Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Fort Wayne, Ind. selects Paragon as its new MLS system

Nice win for Rich Lull and his team at LPS MLS Solutions. As everyone knows the “take-aways” (meaning taking business from another) are always the hardest. Congrats!

Full Press Release Below:

The Upstate Alliance of REALTORS® Selects Paragon as its new MLS System

Fort Wayne, Ind., REALTOR® Association to Partner with LPS

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nov. 10, 2011 — LPS MLS Solutions, a division of Lender Processing Services (LPS), announced today that the Upstate Alliance of REALTORS® (UPSTAR MLS) selected LPS’ Paragon™ as its MLS system.

UPSTAR MLS, located in Fort Wayne, Ind., selected LPS MLS Solutions after carefully evaluating several MLS vendors and determining that Paragon offers the features that UPSTAR MLS members need to help them become more efficient and competitive. With Paragon’s online multi-tasking capabilities, agents will save time because they have the ability to conduct property searches, create a comparative market analysis (CMA), change listing information and complete other tasks, without having to close and reopen windows on the computer. UPSTAR MLS was impressed with Paragon for a variety of reasons, including its intuitive and straightforward navigation, which will help members quickly learn how to use the system. And, because Paragon works on any browser or any mobile device, agents are able to access MLS information while in the field.

“We want our members to have the best tools to help them succeed,” said Laura Raudonis, CEO of UPSTAR MLS. “Paragon is an excellent fit for our organization because it is easy to use, fast and seamlessly connects agents with their clients. We are confident our members will experience great benefits from this new partnership and are very pleased that the system will be supported by the LPS team.”

Located in northeastern Indiana, UPSTAR MLS serves the Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells and Whitley counties, and has a membership of approximately 1,500 REALTOR® and affiliate members.

“We are pleased that UPSTAR chose to convert to LPS’ Paragon, which will deliver enhanced MLS functionality to Fort Wayne real estate professionals,” said Rich Lull, senior vice president LPS MLS Solutions. “UPSTAR was looking for a cost-effective solution with robust features that could also provide a smooth transition from the association’s current system. We look forward to providing innovative tools and responsive service to UPSTAR and its members.”

Serving more than 300 MLSs and 300,000 real estate professionals, Paragon is a dynamic system platform that makes it easy for real estate professionals to manage their businesses and collaborate with clients. LPS MLS Solutions provides market-leading MLS Systems and public records data. For more information, please contact Bob Morse at 650-863-4333. You can also visit LPS MLS Solutions during the National Association of REALTORS® Conference in Anaheim, Calif., Nov. 11-14, at Booth 619 or online at www.LPSMLSSolutions.com.

About Lender Processing Services
Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) is a leading provider of integrated technology, services and mortgage performance data and analytics to the mortgage and real estate industries. LPS offers solutions that span the mortgage continuum, including lead generation, origination, servicing, workflow automation (Desktop®), portfolio retention and default, augmented by the company’s award-winning customer support and professional services. Approximately 50 percent of all U.S. mortgages by dollar volume are serviced using LPS’ loan servicing platform, MSP. LPS also offers proprietary mortgage and real estate data and analytics for the mortgage and capital markets industries. For more information about LPS, visit www.lpsvcs.com.

Media Contact: Micelle Kersch, 904.854.5043, michelle.kersch at lpsvcs dot com
Investor Contact: Nancy Murphy, 904.854.8640, nancy.murphy at lpsvcs dot com

Zillow acquires Diverse Solutions

Holy Zhit! Looks like Zillow had that IPO money burning a hole in their pocket! I hinted about this deal last month via Twitter but decided not to publish since I didn’t have a second confirmation.

$7.8 million in cash and stock, nice.

Big congrats to Justin! Big question, how will MLS providers react to this deal?

http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-11-02/zillow-acquires-diverse-solutions/

UPDATED: Wurzer has some good perceptive on this deal: FBS Blog

CRMLS takes over SoCalMLS to form largest MLS in country.

Boom! With close to 70,000 members CRMLS now becomes the largest MLS providers in the country.

Here’s a list of the winners in this deal:

Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS-WINNER
Nancy Gilmore, CEO of PWR -WINNER
Joel Singer, CEO of CAR-WINNER

Well played, lady and gentlemen, well played.

Full Press Release Below:
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Merger of CRMLS and Southern California MLS Creates Largest MLS in the Nation

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (CRMLS) and the Southern California MLS (SoCalMLS) have agreed to merge, creating the largest multiple listing service in the nation, it was jointly announced today by Len Herman, 2011 president of SoCalMLS, and Rob Arrietta, 2011 president of CRMLS.

“Combining two highly complementary organizations is what our brokers and subscribers want, and now we have the opportunity to offer even greater value to our customers.”
“This union was long overdue,” said 2011 SoCalMLS President Len Herman. “Combining two highly complementary organizations is what our brokers and subscribers want, and now we have the opportunity to offer even greater value to our customers.”

“The combination of two of the largest MLSs in the nation simply makes sense for brokerages, agents, and REALTOR® associations,” said 2011 CRMLS President Rob Arrietta. “The combination of our products and services gives real estate professionals throughout California an extremely cost effective solution for their MLS services.”

The combined entity will remain as CRMLS, which is based in San Dimas, Calif., with Rob Arrietta serving as president of the organization. Len Herman will remain on as part of the transition team. CRMLS will now be providing products and services to 33 REALTOR® associations and their 68,000 participants and subscribers throughout California.

