Homes.com, all of which feature Matterport's 3D virtual tours. CoStar Group was one of the first adopters of Matterport's technology, and currently has almost 300,000 Matterport digital twins available in the CoStar information product and online property marketplaces. Advertisers on CoStar Group marketplaces clearly recognize the value of Matterport virtual tours. In March 2024, there were over 7.4 million views of Matterport 3D Tours on Apartments.com, with consumers spending 20% more time viewing an apartment listing when Matterports were available. CoStar Group intends to utilize Matterport in a similar fashion on Homes.com to further enhance the most comprehensive agent, seller and buyer friendly residential portal on the market.
"CoStar Group and Matterport have nearly identical mission statements of digitizing the world's real estate. I look forward to welcoming Matterport to the CoStar Group family and believe that we will be stronger together, in pursuit of our common mission," said Andy Florance, Founder and CEO of CoStar Group. "The world has changed and today a Matterport is the new open house or property tour. People now select their next home, apartment, office, store, hotel, or warehouse on their mobile device often without ever visiting the property. There is no better way to remotely experience space than via Matterport. CoStar Group intends to support and invest in research and development opportunities to further develop Matterport's spatial technology, including the application of AI and machine learning to extract information from the 3D spatial data library as well as using generative artificial intelligence to imagine and reimagine physical spaces."
RJ Pittman, Chair and CEO of Matterport said, "We are thrilled to join forces with CoStar Group, a long-standing customer and partner with a shared vision for transforming global real estate through technology and digitization. This transaction is another significant milestone that acknowledges the groundbreaking work Matterport has accomplished in 3D digital twin technology and AI-driven property intelligence. With CoStar Group's expansive reach and scale in property research and analytics and our joint commitment to innovation, we believe that this powerful combination will transform how properties are marketed, sold, and managed worldwide. Importantly, it offers Matterport's stockholders the opportunity to participate in the value creation and future growth prospects of our combined efforts."
The transaction, which is expected to be completed during the year, is subject to the approval of Matterport stockholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. Directors, Officers and certain other stockholders of Matterport, representing approximately 15% of Matterport's fully diluted shares, have entered into voting agreements to support the transaction. The transaction is subject to a 10% symmetrical collar based on a CoStar Group share price of $86.02 as the midpoint.
Qatalyst Partners is serving as financial advisor and Foley & Lardner LLP is serving as legal advisor to Matterport.
About Matterport
Matterport, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTTR) is the World's #1 Digital Twin Platform* leading the digital transformation of the built world. Our groundbreaking platform turns buildings into data to make every space more valuable and accessible. Millions of buildings in more than 177 countries have been transformed into immersive Matterport digital twins to improve every part of the building lifecycle from planning, construction, and operations to documentation, appraisal and marketing. Learn more at matterport.com and browse a gallery of digital twins.
©2024 Matterport, Inc. All rights reserved. Matterport is a registered trademark and the Matterport logo is a trademark of Matterport, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. *Largest digital twin cloud hosted platform for the built world sq. ft. scanned. Data on file.
About CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets. Founded in 1987, CoStar Group conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of real estate information. CoStar is the global leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, enabling clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on property values, market conditions and availabilities. Apartments.com is the leading online marketplace for renters seeking great apartment homes, providing property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked online commercial real estate marketplace with over twelve million monthly global unique visitors. STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Ten-X offers a leading platform for conducting commercial real estate online auctions and negotiated bids. Homes.com is the fastest growing online residential marketplace that connects agents, buyers, and sellers. OnTheMarket is a leading residential property portal in the United Kingdom. BureauxLocaux is one of the largest specialized property portals for buying and leasing commercial real estate in France. Business Immo is France's leading commercial real estate news service. Thomas Daily is Germany's largest online data pool in the real estate industry. Belbex is the premier source of commercial space available to let and for sale in Spain. CoStar Group's websites attracted over 160 million unique monthly visitors in September 2023. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar Group maintains offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Asia.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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[Podcast] Real Estate Advisory as a Differentiator with Joana Branquinho
In this episode of Million Dollar Question, host Billy Ekofo sits down with Joana Branquinho, the visionary Founder and CEO of ORIA Real Estate Advisors.
Together, they explore the pivotal role of cultivating trust with clients and delivering a comprehensive suite of services, including property management and concierge assistance. They also emphasize the imperative for real estate agents to evolve into trusted advisors, placing a premium on fostering lasting relationships and gaining a profound insight into client needs.
Connect with Joana:
Email: [email protected]: www.oriaadvisors.com
Listen to this podcast on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Visit the episode homepage for show notes and more detail.
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Meet Emma, Edina Realty's Marketing Suite
In the dynamic world of real estate, where every listing and every client interaction counts, efficiency and consistency are paramount. Edina Realty, the top real estate sales company in the Midwest for over two decades, has continually sought innovative ways to streamline its marketing efforts while maintaining the highest standards of quality and service. Recently, they've made significant strides in this endeavor with the introduction of their automated digital agent assistant called Emma, powered by Inside Real Estate's (IRE) CORE Listing Machine (CLM) and Design Center. (More information about Emma is at the bottom of this article.)
At the heart of Edina Realty's success lies a commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the market they serve. With 2,300 Realtors spread across 75 offices and a remarkable track record of 18,000 transaction sides and $7.4 billion in sales volume in 2023, Edina Realty stands as a beacon of real estate professionalism in Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, and South Dakota. It takes a lot of marketing automation to produce this level of success.
I jumped on a spotlight webinar with Edina Realty to hear first-hand how they are accomplishing so much with Emma.
Webinar Panel
Ken Katschke – SVP Product at Inside Real Estate
David Schmid – VP Product Development at Edina Realty
Shannon Bodick – Marketing Manager at Edina Realty
Sara Parks – Graphic Designer at Edina Realty
The cornerstone of their latest marketing initiative is the integration of Inside Real Estate's CORE Listing Machine and Design Center six months ago. This powerful duo offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to automate and streamline the marketing process, ensuring brand consistency and saving valuable time for agents and staff alike.
One of the key advantages of Emma is its seamless integration with Edina Realty's existing systems and workflows. By consolidating marketing efforts within the kvCORE platform, agents can now effortlessly create, customize, and deploy marketing materials directly from their CRM. This integration not only simplifies the process, but also enhances agent satisfaction and adoption rates over other solutions that require agents to SSO into another product. Edina did retain an SSO connection for print; they are connected to Xpressdocs – a long time partner of Edina that the agents love for the combination of price, quality, and distribution functionality.
Brand consistency is another area where Edina Realty shines. With a dedicated team of marketing professionals overseeing the process, they ensure that all materials adhere to the company's branding guidelines, from colors and fonts, to sizes and layouts. This meticulous attention to detail not only reinforces the Edina Realty brand, but also instills confidence in clients and prospects alike. Generally, the Edina brand carries the Red theme, but they also support a black theme for their luxury Exceptional Properties.
The flexibility offered by the CORE Listing Machine allows for customization at scale. While automated marketing packages are generated for common listing statuses such as "Coming Soon," "New Listing," "Open House," "Price Reduction," and "Sold," agents have the freedom to create custom materials tailored to their specific needs. This balance between automation and customization empowers agents to market their listings effectively, while maintaining a personal touch.
Edina believes that marketing support through Emma is a center of excellence for the brand. They maintain a core team at the home office, but enable individual agent support at the branch level with marketing coordinators, office administrator, and sales coordinator. At the branch level, they can log into an agent's account and support unique marketing customization. Branches also have a library for local events.
Beyond its internal benefits, Emma serves as a powerful recruiting tool. By showcasing the company's cutting-edge marketing capabilities, they attract top talent looking to elevate their game in the competitive real estate landscape. Additionally, the program's integration with recruiting presentations (CORE Present) and enterprise-wide marketing efforts further enhances its value proposition.
Looking ahead, Edina Realty remains committed to innovation and excellence in real estate marketing. With plans to expand analytics capabilities and further optimize agent adoption rates, they are poised to maintain their position as a market leader for years to come. Today, overall adoption rates are 60%.
Emma represents an iconic standard in real estate marketing, combining automation, customization, and brand consistency to deliver unparalleled results. By leveraging the power of Inside Real Estate's CORE Listing Machine and Design Center, they have unlocked new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, setting a new standard for the industry. A significant issue with marketing centers industry-wide is loading and programming the marketing materials. The bulk of this work can be performed by the marketing staff at the branches or the home office, but some automated templates need to be programmed by the design team at IRE. Edina reports that turnaround is a day or two for rush orders, and always less than two weeks.
There is a paradigm shift emerging in real estate. For decades, brokerage firms would not partner with tech vendors who were providing services to strong competitors. The classic example of that was Booj, who would only offer their product to one, non-franchise firm in any market. Today, firms are realizing that being differentiated with your tech vendor is less important than the product features and functionality. Success comes from engaging with the product, getting staff buy-in, and modifying the tools to reflect your business systems and brand. There are 400,000 users on KV Core today, but each broker can really make it their own. The old adage is true, skills are not measured by the tools you have, it's how you use them.
A few last notes about Edina that I could not easily squeeze into this article. They recognize that 5% of consumers in their market are Hispanic. In 2024 and beyond, look to expand marketing in Spanish. The marketing team really loves the ability to unpublish certain content – like seasonal content in their libraries.
About Emma
Emma Rovick was the founder of Edina Realty. Please take a moment to read her story, and celebrate another great woman of America whose success came from real estate.
If you want to listen to the full webinar, visit this link.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Building a High-Performing Real Estate Team: Strategies for Recruiting, Training, and Retaining Talent
As your business grows, you'll see increased clientele, more closed deals, and far more awareness about your offerings in your local market. But you know you can't do it all alone, and the more consumers you have to serve, the more you'll need top talent to help. This is where building a high-performing real estate team is key. By assembling — and retaining — a real estate dream team, your business can expand alongside your profitability.
Recruiting, training, and retaining superstar agents is within reach. Here are the steps you need to take to build out an effective, all-star real estate team.
Attracting Top Talent Through Effective Recruitment Strategies
As you're building out your team, you'll see a lot of parallels between attracting top talent and attracting prospective clients to work with you. You know you're the best, but they don't — yet. When you're seeking to recruit agents to build out your real estate dream team, it's important to highlight what sets you apart as a team lead or broker, as well as what they can expect from working on your team.
Effective recruitment strategies to draw in top talent include:
Showcasing your own expertise, history as a real estate pro, and your wins and achievements
Sharing the training and support you offer when they're onboarded, as well as over time
Displaying key team members they can partner with, learn from, and their own respective accomplishments and real estate experience
Highlighting the tools you use to ensure your team's success in the long-term to help them work smarter and continue to drive business forward
Agents have a drive and hunger to succeed, and they need a strong foundation to land on when they're choosing a new team to join. By shining the spotlight on what you offer as a leader, your team's successes and expertise, and how you'll support new agents as they join your team, you'll have a more seamless run way to attract top talent in your market.
Providing Ongoing Training and Development Opportunities for Team Members
Like we noted previously, it's crucial to provide ongoing training and development for your team. It's not just for the newbies: by investing in ongoing education and development for your current team members, you have a powerful opportunity to retain them.
Providing training and education to your current team is crucial for:
Demonstrating your willingness and commitment to investing in their ongoing success and growth
Saving them time and effort on finding the right training, or selecting training not relevant to your business
Supporting them in developing a stronger career trajectory
Helping them explore new interests, skills, or areas of real estate
By investing in your agents' growth, learning, and development, you can help support retention and drive them to continue to work on your dream team.
Creating a Positive Company Culture that Fosters Loyalty and Retention
If you want your agents to be loyal to you, your team, and to want to keep working with you, having a positive company culture is non-negotiable. Creating a positive work environment is one thing, but infusing positivity into your company culture is another — and it's a key component to long-lasting employee retention. The culture of your company is its heartbeat, the fabric its made of, the foundation it rests upon. In short, it's incredibly important!
To create a positive company culture, you must lead by example and build trust with each and every one of your employees. Say what you mean, mean what you say, operate from a place of respect, and hold yourself — and others — accountable. By developing and instilling strong systems for your business, investing in your agents' growth and development, and setting goals effectively, you can start to foster a positive company culture. Yes, things like team building activities and offsite events certainly help. But having a culture centered around positivity in your company starts from the top and is reinforced all the way down.
Leveraging goal-setting, effective communication, and supporting your agents, and committing to doing so consistently, will help build, strengthen, and reinforce your positive company culture.
To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.
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Latter & Blum + 38-0 = Teamwork!
What a pleasure to have Latter & Blum join Compass. The announcement last week generated an enormous high and increased our momentum in an industry undergoing significant change. Latter & Blum operates several disciplines and brands in several states. Compass embraces the entire portfolio with passion.
I had the pleasure of meeting Lacey Conway, CEO of Latter & Blum, through The Realty Alliance in 2016. Lacey leads with vision, passion, and a standard of excellence. In late December 2023, Robert Reffkin and I spent the day in New Orleans with Lacey and her father Bob Merrick brainstorming the future of our companies. The day will be remembered for both companies as "too good to be true."
Ninety days later, we are one firm with a shared vision.
On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at the Four Seasons in New Orleans, we will have 600 attendees (full capacity) celebrating the merger of the two companies. The gathering will fortify a shared vision and enhance our collective momentum for the spring market.
In a recent conversation with Lacey, she articulated a desire to engage with Compass leadership, contribute ideas, and participate in the broader agenda – teamwork at its finest!
NCAA Championship Game, April 7, 2024South Carolina 87 vs. Iowa 75South Carolina 38-0!
This weekend, while Monique and I were watching the Women's NCAA Basketball Finals, all we could think about was the amazing impact of teamwork. South Carolina's record of 38-0 speaks for itself. The women on the court controlled the game as a team. Teams outperform the best individuals on a consistent basis.
More than anything else about the merger of Latter & Blum with Compass, I look forward to our collaboration with Latter & Blum, Lacey's leadership team, and the entire Compass team.
Momentum is contagious – keep an eye on us!
This is Where We are Now.
Mark McLaughlin serves as CEO of McLaughlin Ventures and M&A Advisory at WAV Group.
To view the original article, visit the McLaughlin Ventures blog.
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How Will Real Estate Anti-Trust Settlement Impact Luxury Sales
Journalist Michele Lerner has crafted an impeccably researched piece for the Wall Street Journal's Mansion Global publication titled "Real Estate Commission Settlement May Shift Luxury Market Practices." In this article, Lerner delves into the potential ramifications of the Sitzer/Burnett settlement on luxury property sales. Over the years, negotiations over commissions have been particularly pronounced in luxury and hyper-luxury sales, signifying what the Department of Justice (DOJ) aims to address by joining the court and plaintiffs in challenging the practice of advertising buyer compensation in the MLS.
Drawing upon insights from industry experts such as Brian Boero, co-founder of 1000Watt, Victor Lund from WAV Group, and Samantha DeBianchi LaViola of DeBianchi Real Estate in Ft. Lauderdale, Lerner provides a comprehensive background to her analysis.
Luxury properties present unique challenges due to their often-customized nature. These homes frequently feature bespoke elements such as elaborate irrigation systems, numerous outbuildings, multiple wells, fortified sea walls, or extravagant features like front entry doors valued at $250,000. In the realm of hyper-luxury, understanding comparable properties often necessitates extensive national and international research. Furthermore, transactions in this segment typically involve intricate coordination with family offices and complex trusts.
