4realz Strategies

Tagged: realtors RSS

• Dustin 1:22 pm on March 16, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: associations, code, Facebook (27), fbml, organization, realtors, static fbml, tab   

  Add a Find-a-Member Tab to Your Facebook Page 

  Recently Gary Krysler asked if I could help add a “find a member” tab to the WCR Facebook Page. It was quite easy to do, and after seeing requests within the comment stream (as well as tweets) for something similar, I thought I’d give step-by-step instructions on how to do it for your organization. It’s really pretty easy and even someone with no coding experience whatsoever should be able to handle it.

  

  Step 1: Create the graphic.

  Staff from the WCR created this graphic, so they made my life super easy

  Step 2: Upload the graphic to an online server.

  If you have a blog, then the easiest way is to use the image upload feature of your blog to store the image online.

  Step 3: Note the URL of the image.

  In the case of the “find a member” image I uploaded above, the URL is: http://4realz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/FindaMember.jpeg

  Step 4: Note the URL of the landing page.

  For the WCRs, the “find a member” landing page is: http://www.wcr.org/FindAMember/tabid/58/Default.aspx. Note your own landing page.

  Step 5: Add the Static FBML application to your Facebook Page.

  The static FBML plugin makes is super easy to add a new tab with text (and images) to your page. To add the app to your page, follow the above link and follow the simple instructions to add it to your page.

  Step 6: Insert the appropriate code into the Static FBML application.

  There’s no need to actually write any code here… It’s all cut-and-paste.

  The process is pretty straight-forward. Navigate to your Facebook Page and click the “edit page” option. Then click the edit option for the FBML page. At this point you should see a screen that looks like a blank version of the image to the right.

  Now just copy and paste the following code EXCEPT replace WCR’s image URL and landing page URL with the URLs you noted in steps 3 and 4.

  
<table width="450" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<a href="http://www.wcr.org/FindAMember/tabid/58/Default.aspx"><img src="http://4realz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/FindaMember.jpeg" alt="find-a-member" align="center" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

  Remember to add a title (probably “find a member”), click “save” and you should have a new tab for your Facebook fan page!

  Questions?

  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to hit the “reply” button in the header of this post and ask a question.

   

  Reply Click here to cancel reply.

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• Dustin 9:26 pm on February 14, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: agents (4), homeowners, News (6), professionalism (2), protection, real estate (168), realtors   

  I don’t think Jay Thompson has ever gone on a boring rant, so it’s always interesting to see what gets his blood boiling. And when the topic at hand touches on the current meme of real estate agent professionalism, all the better!

  Today it is that some North Carolina REALTORS who are protesting a new rule that protects homebuyers by disclosing compensation… Where Jay comes to the stunningly simple solution: “tell people what the costs are in buying a home, which includes agent/broker compensation and incentives – before they purchase a home.”

  And if you missed Kris Berg’s take on professionalism, then run, don’t walk, to:

  • Much ado about the professionalism of real estate agents
  • The agent in the mirror
   

• Dustin 4:39 pm on January 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: ActiveRain (31), Agents Advice (11), business (7), Facebook (27), ILHM, institute, LinkedIn (12), luxury, Marketing (77), real estate (168), realtors, Trulia (54), Zillow (61)   

  Impact of Social Media in the Luxury Market 

  Earlier today I got my hands on a survey that the Institute of Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM) did of their members around how they are using social networks.

  One of the reasons I really like this survey is that the number of emails and calls I get from luxury agents and brokerages has ramped up lately, and yet, I haven’t had a great source of data to at least anchor the conversation in terms of social media presence within the luxury market.  This survey will definitely help me jump-start many of those conversations.

  ILHM asked their members questions like:

  • Which social networking websites do you use?
  • If you had to choose just one social networking site for the member networking group, which would it be?
  • Have you ever given or received a referral, or generated business via a social network?

  The answers to these questions and more from the 473 members who responded can be found within their survey results document (PDF), but I’m gonna summarize what I think are some of the more interesting findings:

  • LinkedIn (30%) and Facebook (28%) about equally dominate the mind-share of luxury agents
  • Over 80% of the agents said they were using social networks
  • When asked where ILHM should have a member group, people were equally divided between LinkedIn and Facebook
  • 20% of respondents said they had generated business out of social networks
  • Non-real estate social networks like Twitter and MySpace didn’t register much interest, while ActiveRain was the only real estate specific site mentioned that had any real traction
  • The social networks offered by Zillow and Trulia didn’t even hit the radar on the survey.  I’m not sure if this is because agents think of Trulia and Zillow as search sites and the idea of Trulia Voices or Zillow Advice being social networks didn’t occur to them or because the agents surveyed simply aren’t using these services.

