Realtors Property Resource (RPR) – courtesy their Facebook

Realcomp, a Farmington Hills company with some eleven thousand plus members in Detroit, will now now feed RPR listings in exchange for advanced analytics for Realcomp subscibers. Realcomp II Ltd. CEO Karen S. Kage offered comment on the announcement:

“Realcomp II Ltd. is very pleased to make Realcomp MLS data available through the RPR product in order to ensure that our REALTOR® subscribers have full use of all of the technology tools and features that the product offers. Our Board of Governors approved moving forward with RPR for the benefit of its MLS Subscribers, and in line with the company’s mission to deliver first-rate data services, support, and instruction to the real estate industry.”

A subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors, RPR has MLS and commercial info exchanges reflective of NAR’s over one million members. So basically Realcomp II Ltd. has just plugged into a much more powerful network of listing and sales potential, when all is said and done. Despite criticisms RPR has not produced for the NAR revenue wise so far, it seems clear that the uptake of tech for Realtors is a slow go anyhow. Most agencies cannot even figure out Twitter let alone study advanced analytics, while it’s also clear the RPR people are tuned to SM looking at their Facebook.

Having only recently launched to support some one million Realtors nationwide, RPR is targeting monetization via their analytics. Rather than go into the specifics of RPR offerings, the video below from them explains in some detail how their historical data can fast forward agent effectiveness.

is it time third party syndicates shared their profits?

There can be no argument that the internet has brought fundamental changes to the professional real estate industry. Today it’s much easier to expose properties to a national audience of buyers. But at the same time, brokers and agents are witnessing the loss of control of their listings, and their property information, to third parties like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, who have been using this information to build their own for-profit businesses, at the expense of agents and brokers.

Those who are not licensees may not realize how expensive it is to operate as an agent or broker. There are school and licensing fees and hundreds of dollars in yearly dues to their local and national associations. They pay fees to their local Multiple Listing Service so that they can list their properties. They also pay additional money during their licensing period to cover required continuing education courses. And there are additional fees and penalties for failing to update the status of their MLS listings. They can even be penalized around $50 if their listing is cancelled due to foreclosure, unless they send their MLS written proof of the foreclosure notice.

There are also key fees for access to those fancy digital lock boxes agents use today, and those lock boxes are also pretty expensive as well. Agents also need “errors and omissions” insurance, to guard against lawsuits that may arise from errors in property listings, or other issues that they become liable for once they are licensed.

Realtors have to pay big bucks for licensing fees and dues. Courtesy of dannyfowler

On top of that, agents often pay for all of the advertising services provided for a property listing. You know those real estate books that are given out for free at restaurants and convenience stores? A single page in one of those books was about $1,200 when I became an agent back in 1996. And those nice big signs you see in front of many commercial properties are paid for by the agent, often at a cost of hundreds of dollars for a single sign.

The listing agent often has to split the property commission on the sale with the buyers agent, who may be brought in to represent the buyer, after the buyer spots the property listing on the internet.  After that 50/50 split, both agents usually have to pay their broker a share of their commission. In most cases that is another 20% or more.

So a listing agent spends hours prospecting for leads, then when they get one, they spend hours of their time and their own money to promote the leads trying to get the property sold. When it does sell, they often split their commission with others. They pay all of the expenses and get only part of the commission.

Signs like this don't come cheap either... Courtesy Diana Parkhouse

Once I was the listing agent on a property, and at closing the attorney informed me that the seller was not current on the property taxes, and that an additional $1,500 in property taxes had to be paid or the closing would be cancelled. The buyers agent and I agreed to pay $750 each for the property taxes, out of our commission, rather than lose the deal altogether.

When a third party listing syndicator like realtor.com, zillow or trulia comes along and publishes the property listing for their own site, they make big bucks selling ads to other real estate agents, mortgage companies, and other industry related advertisers, while those who created this valuable content are expected to be happy with “exposure”.

I think it’s time for brokers and agents to realize that yes, the internet does have value, but so do all of those  property listings. I can’t imagine a songwriter or musical artist allowing a radio station to use their song for airplay, and in so doing, allow the radio station to make big bucks from selling advertising, then accept the excuse that “it’s good exposure” for the songwriter or the artist. And an author who writes an article that is published in a magazine which makes money by using that content to attract readers and sell advertising, would certainly not be willing to allow those magazines to publish his work for free because it’s “good exposure” for the author.

