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I love the fact they have integrated Cyberhomes valuation into their CMA.

If they would have used Zillow my condo in Huntington Beach would have been priced $110,000 dollars less!

Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions Releases Upgraded rDesk Suite

Enhancements include integration with FNRES’ web-based valuation tools

RISMEDIA, May 23, 2008-Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF), a Fortune 500 provider of products, services and technology solutions to the financial and real estate industries, has announced that Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions (FNRES) has released a major new upgrade to its popular rDesk Suite of agent and broker products.

Key among the enhancements is a feature that enables agents to offer consumers access to the full power of the latest automated valuation modeling via their own branded Web sites, and an rDesk CMA comparative marketing analysis function, which features stylish new graphic designs on all printed documents.

“This release of rDesk products means that for the first time, every type of information that a homeowner or buyer needs to make informed decisions will be available though an agent’s or broker’s rDesk Web site,” said John Hensley, FNRES SVP and General Manager of Broker Agent Products and Data Aggregation. “Data that was traditionally only available on property valuation Web sites like FNRES’ Cyberhomes, or Zillow and others, is now available through Web sites that use this platform.”

Enhanced rDesk-powered Web sites now provide consumers with access to comprehensive neighborhood information, demographics, school reports, cost of living statistics, housing information and environmental information, as well as comparable sales and property valuation of neighboring properties within the property detail page of every listing. Powerful map-based searching is also available through these rDesk-powered sites.

FNRES’s rDesk was the first comprehensive desktop productivity portal for real estate agents. The significant advances within rDesk v2.5 and rDesk IDX v 5.2 support FNRES’ position as a leading provider of Web technology applications, services and custom Internet solutions for agents, brokers, MLS’ and all the other constituents involved in residential real estate.

The rDesk Suite includes the rDesk agent productivity tool, rDesk Web site and rDesk CMA and Buyer’s Tour for comparative market analyses, as well as rDesk IDX for integrating listings search capabilities.

According to Hensley, “The real breakthrough behind the new power of rDesk is the breadth and depth of available data and the methodology we employ to sift, sort and simplify this information for consumer use. And, best of all, we’ve made this information available at no additional cost to our customers.”

Looking into rDesk

At the core of the rDesk Suite is the rDesk business control panel application, which integrates productivity and business tools into a single, personalized real estate agent portal. Compatible with any MLS system, rDesk complements most tools and technologies currently in use by real estate professionals. It generates leads and manages business and scheduling.

rDesk Web sites provide a turnkey solution in an environment where, for the real estate professional, “location, location, location” increasingly means the Internet. The rDesk Web site platform is the most cost effective tool for marketing a business via the Web, and now offers consumers a single-site location for the most robust property valuation and comparative reports available.

rDesk IDX enhances a Web site by providing an easy-to-use listing search engine, compliant with all local MLS Internet data display rules and regulations. Listings are updated on a daily basis through the MLS. In addition, rDesk IDX includes a variety of lead generation tools and supports the creation of client profiles for the purpose of saving searches, bookmarking properties and facilitating automatic email listing updates. These client profiles allow agents to monitor who is using their search engine, what types of searches they are running, and what properties they have taken interest in, helping agents and brokers better determine where to focus their time.

rDesk CMA generates presentations for potential buyers and sellers using attractive, stylish new graphics and prominently incorporating agent branding. There have been significant improvements to the layout and design of Property Detail pages and Side-by-Side Property Comparison pages as well, which now incorporate enhanced graphs and charts.

rDesk’s School and Neighborhood Reports are more comprehensive, too, yet are provided in easy to understand layouts. Information is gathered on the environment, housing, people, schools and quality of life for over 200,000 locations across the country.

The latest release from rDesk comes just weeks after FNRES announced the release of a completely redesigned and restructured Cyberhomes.com. The more powerful, easier-to-use Cyberhomes site now powers those agent and broker sites using the rDesk platform, giving them the detailed analysis of homes and their surrounding communities based on the site’s unique matrix of more than two million listings and 100 million property, ownership, sales and mortgage records drawn from more than 85 percent of the United States population.

For more information on the rDesk Suite, or for a product demonstration, contact the sales department at sales@rdesksolutions.com 800-336-1027

More information about FNF can be found at www.fnf.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

I was inspried by Dennis Miller to come up with the today’s headline.

Solid Earth to Offer ListHub

WASHINGTON D.C.– May 22th – Threewide Corporation announced today that the company has entered into a joint marketing agreement with Solid Earth, providers of the LIST-IT full service Internet MLS solution. Under the terms of the agreement, Solid Earth will be offering ListHub to its MLS and broker customers. ListHub is a tool for brokers to access their listing inventory within the MLS and market their listings on the Internet, driving consumer traffic and leads back to their individual brokerage Web sites.

“We look forward to working with Threewide and offering ListHub to our customers,” said Matt Fowler, President of Solid Earth. “With ListHub, our MLS partners will be helping their broker customers take advantage of the many marketing opportunities the Internet has to offer. Our goal has always been to provide our customers with affordable, easy-to-use products and services to help them better manage their businesses. ListHub will certainly help us meet our goal.”