  I’m a bit surprised to see Facebook register just as high as LinkedIn only because LinkedIn seems like such a natural fit for luxury agents, but with so much buzz around Facebook in the press lately, in retrospect I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  I’ve been telling agents for a long time now that they should be using LinkedIn to market themselves (that article is over 2 years old already)… and that advice rings even more true in the luxury market where it seems like agents are often extremely concerned with their image.  Especially if you have years of experience, then you really have to try to look bad on LinkedIn.

  And, by the way, if you’re looking for one more person to connect with on LinkedIn (or better yet recommend!), I’m always looking to connect up with interesting real estate people!

  Update: I hadn’t noticed before posting, but John C’s comment prompted me to check out ILHM’s blog: Luxury Insight, where I see that they also posted information on the survey.

  Dustin, Mike Carpino, System5 and 13 others are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Laura Monroe 4:46 pm on January 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin~ This is very good info to know..I had always been wondering how the Luxury Market might do with Social Networking..now I know! Good work.

  • Dustin 5:03 pm on January 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks Laura… Credit for the idea and the work definitely go to Waco Moore at ILHM, but I was sure glad he shared the report with me and didn’t mind me publishing a story about the results.

  • 

    John C 8:57 pm on January 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks for the heads up on this. I had no idea the ILHM existed, much less had a blog. Interesting survey, but, as an agent in a second home market, I think they should have asked:

    If you have closed a sale from social networking, was it giving a referral to another realtor, receiving a referral from another realtor, or contact directly from a consumer?

    Then asked the same question about getting leads, not necessarily closed leads.

  • Dustin 9:20 pm on January 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks John… After seeing the survey, I was thinking of the different questions I might have asked… and you picked two great ones.

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    Ricardo Bueno 1:15 am on January 22, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I just want to say that LinkedIn has been and will remain one of my favorite social networks!

  • 

    Ricardo Bueno 1:16 am on January 22, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    PS. See what I mean about the gravater?

  • Dustin 1:18 am on January 22, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Yeah… You’re a monster here, but that’s only because you haven’t registered with a gravatar account.

  • 

    Ricardo Bueno 1:29 am on January 22, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Ok…I’m testing a different email account.

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    John C 11:07 am on January 27, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks Dustin. hope to see you again this yr at RE Tech South in ATL.

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    Nick Bastian 9:06 pm on January 27, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin, I find it very interesting that some of the answers varied so much. From, social networks are a must to we don’t need this because real estate is a people business.
    I would also be curious to know the percentage of the luxury agents who have static web sites vs. self hosted blogs.

  • Dustin 12:19 am on January 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I agree completely Nick… I thought it was really interesting, although not particularly surprising in retrospect, just how varied the answers were.

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    Joshua Jarvis 12:29 pm on January 29, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Luxury Homes are defined the same in each market, but the prices ranges differ. What amazes me is how unsavvy the average agent is. Social Media allows you to put a big fat detour sign on the information superhighway to your site. Keeping the visitors there is certainly a skill, but if you get enough visitors you can create a buzz. Not sure why high end luxury agents are utilizing social media to touch the people who can actually afford the most expensive homes.

    If I list one is Chateau Elan soon, I’ll be messaging rock stars, like Dustin Luther to see if he wants to buy it before someone else.

    Interesting study, wonder how it compares to “average” realtor usage.

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    myrtle beach rentals 8:17 pm on January 29, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    this survery is pretty intresting. I also wonder how it compares to the average realtors usage. Most realtors I know don’t even have blogs yet

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    Dustin 8:52 pm on January 29, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Joshua: Please do message me with any beautiful listings you care to share!

  • 

    Joe Zekas 9:15 pm on February 1, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I’m seeing intense interest in Facebook from agents I’m in contact with, and little or no interest in LinkedIn. The level of participation is a lot less than the level of interest, however.

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    courtneycooper 3:33 pm on February 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I am pretty heavy as far as FB goes and probably should focus more on linkin at this point. It does seem to be the more “respectable” of the two:) Interesting numbers.