Should realtors be happy with just 'exposure' for their listings (which are often wrong anyway)?

Brokers and agents have lost control of their intellectual content, by allowing the internet and third party publishers to profit from it, without any thought for compensating the creators of that content. In fact, some third party websites have created successful and highly profitable membership websites by using the property listing information created by licensees, without having to pay a dime for the use of that content.

Perhaps it’s time to come up with a new business model in which the creators and owners of property listings are compensated for their “original works” by creating a royalty system in which third party syndicators pay royalties to agents and brokers similar to the way it works in the music industry for songwriters and publishers. Agents are essentially the authors of property listings, and brokers are similar to publishers. This could allow for the use of property listings by third parties and make listings widely available, without taking unfair advantage of the creators of that content.
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Donna Robinson is a 16 year veteran of the real estate industry and a staff writer for RealtyBizNews.com. She began her career as a real estate agent, and today is an active real estate investor who also provides coaching and consulting services. Contact her at donnaconsults@reihelp.com or call her office at 888-915-9968 to inquire about coaching or consulting. 

What if there was a way to dramatically improve your odds of success, easily and without any hassles? Wouldn’t it be worth a shot?

PropertyTube is the realtor’s “YouTube” – designed exclusively for the unique needs of agents. When you upload your listings to PropertyTube, individuals across the globe will be able to not only see your properties, but listen to you as you describe the attributes of the homes and/or land you are selling.

PropertyTube home page

With PropertyTube you can:

• Set up a free realtor or real estate office channel where all your videos will be located
• Upload videos of all of your properties, those listed for sale and/or rent
• Upload a video about your company – explaining why you’re the “go to” agent in your area
• Customize the appearance of your channel, add contact information, change the colors, link to your website, etc.
• Embed your videos to your own website driving traffic across your social channels

And the benefits are:

• Easy to use – with two simple steps you can upload the video, give it an attention grabbing headline, give the details of the property, put a link back to your website or blog and even create a map directing individuals to the property
• All of your videos are centrally located, making it easier to maintain your listings
• When individuals search Google or even YouTube, your listings will show up
• PropertyTube offers customized banners and button packs, and our marketing strategies and partnerships will help drive traffic to your site
• Less time spent with wasted viewings – individuals who contact you after seeing your video(s) will be genuinely interested – saving you time and money
• If you’re not confident in your shooting abilities, or just want to add a professional “edge” to your videos, PropertyTube can link you with a local videographer who can help

PropertyTube in action

Michael Connolly with Triumph Mountain Properties shares his experience with PropertyTube: “Our association with Property Tube has been a tremendous success for us.  The ability to use video to sell our high-end vacation rental properties in Vail and Beaver Creek has, without a doubt, contributed directly to more bookings and an easier sales process.  We have also appreciated the very professional interactions with everyone we have worked with at Property Tube, and we look forward to continuing this successful relationship.”

Videos add a level of trust to a website that is difficult to do with simply words and photographs. When a potential buyer comes across your website and feels a connection with you through your videos, especially ones which let your personality shine, you can be assured that when he or she contacts you, they’re ready to hear what you’ve got to say.

New Zealand becoming a seller's market © Stephen Finn - Fotolia.com

The report found the number of new listings in August rose 9% on a seasonally adjusted basis, but inventory fell for the fifth month in a row, or 37 weeks in a row, due to continued high buyer demand. The CEO of Realestate.co.nz, Alistair Helm, says the market is generally in favor of sellers, and 12 out of the 19 regions in the country now have below average inventory levels.

He said “It’s a much more buoyant market we’re seeing at the moment. The rate of sale is the highest it has been 18 months. Interest rates are attractive so buyer confidence is healthy. This has led to more sellers entering the market, but demand is continuing to outstrip supply.”

This buyer demand has led to Auckland recording its lowest level inventory in four years, while other areas including Canterbury, Wellington, Manawatu and Coromandel have moved towards becoming a sellers’ market for the first time in more than one and a half years.