ListHub provides a seamless flow of data from an MLS system to popular Internet sites where consumers search for property information without any re-entry of data. MLSs and Brokers can control which sites display their listings and monitor the traffic and leads generated from those sites back to their own Web sites. ListHub keeps the data up-to-date in order to provide today’s homebuyers with the most accurate information available.

“We are excited to be working with Solid Earth,” said Rob Reid, Executive Vice President of Threewide Corporation. “They have built a strong reputation in this industry by delivering high quality products and services their customers need to survive and thrive in our marketplace.”

“We really see the addition of ThreeWide’s ListHub product to our line-up as a great thing for our customers,” said Matt Fowler, President of Solid Earth. “It provides a feature that our customers not just want, but need, to compete in the new marketplace. They have a great reputation and a widely accepted solution, plus it allows our development team to focus on our core deliverables. It’s a good fit for everyone.”
About Threewide Corporation

Threewide Corporation was founded in July of 1999 and has specialized in solving data management issues in the real estate vertical since its inception. In mid-2000, the company began to focus on the digital capture, packaging, and transport of data for brokerages, Multiple Listing Services, and other industry vendors. In 2007, Threewide launched ListHub, a broker product that pushes MLS listing information to an array of online marketing sites.

For more information about Threewide Corporation, visit www.threewide.com.

For more information about ListHub, visit www.listhub.net.

About Solid Earth

Solid Earth, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is the publisher of two SAS real estate products: the LIST-IT MLS System and MapMachine.com. LIST-IT is a customized real estate inventory management and marketing support system designed for use by local real estate trade associations. Associations use Solid Earth’s software to operate their Multiple Listing Service (MLS) systems, usually the primary real estate marketplace in each City area. Solid Earth currently operates 23 such systems across 14 states covering about 5% of all REALTORS nationally. Coverage includes the largest markets in Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky and Louisiana plus major markets in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and New York. MapMachine.com is a browser-based Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping service designed specifically for REALTORS. It is the foundation of the mapping system for all LIST-IT accounts and is additionally licensed to approximately 11,000 agents in Southeast Michigan.

This press release contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future results of operations and market opportunities that are based on Threewide’s current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the company and its industry. Investors are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements as a result of the success of Threewide’s branding and consumer awareness campaign and other marketing efforts; competition from existing and potential competitors; and Threewide’s ability to continue to develop and integrate new products, services and technologies.

Press Contact:
Celeste Starchild
Vice President of Broker Sales
(877) 847.3394 ext. 708
cstarchild@threewide.com

Solid Earth Contact:
Bill Fowler
Marketing Director
bfowler@solidearth.com

###

Calling all vendors! Calling all vendors!!

New product? After-party location? Inside tip? Shameless plug?

If you got something to announce send it us and we’ll will post it.

Vendor.Alley@gmail.com

Let’s make this the “BEST NAR EVER!!”

EvolutionMLS

Cynergy Helps Concentric Software Drive Change in the Real Estate Industry
New Rich Internet Application to Revolutionize the Industry’s Mainstay: the Multiple Listing Service

WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwire - 4-15-2008 ) Cynergy Systems, Inc., the global leader in rich Internet application (RIA) design and development, and California-based Concentric Software, today shared details of a Web 2.0 application that will drive change throughout the Real Estate industry. Known as EvolutionMLS, the browser and operating system-agnostic rich Internet application leverages the power of the Web to fully utilize the possibilities of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
Designed to manage real estate listings, the MLS remains the bedrock of the real estate industry. While some business-critical applications have been redesigned to utilize the Web, others — such as the MLS — are deployed using a blend of old, legacy systems that significantly hamper productivity. In conjunction with Cynergy, Concentric Software has created the real estate industry’s first rich Internet application-based MLS that is built from the ground up for the Web.
Richard Igou, president & CEO of Concentric Software, observed, “Before EvolutionMLS, realtors and brokers had to follow painfully laborious processes to list properties and access relevant information. We’ve not only fast-tracked the previously perplexing MLS into 2008, we’re providing the user experience that’s consistent with where applications will be years from now.”
Brian Lonchar, vice president of Marketing for Concentric Software, shared, “With over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry I can attest to how restrictive and difficult it is to use the existing MLS applications. When you’re in the real estate industry, the MLS is your lifeline and the ability to quickly retrieve information can make or break a customer relationship. Instead of having to navigate numerous pages to perform what should be the simplest of tasks, our solution provides instantaneous access — saving time and creating opportunities.”
Concentric Software’s EvolutionMLS will be sold to real estate associations and used by realtors and brokers. Igou said, “This is an increasingly diverse workforce, consisting of a broad spectrum of low tech and high tech users. EvolutionMLS is intuitive and easy-to-use, regardless of computer literacy.”
Designed using Cynergy’s LookFirst approach, EvolutionMLS “evolved” using a very collaborative manner. Igou commented, “Cynergy’s LookFirst approach helped reduce cycles and therefore, also reduced costs and development time. We found Cynergy’s approach to be productive and pragmatic. They’ve also ensured that EvolutionMLS is expandable, which is so important to our customers. In the highly competitive real estate industry, the ability to tie together as many marketing components — such as video — in one MLS listing, delivers a significant competitive advantage.”
Dave Wolf, vice president, Cynergy, said, “Concentric Software’s EvolutionMLS is a great example of how an application previously relegated to older technology can be catapulted into Web 2.0. Their Cynergy-designed and developed solution is visually stunning and delivers the ‘on-demand’ user experience that people are demanding more and more.”
EvolutionMLS is expected to be in general availability within several months. Companies seeking a demonstration of EvolutionMLS are invited to contact Concentric Software sales@concentricsoftware.com
A platinum sponsor of the event, Cynergy will exhibit at the upcoming Web 2.0 Expo, being held in San Francisco from April 22 - 25, 2008 in booth 721. To book a briefing with Cynergy at Web 2.0, please contact The Devon Group.
About Cynergy Systems
Cynergy is the global leader in the design and development of Rich Internet Applications specializing in Adobe Flex and AIR as well as Microsoft Silverlight and WPF. Using its proven LookFirst approach to the design and development process, Cynergy has created rich, powerful business and consumer applications for companies across nearly every vertical including healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and government markets.
Cynergy is privately held and headquartered in Washington, D.C.; the Company’s U.S. field operations include Rochester, N.Y., Grand Rapids, Mich., and San Diego, Calif. Cynergy’s European operations are based in London, United Kingdom and Copenhagen, Denmark and its Asia Pacific operations are located in Taipei, Taiwan and Sydney, Australia. More information about Cynergy can be accessed at http://www.cynergysystems.com.