Lerner's meticulous attention to detail and balanced reporting sets her article apart in an industry often plagued by sensationalism and misrepresentation. As such, it is imperative to acknowledge and support high-quality journalism like hers. Share this insightful piece on your social media platforms to contribute to a more informed discourse within the real estate community.
By the way, Michele Lerner is a freelance journalist and has won the Platinum Award for her writing of the best real estate article of the year. She has been published in The Washington Post, USA Today, and dozens of other leading publications. If you have a story for Michele, be sure to pitch her on LinkedIn.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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A Year in Real Estate: A checklist for the second quarter
This post is part two of four in a series on annual real estate checklists. Find part one here.
Have you noticed? The snow is melting, and the sun is rising earlier than usual. The birds are back for spring and so are we. To be more specific, we're here with the top tips your brokerage can take to prepare for the upcoming busy season this year.
Now that the market will start warming up, buyers and sellers will come out of hibernation to see what opportunities they can find. Listings are about to pop up. Well, you know the drill. Let's talk about the most important checkpoints of this bustling season.
Recap: What is the real estate checklist?
To prepare for 2024 and beyond, we've created a handy checklist with the big-ticket items that brokers and agents should be aware of every quarter to make sure your workflow stays smooth and your agents' listings open and close in a timely manner.
As industry professionals know, the second quarter is all about busy season: real estate's peak time of year for transactions. As your brokerage and agents go up against competitors to win and close the most deals, it's important to stay prepared with a couple of key themes.
Getting your ducks in order
This is the time to finish what you have to do to get to what you want to do: operating at your best without a hitch as the market starts to bloom.
During the second quarter, this means concrete tasks like filing your taxes as well as more compassionate ones, like taking the time to brainstorm ways that your agents can offer the best services possible to their clients. After all, investing in a positive client experience now has the potential to create a significant return in the form of referrals or repeat business.
Looking at the bigger picture
We've discussed the little things. Now, on the other hand, there's the bigger picture to think about. This quarter is all about performance. It's the payoff of your efforts to prepare since late last year and all throughout the first quarter. It would make sense to feel some nerves in the air. After all, there's a lot riding on the busy season and it's easy to feel like everything's about to happen all at once.
To help calm that chaos, it helps to zoom out and see the bigger picture—of both your agents' performances and of your brokerage differentiators. This is where data analytics programs like BrokerMetrics can be useful. Keep a watchful eye on how your market is doing and you'll know exactly where to go from there.
An exciting season lies ahead
From little details to the bigger picture and all the thought that goes into both, it can feel overwhelming to remember. But taking the time to address these checkpoints is a way of taking care of your business. Besides, the preparation you do now is sure to save some headaches down the road.
And besides all that, busy season is perhaps the most exciting time of the year! We've got your back. Now, let's get going.
Downloads:
A Year in Review: Q2
A Year in Review: Full Annual Checklist
To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.
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American Financial Network and zavvie Team Up to Turn More Buyers into Cash Buyers
One of the fastest-growing mortgage banks in the U.S., American Financial Network Inc. (AFN), is teaming up with zavvie, an award-winning software technology company empowering loan officers and real estate agents to win and close more deals with its popular Cash Offer programs.
By partnering with zavvie, AFN aims to help turn more buyers into "cash buyers" through more than 1,150 trusted loan originators in 240-plus offices nationwide. According to the National Association of Realtors, cash buyers surged to a decade-high last month. Home buyers paying cash accounted for nearly one in three home sales (32 percent) in January, the highest share since 2014.
"As we endeavor to support more of our clients to compete against all-cash buyers and win more offers, we're not just participating in a market trend – we're leading it," said John D'Onofrio, EVP, Retail Branching of American Financial Network.
zavvie's research shows that a buyer using a traditional mortgage requiring a loan contingency must make offers on seven houses before their offer is accepted. Buyers using a cash offer program average just 1.1 offers submitted before successfully purchasing a home.
"Cash offers continue to be the hottest trend in the home buying market," said Lane Hornung, co-founder and CEO of zavvie. "Making more buyers cash buyers creates more business for AFN's trusted loan originators, and we know that zavvie Cash Offer programs increase loan officer business activity. More importantly, it increases their GCI (gross commission income) by as much as 33%, and loan officers average at least one more loan per month," he added.
Offering all cash without contingencies may simplify a home purchase, making buyers' offers more attractive to sellers who value speed and certainty. With cash, buyers can bypass potential financing obstacles, eliminating the risk of loan approval issues or related deal cancellations. Additionally, cash offers have the potential to shorten the closing period, distinguishing them from competing offers.
American Financial Network, Inc. (NMLS #237341), an Equal Housing Lender based in Brea, California, opened its doors from a single location in 2001 and is now licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
"Being able to provide clients with a Cash Offer option is a no-brainer for loan officers looking to win more deals," Hornung added.
Consumer demand for Cash Offer programs is driving zavvie's rapid expansion into the mortgage business, and sustained growth in brokerage-assisted transactions makes it an integral part of real estate's modern ecosystem. Its nationwide footprint now covers nearly 50 states, with more than 75,000 agents using its platform and potentially reaching more than 700,000 real estate professionals through partnership integrations.
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Brokers Over $2B in Volume Should Prepare for Mediation
Friday, March 15th, 2024 was a watershed day for the real estate industry in the United States. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), who had been negotiating with the plaintiffs in the Sitzer/Burnet Antitrust litigation, announced a proposed settlement that covers the entire real estate industry (including all Realtors, Realtor associations, and Realtor-owned MLSs, all Realtor affiliated brokerages) except for brokerage firms who perform more than $2 billion in transaction volume.
The NAR settlement comes on the heels of other settlements, including RE/MAX, Anywhere, and Keller Williams. There are about 94 brokerage firms that transact over $2B per year. In the Sitzer settlement, NAR negotiated a buyout for these large firms at a rate of about $2.5 million per $1 billion in trades. Using this math, Compass would have been subject to $2.25 million multiplied-by 228, since they did $228 billion in transactions. However, Compass was able to negotiate $57.5 million. Compass is making two payments. Compass negotiated their settlement in the Gibson and Umpa cases, which covers all plaintiffs in each of the copycat lawsuits – including those in Sitzer.
Let's unpack this.
Any firm in the $2B club that has been named in any of the copycat lawsuits may go to the plaintiff's attorney and settle. The settlement in any of the cases covers all cases – including Sitzer. Firms would not be required to pay more than once.
The attorneys in the copycat lawsuits have a heightened motivation for settling with any of the brokers in the $2B club. If firms do not settle in any of the copycat cases, the judge will tell the plaintiffs to go collect their check from Sitzer. Those lawyers may not participate in the settlement at all, unless they can cajole brokers in the $2B club to settle with them.
The settlement terms may be different. As you know, there are a number of terms that eliminate the offer of compensation from the MLS entirely, among other things. NAR makes payments over four years. Compass makes payments over two years. Compass has different settlement terms.
If you are in the $2B club and you have not been named in any litigation, your best bet might be to contact the mediator in Sitzer and negotiate a settlement. You have some time to prepare, but not much. The mediation in Sitzer does not start until the court accepts the settlement.
What should you do now?
Prepare for mediation. Get your attorneys on it. Pay close attention to the settlements that have already been announced, and do some 5th grade math. How much did they agree to pay per agent, or per seller transaction? Is your business model different? How much can you pay? These data points are all helpful in negotiation.
WAV Group is not offering legal advice. We help with information and strategic planning.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Redfin Expands Redfin Next Agent Pay Plan to Additional Markets, Offering Big Splits with Zero Expenses
Redfin announced it is expanding the Redfin Next agent compensation plan to seven additional markets: Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas, Miami, New York, Palm Beach, and Washington, D.C. Under the Redfin Next plan, agents in these markets earn competitive splits as high as 70%, have virtually all business expenses covered, and get technology, support, benefits and customer introductions from Redfin.com.
Redfin initially announced the plan in San Francisco and Los Angeles in late October 2023 and added San Diego and Orange County in December 2023. Since then, the brokerage has recruited more than 90 top producing agents in California. Because of this recruiting success, and the positive reception among Redfin's existing agents, the company is now expanding the plan to new markets and will continue to evaluate rolling it out to all agents in 2025.
"We've never seen more enthusiasm for a new compensation plan from agents than we've seen with Redfin Next," said Jason Aleem, senior vice president of real estate sales at Redfin. "No other brokerage can offer agents a big traditional split and all the benefits, support, technology and customer introductions that we provide here at Redfin. These resources are what agents need to serve buyers and sellers well, and let those buyers and sellers keep more of their hard-earned dollars. In the wake of the NAR settlement, customers are telling us this is more important to them than ever before. We've always been focused on giving consumers a better deal, so we're well equipped to support them. We believe Redfin Next will be transformational for our brokerage, helping us retain our best agents, recruit top talent, and grow market share faster through both the ups and downs in the market."
The Redfin Next plan includes:
Big splits. Zero expenses: At Redfin, what you earn is what you keep because we cover all your necessary business expenses and cover benefits, mileage, payroll taxes and listing expenses.
Meet over 100 customers a year: By plugging into the Redfin platform and the 50 million people who use Redfin's app and website every month, agents can grow their business rapidly.
Business in a box: Redfin's technology and staff handle qualifying new customers, scheduling tours, conducting follow-up tours, and coordinating sales and listings. Agents focus on closing deals for customers.
Top-tier benefits: Redfin's benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance; fertility benefits; 401(k) employer match and employee stock purchase program.
Define the future of real estate: Redfin puts the customer first, makes the industry more fair and transparent, and uses technology to modernize the real estate experience and make it better.
Agents in the Redfin Next plan will continue work as employees, not independent contractors. Redfin's unique employee agent model was built to put the customer first by ensuring agents are held to a high standard and have the support they need to deliver consistently great service. Redfin uses technology to make real estate more efficient, which is one reason Redfin has the most productive agents in the industry, closing more than twice as many transactions as the average agent every year.
Gabe Schmidt, who recently joined Redfin's Orange County team, says the quality of customer leads and Redfin's technology have already made an impression on him. "It's like someone at Redfin followed an agent around and figured out every pain point in their day, and then created technology or a process to circumvent it. I have bought leads from practically every lead source out there, but I have never in my life had a more qualified lead come across my phone as I have with Redfin."
The seven expansion markets will move to the Redfin Next pay plan on May 5. In other markets, Redfin agents will continue to operate under Redfin's existing plan, earning a base salary and bonuses for every closed transaction. Nationwide, Redfin agents earn more than double the typical real estate agent and the company's best agents have earned more than $750,000 under the existing plan. Redfin expects top agents to earn even more with the Redfin Next plan.
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WAV Group Releases 2024 Brokerage Technology Roadmap
As the real estate industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, brokerages face the challenge of staying competitive in a landscape dominated by well-funded, public search portals and national, technology-driven brokerages. To help navigate this complex terrain, the WAV Group is releasing its 2024 Brokerage Technology Roadmap, offering invaluable insights for brokerages and their technology partners.
In the inaugural report of this four-part series, we delve into the crucial realm of website technology – a cornerstone of modern real estate operations. Here, we identify four essential components that are instrumental in equipping brokerages to thrive amidst fierce competition:
1. Parcel-Centric Approach
In today's data-driven world, consumers crave comprehensive information about properties beyond just active listings. A parcel-centric database, encompassing all properties in the area, provides invaluable insights to potential buyers and sellers. Moreover, empowering homeowners to estimate their property's value prior to listing enhances engagement and can open the door to securing a listing presentation.
2. MLS VOW Data Aggregation and Publishing Speed
The ability to aggregate and publish MLS VOW data swiftly is paramount in attracting and retaining clients. Seamless integration of MLS data across diverse markets remains a challenge because of a lack of data standardization. Brokerages must seek technology partners capable of handling this integration at an enterprise level, to ensure a competitive edge in lead generation.
3. Elasticsearch for Enhanced Property Search
Leveraging advanced search technologies such as Elasticsearch enhances the user experience by expediting property searches for the consumer. With features like autocomplete functionality, Elasticsearch not only streamlines the search process but also guides users swiftly to the desired information. By prioritizing user convenience, brokerages can differentiate themselves in a crowded market.
4. Website Topology Strategy
Adopting a hub-and-spoke model for website connectivity offers numerous advantages for brokerages. The broker website serves as the central hub, providing a cohesive brand identity and centralized control. Meanwhile, co-branded agent websites act as spokes, extending the brokerage's reach while maintaining consistency in branding and messaging.
Download Free with Promo Code
For a limited time only, brokerages can download part one of the 2024 Brokerage Technology Roadmap using code "roadmap" during checkout.
Register to Receive the Entire Guide
Be the first to receive a download opportunity for each segment of this four-part series. Register here.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Roomvu Launches in the U.S. in Partnership with LeadingRE, Realty One, and More
Roomvu has announced its expansion into the U.S. in partnership with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE), Realty One, and a growing network of enterprise and corporate partners.
As an award-winning company recognized among the CIX Top 20 most innovative real estate technology companies in Canada and venture capital-backed by NAR REACH, Roomvu stands at the forefront of a growing trend in video marketing in the real estate industry. With a mission to transform property and personal marketing for real estate professionals, Roomvu leverages the support of NAR REACH, the investment arm of the National Association of REALTORS®. This strategic partnership fuels Roomvu's U.S. launch, aiming to deliver unparalleled marketing support to real estate agents and brokerages with its advanced technology and services.
Jeff Kennedy, Vice President of Sales and Partnerships at LeadingRE, praises Roomvu for revolutionizing the marketing landscape with its innovative approach. "Roomvu sets itself apart with its advanced marketing strategy, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed to elevate your marketing efforts. Roomvu's video customization capabilities empower you to create compelling visual content tailored to your specific needs, enabling you to captivate and resonate with your audience like never before. With Roomvu, you can rest assured that your marketing needs are fully met, allowing you to focus on what you do best – serving your clients and growing your business," says Kennedy.
Roomvu's AI marketing assistant platform offers automated, hyperlocal content creation, empowering real estate agents with a consistent and engaging online presence. This service is especially valuable for brokerages aiming to enhance their brand and agents striving to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
"Our expansion into the U.S. is not just a milestone for Roomvu but a significant opportunity for real estate professionals across the country," said Sam Mehrbod, CEO of Roomvu. "Our partnerships with LeadingRE and RealtyOne are just the beginning. We are committed to providing our innovative video marketing solutions to help agents and brokerages enhance their brand visibility, engage more effectively with clients, and ultimately drive business growth in today's competitive and challenging market."
The U.S. launch comes after Roomvu's successful track record in Canada, where the company has made significant strides in transforming real estate marketing through technology. Roomvu's solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of the real estate industry, making marketing more accessible, effective, and efficient for agents and brokerages alike.
"The residential real estate industry is ripe for innovation, and Roomvu's entry into the US marks a pivotal moment in this transformation," said Tyler Thompson, Managing Partner at Second Century Ventures and REACH. "By leveraging AI to produce customizable, hyper-local videos for REALTORS, Roomvu is setting a new standard for property marketing."