  • Dustin 3:46 pm on February 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    @Joe: Interesting that you’re hearing more interest in Facebook… It seems like there’s a core group that really likes one or the other service. I find facebook to be the most fun by far, but I’m tempted to eliminate all my “real estate-only” connections so I can enjoy it a bit more.

    In terms of LinkedIn that just wouldn’t make any sense at all!

  • Dustin 3:47 pm on February 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    @Courtney: LinkedIn is pretty hit-and-miss, but definitely works for some. If networking is your thing then there’s very few services more pure networking than LinkedIn!

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    Jamey Bridges 2:45 pm on February 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    It’s nice to see that the Luxury market is in step with the online social networking. It seems that that group resisted much of the online world due to the belief that it was just a relationship business (hey, luxury people search online too ).

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    A.BILE 3:59 pm on April 11, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I’m a bit late finding your post but.. thanks for commenting on this: it is is great material to understand how verticals are interested in social medias .

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    System5 2:02 pm on October 7, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Social media allows individuals to gain exposure and interact with other professionals in a particular field. Great networking resource!

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    Mike Carpino 6:05 pm on October 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I am sure each site brings something to the table. It’s hard to believe Facebook would be ranked up there. All I ever see is my wife sending cocktail recipes to her friends.

    • Dustin 6:10 pm on October 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Mike: You might want to try playing on Facebook a bit… I’m finding it to be a ridiculously great marketing platform. Don’t think of it so much as “cocktail” recipes, as much as a place where the people are already interacting. It’s much harder to drive people to your website and take action than to join them where they are already active.

• Dustin 10:25 pm on November 5, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: blogging (121), business (7), conference (5), moderation, NAR (28), real estate (168), realtors   

  NAR is upon us once again! 

  As I write this on a Wednesday night, I can’t help think what a long week it’s been!   And yet, the week (and the fun) is just beginning.

  Tomorrow morning I leave for NAR…. and it’s not until I hit Orlando that things really heat up.

  First major stop:

  Friday @ 12:30 I’m moderating a panel featuring  Teresa Boardman, Jim Duncan, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Ginger Wilcox titled Driving REAL business with blogs.

  I’m really excited about this panel! There’s a great group of people assembled with very different styles of blogging and I’m really looking forward to peppering them with questions.  The one warning I’ve given to the panelists is that I expect this to be an extremely fast moving panel and I’ve prepared a ton of questions that will let us get through a ton of information out of this crew!   I’ve prepared the panelists that we’re going to move fast and I expect to get through a lot   If you’re going to NAR, this is one of two can’t miss events! 

  By the way, you might remember way, way back in the beginning of February when I first reached out via twitter to start assembling the panel.   It may be almost a year later, but that only makes it all the better to watch this panel come so close to fruition!

  2nd Major Stop:

  Sunday @ 11am, I’ve teamed up with Jeff Turner and Rudy Bachraty, to put together an “event” on Using Social Media to Engage Clients.

  I don’t want to set expectation too high, but this is not going to be just another presentation…   This is going to be an event. We’re going to have a lot of fun and have plans to involve people from all over the country!

  By the way, this presentation started with a simple blog post from CRT that I picked up and was so lucky to have Jeff and Rudy join me in taking on this adventure.  This presentation is going to be fun!

  There’s more!

  Jeff has tons of details on connecting with others within the social media space @ NAR.  Here’s some highlights:

  • follow NAR2008 on twitter
  • join NAR2008 flickr group

  Some great posts about NAR events:

  • NARlando Buzz
  • Meet Trulia at NAR 2008 Realtors® Conference and Expo
  • Where To Find Jeff Turner at NAR2008
  • NAR Orlando 2008 – what not to miss
  • Here’s the Thing – We All Want Credibility

  And on the off chance you want to meet up with me in orlando, the best way to reach out is to connect with me on twitter!   Can’t wait for the fun to begin!

  Andrew Birchall, and Going to Orlando Today for the Realtor Convention | Real Central VA are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Andrew Birchall 2:20 pm on November 14, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks Dustin for all the helpful insight regarding blogs in real estate. I am just getting started with the process and was pleased to hear of the success realtors are having with these types of tools! Looking forward to getting started.

