4realz.net

If you’re running a website, did you give your favicon any love?  Do you even know what a favicon is?
A favicon is simple a mini-logo (icon?) that shows up next to your URL in most address bars. (Favicons also show up on the tabs of browsers and are often included next to articles you write [...]

“Over two days in June, we searched each site for three-bedroom, single-family homes on the market in Santa Monica.”
The results:

Zillow: 168 homes*
HomeGain: 142, 48 homes (depending on day)
ZipRealty: 126 homes
Yahoo Real Estate: 107 homes
Realtor.com: 103 homes
MSN Real Estate: 103 homes
RE/Max: 91 homes
Trulia: 77 homes
Coldwell Banker: 29, 96 (depending on site)
AOL Real Estate: 49 listings

These numbers [...]

…I really like how they’ve mapped it out! 
The Realtor.com team recently turned on a “heat map” option within their home valuation tool.  Here’s a heat map of Ballard in Seattle where you can really see the detail of the more expensive areas (in particular the areas around the water!):

It’s clean, fast and well implemented.  [...]

…in two days and it reminded me that I’m about to hammer into REALTOR.com for the 2nd time in a short-while…  but I dont’ expect to appoligize at the end…
Today’s beef?
The realtor.com team managing their blog platform is acting reckless.
Here’s the background: Last week, I let the realtor.com team know that Trace at [...]

…that reminded me of this video from the previous head of REALTOR.com:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DNtYtM_gX0]
[Ferrara's comment]
“…Instead of just copying everyone else, maybe REALTOR.COM (and by extension, NAR) could make some decisions based upon market realities. And the reality is that Zillow (and other similar tools) are really inaccurate because the “conditions” on the ground are always so fluid [...]

I’ve got something special planned for this week’s 4realz Roundtable. In honor of Realtor.com’s release of the home valuation tool, we’re going to cover the value of online home values!
Join us on Thursday at 4pm (PST) to take part in the conversation!
Of course, the discussion is what makes the 4realz Roundtable work, [...]

I really want to thank the industry titans who participated in today’s podcast:

Michael Wurzer of FBS Data Systems & FlexMLS blog
Bill Lublin of Move Philly
Jeff Turner of Real Estate Shows
Mike Price: MLBroadcast

As well as all the people who listened in and provided wonderful chat commentary throughout the podcast. There were so many [...]

…never made much inroads with the real estate community (or real estate portals for that matter).   Imagine if the Realtor.com team had bought Outside.in instead of building the neighborhoods project.
And it really doesn’t matter if it was Zillow, Trulia, AOL, Yahoo or Realtor.com, it could be a win for the real estate portal (lots of [...]

… need to come up with something better than four free photos, and quick.“  - Blanche Evans
Ouch.
(h/t Spencer)

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…in Realty Quest.
Here are some of the things I wanted to talk about this week, but haven’t had the chance:

4RealzEd is coming to Pasadena on May 30! The buzz from the first two events has been wonderful and I’m already seeing people sign up without any real marketing on our part! [...]

It’s a great question…
I thought I’d dive into this question a bit so I started writing a killer-post! My thought was to put together a fascinating post that described likely revenue opportunities at both Zillow and Trulia and I was even going to go so far as to estimate the value of Trulia…
However, [...]

… consumers continue to get more places to see listings:

Welcome, MLS PIN (Zillow gets comprehensive listings from the New England MLS)
Connecticut statewide MLS launches a public site

The Zillow story has to be the more interesting of the two… because, unless Zillow is doing something funny on their backend, this is the first example that I’m [...]

…listings to Trulia, but they just announced that they are giving all their listings to FrontDoor.
I can’t help but look at these announcements from the perspective of the Move team… And the fact that two large brokerages companies (Prudential and Realogy), representing a substantial portion of US listings, appear to have made the mental leap [...]

This interview by Global Property exchange with Simon Baker, who just so happens to be the CEO of News Corporation-owned REA Group, features a few choice quotes about web2.0 start-ups in the real estate space. Here are the two comments that stuck out for me:
“You don’t have to look sexy to deliver.”
“Sites like Zillow.com get [...]

…departure package from Move.
(h/t Spencer)

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I think I’ve recovered enough now to actually post about it!
Despite our best efforts to be prepared, the day started off a bit rough with a nearby mudslide taking out power in our building in the morning (meaning no hot coffee and no projector) and a 9-car pileup on a nearby freeway [...]

…insights from Move’s latest earnings conference call.
(And I couldn’t agree more with Joe that “Notorious appears destined for blogger notoriety.“)

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…Realogy is now syndicating all of their listings to Zillow. But this won’t come as a surprise to regular 4realz readers, since I mentioned that was likely to happen last week based on a message from a tipster…
“The only listing announcement related to the three companies in the “tip” I see coming out [...]

…Spencer Rascoff and David Lereah.

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…has been posted!
and the winner? That for you to decide although it is pretty clear that Russell’s graphics are better.

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