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[Podcast] Housing Sustainability: Navigating Economic Challenges for Homeowners
In this episode of The National Housing Conference's Beyond Four Walls podcast, experts share best practices, insights into borrower empowerment, and innovative strategies for keeping individuals and families in their homes during challenging times. By addressing the unique needs of diverse communities and collaborating with stakeholders, this podcast seeks to reshape the narrative of mortgage servicing as a proactive force for housing stability.
Beyond Four Walls: Conversations on Affordable Housing goes beyond the rhetoric and engages with key figures in the housing and finance sectors to discuss tangible, impactful, and achievable solutions to the affordable housing crisis. The podcast also focuses on the personal stories of these housing leaders and policymakers and the journeys that have shaped them into the accomplished leaders they are today. The conversations promise to be insightful, challenge conventional wisdom, and shed light on innovative approaches that can make a real difference.
Listen on:
Spotify
Amazon
Apple Podcasts
Visit the episode homepage for show notes and more detail.
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Redfin Expands 'Sign & Save' Program Nationwide
Redfin expanded its Sign & Save program to more than a dozen additional markets this week, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco. With Sign & Save, homebuyers who sign up to work with a Redfin agent before the second tour can get a refund of 0.25 - 0.5% of the purchase price at closing.
"With Sign & Save, Redfin is giving consumers a better deal in real estate," said Jason Aleem, Redfin's senior vice president of real estate operations. "This program rewards customers who commit to working with a Redfin agent early in the process, which is helping drive more sales for our agents. Not only are we putting money back in our customers' pocket, we're also educating them about how real estate commissions work and how Redfin can help them win. This is good for our customers, our agents and our growth as a brokerage, which is why we're expanding it everywhere we can."
The program was piloted in a handful of markets in September 2023, launched in additional markets in January 2024, and is now available to Redfin's home buying customers nationwide, except in states where commission refunds are prohibited by law: AK, IA, KS, MS, MO, OK, OR, TN. Redfin encourages policymakers in these states to change these laws and allow commission refunds, which can help consumers save money and drive more competition and innovation in the real estate industry.
How Sign & Save Works
When a homebuyer goes on their first home tour with a Redfin agent, the agent learns about the customer's goals, explains the benefits of working with Redfin to achieve those goals, and asks the customer to sign a buyer agency agreement. This is a contract that creates a formal working relationship between the customer and Redfin. Customers who sign up to work with a Redfin agent before the second tour and go under contract to purchase a property within 180 days of signing the agreement get a refund when they close on their new home.
The standard Sign & Save refund is 0.25% of the purchase price. An eligible homebuyer purchasing a $500,000 home will save $1,250 with Sign & Save. For customers who purchase a luxury home through Redfin's Premier service, Redfin offers a 0.5% Sign & Save refund. For a $2 million Premier home, Sign & Save customers will get a $10,000 refund. Because Redfin earns a larger commission on a luxury home sale, it's able to give the homebuyer a larger refund.
Sign & Save eligibility is subject to minimum buyer agent commission and lender and seller approval. More details are available here.
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Recruitment and Retention Tactics: How Brokerages and Teams Can Leverage Constant Contact
In a recent survey conducted by Inman News, 28% of brokerage leaders stated that recruiting and retaining talent will be their most challenging responsibility one year from now. As someone who works with brokerages and teams across the country on creating, executing and analyzing comprehensive recruitment and retention campaigns, I see this as an opportunity to be proactive and get ahead of the competition in terms of brand positioning, meaningful story-telling, and building a strong recruitment pipeline. That means that organizations should start NOW in terms of budgeting, evaluating needed technology, and developing marketing strategies that will resonate with key prospects.
Knowing that many brokerages and teams don't necessarily have dedicated resources for recruitment and retention marketing, I'm always seeking solutions that will help streamline and/or consolidate multiple marketing channels into one snapshot, be intuitive and easy to implement, provide valuable feedback as to who is engaging and with what content, and allow custom, targeted communication based on user behavior. Oh yeah, and be affordable so as to not tax already constrained budgets!
When I was asked to evaluate Constant Contact for recruitment and retention, I was initially hesitant because I had toured the solution years ago and found it to be limiting in terms of what I wanted to help my clients accomplish. So, imagine my (pleasant) surprise over the past few months that I've spent playing with and testing the platform. The team at Constant Contact has invested heavily in expanding and enhancing their platform to offer an incredibly robust marketing solution that far exceeds just email, and it really shows. Following are my favorite features within Constant Contact and why I like them for busy brokerages, team leaders and organizations seeking cost-effective, efficient marketing solutions for their companies.
One Feature-rich Solution
What started as an email platform now offers fully integrated social media advertising, SMS marketing, an enhanced AI assistant, CRM, landing pages, event marketing, ecommerce and more. Also, I was assigned a dedicated onboarding specialist who was legitimately a REAL human being (Hi, Jeff!).
Why this matters: Recruiters many times have to use a variety of products and services to accomplish their outreach goals, leading to disjointed communication workflows, lack of comprehensive tracking and reporting, and higher costs. You know the story: your CRM doesn't connect to all of your marketing channels, you're running recruitment events off of a platform that doesn't report conversions back to your email invitation campaign, etc.
When ALL of your marketing outreach lives under one roof, it not only saves time and money, but it provides the opportunity to build intelligent communication workflows and gain insight into every part of your prospect's user journey. WIN!
Targeted Communications
Too many organizations take a "shot-gun" approach to delivering recruitment messaging, which is not an effective way to initiate what should be a personalized conversation. Constant Contact allows users to create personalized communication workflows based on user behavior and engagement. This ensures that prospects receive relevant, timely content that fosters a sense of belonging and enhances their personal exploration journey.
Real life example: In Q1, I was helping a client deliver an annual business planning guide to a mixed audience: entry-level agents, seasoned professionals, team leads, and active agents. Although this resource provided value to each audience, we wanted to ensure that we were speaking in different "voices" to each recipient, as well as automatically move recipients to different communication channels with appropriate follow-up activities based on their engagement (or lack thereof) with the guide. Constant Contact's custom automation paths made it very easy for me to build workflows for each unique audience, providing a user experience that felt authentic and personal. WIN!
AI Assistance
Let's face it, recruitment and retention is only ONE of the hats that busy brokers and team leaders must wear. And, developing meaningful marketing communication is most likely not the personal passion that entices you out of bed each morning. What other tasks could you focus on if you could free up an hour or two a week with the help of a marketing assistant? Wait, an assistant isn't in your budget? Think again.
I've seen a lot of AI technology inside of marketing tech stacks and honestly, I've been underwhelmed. So much AI integration seems to be more about rushing to include the "latest shiny tech tool" instead of really thinking about where, how and why users would leverage the technology. I was pretty impressed with Constant Contacts' approach to leveraging the power of AI. They've found ways to integrate AI across their entire platform, allowing users to conceptualize and customize their communication, as well as use it for grammar and sentence structure, and tone checking (A very cool feature! Think professional, humorous, persuasive tones to match your audience, your brand and your desired voice).
What this means: For those that don't feel that marketing is your key strength and don't have the budget to hire a professional marketer, you can lean into technology that will inspire your creativity and do 80% of the work. Even better, Constant Contact's AI is built into their platform at no additional cost for unlimited usage. Yes, you still should proof-read and edit what's been generated, but below is a legitimate example of me asking their bot to develop five email subject lines for an upcoming recruitment webinar (with no editing on my part):
PROMPT:
Write 5 email subject lines inviting real estate agents to a recruitment webinar where I will demonstrate the key benefits of joining my brokerage, using a professional tone.
OUTCOME:
"Unlock Growth Potential When You Join Our Brokerage - Webinar Invitation"
"Elevate Your Career: Invitation to Explore Opportunities at Our Brokerage"
"Discover Your Next Career Move: Join Our Brokerage Recruitment Webinar"
"Maximize Your Success: Explore Benefits of Partnering with Our Brokerage"
"Your Next Career Leap Awaits: Join Our Recruitment Webinar for Real Estate Agents"
Not too bad! Now, all you need to do is tweak and customize. For example, I'd revamp #4 to read something along the lines of Your Next Career Leap Awaits: Explore The Benefits of Joining [Name of Brokerage]. WIN!
Event Management
I've spent tons of money inside of event platforms and when I found out that Constant Contact ALSO has an events tool that's included in the subscription, I was elated! This tool allows for webinar registration and follow-up campaigns (with surveys), which can be built into your communication workflow so that you can easily move webinar registrants into a new communication channel.
Why I love this: First of all, say goodbye to additional costs with another third-party solution, and second, no more dripping on people to register for an upcoming webinar that they've already registered for, but you didn't know this because you were using two different platforms and now you seem like a dum-dum for not knowing! WIN!
The Power of SMS
Although SMS should NEVER be used for cold outreach, I'm a huge fan of the instant gratification it can lend to connecting with an engaged prospect to continue the momentum of the conversation. You know the "five minute rule" for engaging a consumer prospect? Constant Contacts' SMS marketing tool makes this super easy to integrate into your personalized workflows (see "Targeted Communications" above), allowing you to be responsive and timely even if you aren't readily available.
Ideas for Usage: When a recruitment prospect "raises their hand" through your website or downloads one of your resources, you can send both an email and text as follow-up and to support next steps (i.e., a link to your scheduling calendar). Or, use text to send timed reminders for that upcoming recruitment webinar you are offering, as well as provide a link post-webinar to your follow-up survey. WIN!
Data-driven Decision Making and Prioritization
Recruitment marketing should not be a dark hole where you don't understand what's working and what's not. I'm a big fan of the saying, "You can't manage what you can't measure," so tracking, reporting and transparency is important to marketing success. Constant Contact empowers your recruitment and retention efforts with KPIs (key performance indicators) such as email open rates, survey responses, and engagement levels.
Why this matters: Recruiters will gain valuable insight that will help prioritize outreach, refine marketing messaging, identify engagement trends, and deliver a more personalized experience leading all parties towards a strategic end goal. Knowing what's working and who's responding will support ROI and value. WIN!
Real People Supporting You
As I mentioned earlier, I was assigned a dedicated onboarding specialist (Hi, Jeff…again!) who was very proactive in understanding how I wanted to use Constant Contact for my client's recruitment and retention marketing. Although all users may not have access to Jeff, I was impressed with the expansive educational resources that the platform offers, both on-demand and live.
I've seen too many good technology platforms fail because they lacked intuitiveness (think Apple versus Microsoft), or leaned too heavily on self-onboarding and support, leaving users confused, frustrated and unable to accomplish their goals. On behalf of frustrated marketers everywhere, I appreciate the fact that Constant Contact has invested in both an intuitive UI/UX experience AND in real people to onboard, support and educate their users.
For those of you who really want to geek out, here's a few additional features that I love for more advanced recruitment and retention efforts:
Permission / Brand Locks - This functionality allows admin users to lock areas / elements of marketing material to ensure brand compliance. For example, you are creating recruitment messaging for your regional directors and only want to allow them to edit a personal intro / outro, but no graphics or other areas of content. DONE!
Parent / Child Structure - Building on my point immediately above, I love that I can create communication that can easily be assigned to "child" accounts. Also, I have full transparency into all accounts below me, including reporting, while each child account can only engage with their specific data.
All in all, I'm very happy that I've made the switch to Constant Contact for my client's recruitment and retention marketing. It's allowed me to expand my marketing offering, while offering an even better platform price for my client. And, I truly believe that for brokers, team leaders and recruiters that don't have the budget for a professional marketer such as myself, they can still achieve success in their recruitment efforts without the frustration and headache that comes with many other marketing solutions.
On top of it all, Constant Contact offers a no-risk free trial so that you can start building your recruitment campaign and check out all of the integrated features. Below are a few helpful links for those that are interested. Happy recruiting!
To have a full-product FREE TRIAL for 60 days or meet with the Constant Contact Enterprise Team, click the links below:
FREE TRIAL • REQUEST AN ENTERPRISE DEMO • READ MORE REVIEWS ON G2
Bondilyn Jolly is President of Marketing at WAV Group. Imagery in this product review was provided courtesy of Constant Contact.
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Tips and Tricks for Getting Your Agents to Adopt Your Real Estate CRM
Brokers, you know how crucial it is to invest in a rock-solid, reliable, and scalable real estate CRM for your business. But getting your agents to learn, use, and rely on the tool can be tricky. How can you balance driving agent adoption and proving the value of your tech investment? By highlighting the importance of a good CRM and lowering the barriers to entry.
The Importance of Technology Adoption by Agents
Most brokers know getting their real estate agents to adopt the technology they invest in is an uphill battle — to say the least. While commonly considered an inconvenience and gap in ongoing agent training, lack of tech adoption by agents is actually a threat to the brokerage and its success.
Brokers typically purchase CRMs not solely for having a centralized database, but also having a singular view into their agents' activities. This includes key milestones like:
Lead generation, follow-up, and conversion rates
Client outreach efforts
Retention efforts
Nurture campaigns and reminders
Email drip campaigns
Performance reports
By straying off-course and not using the CRM provided by their broker, agents pursuing the beaten path can struggle to track their follow-up, conversion rates, and other key metrics. Or, if they have these key performance indicators dialed into a systematic approach of their own, the lack of their broker's visibility and alignment to aligned processes means customer experiences can be inconsistent. This can jeopardize your bottom line, brand, and your brokerage's reputation.
So, why would agents risk not using the tech their broker provides them?
Skip the Learning Curve and Get Early Tech Adopters in Your Brokerage
It's not uncommon and is usually a result of plain old-fashioned human behavior. New technology always comes with a learning curve, and even a broker with the best intentions won't always beat out a determined agent spending their time chasing deals. Brokers need to invest in educating their agents on the new tech they've invested in and carve out dedicated time for ongoing training and maintenance. They also need to pitch the benefits of a CRM and its centralized view to their agents. However finding the time, resources, and capacity to dedicate to agents getting boots off the ground and behind their desks can also threaten ROI. What's a broker to do?
Agents are chasing their next success story and making time appear out of thin air to serve their clients and nurture new ones. It's well-known agents wear a lot of hats and have countless conflicting priorities to juggle. Because of this, it's crucial brokers get agents to adopt — and actively use — the CRM they've invested in.
If the learning curve is one of the biggest risk factors for agent tech adoption failing, brokers can actually eliminate that hurdle. How? By investing in a CRM that's extremely easy to use and designed with an agent on the go in mind.
To a seasoned, determined broker, finding an easy, seamless real estate CRM to invest in can sound a lot like finding a unicorn or stumbling upon a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. But by investing in a proven tool CRM needs, brokers can give their agents' tech adoption rates a significant boost.
To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.
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Location, Location...Price? New Survey Rewrites Real Estate's Oldest Advice
Price (56%) is more important than location (50%) to surveyed consumers when choosing a home, according to the latest nationwide survey from Coldwell Banker Real Estate. It also finds that women value price more than men – 60% to 48%, respectively. This bucks the real estate industry's oldest advice, setting new stakes for this year's market.
The data further reveal that the dream of home ownership is still alive and well: Of consumers who purchased a home last year, 31% did so because they found their dream home. Additionally, of homeowners who plan to sell their homes in the future, 66% say they plan to move to either a different city, state or country.