• Dustin 1:21 pm on July 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Agents Advice (11), bailouts, banks (4), buyers (2), consumer confidence, consumers (15), conversation (2), discussion, fannie (2), Fannie Mae (3), fdic (2), freddie (2), freddie mac, home buyers, housing (7), inflation (2), Investment, jumbo loans, lawrence yun, NAR (28), realtors, REO (2), roundtable (4), sellers (4)   

  4realz Roundtable: Effect of FDIC/Treasury Actions on Home Buyers and Real Estate Industry 

  [NOTE: we had a wonderful show and you can listen to the entire episode at the bottom of this post!]

  This week were going to cover the obviously hot topic of the effect of the actions taken by the government in bailing out and/or helping secure IndyMac, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae will affect the real estate industry.

  This week’s guest is Lawrence Yun and as the chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS, Lawrence is sure to bring an incredibly interesting perspective.  He’s constantly traveling around the country talking with people about their local markets… and whenever he’s stopped by real estate technology circles, like trips to Portland and Virginia, he’s impressed the locals tremendously.

  As always, you can get information on how to (1) listen to the call live, (2) take part in the live chat and potentially take part in the conversation by following the (relatively simple) information on the 4realz Roundtable TalkShoe page.  My guess is that this will be one of the more popular shows yet, so I’ll likely only be taking live callers based on folks who ask interesting questions in the chat room!

  Also, in order to better accommodate Lawrence’s schedule, I’m moving the call to one hour later than usual.   The show will be on Thursday, July 17, at 5pm PST (8PM EST).     I definitely hope you can join us for a conversation on this timely topic!

  UPDATE #1:
  

  What an great show.   Thanks so much to everyone who took part!

  Jonathan Miller, Jillayne Schlicke and Rhonda Porter really helped provide an excellent base for a roundtable discussion with Lawrence.   In our one hour conversation we covered so much ground… and I only wish I had the bandwidth to transcribe the whole thing (or even take better notes during the conversation!).

  Nonetheless, we covered looked at how the real estate market would be affected by issues such as banks bailouts, freddie/fannie mac troubles, isues with jumbo loans, REOs, consumer confidence, government actions, sustainable housing, inflation, and much more!   If you’re interested in getting an in-depth look at the real estate market and where things are headed, then you can listen to the entire show right here:

  [podcast]http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-20339/TS-128183.mp3[/podcast]

  UPDATE #2:

  There are great conversations going on about this topic on both Rain City Guide and ActiveRain. Also thanks to Jim Duncan, Ardell DellaLoggia, Jonathan Miller, Rhonda Porter and Tom Royce for helping to spread the word!

  Join me for a Housing Market Conversation with Lawrence Yun | Seattle Real Estate ~ Rain City Guide, joan, Jonathan Miller and 6 others are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    Brad Nix 7:49 pm on July 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Nice job landing Yun. Can’t wait to hear this roundtable.

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    Dustin 9:11 pm on July 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    No doubt Brad… This should be a great conversation!

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    Michael Tarabotto 5:31 am on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin, I’m counting the minutes. This should be very interesting.

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    ARDELL 10:11 am on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    I’m setting my cell phone alarm to 4:45 to make sure I don’t miss it!

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    Andy Kaufman 10:38 am on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Great pull Dustin! Looking forward to tuning in.

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    Julie Emery 6:32 pm on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Interesting roundtable and chat room! Kudos to you for landing the interview! Nicely done!

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    Dustin 7:41 pm on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks so much Julie! So glad you enjoyed it!

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    Jonathan Miller 8:13 pm on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Fun! What a terrific resource. See if you can get Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson in a future show.

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    joan 10:27 pm on July 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    This was a great interview. I actually ended up liking Yun as he was frank and forthright — so unlike his predecessor at NAR.

• Dustin 3:50 pm on June 26, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Agents Advice (11), Altos Research (11), listing syndication, pricing (2), properties, real estate (168), realtors, reports, roundtable (4), sellers (4), Technology (2), tools (21), websites (4)   

  This Week’s Roundtable: Tech Tools to Serve Sellers Better? 

  [UPDATE: This edition of the 4realz Roundtable is now live and you can listen to it at the bottom of this post!]
  

  As part of my hunt for new marketing tools for agents, I’d love to take on a relevant topic similar to how we took on tracking and analytics for agents last week.

  With that in mind, I’m planning for Thursday’s discussion to focus on tech tools that help agents serve sellers better…. And here’s where you come in.   What types of technologies and/or tools should we cover?