Looks like the RETS geeks will decend on Philly this week. Although is pretty Greek to me, here’s what I can translate from their posted agenda.

After a looking at each other “schemas” they will attend a party hosted by NAR where they will hold a “RETS exhibition” where they will “debug” themselves and end the night in a giant “plugfest”.

The next day the debauchery continues, when they will hold a “certification” ceremony so they can “transport” themselves for “syndication”. Then one more giant “plugfest”.

Like I said, it sounds more Greek, than Geek.

Vendors, NO SOUP FOR YOU!

I was asked today to list 3 value propositions about CMLS from a vendor’s perspective. Here’s what I came up with..

1. CMLS is a great way for me to stay informed about the issues effecting the MLS industry.

2. CMLS is a perfect networking environment for me to meet the decision makers of the MLS industry.

3. CMLS has created an environment where vendors engage and become part of the conversation about the MLS industry.

The third point is really the distiction between CMLS and Connection. CMLS engages vendors, Connection forbids vendors.

Sad.

It also reminded me about this cartoon….

If only the Consultant Custers of Connection would see that mabye, just maybe, those pesky sales people might be able to add something to the equation.

If not, no worries. CMLS 2008 is being held in Minneapolis this October. Hosted by John Mosey and Northstar MLS. Check out www.CMLS2008.com for more details, and, of course, vendors are welcome.

I believe that CMLS realizes something that Connection doesn’t…

We’re in this together.

One of our readers had a different take on the name change at MLSNI. Looks like they drew inspiration from the “RED” part of the name.

Cheers!

And what do you ask will be the name of this new regional MLS combining MAP MLS and MLSNI?

Mr Ed

Yup, MRED, Midwest Real Estate Data,LLC

www.mredllc.com

All we need now is a copy of Photoshop and a picture of Brad or Bud and we can start selling t-shirts tomorrow!!

(April 1st, 200 C.A.R. Executive Vice President Joel Singer today announced the California Association of REALTORS new statewide MLS solution. “What we are announcing today is truly revolutionary.” stated Mr. Singer. “MLSBook will be the new standard in the industry!” continued Mr. Singer.

At this point at the press conference “MLSBooks” were wheeled out on the stage and handed out to members of the press. The books were about twice the size of a regular yellow pages phone book.

“MLSBook are portable, don’t require a keyboard, never needs to charge, and chock full of 75dpi color photos of all listings in the state of California.” continued Singer. “There’s even an intuitive Table of Contents for easy searching, TAKE THAT GOOGLE!!!”

When one reporter asked about the portability of these new “MLSBooks” Singer also announced another new product called “MLSBook Tote” which appeared to resemble a refrigerator moving dolly. “We done focus groups and REALTORS love MLSBook Tote!”

Next Mr Singer made reference to a significant upgrade to MLSBook later in the year, “Two words—– shiny paper”

Al Gore could not be reached for comment.

(April 1st, 200 “Some things die hard.” stated Errol Samuelson President of REALTOR.COM and Top Producer Systems (both owned by Move.com). “Frankly by replacing the color purple in Top Producer products we thought we were making a step towards a more ‘Web 2.0′ look and feel.” continued Mr. Samuelson. “I guess we were wrong”

Reports indicate that a “spirted” letter writing campaign was started by a real estate agent in Kent, WA. “We don’t know why so many REALTORS sent us hand written letters and not just email us, it was kinda bizzare” stated David Fisher, Top Producer Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Whoppi Goldberg could not be reached for comment.