"While many consumers made their dream home purchase last year, the data show that some desire to seek new horizons," said Jason Waugh, president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates. "For those still looking for their dream home – no matter their price range, whether nearby or afar – I encourage them to contact a real estate agent for local advice and context."
Additional key points emerge from the data, in terms of market sentiment, social media, ideal home preferences and financial dynamics, revealing the dreams and desires shaping the U.S. real estate landscape.
Market Sentiment
A majority of consumers surveyed (56%) believe that the real estate landscape will either improve or remain the same in 2024 compared to the previous year. Additionally, the data indicates:
Consumers who plan to sell their home in the future would be more likely to move to a different city after they sell their home now (39%) than in 2022 (19%).
Keeping up with the Joneses
Forty-three percent of consumers surveyed have been somewhat influenced or highly influenced by social media in their desire to purchase a particular type of home. Compare this to the findings from luxury consumers, with 73% of them saying the same. Other social insights include:
Social media significantly influences home preferences for 64% of consumers aged 18-24, compared to a mere 16% of those aged 55 and above.
Consumers surveyed who have been influenced by social media in their desire to purchase a particular type of home aged 18-24 are most likely to have been influenced by TikTok (68%) in their decision to purchase the preference in the type of home they desire, while consumers aged 55 and above are most likely to have been influenced by Facebook (54%).
This suggests a substantial role that platforms like TikTok, Instagram or other social media channels play in shaping homebuyers' desires. This signals the need for a strong online presence and strategy.
Ideal Home Preferences
Across the nation, respondents each have their own version of the ideal home location, design and size, with no one-size-fits-all formula arising from the data.
Almost a third of respondents (32%) said their ideal home is located in the South, while a quarter said it's in the Northeast (24%).
Almost half (49%) of consumers surveyed said their dream home size is mid-sized: 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms.
While Ranch comes out on top (13%) for dream home design style with Modern Contemporary (11%) right behind, more respondents said they preferred "no style in particular" (16%).
Financial Dynamics Shift
Parental contributions to their children's home purchases differ among generational and racial groups.
Over a quarter (26%) of surveyed consumers have not provided or do not plan to provide financial support for their child(ren)'s first home.
Younger respondents (aged 25-34) are more likely (49%) to consider providing such support compared to those aged 55 and above (23%).
Black Americans (46%) and American Indian or Alaska Natives surveyed (49%) exhibit a higher willingness to financially support their children's home purchases.
58% of consumers agree with the statement "I consider my home as an asset that I would pass along to my child(ren)."
Navigating the Future
In a landscape shaped by optimism, generational differences and evolving preferences, real estate agents emerge as the backbone, providing expertise and guidance. The future of American real estate is dynamic to say the least.
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Brokers Beware! Stop Letting Old Tech Eat at Your Profits
Naturally, brokerages tend to place their focus more on lead generation programs, CRM software, and sophisticated websites since these systems are what help them realize their revenue goals. But no matter how strong your software selection or tech stack is, you can't always just set it and forget it. Brokers need to focus on the backend to keep the other gears of the business turning effectively.
If brokers ignore the backend, they've missed the opportunity to carve out additional profitability and claim a competitive advantage with a modern back office. With revenue at the forefront of success metrics for brokerages, it's no surprise brokers and owners often view back office systems as an afterthought.
Back office systems may seem like they're not revenue drivers, but the lack of flashiness shouldn't fool brokers. In real estate, back office accounting platforms have historically been expensive and clunky, and with non-cloud-based software, leaving the heavy lifting to be done manually. These platforms leave administrative pros frustrated and lacking in operational necessities such as seamless integrations and automation of simple tasks.
It's not just the admin experts who struggle; brokers are left to deal with the downstream impacts of these outdated, non-intuitive systems from the past. Convenience aside, these old systems eat away at productivity and profit.
What exactly does clunky back office software look like?
How to know if you have an outdated back office
Brokers might be wondering if they're dealing with an outdated back office, so they can use this checklist of common characteristics to help them assess the state of their backend:
A lack of flexibility
Frustrating processes
Wasted time on mundane tasks
When we put these together, brokerages can repeatedly face issues like:
Processing manual commission payments and plan adjustments
Not having accounting system integrations
Slow (and poor) agent onboarding experiences and processes
These are straightforward tasks that are the table stakes a brokerage is built upon. They should be simple, but with an outdated back office setup, they're not. And brokers don't have that kind of time to waste: they need to be nimble, allow their team to hit the ground sprinting, spend time wisely, and have the flexibility to scale quickly.
Brokers also don't realize how much old technology costs them in cold, hard cash. Most obviously, the cost of additional human hours spent on manual and unnecessary work adds up to thousands of dollars per month. The frustration these users feel can lead them to leave the brokerage, meaning brokers need to spend time and money hiring. Clunky agent onboarding processes or manual management of commission checks can have new agents eyeing the door.
From a technical perspective, old systems need more maintenance, can cause more downtime, take up servers and storage space, and be a hassle to manage over time. In short, relying on and running old tech costs brokers more money and drags down their growth.
How can brokers free up those thousands of dollars as profit and drive more business?
Armed with the negatives of an out-of-date (and out-of-touch) back office, brokers need to focus on key backend features. Here are the ones brokers need in order to automate, streamline, and turn their boring back office into revenue-generating software:
Cloud-based. Automated. Integrated.
In our digital-first world, investing in robust and scalable cloud architecture is a must. This type of tech means brokers can work smarter, not harder, have greater security, and can grow seamlessly alongside their brokerages. Newer, modern back office solutions also easily provide a simple and clean user interface available to staff from anywhere, anytime they need it.
In the same vein, automation is king. Brokers' accounting software should automate mundane tasks like ACH direct deposit payments, agent billings, and commission plan management. It's also crucial to have tech with robust and seamless integration into the other systems used regularly. Look for full integrations into commonly-used software like Quickbooks, Dotloop, SkySlope, DocuSign, and fully integrated business platforms like kvCORE.
Transaction and Commission Flexibility
With teams on the rise and competitive models abounding, commission plans and models used by brokerages are no longer cut and dry. Brokerages' back office software should factor these complexities in and support their custom plans — not dictate them. Brokers need to seek out platforms to streamline their payment process. These platforms offer simple ways to handle splits, caps, team plans, sharing, recruiting rules and so much more. Brokers should also look for the ability to set up as many rules as they need.
Business Intelligence
What if there was a way for brokers to get a centralized, real-time snapshot of how their business is really doing? This is where business intelligence comes into the fold. Back office tools can provide real-time access to brokers' pipelines of commissions, agent performance, and lead conversion rates. These insights provide brokers with actionable intelligence to make smart, effective business decisions. The modern-day back office should leverage integrations with business intelligence (BI) tools to give real-time data, but allow brokers to adjust and customize their reporting, including setting up automated delivery of reports.
Affordability
As brokers assess modern tech with robust features, keeping the bottom line in mind is a must. Finding effective, modern back office tools and tech might sound daunting, expensive and hard to deploy. But there are systems designed specifically to make brokers' life easier and cost half as much as older systems on the market.
Brokers shouldn't get stuck thinking it's too difficult or expensive to update their back office. That old way of thinking poses a serious threat to the growth of their business. Brokerages who have successfully updated their core accounting and commission management systems are singing the praises — and wished they'd done it sooner.
To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.
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Howard Hanna Partners with ShowingTime+ to Provide Elevated Listing Experience on Zillow
ShowingTime+ and Howard Hanna Real Estate Services announced that they have entered into an agreement allowing Howard Hanna to initially provide Listing Showcase® exclusively to home sellers in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas. Through this agreement, Howard Hanna agents can offer sellers an elevated listing experience they can't find anywhere else, attracting home shoppers on Zillow with immersive, rich media.
Showcase listings combine interactive media such as high-resolution photography and AI-powered interactive virtual tours with powerful exposure on the most visited real estate site to wow potential buyers, impress sellers and help agents win more listings. For a limited time, Howard Hanna's agents will be the only local agents able to offer this best-in-class experience to home sellers in those areas, joining a growing number of brokerages across the country who offer Listing Showcase to their clients. Listing Showcase is yet another key differentiator that Howard Hanna provides its agents and clients in the market.
"Howard Hanna is thrilled to kick off 2024 with our exclusive Listing Showcase offering," said Howard "Hoby" Hanna IV, CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. "Listing Showcase is a game changer for our business, providing powerful exposure and amplified visibility for our agents' listings on Zillow. This is a huge benefit for buyers, sellers and Howard Hanna agents alike."
As part of the marketing package, Listing Showcase helps agents representing sellers customize their listings, highlight a home's best features and provide the media-rich experience shoppers and sellers want to help attract more interest from buyers.
"We're thrilled to have Howard Hanna offering their clients Listing Showcase to stand out on Zillow," said Mike Lane, ShowingTime+ vice president of enterprise sales. "Howard Hanna is the largest family-owned and -operated brokerage throughout the U.S., and we believe this partnership will raise the bar for home shopping and selling for Cleveland and Pittsburgh area consumers and give Howard Hanna agents an edge in their marketing to win more customers."
Listing Showcase is available to brokers and agents across the country to help their brand and listings stand out. Brokerages interested in partnering with ShowingTime+ can contact [email protected].
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Industry Veteran Greg Robertson Launches Giant Steps Advisors
Greg Robertson announced today the launch of Giant Steps Advisors, LLC a new company poised to help navigate the new real estate landscape. With a vision centered on innovation, growth, and collaboration, Giant Steps Advisors is set to become the go-to advisor for visionaries ready to take on new challenges.
"Having co-founded my first real estate software company in 1992, I've had a front seat to the arc of innovation in the organized real estate industry for the last 30+ years. My goal with Giant Steps is to give back and share those experiences with our clients to help them reach their goals faster," stated Greg Robertson, Founder and Principal Advisor.
Giant Steps Advisors believes you need to start from the end and work backwards to help you arrive at the best solutions. Whether you are developing a product, a go-to-market strategy, M&A, or planning for the future, thinking about the outcomes of your choices first, will help you arrive at your goals quicker.
Staci Wood, Executive Advisor, has joined Robertson to expand the breadth of expertise. Staci started her career at RE/MAX playing a critical role in the evolution of real estate portals. Staci then moved to one of the largest MLS organizations in the country, REcolorado. While at REColorado Staci was their VP and Chief Product Officer for over nine years. With this duo of seasoned experts at the helm, Giant Steps Advisors brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to the table.
"I met Staci over 20 years ago. Her broad experience is a perfect addition, and I'm excited she has chosen to join me on this new endeavor," Robertson said.
For more information about Giant Steps Advisors and its services, visit www.GiantStepsAdvisors.com.
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Did IDX Kill Buyer Agency?
If you wind back the clock, the greatest value of working with an agent as a home buyer was access to inventory – the MLS and "coming soon" listings. There was no internet, and consumers could not reasonably find all of the homes in a market on their own. They were limited to newspapers and magazines. Back then, buyers highly appreciated the service of a buyer's agent to find listings, schedule showings, craft buyer CMAs, offer submission and negotiation, and closing management.
IDX allowed the consumer to find listings without an agent, and in some ways, schedule showings. But the rest of the work has remained the domain of the buyer's agent.
I am a strong supporter of buyer agency and understand the value of IDX to serve the home buying consumer and their agent; but, I believe that IDX is a child of the offer of compensation. If the listing broker is offering buyer-broker compensation, then it strategically aligns to support programs – like IDX – that allow buyer agents to advertise their services to consumers with home search.
Now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an opinion in the Nosalek case which points the industry toward eliminating any offer of compensation to the buyer agent from the seller/listing firm.
The DOJ does not condemn buyer agency; they condemn the relationship of competitors working together with the seller and buyer to determine commissions. They want a clean cut. The seller hires their agent, and pays them. Same is true of the buyer's agent — they get paid by the buyer.
The listing broker is no longer incentivized to support the buyer agent lead generation on IDX websites if the offer of compensation is not part of the MLS.
Given this new construct, it seems like the best way that MLSs can support buyer's agents is by eliminating IDX. If consumers no longer have access to every listing on the 500,000+ websites, it would increase the need to work with a buyer's agent.
The online landscape of property search would dramatically change if IDX was terminated. The only property search solution remaining for consumers would be VOW. VOW requires home buyers to register and hire a buyer's agent to search for property.
If you want to see a model property search solution on a broker website without IDX, search homes in Cleveland using HowardHanna.com. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services opted out of IDX, so they only display their own listings to consumers who are unregistered on their site. When you register and agree to use a Howard Hanna agent to buy your home, you see all of the competitor listings.
I have long believed that the buyer's agent often does a lot more work to earn a commission than the listing agent, even in today's condition of limited inventory. I want to see the buyer agency survive these class action lawsuits. The best idea that gets my vote is the cancellation of IDX.
The one segment of the industry that would be most damaged by the loss of IDX are paper brokers. Those are brokers in license who only use their license to gain data access and do not endeavor to represent home buyers or sellers. I have not conjured up a fix for those companies in the absence of IDX. I guess that they would need to go back to being advertising websites, and advertising in magazines and newspapers may have a comeback. Additionally, ListHub or similar services would presumably have a comeback.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Protecting Your Brokerage: How to audit-proof the transaction side of your business
As a real estate brokerage owner, one of your top priorities is to protect your business, including costly and time-consuming audits. Implementing a digital transaction management system can help you effectively "audit-proof" the transaction side of your brokerage by automatically maintaining detailed records and documentation that is easy to access and provide if you face an audit.
Streamline documentation
One of the biggest time drains associated with audits is gathering all the necessary paperwork around your agents' transactions. When transactions are handled manually with traditional paper files, assembling documentation for auditors takes enormous administrative time and effort.
Staff must dig through piles of paper documents to identify forms, contracts, disclosures, and other items needed to substantiate a transaction. Tracking down information for one deal could take hours. Now, how much time could it take if auditors want to review 10, 20, or 100 transactions?
A robust transaction management system stores all documents related to real estate deals digitally in one centralized platform. This makes pulling together files associated with a specific transaction quick and simple. And if you need to gather all transactions handled by a particular agent, you can do that quickly, too.
When you have a digital transaction management system that is broker-friendly, like Form Simplicity, it only takes a few clicks to allow you to access the required documentation for auditors instantly. Forget the paper shuffle and avoid getting buried under stacks of files. Digital access means transaction records can be collected and organized in just minutes versus days.
Maintain meticulous transaction records
Auditors want to see a precise paper trail for real estate transactions. It's up to brokers to maintain careful records that accurately reflect essential information and events, including time/date stamps.
Without diligent documentation, you risk facing fines, penalties, and other negative consequences if issues arise. Regulators will look for detailed confirmation that you and your team followed policies and regulations correctly, made the necessary disclosures, and completed other essential steps.
A quality transaction management system helps brokers more easily ensure compliance by automatically recording the necessary time/date stamps, tracking document actions (uploads, downloads, shares), and providing a precise audit trail showing who accessed or modified records – and when.
Having a detailed online log gives you accountability and demonstrates to auditors that your brokerage's transactions are handled meticulously. No more nervously waiting to see if your agents' paper records line up: with a transaction management system, you have complete confidence that everything is transparent and above board.