  Some thoughts that come to my mind include single property websites and listing syndication services… But I know there is more? What about tools that help agents get sellers to price properties more appropriately like Altos Research Reports?

  I’d love to hear from you about the technology tools available to agents that can help them serve sellers better!   In particular agents, if there is some tricks or tips you’d be willing to share, I’d love to hear from you and potentially get you on the show!

  Also of interest, I’ve started summarizing the relevant websites taken from our previous Roundtables on social networking, home valutions and analytics for agents within the Tool Shed!

  UPDATE:

  What an awesome crew we had on the call today:

  • Kris Berg
  • Jay Thompson
  • Jim Duncan
  • Ted Mackel
  • Michael Price
  • Mike Mueller
  • Andy Kaufman

  If you’re an agent looking to increase your knowledge on how to use simple technology tools to increase your business, here are just some of the tools that were mentioned in the podcast:

  • Docusign. Kris: a religious experience…
  • Point2Agent.  Jay: Robust listing syndication
  • Altos.  Great reports
  • Transaction Point. Kris: Great tool…. While Ted says Relay drives him crazy and he is almost better going paper.
  • eFax #3 on the list of tools that Kris “couldn’t live without”
  • Real Estate Shows is a great tool

  Some great stuff!   Thanks again to everyone who took part!  For everyone else, you can listen to this edition of the 4realz Roundtable here:

  [podcast]http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-20339/TS-124626.mp3[/podcast]

  John, 4realz Roundtable is Back: Using Facebook Pages to Generate Business! | 4realz.net, paulo muller and 9 others are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Ed Kohler 7:42 am on June 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    This doesn’t exist today, but I think sellers would find a lot of value in reports that could track page views on their home listings across ALL sites where their property appears, including MLS sites, single property sites, aggregator sites, etc.

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    Andrew 7:04 pm on June 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    i have yet to meet an agent who says a single property site has helped them close a deal. Its a good listing tool to set yourself apart from other agents to get the listing but I not sure it helps the seller any.

  • 

    Dustin 7:24 pm on June 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Ed: I hear you! I just had a conversation at lunch today about that very issue!

  • 

    Dustin 7:24 pm on June 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Andrew: What are some of the tools you think are helping?

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    g.dewald 7:34 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Ed & Dustin: What type of actions would/could you take if you could know how often your property appeared across all sites?

  • 

    Dustin 9:54 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    @g I’d be less worried about pageviews (i.e. how often they appear) and more interested in lead tracking…

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    Chris Johnston 4:10 pm on June 26, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    I am getting re-licensed in a few weeks and I have a ton of ideas in this area. One area that people often fail, is in maintaining an open and often used line of communication with their sellers. I’m thinking of using a either a live video service like to qik.com or a service like oovoo or seesmic to record video updates that you could send to your sellers via email. I like the idea of single property websites and I love them as subdomains on your own site. How about YouTube videos of walk throughs of the subject properties or virtual tours on the single property websites?
    I’m also not so sure that giving seller access to the page views of the site is all that useful. Page views without knowledge of click through and conversion rates is just data that doesn’t really mean much. Also, unless you have some massive time to market those property site URL’s the page views will be low but if marketed correctly the conversion from page views to appointments to view the home could be high.

  • 

    Kris Berg 9:16 pm on June 26, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    >One area that people often fail, is in maintaining an open and often used line of communication with their sellers.

    Chris – All good ideas, but sometimes I have to remind myself that the telephone works too. We start to speak in these tech tongues which, while familiar to us, are foreign to our clients. Sometimes the simplest way is the most effective.
    Having said that, innovation is great but only if it adds value or streamlines a process.

    Ed – Yeah, man! I need that! We send what used to be weekly but are now bi-weekly updates to our selling clients. Parts of these updates are numbers of on-line eyes we are attracting, but with so many site, this is another example of a need for an aggregator aggregator.

    Thanks, Dustin, for a place at your table. I enjoyed it.

  • 

    Dustin 9:36 am on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Chris: So glad you’re finding some inspiration from the roundtable! I get great ideas out of each of these!

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    Dustin 9:37 am on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Kris: I loved having you at the table! For reasons that seem obvious to me, you are always welcome with a seat at the roundtable!

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    Ted Mackel 10:28 am on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin,

    Your Roundtable yesterday was awesome!!! I don’t know of any agents in my Trade area that are embracing these technologies so it was refreshing to here how others are using it.

    Great input from everyone!