According to Mr Helm, this increase in new listings has also been accompanied by a slight increase in asking prices, up 3% from the previous month to an average of $415,078. This shows that although the market is moving in favour of sellers, they are not becoming overconfident about the value of their property.

Helm went on to say “While the end of winter is traditionally the signal for sellers to list their property, the levels we are seeing now should certainly be seen as a further green light for sellers who are considering entering the market.”

Realestate.co.nz is the country’s most comprehensive property listing website, and it has over 110,000 real estate listings including residential, commercial and farm property for sale.

Realtor using RealFocus Contact © Andy Dean - Fotolia.com

Using the platform is not difficult; realtors submit their unique phone number, keyword for each of the property listings they are showcasing, and/or QR codes into the system. Then, they add the same information to their yard signs, website, flyers, ads, etc., which interested buyers can call, scan or text from their cell phone to obtain more information about the listing.

When the potential buyer makes contact, RealFocus Contact goes into action, acquiring their mobile phone number and then putting the information into a database, linking it specifically to the property the caller was interested in.

Through their dashboard, the agent can acquire this information and make contact with their leads, manage properties they’re listing, and provide their sellers with detailed reports. Other useful features include the option to create both text messaging and email campaigns, quickly and easily. Conversing with leads as well as existing sellers and buyers is simplified with this system. The agent can notify their leads about future open houses, reductions in sales prices, newsletters – basically anything that the agent believes will facilitate closure of their listings.

Fred Hess, RealFocus Director of Marketing and Sales stated that, “Today’s real estate market just won’t allow realtors to miss out on any opportunities. Buyers want information on a property when they want it no matter where they are and RealFocus Contact provides that capability. I believe that realtors across the country will agree that RealFocus Contact is a marketing platform that will aid them in getting more listings, more leads and more closings.”

Real estate expert and author Pat Hiban. Image courtesy of CRS Connect

In order to keep your seller clients happy and believing in your abilities, its necessary to be more proactive, says top real estate agent and author of “6 Steps to 7 Figures” Pat Hiban.

Proactive means keeping busy – spending your days calling around contacts and making new ones by prospecting, sponsoring open house events. Waiting around the office for the phone to ring isn’t going to get you anywhere – you need to get out and be as visible as possible.

Networking is your single best hope for a sale, says Hiban. Accept all invitations you receive, and go to local events in your community he explains – this is the best way to get out and meet new people, and don’t forget that any one of these you meet could be a potential client for you.

Make a plan of action for each new week as it comes around. This way you can ensure that you do something on each day to promote the property listings in your inventory. Don’t just sit around and do nothing.

Real estate agents need to be proactive, holding open house events and networking to find buyers. Image courtesy of Frontdoor

As Hiban says, “activity promotes activity”, and so real estate agents should keep themselves busy even when people are slow to respond to their endeavours. Those agents who choose to do nothing, says Hiban, have the smallest chance of getting where they want to be, which makes them a lot more likely to lose out on clients.

Finally, the author offers one last piece of advice to struggling realtors. Never, ever panic, and certainly do not allow any negative vibes from your selling clients affect you. Rather, it’s your job to be the positive one and hope that this rubs off on everyone else.

Prop2Go announces new expansion to overseas markets

Prop2Go has taken the decision to expand globally rather than focusing on the local market, and Jason Richard, founder and CEO of the company says “We have the technology already developed, and we have the hardware to maintain it, why not test the limits of our ingenuity.” They have just launched in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India and the United Kingdom.

One of the strengths of the company is the ability to capture and store real estate data, and they want to see what kind of results they can obtain from the world real estate and rental industry. Their ultimate aim is to have sufficient property listings to enable them to mine for social economic trends in the world market, and they expect to achieve this by as early as next year.

Research and innovation at Prop2Go is driven by the growth in web traffic, and everything is tested in real time. Jason says “It’s the only way we can be certain that the results are properly measured. Our primary focus is providing quality service to our clients which are realtors and property managers, but at the same time we are innovating every day.”