Confirm transaction oversight from any location
Brokers are ultimately responsible for supervising their agents and ensuring real estate deals follow policies, laws, and regulations. However, with agents conducting transactions in the field, maintaining strong oversight can be challenging — especially for busy broker-owners balancing a wide range of responsibilities. It's simply not feasible to physically monitor every deal in person when you have 10, 20, or 50+ agents working actively with buyers and sellers in an office or across a region.
Online transaction management platforms empower brokers to monitor transactions remotely and in real-time, regardless of location. You can instantly check in on the status of any deal to ensure proper protocols are followed, essential tasks are completed, and nothing is missed.
Perhaps most importantly, you gain reliable transaction oversight from wherever you happen to be. There is no need to play phone or email tag with agents to track down document status when it's readily visible on your computer, wherever you are. Knowing you can log in and have complete visibility, even from your smartphone, eliminates geography as an audit hurdle.
Boost agent productivity and organization
Disorganized agents potentially create bigger risks and more headaches — especially during audits. Sloppy recordkeeping can raise red flags if crucial documents are misplaced or details are incomplete or unclear. Transaction management technology helps organize disorganized agents, creating accountability and productivity throughout each transaction. And when there is an audit, a more organized agent can simplify audits.
Intuitive transaction management systems like Form Simplicity feature structured workflows that guide agents through key transaction steps and automated reminders to complete essential documents and deliver analytics that provide instant insight into where deals stand.
Transaction management systems boost agent organization, efficiency, and responsibility. Moreover, because records are stored digitally in structured templates within the platform, there's no shuffling through mounds of paper files seeking specific forms. Agents stay on track, and transactions remain appropriately documented.
The easier your agents handle compliant transactions, the easier the audit. Transaction management enables transparency across your brokerage so that audits can be routine rather than disrupted.
Centralized advantage
Between gathering paperwork, answering auditor questions, providing extra documentation, and monitoring the audit, the administrative burden on brokers can be heavy, often requiring complete focus for days or more. Audits can significantly detract from a broker's ability to run their business, support agents, and assist clients. Your existing responsibilities don't stop during an audit, and brokers face bandwidth constraints trying to manage it all.
Because a digital transaction management system keeps everything connected and accessible with each transaction in one place, much of the audit prep is already handled in advance. You move your brokerage from managing a manual paper chase to simply electronically gathering the requested information. Because your system tracks where everything stands, you'll have more bandwidth to focus on running your brokerage operations even amidst an audit.
Bot-free, human tech support
Bots may have a place in answering routine questions, but when troubleshooting the complexities of a transaction management system, you need human assistance. Only the best tech systems offer live support these days, and getting the help you need when you need it is crucial, especially if you are preparing for an audit.
One example: agents and brokers using Form Simplicity get free, live tech support from the real estate industry's No. 1 tech support service, Tech Helpline.
So, when you run into a technical roadblock or are unsure how to create a transaction checklist, or access certain information from your transaction management system, contact a trained analyst to reduce your time and energy.
Transaction management systems: Your audit armor
A robust digital transaction software can transform how your brokerage operates — especially when it comes to a frustrating audit. You can assemble documentation in a breeze, meticulously track transactions, and promote organization among even the most disorganized agents.
You can "audit-proof" your business with a transaction management system so you can focus on service and growth rather than a stressful audit. A digital transaction management system is your brokerage's audit armor, giving you peace of mind even if that audit never comes.
Related reads
From the Form Simplicity Blog:
Transaction Coordinators: How Real Estate Management Systems Work
4 Ways Brokers Can Build Their Brand with Form Simplicity
Broker Benefits: 3 Ways Brokers Can Maximize Their Use of a Transaction Management Solution
Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.
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RPR's Data Partners: Your Secret Weapon in Commercial Real Estate
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) offers commercial real estate practitioners a wealth of listing and property data, plus access to an array of analytical and ROI-focused tools.
With over 800K listings, 57 million off-market property records, site selection tools, consumer demographic research, trade area data, traffic counts, POIs (points of interest) and more, RPR Commercial is basically a one-stop-shop for all things CRE.
However, one question we hear over and over is: where does RPR get all of this commercial data and information? As an aggregator of data and resources, RPR is the ultimate commercial hub for REALTORS® to conduct commercial real estate business.
In this article, we'll present our impressive list of commercial partners by what category they fall under and how our partnership can help you in your daily commercial duties.
RPR Commercial partnerships can help power your business
RPR has collabs, partnerships and affiliations with some of the biggest names in commercial real estate. Here's a list, by category:
For Sale/For Lease Data Partners
Brevitas: Brevitas is a national commercial listing platform that is integrated into RPR. Their real estate marketplace provides REALTORS® a turn-key marketing solution and an instant competitive edge by offering a robust collection of property search and marketing tools.
CREXi: CREXi offers a database of commercial listings, including more than 48 million property records. It also provides RPR with daily updated data, which helps commercial real estate professionals quickly manage deals and close them faster.
TotalCommercial: TotalCommercial.com has been providing commercial real estate listing information online since 1995. TotalCommercial.com shares its listing information through RPR to offer REALTORS® more listings and more property research resources.
Land Broker MLS: LandBrokerMLS.com was formed in 2018 by real estate brokers and agents to assist rural real estate professionals in their ability to view land listings. LandBrokerMLS contributes listing data to RPR's commercial platform.
Biproxi: Biproxi's new public marketplace is called Officespace.com and it provides powerful listing capabilities for "for sale" and "for lease" properties. Biproxi's Officespace.com provides listing information for RPR's commercial real estate users.
Catylist: Moody's Analytics Catylist offers a commercial property listing and marketing solution to numerous REALTOR® associations and CIEs (Commercial Information Exchanges). It helps RPR receive licensed commercial listing content from many markets across the country.
CompStak: CompStak is a nationwide crowdsourced commercial comp database that offers RPR users to receive 500 free credits to search and share commercial comparables. Get started by clicking on the CompStak logo in the Additional Resources section of any RPR commercial property page.
Officespace.com: See BiProxi above.
ICSC: ICSC, The International Council of Shopping Centers, has a special agreement with RPR to offer retail and commercial real estate data, which contributes significant insight relevant to the shopping center industry and broader commercial sectors.
Off-Market Properties
Black Knight: Black Knight is the backbone of RPR property data. It provides RPR users with quick access to public records including tax details, zoning, ownership information down to the corporate level, and much more, including Assessment and Recorder datasets.
Site Selection Data
Esri: Esri is RPR's main source of consumer data. It supplies RPR with economic, demographic, and spending data, as well as tapestry segment profiles. This particular data fuels RPR analytical tools such as Trade Area Reports and Site Selection Analysis.
Financial Analysis
Valuate: Valuate® is a web-based financial analysis and marketing tool for the purchase and sale of commercial and residential investment properties. From RPR, users can easily access the platform to perform real-time, interactive ROI analyses in a collaborative work environment.
Traffic Counts
Kalibrate: Kalibrate powers the traffic counts found on RPR's commercial maps. They provide this data quarterly from various sources, including governments, transportation departments, and Kalibrate's own field verifications.
Tenant Data
SMR Research: SMR works with RPR to provide a proprietary database of 25 million U.S. companies, schools, and other institutions for commercial property insights, and the data is updated quarterly.
ClimateRisk Assessment and Mitigation
Climate Check: ClimateCheck®, available in the RPR "Additional Resources" section, offers an assessment of a property's climate risk. It will rate a property's future risk of climate change-related hazards and assign a rating from 1 to 100, with 100 representing the highest risk.
Risk Factor: Also available in the RPR "Additional Resources," Risk Factor provides climate and environmental risk data for real estate properties, helping REALTORS® understand and communicate potential risks related to climate change.
Existing Businesses (POIs – Points of Interest)
Data Axle: Known for its robust business databases, Data Axle provides detailed company profiles and other commercial real estate-related data to enhance the commercial offerings on RPR.
Esri: Supplies RPR with economic, demographic, and spending data, as well as tapestry segment profiles.
RPR: Commercial listings, data and tools–all under one roof
As you can see, RPR brings a vast amount of commercial resources and data and puts them all in one place so you can search listings, conduct research and tap into resources that help your clients make data-backed decisions. And if you're a REALTOR®, there's no extra charge to use as part of your membership in The National Association of REALTORS®.
However, if our impressive list of commercial partnerships doesn't convince you, listen to what Dave Ferro, Managing Broker and Vice President of Watson Realty Corp in Gainesville, Florida, has to say about RPR Commercial: "I go to RPR Commercial to save time and simplify. That perfectly sums it up for me. I don't have to go to each individual's website for listing info. I can see all my properties and deals in one location. It's such a great place to search, every commercial agent should try it."
To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.
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New FCC Regulation Deals Blow to Real Estate Lead Generators
New consumer protection regulations from the Federal Communications Commission aims to protect consumers from the scams and spam caused by the "lead generator" robo-calls and texts loophole, and encourages an opt-in approach for delivering email to text messages. The law extends the same do-not-call protections and CAN/SPAM to text messages, making it illegal to send text messages to numbers on the Do-Not-Call registry.
Real estate leads are among the most expensive leads generated across all American business, often leading to real estate professionals paying as high as 40% of their commission for a sale generated from a lead. Many leads generated at online shopping websites are sold over and over again, causing consumers to be inundated with spammy text messages and robo-calls that seem to have no end. Now, there must be a clear opt-in by consumers to this form of communication. The FCC wants the consumer to opt in on a one-to-one basis to each company that will receive their contact information.
According to the FCC, U.S. consumers receive approximately 4 billion robo-calls per month. In their enforcement efforts, the FCC has issued fines to some companies, like a Texas-based health insurance company whom I am not naming, of $255 million. A Florida-based timeshare operation was fined $120 million. The FCC also adopted new rules to stop illegal robo-calls that originate overseas from entering American phone networks.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission moved to make AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal on 8 February.
Real Estate Impact
Firms should update their agent independent contractor agreements. Real estate agents routinely use robo-call/robo-text services for lead generation and lead incubation. If the firm provides an agent with lead information that is added to a robo-call/robo-text service, there could be significant liability to the firm.
Many brokerage firms also share consumer information with their affiliated services companies. For example, a lead generated on a broker's website gets shared with a brokers' mortgage or insurance affiliate who also uses similar robo-call/robo-text systems for lead incubation. Agreements should be updated to prevent violations by these third-parties from blowing back on the real estate firm. Moreover, the consumer will need to opt-in to each service (i.e. checkbox for mortgage, title, insurance, etc.)
When you collect consumer information on a lead form or elsewhere, you likely need to update your terms of use to explicitly require a consumer opt-in to text messaging.
Examples of opt-in language from portal sites:
Figure 1 Realtor.com
Figure 2 From Zillow.com
From our reading of the FCC rulings, these sites would need to specifically say that they are going to send my information to Agent Name, Firm Name, Mortgage Company, and so on, and the consumer needs to check the box to agree.
Most of the portals send consumers to their in-house call center before they send it to an agent, so there may be a loophole where the call center gets permission from the consumer at the point of transfer.
Greg Robertson and Rob Hahn did a great podcast on this with Matthew Marx of Evocalize. See below to watch:
Not to debate Rob – he is a very strong debater – but his view is: "calling expired listings will not be a problem with this new FCC rule." I would suggest that it could be a problem if the consumer is on the Do-Not-Call list. Rob would likely agree with me.
Existing clients of the firm or prior lead gen records may be excluded from the FCC ruling.
The FCC is still processing the outline of their policies, so there are many unanswered questions. In the aforementioned "Industry Relations" podcast, they believe that the FCC will go after the lead generators and not the robo-dialers/texters, but there is no certainty there. I guess if you buy leads, you need to CYA to make sure that it does not blow back on you as an FCC violation.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Redfin Publishes Air Factor Data from First Street to Show Risk of Poor Air Quality
Redfin is now publishing Air Factor data provided by First Street for nearly every U.S. property listed on Redfin.com and the Redfin iOS app. Redfin is the only brokerage to provide air quality risk data at the property level.
"Redfin wants to ensure that every single person searching for a home has the information they need to understand climate risks," said Redfin Senior Vice President of Product and Design Ariel Dos Santos. "Air pollution is an important consideration as poor air quality becomes more frequent due to climate threats such as wildfire smoke."
The number of poor air quality days in the Western U.S. surged by as much as 477% between 2000 and 2021, in large part due to wildfire smoke, according to a First Street analysis of data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A recent Redfin-commissioned survey found that 9% of recent U.S. home sellers cited concern about the impact of climate change as a reason for their move.
First Street's Air Factor is a property-level risk model that estimates the likelihood of poor air-quality exposure based on the number of poor air quality days expected today and over the next 30 years. It includes two common pollutants: PM2.5, which often comes from wildfire smoke, and ozone (O3), which occurs when pollutants react with heat/sunlight.
"Air Factor takes into account environmental threats to air quality such as wildfire smoke as well as man-made pollutants like emissions from cars to create a full picture of what's causing poor air quality and where," said First Street CEO Matthew Eby. "People searching for their next home on Redfin will now be able to see exactly what they're getting into with poor air quality, which is an important piece of the puzzle when considering climate risks."
Redfin published a report today that shows about 1 million more people moved out of than into U.S. metros with high risk from poor air quality in 2021-2022, while low risk metros saw 1 million more people move in than out. The areas facing high risk from poor air quality are concentrated in the American West, which is grappling with intensifying wildfires, and many are in expensive states like California. Redfin found that the median home sale price in metros at high risk for poor air quality was $563,710 as of December 2023, which is 65% higher than the $341,483 median sale price in low risk metros.
Transparency around climate risks has the potential to impact which homes people choose to live in. A Redfin study from 2022 found that homebuyers who have access to flood-risk information when browsing home listings online are more likely to view and make offers on homes with lower flood risk than those who don't have access.
Poor air quality risk data is now available on the Redfin website and iOS app, and it will be available on Android later this year. Redfin also features First Street climate risk data at the property level for wildfire, flood, wind and extreme heat.
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Understanding the 2024 Market: Best Practices
These days, the market is always changing. But no matter what changes, the ever-relevant question remains: How can you stay on top of the market and ahead of your competitors throughout?
One thing's for certain. From the bigger picture to the small stuff, you'll need both sides—and everything in between—to understand the state of today's housing market, your place in it, and how to grow from there.
The bigger picture
To understand where your brokerage is at, context is key. When we talk about housing markets, we talk about all the contextual factors that make it: location, the current state of the economy, and of course, supply and demand.
Location, location, location
Your location means a lot of things. It's important to consider the housing market in your country as a whole, then your state or province, and finally, your local area(s) of operation. Tax policies, available units, and average household incomes come into play here.
Example: The Canadian real estate market has had major changes in the last few years, resulting in higher prices compared to its U.S. counterpart. Meanwhile, the American market has had its own challenges as well. Either way, last year was a tough market for North America overall, and these larger trends trickled down into smaller markets in unique ways.
The economy at large
When it comes to economic forces, keep an eye on the ongoing rates for employment, housing unit construction, and mortgage lending. These will all affect smaller markets differently depending on their own affordability ratios. Staying updated with ongoing summaries and predictions from reputable sources like Realtor.com® can be helpful here.
Seeing the forest for the trees
Both of these factors come together to determine the current state of supply versus demand, or in other words, whether it's a buyer's or a seller's market.
When you can see the boundaries and overall framework, you can make more informed choices to keep your brokerage on the path to success.
The nitty-gritty
Much like the overall real estate market, that was a lot. Let's go smaller.