    Ted mackel
    Keller Williams
    Simi Valley, CA

  • 

    Dustin 10:38 am on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Ted: I’ve seen what you’re doing with video, so I have no doubt that you’re way ahead of the game… Thanks for joining us!

  • 

    Ted Mackel 11:45 am on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Hey, How do I get a custom Avatar?

  • 

    Dustin 11:51 am on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    if you sign up for a wordpress.com account (free) and give yourself an avatar, then it will show up when you leave comments (assuming you’re logged in when you comment!).

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    Jay Thompson 5:55 pm on June 27, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Another great roundtable Dustion or is it Mike?

    Thanks for having me.

    You can also go to Gravatar.com and get a free avatar. WP owns them, or they feed each other, or sumpthin. But it works.

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    Jim Duncan 3:53 pm on June 28, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin -

    Thanks for having me. That was a great discussion and I learned quite a few things I’d love to make the time to integrate into my business.

    I’m looking forward to the next one.

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    paulo muller 1:51 pm on October 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    I need a broker that make a contact with the great companies. I invent a revolucionary technology that torn the contruct house, price less into 70%, and torn its more resistent into 150%. can you help me, thanks

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    John 7:15 am on January 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply

    I’m just missing http://www.pamfax.com on this list. I just like it more than efax, because there is no subscribtion and no mothly fees. Thanks for the great list!

• Dustin 12:19 pm on June 26, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: blogging (121), realtors, success, survey   

  “Blogging is a waste of time!” 

  or “Blogging is the answer!”?

  Help us figure it out by adding your experience! Fill out the simple CREST survey from VAR!

  Joseph Ferrara.sellsius, and Ben Martin, Va Assn of REALTORS are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Ben Martin, Va Assn of REALTORS 1:02 pm on June 26, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Thanks for spreading the word, Dustin. The survey is intentionally very short, so it should only take 5 minutes to complete. I’m looking forward to testing the conventional wisdom about real estate blogging. Hope your readers are as curious about this stuff as we are!

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    Joseph Ferrara.sellsius 1:59 pm on June 26, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    It depends on the question

    It might be worth blogging simply to amass an archive of commonly asked Q&As and scenarios that you can share with anyone who wants to know. (I learned that from Ardell)

    It may be worth blogging simply to improve your writing and communication skills– necessary for many businesses.

    It may be worth blogging for self-expression.

    It may be worth blogging…..fill in the blank

    Success is not necessarily a call for a gig.

    But yes, you can get gigs from it.

    …lemme have a look at the survey.

• Dustin 1:18 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Agents Advice (11), realtors   

  Realtors are being asked to reach deep to help… 

  …Charles Richey as he deals with his recently diagnozed Guillain-Barre Syndrome.  Max Chirkov is organizing a fundraising and looking for your help!

  Dustin, and Max are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Max 9:30 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin,

    Thank you very much for helping to spread the word! It very much appreciated!

    Max

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    Dustin 11:09 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Max:

    Thanks so much for taking the lead on this!

• Dustin 11:08 pm on June 13, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Agents Advice (11), allan dalton, avm (2), dalton, expectations, move.com (20), NAR (28), Realtor.com (29), realtors, valuations, video (35), Zillow (61)   

  Matthew Ferrara just left an interesting comment about Realtor.com Home Values… 

  …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 that “estimates” based upon “market data” which is always stale because of “time” are really bad education for consumers. REALTORS should know better. Many consumers buy homes “regardless” of their estimated market comparable – and many sellers are able to sell for higher (or can’t sell nearly the same as a computerized estimate) because of all sorts of NON estimated items – like poorly performing schools, local tax changes, crime, etc – NONE of which can be accurately reflected by a computer. Only by REALTORS who keep up with “the full marketplace” of issues that impact homes.

  If I interpret this right, Ferrara thinks that realtor.com should not offer such an AVM product, but should instead focus on helping real estate professionals educate consumers on  the fact that AVMs aren’t worth the digital real estate they’re printed on…

  My guess is that Ferrara has his pulse on the finger of most realtors and they’d love to hear this… but at the same time, Zillow has single-handedly changed the public’s expectations.  Consumers now expect free home valuations when they go online and if they don’t get it from a realtor, they’ll go elsewhere…

  linsey, Joseph Bridges, Lane Bailey and 7 others are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    Matthew Ferrara 2:49 pm on June 14, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Great follow up – and I totally agree. Zillow has changed the public’s expectations and caught the real estate industry with its pants down.