Prop2Go is popular with property managers for the huge amount of traffic it can send to their listings

It certainly seems to be paying off, as web traffic is increasing every month. The company gains revenue by offering its services to property managers and realtors, and also uses advertising revenue to pay for research. Prop2Go is good at driving large amounts of visitor traffic within a very short time period, and is aiming to prove this competency to new markets.

Jason is confident that they can easily meet their goals, and they are already close to obtaining critical mass of data, as long as they can keep the momentum going and keep adding property listings.

Realtor.com iPad app screenshots

The iPad app is only the next in a long line of Realtor.com mobile apps, which includes apps for the iPhone, Android phones, and Windows Phone 7.   In total, Realtor.com’s mobile apps have received 3.6 million downloads, increasing users by 79 percent in four months.

Among the the features of the iPad app are:

• Area Highlighter – a quick tool to draw your own boundaries for searching   It features slide, pinch, zoom, and pan controls, with the ability to zoom into a specific neighborhood or street.
• Rate properties; save personal notes on specific homes; share property information with agents; “My Real Estate” button features instant access to listings, saved and recent searches.
• Stay connected with agents; share properties through Twitter, email, and Facebook; send notes, ratings, and comments.

“With a Realtor.com mobile app, there’s no waiting or wondering anymore if a property is on or off the market, how much it costs, or if it will fit your needs,” said Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move, Inc., operator of Realtor.com.

Move Inc. simultaneously announced the release of Realtor.com 2.0 iPhone App, which provides key updates to the iPhone version, adding new home screen features, Area Highlighter, and Area Scout, among other improvements.

Move Inc. is an online real estate company serving 14.5 million monthly visitors on Move.com, Realtor.com, Moving.com, SeniorHousing.Net, and others.

Realtor.com is the official website for the National Association of Realtors and also functions as an online real estate marketplace with over four million property listings.  80 percent of property listings are updated every 15 minutes.  You can download the app today from realtor.com.

In Savannah, as elsewhere, the recession has sent any number of banks to the brink along with real estate brokerages. In 2010 a hand full of real estate companies handled the majority of transactions, a couple seeing record sales due to the lack of competition. So it can be said that economic levelers combined with some growth in other sectors has left Savannah at a “tipping point” perhaps. Put simply, the industry hit bottom and is about to rebound. In Savannah and the area real estate property listings should contract, and price in 2011 will probably climb steadily.

Savannah's wonderful parks - courtesy Brian Hillegas

Chatham County’s  Historic District is a good example of how such initiatives as tax incentives can positively affect the market. The “first time buyer” tax credit offered in 2009 for instance, spurred real sales in that wonderful district of town. And on the commercial side of the equation, supply and price there have had a similar “leveling” effect as that sector appears ready when recovery goes full swing. Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Savannah reports some 12,297 vacant properties in the area, and a median price of $112,852 – for this city, obviously prime investment time for those in the know and with the cash.

A Victorian showplace in Savannah's Historic District

Ben Bluemle of Seaport Real Estate Group is the agent for this former bed and breakfast turned back to its homey self.

Of course there are negatives to spotlight too. Prices need to stabilize, and probably will as inventories shrink. Foreclosures still loom ominously for many people, just as banks suffer stagnation under the weight of unprofitable or untenable loans. But selling off of repossessed properties will surely stabilize the banks and reduce residential inventories too.

One example of premium inventory in the Historic District of Savannah is the 4,800 square foot mansion above via Trulia. For those of you who know Savannah, the map below shows this showplace in the heart of the most expensive district in town – priced at $799,000 –  well, someone will get a palace cheaply it appears. The tax value on this house is $1.3 million, which is about where its real value will be after any economic turn around.

Tybee Island, a magical place - courtesy Melissa

With industry picking up, and especially tourism, Savannah appears to need only a little push to get started in the opposite direction. That push may actually come sooner than later if legislators decide to fork over funding for deepening the Savannah River to accommodate larger cargo vessels. A boom in cargo handling there would certainly go a long way toward infusing the job market as well as commercial real estate values – and in the end all values.

Meanwhile, across the rest of Georgia a slow recovery seems to be in progress too. The Atlanta Journal called the banking industry in the state “one of Georgia’s hardest hit industries,” but as the recession has weeded out weaker real estate players, so has the economy separated banks too – leaving fewer but more stable players afoot.