We've already talked about the economy as a whole. But it's one thing to see overall trends and another to dig into the numbers and stats of it all. You can gain a better idea of what's going on in your market on national, regional, and metro-market levels with NAR, which publishes ongoing statistics about:
Home sales (existing and pending)
Housing affordability
Housing shortages
And more. Again, this goes hand in hand with figuring out what kind of market you're in, as well as tracking trends for the short and long-term.
The small stuff
Finally, we're at the small stuff—which isn't so small. This part is all about the relevant data that you'll find most useful for your brokerage and agents. In a way, it's the same as the above: Listing numbers, buyer and seller trends, etc., but on a much more specific scale.
After understanding the larger market, you can figure out where you stand in it with tools like BrokerMetrics, which track wider trends and provide insightful reports on your own brokerage's progress.
This is the time to compare your stats with competitors, manage your agents, and perhaps most importantly, look at your own data year over year and see how you've grown.
Staying on top through it all
No matter what size scale you're using to view the market, every view—from macro to micro—is crucial to understanding it as a whole. After all, there are tons of moving parts that change every day. Start slow, stay consistent, and make sure not to lose yourself in the sea of it.
Real estate is dynamic. There's always so much more to explore.
To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.
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[Podcast] Leading the Diversity Charge for Real Estate with Lennox Scott
Recently, national news headlines have brought to light an alarming accusation of race-based real estate value inequity in the appraisal industry: A black family's home value increased by a whopping $300,000, after their first appraisal, by "white-washing" their home and having a white friend answer the door on the day of the appraisal. Unfortunately, this is not the only recent case of real estate value inequity.
In this episode of Million Dollar Question, host Jessisa Edgerton is joined by Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, one of the largest and most successful regional real estate firms in the United States across the Pacific Northwest and into California. Lennox is a tireless advocate for diversity training within the real estate industry.
Lennox and Jess emphasize the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion within the industry, now more than ever, in the wake of the racial atrocities that have occurred over the past few years.
In this episode of Million Dollar Question:
How Lennox became a leader of diversity, equity and inclusion
Undoing the long history of racist language in property documents
New systems in place to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion
What needs to happen moving forward
Connect with Lennox:
Website: johnlscott.com
LinkedIn: Lennox Scott
Listen to this podcast on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
RadioPublic
Visit the episode homepage for show notes and more detail.
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Equity Angels: Paving the Way for Diversity in Real Estate Tech Startups
In a move aimed at fostering diversity and innovation within the real estate technology sector, Equity Angels has emerged as a groundbreaking force. Launched by prominent leaders in the tech and real estate industries, this organization is set to play a pivotal role in accelerating the growth of startups led by entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.
As the real estate industry grapples with unprecedented challenges, Equity Angels seeks to be a catalyst for change, providing fractional executive solutions and accelerator programs specifically tailored for early-stage fintech and proptech companies. Kenya Burrell-VanWormer, the Founder and Managing Partner of Equity Angels, expressed the urgency of the initiative, noting the perfect storm of low sales volume, high interest rates, and the widespread integration of artificial intelligence.
Addressing the broader context, Katherine Winston, another Founder and Managing Partner, emphasized the importance of doubling down on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, particularly in the face of headwinds. The real estate industry, like many others, is at a crossroads, and Equity Angels aims to unlock untapped perspectives and innovation from historically underrepresented and underestimated entrepreneurs.
Research underscores the significance of diverse leadership in startup success. McKinsey & Company's analysis reveals that founders with diverse gender and ethnic backgrounds tend to deliver higher returns for investors upon exit compared to their peers. Achieving parity for women and minority founders not only holds the potential for increased revenue but also promises to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
The Equity Angels Catalyst Program stands out as a cornerstone initiative, targeting ten startups focused on fintech and proptech solutions. Designed as a "Fundraise-Ready" program running from April to September 2024, this endeavor will provide a platform for selected startups to navigate the challenging fundraising landscape under the guidance of industry experts. Given the evolving market conditions, Equity Angels recognizes the need for rigorous support to ensure these startups can thrive.
In addition to the Catalyst Program, Equity Angels is set to offer fractional C-Suite solutions. This unique approach allows startups to collaborate with high-level executives who can contribute to the development and scaling of their businesses at sustainable rates.
Ruel Macaraeg, a seasoned technology director and Equity Angels advisor, envisions a redefined future for entrepreneurship through programs like these. The goal is clear: to fuel the next wave of groundbreaking startups with a diverse group of talented innovators. As Equity Angels takes flight, it not only aims to reshape the landscape of real estate technology but also to establish a more inclusive and equitable future for the entire industry.
For those looking to learn more about Equity Angels and their transformative initiatives, a visit to their official website at www.equity-angels.com offers a comprehensive overview of their mission and programs. Equity Angels stands as a beacon, signaling a new era in real estate technology where innovation and diversity go hand in hand.
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Real Estate Leaders See Housing, Economy Improving in 2024
Real estate brokerage leaders are once again bullish on housing and the economy in 2024, according to the newest Delta Real Estate Leadership Survey of more than 130 brokerage leaders representing firms collectively responsible for more than 65 percent of all home sales last year.
Two in three (66%) leaders expect housing demand to improve this year, compared to last year when only third of leaders surveyed expected improvement in 2023.
Moreover, a little more than half (53%) of leaders said the US economy will improve or improve significantly in the next 12 months. It's about-face for real estate leaders as last year 51% expected the US economy to deteriorate in the next 12 months (2023).
"The Delta survey once again reveals real estate leaders' confidence in the economy increases the closer it is to home," explained Michael Minard, CEO and owner of Delta Media Group. "They are much more confident about their local economy than their state, US or global economy," he added.
When real estate brokerage leaders were asked to rank their confidence in their local, state, US and global economies today versus a year ago, local economies reaped the highest overall confidence (42%), followed by state (33%) and US (29%)
"Leaders have little confidence in the global economy," Minard said. "Only 3% were more confident of the global economy today versus a year ago, with 57% being less confident. Forty percent said their confidence remained unchanged," he added.
Still, one in five real estate leaders believe the US economy (20%) will deteriorate or deteriorate significantly in 2024.
About the survey
The independent research, conducted in December 2023 by Delta Media Group, one of America's largest technology solutions providers for real estate brokerages, collected responses from more than 130 broker-owners and top brokerage executives representing firms that were responsible for more than 65 percent of US residential real estate transactions last year.
More than one in four (28%) of the leaders responding manage brokerages with more than $1.5 billion to over $10 billion in projected 2023 transactions; nearly one third (31%) manage brokerages with over $500 million to $1.5 billion; 31% manage brokerages with over $100 million to $500 million, and 10% manage brokerages with less than $100 million in total transactions.
Delta survey participants included leaders from all sizes of brokerages, with 14% managing brokerage with more than 1,000 agents; 12% managing brokerages with over 500 to 1,000 agents; 38% managing brokerages with more than 100 to 500 agents; 16% managing brokerages with over 50 to 100 agents; 6% managing brokerages with 50 agents or fewer.
Forty-four percent of the respondents are 60 years or older; 32% are 50 to 59 years old; 14% are 40-49 years old; and 8% are 31 to 39 years old and 1% are 18-30 years old. In addition, 74% surveyed are male, and 26 percent are female – up from 21% female last year.
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What Can We Learn from the Last Quarter of 2023?
2024 has just begun, and we're already eager to start strategizing. Whether you're the type to set a resolution and stick to it or the sort of person who waits for a sign, we can all agree that, when it comes to predicting the future, a good place to start is with the information and insights we have at the present.
It looks like less is more when it comes to the numbers.
When comparing the fourth quarter data year over year, we saw some ups and downs—but overall, there was less substantial change than we've been seeing in other quarterly reports. With increases of only 1.6% in listings under contract and 2.5% in new listings, as well as decreases of only 4.7% in inventory and 8.9% in sold listings, we're seeing a bit more consistency when comparing this quarter to the year prior.
The outlier is, once again, off-market listings, which saw a 19% increase. While higher than the increase we saw of 7% in 2023 when compared to the previous year's Q3, it's a far less startling increase than Q2's 40.43% increase, Q1's increase of 64%, and especially Q4 of 2022's increase of 102%.
There's any number of factors that continue to drive the number of off-market listings up—and you can learn more about them here.
How to create your success in your 2024 market
While many of the challenges that existed for homebuyers in 2023 will persist into 2024, there's hope: if inventory does continue to rise, it will relieve some of the pressure in the market, giving buyers and sellers more breathing room.
With comprehensive reports from BrokerMetrics, you can see how all these numbers—and more—compare, year over year.
To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.
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The KPIs and Metrics That Matter for Real Estate Success
The New Year is a great time to set new goals, but you'll also need to get clear on your path to each one. One of the best ways to ensure you're on track to hit your goals? By monitoring your success metrics.
There's plenty out there on the metrics real estate pros need to monitor, but we're going to break down the ones that matter, no matter where you are in your real estate career.
Why It's Important to Keep an Eye on Your KPIs
Before we take a closer look at the crucial key performance indicators, or KPIs, real estate professionals need to track, it's important to understand why tracking these metrics is key. Hint: it's not just for your brag sheet. Tracking your KPIs regularly is crucial for real estate pros, no matter where they are in their career journey. Monitoring your KPIs is crucial to gauging your success and getting clear on areas you can improve.
By knowing where you're performing well, you can build upon your success by knowing exactly where to focus and take more impactful, meaningful actions. And keeping an eye on areas to improve helps ensure you're staying on track towards your goals, providing you the opportunity to prevent falling off course completely.
Agents
For the solo agent, the KPIs you track will be relatively consistent across the board, whether you're a buyer or seller agent. To ensure success, you'll want to track:
Your transaction volume: Transaction volume is the total number of properties you've helped buyers purchase or you've helped get successfully sold. Monitoring your transaction volume will help you ensure your lead generation efforts and conversion rate keep you on track for your revenue goals.
Your lead generation volume: This is the total number of leads you've generated across all your sources, online and offline. By tracking this KPI, you can see how many potential clients are interested in working with you, so you know which campaigns or outreach efforts are most effective.
Your lead conversion rate: Going hand in hand with your lead generation volume is your lead conversion rate. This is the percentage of leads that turned into closed deals. Knowing your lead conversion rate will help you understand your most successful lead generation efforts, and help you keep your finger on the pulse of your sales and negotiation skills.
Your Gross Commission Income (GCI): This KPI is the amount of income you earn from your commission on a transaction. It's important to monitor your GCI to keep your finger on the pulse of your finances. GCI can fluctuate for a variety of reasons, so monitoring your own personal trends is key.
Your Net Commission Income (NCI): On the flipside, your Net Commission Income, or NCI, is the amount of income you earn but with key expenses subtracted, like brokerage or transaction fees, taxes, other miscellaneous fees, and more. Keep track of your NCI to monitor your annual income and finances.
Midsize Teams and Brokerages
As we expand to midsize teams and brokerages, the KPIs these real estate pros need to track also level up. If you fall into this category, you'll want to stay on top of the following KPIs in addition to the ones agents typically track above:
The team's transaction volume: This goes without saying, but you'll want to keep watch on your team or brokerage's overall transaction volume, as well as drilling down into each individual agent's transaction volume. Keeping close watch on this KPI will allow you to get a good grasp on how you're pacing to your goals, and give you insight into any star players or areas of opportunity to train or improve.
Your group's agent retention rate: Your retention rate is made up of the percentage of agents who stay onboard your team or brokerage. This is crucial to understand agent satisfaction, as well as how well you're training, growing, and developing your team. It also provides insights into how well the tools you give your group impacts their performance and willingness to keep working with you.
Your marketing return on investment (ROI): Investing in marketing for your brokerage and your agents is a must. So, you can't skip out on tracking your marketing ROI. Monitoring this metric will help you know which channels are the most effective, what campaign types move the needle most for leads, and allow you to better manage your marketing budget overall.
Continuing education and training completion: Tracking how much your agents keep up with opportunities for training or continuing education (CE) courses is another great metric to track. This helps you understand what investment they're making in their overall skillset, as well as what courses or sessions are resonating with your agents. It also ties into your agent retention rate.
Expansion-Level Brokerages
At this level of real estate professional, your brokerage has grown and expanded beyond its initial market to serve a variety of regions and areas. To measure success as an expansion-level brokerage, these real estate pros need to track the agent-level and team-level KPIs listed above, as well as more comprehensive KPIs, such as:
Your offices' or branches' performance: Arguably the most important KPI to watch is the performance of each office or branch in your brokerage. Think of this like tracking each of the KPIs listed in the previous sections above. This will give you a laser focus on each offices' strengths, areas to improve, helping you monitor the viability in the market they serve.
Agent recruitment and retention rate: We covered the importance of brokerages and teams keeping an eye on their retention rate, and that applies here as a KPI, too. But you'll also want to measure recruitment rates, or how many agents are being brought on to work in each branch or office. This will help you understand your competitive advantage in those markets.
Customer satisfaction: Each market will have its own specific characteristics, especially with the clients served. Counting customer satisfaction as a KPI is a must. Whether you source testimonials, conduct customer interviews, or send out surveys, make sure to listen to what customers are saying. This will give you a real-life feel for what it's like working with your agents and their perception of your brokerage and brand.
Technology adoption and usage: It's important to invest in powerful tools and software to optimize your brokerages' operations. But it's also important to measure if this tech is actually being learned and used. Make sure to track how much agents are using the tools you provide, attending training sessions, and source their feedback. This will help you ensure your technology investment is proving its ROI.
To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.
Related reading
Metrics Are More Than Just Numbers
5 Real Estate Marketing Metrics to Help You Grow Your Business
Why the Top Agents Leverage Success Metrics in a Shifting Market
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[Podcast] The Agent of Tomorrow: Data driven, Socially Conscious with Kevin Skipworth
In this episode of Million Dollar Question, host Billy Ekofo interviews real estate expert Kevin Skipworth, who shares insights on the evolving role of real estate agents and the impact of global trends on local markets. Kevin highlights the resilience of the Vancouver market and stresses the importance of data-driven decisions, sustainability, and personal connections in the industry. This conversation offers valuable perspectives for understanding the dynamic nature of modern real estate.
In this episode of Million Dollar Question:
The evolution of the real estate industry and the role of agents
Analyzing the resilience and trends of the Vancouver real estate market
The importance of data-driven decision-making in real estate
Global influences on local real estate dynamics
Balancing technology and personal connections in modern real estate practices
Connect with Kevin:
Website: cathieandkevin.com
Instagram: @kevinskipworth
Listen to this podcast on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
RadioPublic
To view the original article, visit the LeadingRE blog.
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Third-Party Cookies Do Crumble With Google Chrome's Privacy Shift
For years, third-party cookies have been the bread and butter of online advertising. The practice allows you, the marketer, to target website visitors with laser precision based on their browsing history.
However, the winds of change are blowing through the digital landscape, and Google Chrome, the world's dominant browser, is leading the charge toward a privacy-first future. Its plan? To phase out third-party cookies entirely by the end of 2024.
Note: As of October 2023, Google Chrome has the highest browser share in the United States at 51.94%. Safari at 29.29%, Edge at 8.67%, and Opera at 4.4%.