    In fact, that’s what most of these “so called” industry changing companies do: They just go around the slow-moving, stay-in-the-same-lane REALTORS and go direct to the public. REALTORS really do a very poor job of even RESEARCHING the public – I ask in EVERY CLASS whether ANY of the attendees has purchased NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – and NONE OF THEM EVEN KNOW IT EXISTS! So how are they going to invent anything – a pricing tool, a marketing tool, a new service – if they don’t know a thing about the consumer themselves.

    For two decades, while internet and technology companies have wreaked havoc on the industry, the COMMON theme amongst REALTORS was “hunker down” and close the shutters! Notice the San Diego MLS this week’s “latest technology” was to create another security barrier against – GASP! – customers getting into the MLS!

    So copying the “estimator tool” is still silly – because it means that REALTORS won’t actually stand up and say that the “zestimates” are wrong; Instead, they’ll say, “Hey! If you want wrong estimates of your house values, we’ll give them to you TOO!”

    And around and around we go… where we stop, nobody knows!

    - MF

  • 

    Justin Zimmerman 12:37 pm on June 15, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    I agree with Mr. Ferrara, data is rearward looking and as you would find in any investment prospectus… “past performance is not an indicator of future results”.

    This is the logical argument.
    However “consumers” are rarely rational.

    In fact “irrational” actions have put our housing market into the compromised position it is in today.

    But the argument on this blog post is not about the marketplace, it is about what actions Realtor.com should take in reaction to the competitive pressures to maintain top billing as the search portal of choice for the public.

    Keeping the issues relegated consumer expectations v. reality.

    Since Zillow has irrecoverably changed the consumers expectations on how home values should be delivered… via the internet for free.

    The reality is that we know these estimates are a loose interpretation of value and should really be prefaced with… “the following statement of value is an estimate, for a more accurate measurement of value, please contact your local real estate professional”.

    What are the chances of Zillow doing that? (lol).

    But what should Realtor.com do?

    1. Play into the “gravity” the Zillow exerts and give credence to their model by building their own online value estimation service.

    2. Or fight a very tedious uphill consumer education battle to make the public aware of Realtors value in determining home prices.

    Pandora’s box is open… embrace it.

    Clearly there is no way to erase the consumers mind that Zillow is out there and for all practical purposes works… they get an instant estimate of value as opposed to nothing.

    But to create a similar value estimation service on the Realtor.com for the benefit of the consumer could be a boon to the site and the Realtor brand, especially with the right public awareness campaign (Realtor and general consumer)

    I don’t think it has to be an either/or debate.

    Do both. Build and Educate…

    (I make this statement I assuming Realtor.com’s technology plan and capabilities are equal to or greater than Zillow and other private endeavorers)

    To do nothing, gives us more of the same…

    Eroding confidence in the value of the Realtor, decline in web traffic to Realtor.com, and a ever widening gap through which new technology companies will push through and exacerbate our current dilemma.

    To conclude my thoughts lets look at what history tells us.

    Microsoft v. Google

    We are Microsoft.

    We built an industry, provided the protocols on how things get done, and became a pervasive force in defining an ear of business practices, influencing laws, and shaping the American dream of home ownership for millions of people. We did an awesome job, but the times have changed.

    The future is Google.

    Using the platform Microsoft created (personal computing in people’s homes), Google began leveraging that existing infrastructure to give away services for free (searches, email, google docs, mapping) to create a totally consumer centric business business model and eroded the value of some of Microsoft’s core offerings.

    The facts.

    Microsoft isn’t dying, it’s just trying to figure out how to reevaluate it’s position as once former monopoly for computing…

    Which means we need to “think different”.

    - JZ

  • 

    Linsey 12:36 am on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    I may be way off here but I think that Realtor.com’s attempt to emmulate Zillow’s model is only 1 of several problems at hand.

    I can advertise my listings, branded with my information, pictures, virtual tour, etc., all over the internet; that includes Zillow. I can do that for free.

    Yet, I have to pay hundreds of dollars annually to do the same on Realtor.com (supported by the very membership I belong to).

    If Realtor.com is worried about the content they provide to consumers, in my opinion, they are jumping a bit ahead.

    Give the consumers full and rich listing content from agents. Right now, too many agents opt not to enhance their listings there due to the expense when it is free in so many other locations.