So, how exactly is Google accomplishing this cookie crackdown? Buckle up real estate marketers, because it's about to get technical!
The Chrome Blockade
Anthony Chaves, who is the VP of Privacy Sandbox at Google, announced in his article titled "The next step toward phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome" that,
… January 4, we'll begin testing Tracking Protection, a new feature that limits cross-site tracking by restricting website access to third-party cookies by default. We'll roll this out to 1% of Chrome users globally, a key milestone in our Privacy Sandbox initiative to phase out third-party cookies for everyone in the second half of 2024, subject to addressing any remaining competition concerns from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.
Tracking Protection
Currently in its testing phase, this feature restricts third-party cookies by default for a small percentage of Chrome users. As the rollout expands, websites' ability to track users across different domains will be severely limited.
Privacy Sandbox
This umbrella term encompasses Google's alternative solutions for targeted advertising and user measurement without relying on third-party cookies. These solutions are still under development by Google and the broader web community.
Some proposed technologies include:
Topics API – This assigns users broad interest categories like "sports" or "travel" based on their browsing activity, instead of specific website visits.
Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) – Cohorts are groups of users with similar browsing habits, and ads are targeted to these groups without revealing individual data.
Trust Tokens – Websites issue encrypted tokens to users as proof of identity, reducing the need for third-party tracking.
Key Insights for Real Estate Marketers
The blocking of third-party cookies presents both challenges and opportunities for real estate marketing. Here are five crucial insights to navigate the changing landscape:
Embrace First-Party Data by cultivating a robust first-party data strategy through website analytics, CRM integrations, and loyalty programs. Leverage this data for personalized marketing campaigns and audience segmentation, all within the bounds of user privacy.
Contextual targeting takes center stage through continuous investment into contextual targeting platforms that rely on website content and user behavior signals rather than cookies. This allows you to deliver relevant ads based on the current browsing context. This would be like showcasing luxury listings on real estate search pages.
Build trust and direct relationships with potential buyers and sellers. Use email marketing, social media engagement, and targeted content marketing to curate leads and convert them into loyal clients.
With mobile dominating real estate searches, it's crucial to optimize your website and marketing efforts for mobile-first. It's surprising to see many people still focusing on desktop view when designing and messaging their advertising assets. Make sure you prioritize mobile to stay ahead in the game. Consider location-based targeting to reach users actively searching for properties in specific areas.
Experiment with Privacy Sandbox Solutions by staying informed about the evolving Privacy Sandbox initiatives and experimenting with the available APIs and tools. Early adoption can give you a head start in the new privacy-focused advertising landscape.
What are the key differences between third-party cookies and first-party cookies?
The key difference between third-party cookies and first-party cookies lies in who creates and uses them.
First-party cookies
Created by the website you're visiting (the "first party").
Stored on your device by the website's domain.
Used by the website to remember your preferences, keep you logged in, track your activity on the site, and personalize your experience.
Generally considered less intrusive because they don't share data with other websites.
Third-party cookies
Created by a domain other than the website you're visiting (the "third party").
Often placed on your device by embedded code from advertising or analytics companies.
Can follow you across different websites that use the same third-party code, building a detailed profile of your browsing habits.
Used for targeted advertising, retargeting, and cross-site analytics.
Raise more privacy concerns because they can track your activity across multiple domains without your explicit knowledge.
Summary
While Google's third-party cookie phaseout may seem daunting, it also presents an opportunity for real estate marketers to refine their strategies and prioritize user privacy. Embrace first-party data, invest in contextual targeting, and build direct relationships to thrive in the privacy-first future. Remember, the focus is shifting from intrusive tracking to building trust and delivering value. Embrace this change, and unlock the potential of a more sustainable and ethical approach to real estate marketing.
This article is designed to be informative and actionable, but it's important to stay updated on the latest developments in Google's Privacy Sandbox and adapt your strategies accordingly. Don't hesitate to seek further resources and guidance from qualified SEO and marketing professionals or contact David Gumpper of the WAV Group.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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The Future Is Secure: Understanding the Importance of Security by Design
In today's digital age, cybersecurity has finally become a top priority for organizations across all industries — especially in real estate after last year's events. Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated by the day, and data breaches can have devastating effects on businesses.
Despite this, many organizations still take a reactive approach to cybersecurity, only implementing security measures after a breach.
However, there is a better way to approach cybersecurity – one that offers greater protection against attacks and reduces the risk of data breaches. This approach is known as Security by Design.
A friend of mine who is a chief information security officer for a real estate brokerage was discussing last year's incident and his achievement of SOC-2 compliance. During our conversation, he mentioned how implementing Security by Design was crucial to achieving SOC-2 compliance.
We discussed how Security by Design involves incorporating security measures at every part of an organization rather than adding them as an afterthought. He said implementing Security by Design enables organizations to recognize and mitigate potential security risks early on, therefore ensuring compliance with industry standards and SOC-2. That raised another question for me.
What is Security by Design?
I learned that Security by Design is a proactive approach to cybersecurity that involves integrating security measures into an organization's operations and culture from the ground up.
Instead of treating security as an afterthought, Security by Design requires security to be an integral part of an organization's design and development processes. This helps to create a more secure foundation for an organization's digital infrastructure, making it less vulnerable to cyber threats. It's a practice I have been taking for a long time within my own environments.
How does Security by Design work?
Security by Design involves a range of practices and techniques that help to embed security into an organization's culture. These include things like adopting a risk management approach to security:
By integrating security into the software development life cycle
Providing regular security training and education to employees
Regularly updating and patching systems to address vulnerabilities.
By making security a part of an organization's DNA, it becomes much more difficult for cybercriminals to exploit weaknesses in an organization's security measures.
Why is Security by Design important?
The importance of Security by Design cannot be overstated. Cyber threats are growing in sophistication, and the consequences of a data breach can have a devastating impact on businesses and their customers.
The financial cost of a data breach can be significant, and damage to an organization's reputation can is more difficult to recover from.
By adopting a Security by Design approach, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of cyber-attacks and mitigate the impact of data breaches if they do occur.
How do I Benefit from Security by Design?
Adopting a Security by Design approach offers a range of benefits for your organization. It helps to create a more secure floor for an organization's digital infrastructure, reducing the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks. It can also help to reduce the cost of cybersecurity by preventing breaches before they occur and minimizing the impact of breaches that do occur — it is not a question of if a breach occurs, it is when.
In addition, it can improve an organization's brand reputation, product, or services. It is a demonstration of your commitment to security and data protection.
How to Implement Security by Design?
Implementing Security by Design takes a lot of work to implement and maintain. The whole approach requires a fundamental shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity. There are a range of best practices and techniques that organizations can adopt to embed security into their operations and culture. These include things like:
Conducting regular security audits
Adopting a risk management approach to security
Integrating security into the software development life cycle
Providing regular security training and education to employees
Regularly updating and patching systems to address vulnerabilities.
By implementing these best practices in a strategic and coherent way, organizations can make Security by Design an integral part of their culture.
Be Proactive!
In today's digital age, cybersecurity should be a top priority for all organizations. According to Verizon's 2023 Data Breach Investigative Report, over 74% of data breaches are cause by human actions. These are either through social engineering or phishing scams that continue to innovate on fooling their victims for access to an organizations data vault.
A reactive approach to cybersecurity is no longer enough. Adopting a proactive Security by Design approach is essential to mitigate the risks associated with cyber threats. Leverage an IT Services or Managed Service Providers organization that offers cybersecurity services. They can at least assist in monitoring your digital environment. If you need assistance evaluating any services or having a conversation about Security by Design, call me, David Gumpper.
Embedding security into an organization's culture and operations from the ground up creates a more secure foundation for its digital infrastructure and significantly reduces the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks.
Implementing Security by Design requires a fundamental shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity, but the benefits are clear – greater protection against cyber threats, reduced risk of data breaches, and a more secure future for businesses and their customers.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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The Devastating Effects of Dropping Unilateral Offer of Compensation
It would seem that the plaintiff's victories in the Massachusetts court and Missouri court are on track to eliminate the commission field in the MLS. This field is where the seller's broker presents a unilateral offer of compensation to any buyer broker who submits an accepted home purchase agreement. No doubt as you are painfully aware from the daily media coverage, changing the rules for that field to permit zero instead of $1 as the minimum value does not seem to go far enough to satisfy the long and influential reach of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Last month, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun released some interesting language in a statement regarding the November Housing starts data (I added in the bolded emphasis):
As homebuilders ramp up production, more supply will reach the market. In November, single-family home construction rose 18% from the prior month and was up a hefty 42% from one year ago. Homebuilders' sales have been up this year despite high mortgage rates due to the offer of incentives on buying down interest rates and the long-held business model of offering co-op commission to buyer agents. That's the free market way of doing business in a very competitive industry. Even more homebuilding will be needed with the housing shortage persisting in most markets. Home price appreciation can only moderate from drastically improved supply. Another 30% rise in home construction can easily be absorbed in the marketplace, especially in light of recent weeks' plunge in mortgage rates.
Yun highlights, for the first time, the long held unilateral offer of compensation to buyer agents – which should read buyer broker instead of agent. Regardless, NAR is microdosing their messaging and communications with support for buyer broker compensation.
If the court and the DOJ have their way, I fear that the unilateral offer of compensation might disappear from the multiple listing service data set. This is not to say that the buyer broker agency service will go away, only that it will no longer be the role of the MLS to publish any commission offer to the buyer broker at all. It follows that if the unilateral offer of compensation is removed from the MLS, the rules that govern the offer of unilateral compensation – and the role of the association of REALTORS in providing arbitration services – may also be washed down the drain along with the compensation rules.
Emergence of buyer commission chaos
I do hope that the DOJ thinks through their decision carefully before cleansing the unilateral offer of compensation from organized real estate. I have written about how the removal of the offer of compensation from the MLS and the removal of all buyer broker commission rules could be easily attained. It is a simple fix which an editor could complete in an hour. Remove the field from the MLS and strike-though all of the MLS and association model rules related to commission and commission arbitration. Following that, the buyer's broker will submit a commission request along with the offer to the seller's broker. The buyer to pay $XX for the home, and the seller to remit $XX in buyer broker compensation at closing. In the new world, price and commission will be negotiated. This scheme seems tidy enough, but I worry about bias and discrimination.
Bias and discrimination are unsavory human conditions. From our very first breath, the world teaches us to differentiate one thing from another, one person from another, and the basic logic of "if this, then that." It takes hard work and self-mastery to evolve one's consciousness to overcome bias and discrimination. My fear is that in the absence of MLS and association oversight, buyer broker compensation will be fraught with the evil influence of bias and discrimination. Friends will negotiate better compensation for friends than they will for strangers.
The lack of a unilateral rule regarding commission offering will create a foul disease which will overwhelm and undermine the benefits of cooperation among competitors. Hatred and bitterness will be the product of little or no compensation when a buyer's broker and agent work their tail off for a home buyer.
The risk of little or no compensation on buyer agency will undoubtedly steer agents away from providing homebuyer services to any consumer who cannot guarantee payment. Let's face it, the wealthy will have a strong advantage over most buyers.
The mess that the DOJ seeks to create will create more harm than good
I have seen this script play out with professional services my entire life. I have noticed that there is favor given to some people when they hire an attorney, or an investment advisor, buy a car, rent an apartment, or different types of home improvement work; the ability to create certainty around payment drives lower pricing. The cash offer always wins.
Imagine the plight of the first-time home buyer, the immigrant who speaks little English, the poor, the handicapped, the single mother, the out of area home buyer. Who among you endeavor to help them when there is uncertainty of getting paid for your time, your experience, your education, your investment in technology and the advancement of the profession?
A dark cloud is coming to real estate in America, and it's hitting our shores at the worst possible time. All in all, 2023 was a fragile year that saw commission production drop 35% across America. Our businesses are already on the precipice of financial ruin. Now this storm brings strong winds that will blow most buyer agents out of the industry. Heavy rains will decimate the buy-side revenue for brokers. The storm surge will drive many buyer technology companies into bankruptcy.
In fact, should these class action lawsuits with their treble damages hold the REALTOR associations, MLSs, and brokers liable, then everyone will be in bankruptcy court – all 106,000 brokers, all 500-or-so MLSs, and every local, state, and national member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
Fare Thee Well, a Stór
Silent tears stream down the glenFill the rivers to the shoreSilent echoes on the windYour voice I hear no more
— Pádraigín Ní Uallachaín
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Dan Troup Becomes Broker Public Portal CEO
Broker Public Portal (BPP), a collaborative venture between real estate brokerages and MLSs to create a national consumer home search experience, announced the appointment of Dan Troup as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Troup brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in the real estate and technology sectors, establishing him as the ideal leader to guide BPP through its next phase of innovation and growth.
As the former Director of Data Operations & Strategy at RE/MAX, LLC, Troup has a demonstrated history of driving strategic initiatives, fostering collaboration, and delivering exceptional results. His extensive background in real estate technology and deep understanding of industry dynamics and the business needs of brokers make him ideally suited to steer BPP towards new heights.
In his new role as CEO of Broker Public Portal, Dan Troup will be responsible for the organization's strategic vision, partnerships, business model, financials, product development roadmap, and launch. His leadership will play a pivotal role in enhancing the BPP platform, ensuring it continues to provide immense value to real estate professionals, brokers, and consumers alike.
Reflecting on his appointment, Troup stated, "I am honored to step into the role of CEO at Broker Public Portal during this pivotal moment in the real estate industry. BPP has already made significant strides in demonstrating the importance of a national MLS consumer-facing property search site. I am eager to amplify these achievements, driving innovation and assembling a dynamic team at BPP. Together, we will not only uphold, but surpass the industry standards, ensuring a property search experience that is both impartial and captivating, guided by the principles of the Fair Display Guidelines."
BPP's Vice-Chair of the Board, Rebecca Jensen, expressed confidence in Troup's ability to lead the organization into the future. "The incredible successes Dan has delivered in his career have prepared him to take on the role of driving this important initiative. He has the experience, skills, and relationships to deliver business generation opportunities for brokers and MLSs across the country in a very important time. Dan's strategic vision, leadership acumen, and passion for helping the real estate industry deliver valuable information, education, and support to consumers make him the perfect fit for BPP. We are thrilled to welcome him aboard and are confident that his technical expertise and infectious enthusiasm will drive BPP to next-level success."
"Each industry expert that the BPP is composed of, in collaboration with Dan, will lean on their technology expertise and leadership skills to continue to execute on its mission – to deliver a consumer experience provided by people who sell homes, not ads," said Chairman of the Board, Dana Strandmo.
For a complete list of board members, visit the BPP Leadership page.
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Unveiling Success: The Crucial Role of Annual Reports for Real Estate Brokerages
In the dynamic and competitive world of real estate brokerage, staying ahead requires more than just closing deals. Real estate brokerages play a pivotal role in shaping the housing market, and transparency is key to establishing trust with clients and the community. An annual report serves as a powerful tool to communicate business achievements, market trends, and future strategies. In this article, we'll explore why annual reports are vital for real estate brokerages and the best ways to distribute them to customers and local media.
The Importance of Annual Reports for Real Estate Brokerages
Transparency and Trust
Annual reports provide a transparent overview of a brokerage's performance, showcasing market share, market insights, and any new client tools that make home search easier. This transparency builds trust with clients, investors, and the community, reinforcing the brokerage's credibility.
Demonstrating Expertise
Real estate is an ever-evolving industry with trends and market dynamics that can change rapidly. An annual report allows brokerages to demonstrate their expertise by analyzing market trends, predicting future developments, and offering valuable insights. This positions the brokerage as a knowledgeable authority in the local real estate landscape.
Marketing and Branding
An annual report serves as a powerful marketing tool, allowing brokerages to highlight success stories, innovative strategies, and unique selling points. A well-crafted report can enhance the brokerage's brand image, attracting potential clients and differentiating itself from competitors.
Strategic Planning
Assessing annual performance helps brokerages refine their strategic plans for the future. By analyzing what worked well and identifying areas for improvement, brokerages can adapt and enhance their business strategies to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their clients.
What did you do last year that was effective and what do you plan to do in 2024 to improve?
Compliance and Accountability
Annual reports are often required for regulatory compliance by public corporations, but not by private companies. By adhering to reporting standards, brokerages demonstrate accountability and ethical business practices. This commitment to compliance enhances the brokerage's reputation and fosters a sense of responsibility within the organization. What did you do to train agents on compliance? How did you enhance your cyber security? And so on.
Best Ways to Distribute Annual Reports
Digital Platforms
In the age of digital communication, distributing annual reports through the brokerage's website, email newsletters, and social media platforms ensures widespread accessibility. Providing downloadable versions will alow clients and stakeholders to access the report at their convenience.
Direct Mail
For a more personalized touch, consider sending physical copies of the annual report to key clients, investors, and local community leaders. Direct mail creates a tangible connection and showcases the brokerage's commitment to transparency. If you want to see a great example of a physical copy – check out Chase International – they slay!
Press Releases and Media Kits
Craft compelling press releases and media kits summarizing key highlights from the annual report. Distribute these materials to local media outlets, leveraging their reach to amplify the brokerage's message and gain exposure in the community. WAV Group's communication department can help you with this – shoot me an email.
Client Meetings and Events
Incorporate the annual report into client meetings, listing presentations, and industry events. This provides an opportunity to discuss the report's findings directly with clients, fostering engagement and addressing any questions or concerns they may have. If you have a waiting area in your office, keep it stocked with your annual report.
Collaborate with Industry Influencers
Partner with local influencers or industry experts to share and discuss the annual report on their platforms. Their endorsement can significantly increase the report's visibility and credibility within the community. At a basic level, get your agents to promote it. If you do any media advertising – print, radio, TV – ask their journalists to post it.
In the fast-paced and competitive real estate brokerage industry, annual reports play a crucial role in establishing trust, showcasing expertise, and shaping the narrative of a brokerage's success. By adopting a multi-faceted approach to distribution, real estate brokerages can maximize the impact of their annual reports, reaching clients, stakeholders, and the broader community to solidify their position as leaders in the local housing market.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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[Podcast] The Keys to the Kingdom: Independence, Growth and Excellence with Pat Riley
Pat Riley is the President and CEO of Allen Tate Company, an independent real estate company with headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition to his role at Allen Tate, Pat is also a founding member and board member at Leading RE. His approach to leadership is founded on a passion for independence, a tireless pursuit of excellence and a belief in the power of human connection—both local and global.
In this episode, Jess and Pat talk about Pat's leadership style, with an emphasis on equity and empathy, how he's been so successful at onboarding new companies and Pat's impression of the current market for buyers and sellers alike.
In this episode of Million Dollar Question:
Establishing a reputation of integrity
Key ways to have successful company onboarding
The best piece of advice Pat's ever received
Connect with Pat:
LinkedIn: Allen Tate Companies
Website: allentate.com
Listen to this podcast on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
RadioPublic
To view the original article, visit the LeadingRE blog.
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Real AI: AI in 2024, fast facts, top headlines and Quote of the Week
Real AI is a 100% human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate.
AI in 2024
"This is only the beginning." That's what my youngest son said when we talked about AI during a holiday family dinner with three generations this week. He was explaining this to his 83-year-old grandparents how AI's exponential growth will continue.
Proud dad here: He is one smart kid (Boise State grad with highest honors in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Electrical Engineering, now working for Epic Systems in Madison, WI), who sees what we see in terms of AI being a fabric of our lives and not a fast-fading fad.
2024 could make 2023's rocket-speed growth of Generative AI look more like a trot than a sprint. The real estate industry has a jump-start on embracing AI and we see that continuing. The emergence of AI personal assistance is not a future thing, it's a 2024 thing.
If you want to validate the continued explosion of all things AI, as my wife's dad told me years ago: follow the money. The Economist got it right: Generative AI will go mainstream in 2024. Data firms are going to continue to be showered with dollars.
Ponder this: ChatGPT is only a year old; think what it might do as a two-year old!
Yes, there will be bumps in the road. We had to chuckle when the NY Times claimed in its lawsuit against OpenAI that ChatGPT alters The NY Times content and even attributes stories that The Times never wrote. No duh (see "AI lies").
But AI will prevail in 2024. Watch out for greater use of these buzz words, driven by AI advancements: voice activated, content intelligence, smart search and personalized search, omnichannel experiences, AI analytics, immersive experiences, mixed reality, super screeners, and your own personalized bot.
And because of real estate love acronyms, because of AI, more of us will be using ML, NLP, and LLM in our daily lexicon, not just tech heads.
Ryan Thomson, a sports enthusiast and motivational speaker said, "It's not about how fast you go. It's about how long you go fast," which is likely to be the mantra for AI in our lives in 2024 and beyond.
AI Five Fast Facts
Generative AI's potential annual impact on the global economy may range from $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion, based on the 63 use cases examined by McKinsey. Note: The total GDP of the United Kingdom in 2021 was $3.1 trillion.
Goldman Sachs reports that AI could potentially replace 7% of all jobs in the United States, while improving 63% of US jobs, and leaving 30% untouched by AI.
Generative AI has the potential to boost marketing productivity, with a value equivalent to 5% to 15% of the entire marketing spending, according to McKinsey.
Media firm Insider found 56% of survey participants believe that AI-generated content is biased or inaccurate.
A study by Tidio discovered the tasks that people most frequently delegate to ChatGPT are writing code (27%), explaining complex concepts in simple terms (25%), and preparing for job interviews (24%).
Source: Various collected by AIMultiple
AI Headlines Take 5
Demystifying Responsible AI For Business Leaders | 12/22/23 - Information WeekStriking a balance between ownership, privacy, and accuracy is crucial for using AI successfully.
After a big 2023, make no mistake: Artificial intelligence is here to stay | 12/26/23 - Inman NewsAI is no fad, fast becoming an essential part of the real estate industry.
New York Times Sues Microsoft and OpenAI, Alleging Copyright Infringement | 12/27/23 - Wall Street JournalWhen content is used to train AI, is it "fair use" or "copyright infringement"? The courts will eventually decide, and the impact could be massive.
Trends to Watch: The Impact of AI on Startups Across Industries in 2024 | 12/22/23 - AI BusinessConsolidation of AI platforms, the adoption of fully integrated solutions, and focus on specialized sectors are some of the emerging trends among AI startups.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the real estate market | 12/26/23 - MediumA practical review of how real-estate related consumer search, marketing, and investing will impact real estate.
Quote of the week
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Buckle Up, 2024 Is Going to Get Weird
Real estate is no stranger to the out-of-the-ordinary, and 2024 looks like it's going to be a doozy. In some ways, we've found a new "normal": shrinking broker margins, rising costs, inflationary pressure, and scarce seller leads. In others, like interest rates, inventory, and pricing, things feel more uncertain than ever.
We're heading for uncharted waters. As the captain of your ship, you can take two different tacks. Which will you choose?
Tack #1: The Short Course
There's no sense sugarcoating it: business is tough right now. We were spoiled during the pandemic, and the next 12 months are looking a little less rosy. When the wind is out of your sails (and sales are down), you might look to lighten your load. That means ditching the dead weight and tossing things overboard to weather the storm: cutting technology budgets, staff, and overhead costs.
Tack #2: The Long Course
Don't get me wrong, optimizing expenses is always a good idea. But when it comes at the expense of resilience and future growth, it doesn't do you any favors.
Skippers who are on a long course don't jettison everything—they batten down the hatches, rebalance the ship, and look to recoup their costs by making strategic investments. Their goal is to increase opportunities, streamline processes, decrease overall expenses, and improve efficiency over the long term.
Which course are you taking?
How to plan for a weird year
My biggest tip: take the long course! Here are three things you can start doing today to chart out your business for the next year and reach your revenue goals.
More opportunities
Leads are limited right now. Instead of trying to convert more, work to broaden your funnel. How? Tap into your entire brokerage's sphere of influence. This means investing in top-of-funnel solutions, like social media marketing tools and strategy, where a relatively small investment could start paying returns right away. You can also leverage online ad strategies, with the caveat that a robust social media presence can provide similar exposure for a fraction of the cost.
New revenue streams
Many brokers have found ways to add new lines to their income statements. These include monetizing their websites, developing strategic partnerships with ancillary service providers like mortgage and title, and dipping into the rental market. We know that the only constant is change, so finding new niches where you can thrive is always a winning strategy.
A bigger team
Lean times are a great time to grow your team. Sounds counterintuitive? It's simple math: if you can provide support to new agents without dramatically increasing your overhead, they will expand your sphere of influence significantly (and usually at a lower commission tier), meaning better reach, more opportunities, and higher commission income.
Full speed ahead
With uncertainty on the horizon, don't be dramatic, be pragmatic! Optimize your spending, streamline your business, and set yourself up so that when the wind picks up again, you're ready to sail into the sunset.
Tom Demos, Director of Enterprise Sales at Constellation1, helps teams identify opportunities by evaluating their current tech stack, customer journey, and business processes to create strategies that drive value at every level of their business.
To view the original article, visit the Constellation1 blog.
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What Does a Successful Year in Real Estate Look Like?
We're officially into holiday season territory, which means plans, plans, plans—for your well-deserved break, but also for your business in the new year.
Another year makes for more experience, more wisdom, and more numbers under your belt. While we've focused on more immediate topics like how to keep your CRM up to date and sell to your nurtured clients when they're ready, now is the time to zoom out and see how those topics and many more fit into the bigger picture of your business.
And what better way than to hit two birds with one stone, with a plan for the new year? That's why we're excited to showcase our latest calendar resource. It's a list. It's a calendar. And it's jam-packed with resources, all in one place.
But enough talk. Let's get into what makes this checklist shine.
A list, for both brokers and agents.
First and foremost, this checklist is designed with both brokers' and agents' needs in mind. Whether you need to keep an eye on your brokerage as a whole or you need to focus on keeping track of past and current clients, we've got you covered.
A calendar, divided into quarters.
Think less about the days of the week, and more about the seasons of the year. And since different selling seasons call for different software, we've split this guide to mirror your goals every quarter.
From tax prep at the beginning of the year to riding the waves of the busy season in the summertime and more, every quarter focuses on specific goals based on the ebb and flow of what that time period means in real estate.
Plus, we've woven review points for your business strategy throughout, so you know what to check and when to check it, which keeps you on top of your business.
A preview of our quarterly themes:
Q1: Reflection.
Q2: Busy season.
Q3: Slowing down.
Q4: Quiet season.
A hub of resources, to meet your goals.
Finally, we couldn't resist making sure that this checklist would be jam-packed with further resources.
Whether it's the first quarter and you've just realized that your agent marketing tech stack could use updating, or your brokerage performance is leveling off and it's time to add some new recruits, we've included Lone Wolf solutions that could be just right for filling in the gaps.
New year, new plans.
No matter what, it always pays off to be prepared. Now that you've gotten a peek at this handy checklist, find it available to you anytime as a printable, interactive resource.
To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.
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Redfin Extends New Agent Pay Plan in Southern California Offering Big Splits with Zero Expenses
Redfin announced it is expanding its new agent compensation plan to San Diego and Orange County, California. Under the new plan, rebranded to Redfin Next, agents earn competitive splits as high as 75%, have virtually all business expenses covered, and get technology, support, benefits and customer introductions from Redfin.com.
Redfin initially announced the plan in San Francisco and Los Angeles in late October. Since then, it has signed nearly 40 top producing agents to join its San Francisco and Los Angeles teams, and is having conversations with dozens more top producing agents who are interested in joining the company. Collectively, Redfin's new hires sold approximately one billion in real estate in the last two years. Because of this early recruiting success, as well as the positive reception among Redfin's existing agents, the company decided to quickly expand the plan to additional markets in Southern California.
"We set out to create a compelling compensation plan that would wow agents from across the industry by offering the best of both worlds: a big traditional split coupled with Redfin.com customers, benefits and support," said Jason Aleem. "We couldn't be happier with the early response in Los Angeles and San Francisco and feel even more confident that this plan will help us retain and recruit top talent and ultimately grow our market share in California next year."
The Redfin Next plan includes:
Big splits. Zero expenses: Agents earn splits as high as 75% on their own deals. Once you account for the Redfin-borne costs traditionally paid by agents, including benefits, mileage, payroll taxes and listing expenses, the effective split for self-sourced sales will top out at roughly 90%. For customers they meet through Redfin's platform, agents get up to 40% split.
Meet over 100 customers a year: By plugging into the Redfin platform and the 50 million people who use Redfin's app and website every month, agents can grow their business rapidly.
Business in a box: Redfin's technology and staff handle qualifying new customers, scheduling & hosting tours, and coordinating sales & listings. Agents focus on closing deals for customers.
Top-tier benefits: Redfin's benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance; fertility benefits; 401(k) employer match and employee stock purchase program.
Define the future of real estate: Redfin puts the customer first, makes the industry more fair and transparent, and uses technology to modernize the real estate experience and make it better.
Agents under Redfin Next will work as employees, not independent contractors. Redfin's employee agent model was built to put the customer first by ensuring agents have the support they need to deliver the best service. Redfin uses technology to make real estate more efficient, which is why Redfin has the most productive agents in the industry. Redfin agents close more than twice as many transactions as the average agent every year.
Redfin agents in the company's Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco markets will move to the Redfin Next pay plan on January 1. In all other markets, Redfin agents will continue to operate under Redfin's existing plan, earning a base salary and bonuses for every closed transaction. Nationwide, Redfin agents earn more than double the typical real estate agent and the company's best agents have earned more than $750,000 under the existing plan. Redfin expects top agents to earn even more under the pilot pay plan.
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[Podcast] Day in a Canoe: Getting Real About Real Estate with Mark McLaughlin
On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I was privileged to "spend the day in a canoe" with my friend Nathan Mersereau. This podcast episode, Mark McLaughlin: Getting Real About Real Estate, is the highlight reel of our conversation. We were not literally in a canoe; Nathan is simply friends with people he would enjoy being in a canoe with.
Nathan runs a fascinating wealth management business in the U.S. One of the core competencies of Planning Alternatives relates to generational wealth planning and their coaching of all individuals involved. It's a refreshing approach that results in being "part of the heard, not the herd."
Enjoy the canoe trip.
For show notes and more information, visit the episode homepage.
This Is Where We Are Now.
Mark McLaughlin serves as CEO of McLaughlin Ventures and M&A Advisory at WAV Group.
To view the original article, visit the McLaughlin Ventures blog.
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