    Realtor.com needs to start here. With the already strong traffic they get, this rich content is a minimum.

    The estimates will continue to be disputed. Not many professionals like them (I hate them) but they likely aren’t going away so there is no use fighting it. (Metallic with Napster comes to mind). Sharpening our skills and educating our clients is part of our responsibility.

  • 

    Dustin 8:54 am on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Linsay,

    You bring up a bunch of great points… The real catch to your idea of making all “enhanced” listings on realtor.com free (and/or cheaper) is that there is an incredible amount of revenue on the line… And as a publicly traded company, they can’t just drop a huge revenue generator without something else to replace it with.

    How do you think realtor.com should monetize the site?

  • 

    Linsey 1:58 pm on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    How are other sites doing it? I would assume that you could create some premium services (additional advertising, higher placement) and advertising from other industry related companies.

    It just seems to me that they can continue to tightly hold on in a short sighted fashion, but they will, and are, loosing their audience to the full and rich content on other sites. Instead, I would think they need to revisit their business model and ask themselves, ‘What is the best way to serve our Realtor members and serve the consumer?’

    Instead of innovative thinking, they are chasing others and forcing their own members into ridiculous fees. As agents refuse to front those costs, the value of the site continues to diminish.

    No quick answers – but for the first time in 7 years, I’m considering not paying the fees upon my renewal.

  • 

    Jamey Bridges 10:39 pm on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Some interesting points on this one. I think it is a challenging issue on a few fronts for sure.

    1. I am a big fan of online models for pricing. I think the neat part is they can all take a different approach and come up with different answers. Maybe realtor.com can take more of current inventory into account in their formula since they get the feeds from all the MLS systems. It would help them to differentitate themselves among the others that used closed sales.

    2. Realtor.com pricing model – I have never been a fan of them charging us on all fronts. After all we pay to get the customer, then give them the data, then pay to enhance displaying the data we already paid for??? Always been a tough pill to swallow, but when the customer push for it, we have paid for it.

  • 

    Eli 1:03 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    I think the complaints about paying for enhanced listings indicate that Realtor.com has not done a good job of closing the sale. That is, too many realtors are not yet convinced that in exchange for the extra enhanced lisiting fee, the phones will ring more often and more customers will flow into the realtor’s office.

    Google, on the other hand, has done a better job making a case for their advertising value. Their earnings numbers indicate that customers are willing to pay signficant pay-per-click fees. I assume they are getting the results they wanted.

  • 

    Lane Bailey 1:26 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Dustin,

    R.com is looking at losing their revenue stream. The question revolves around how it will be lost, and when it will be lost.

    Here are the basic options:

    They can stop charging (NAR member) agents to put on their site that which is free everywhere else. This puts them in a big bind with revenue immediately, but if they can build better content for consumers, the traffic will remain or possibly even increase.

    They can continue to charge for features that are free elsewhere, and see an erosion in those willing to pay for the upgrades. As the content quality slides, they will lose traffic… and at the same time lose revenue from agents. The revenue bind won’t be immediate, but will be MUCH harder to recover from.

    Perhaps it is time for the NAR to end the lease of the name. Maybe the time for the big monetization of the site is over for a while. I’m sure that they could develop ad revenue, but I doubt they would be able to get as much immediate revenue as they currently get from subscription.

    But, R.com is kind of symptomatic of the NAR in general. The world around them is changing, and they don’t want to see it until they can’t look away any more. And instead of trying to get in front of the changes, they are just trying to not be too far behind. That means they will always lag.

  • 

    Joseph Bridges 1:37 pm on June 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Zillow has changed the landscape. In fact I think it adds a level of conversation to the value of the home. There are still far too many variables to take into consideration to create an exact price but these AVM’s do provide the conversation that future sellers, current sellers, and home owners want and that is, they want to know the value of their asset.

    Matthew makes a great point in that it is about education. My brother(James) and I couldn’t agree more that it is the level of education for real estate professionals that must change with ever increasing speed.

    Should realtor.com create a new AVM? I think they are a bit late to the party and not sure why they shouldn’t focus money elsewhere for the agents they represent (I am a member of NAR).

    Education and training will win but let’s see what happens.

  • 

    linsey 6:22 am on June 18, 2008 Permalink | Reply

    Beautifully said Lane. Couldn’t agree more!!

• Dustin 10:37 am on August 1, 2006 Permalink | Reply
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