About CRMLS

CRMLS delivers, through local member associations, the most affordable, reliable, and convenient listing technology service available, and provides products and services that support real estate professionals in maximizing the use of property data to achieve their business goals.

Contacts

CRMLS
Art Carter, 909-859-2045
art at crmls dot org

NAR/CIVIX-DDI Done Deal

Looks like the final milestone was met. To be honest I’m left a little numb by this news.

On one hand I feel like congratulations are in order for NAR along with the big MLS Vendors and everyone else who participated to make this happen.

On the other hand I just get this sense of foreboding that this isn’t the last of these types of shakedowns.

Just yesterday Google bought Motorola. You would think they did it to create great new Android phones, where they (Google) would control both the hardware and software (similar to Apple). But nope, they did it for the treasure trove of mobile patents Motorola held. It is some sort of Mexican Standoff strategy where if someone pulls the trigger and sues, the other guy will pull the trigger as well.

Something needs to change, and quickly.

See release below:
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Realtors(r) Complete Licensing Opportunity with CIVIX-DDI
Contact: Leanne Jernigan
202-383-1290
ljernigan at gmail dot com

WASHINGTON (August 16, 2011) – The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors(r) President Ron Phipps:

As of Monday, August 15 the National Association of Realtors(r) has completed a negotiated licensing opportunity with CIVIX-DDI, LLC, the owner of various technology patents, on behalf of the real estate industry. The negotiation included a total payment of $7.5 million in patent license fees to CIVIX. As a result of this action, all Realtor(r) associations, multiple listing services, commercial information exchanges, MLS system vendors, as well as brokers and agents are protected from current and future claims of patent infringement from CIVIX.

The National Association of Realtors(r), “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section.

Market Leader acquires SharperAgent

Things are really heating up. Looks like Ian and the boys aren’t sitting still and looking to make a run at it… More on this later today.

Full press release below:

Company Release – 08/04/2011 08:00

Industry Leaders Come Together to Create Comprehensive, Integrated and Best-in-Class Software Platform for Real Estate Professionals

KIRKLAND, WA — (MARKET WIRE) — 08/04/11 — Market Leader (NASDAQ: LEDR) (http://www.MarketLeader.com), a leader in online marketing and technology solutions for real estate professionals, today announced the acquisition of Denver-based SharperAgent, a leading provider of online and print marketing suites with more than 30,000 real estate agent users across North America.

The acquisition represents the latest in a series of moves by Market Leader to create a comprehensive and integrated software platform for real estate professionals across the United States and Canada. Market Leader’s platform provides real estate franchise organizations, brokerage companies and all of their real estate professionals with one seamless, lead-to-close solution to manage and grow their real estate business.

“We are responding to a clear and growing demand from leading brokerage firms and franchises for a single integrated, best-in-class solution that meets all of their technology and marketing needs,” said Ian Morris, CEO of Market Leader. “SharperAgent is recognized as the leader in providing world-class customized marketing solutions, and we are eager to combine the strengths of our two companies to better serve our collective customers and the entire real estate professional community.”

SharperAgent’s marketing suite offers industry-leading marketing content, a robust marketing campaign management system for multi-channel distribution, and a multitude of online and offline tools.

Market Leader and SharperAgent will immediately begin working together to provide integrated solutions for the nation’s leading real estate franchise organizations and brokerage companies. The integrated platform will include:

Consumer lead generation and cultivation;
Customer relationship management;
Design and print solutions for all online and offline marketing needs;
Online and offline campaign management;
Social media and blogging integration;
Agent and office websites including nationwide MLS integration;
Agent accountability and team management;
Intranet and team communication;
Lender and partner integration;
Call center management;
Agent recruiting;
Integration with in-house and third party information sources.
“Market Leader is one of the dynamic companies helping to change the nature of competition within the real estate industry, through developing software that provides industry leaders with a single, seamless platform,” said John Featherston, CEO of RISMedia. “I believe the acquisition of SharperAgent, which has its own successful track record in the industry, will enhance Market Leader’s overall value proposition and its continued success.”

Current SharperAgent customers will continue to enjoy their current subscription options as well as integration with Market Leader products in the future. To learn more about SharperAgent products, please visit http://www.sharperagent.com.

“Today’s real estate professional needs a technology platform that is truly integrated, to seamlessly connect with consumers,” said Brian Wildermuth, president and co-founder of SharperAgent. “We look forward to continuing to provide great service to our clients while joining Market Leader in creating a world-class platform for our collective customers and the entire real estate community.”

To learn more about Market Leader, please call 1-800-984-7037 or visit www.marketleader.com.

About Market Leader

Market Leader (NASDAQ: LEDR) provides more than 50,000 real estate agents, teams and brokerage companies with a complete lead-to-close marketing and technology system that enables them to grow and manage their business. Founded in 1999 by a second-generation real estate agent, Market Leader enables success for its customers with subscription-based real estate marketing software, a complete contact management system and advertising products that enable them to generate a steady stream of prospects, plus the systems and training they need to convert these prospects into clients.

With a long history of innovation, Market Leader pioneered online lead generation for real estate professionals a decade ago and today is the leading marketing partner to the real estate industry. Market Leader’s national consumer real estate sites provide its customers with access to millions of future home buyers and sellers while providing consumers with free access to the information they seek throughout the home buying and selling process.

For more information on Market Leader visit www.MarketLeader.com.

Press Contact:
Matt Heinz
Heinz Marketing for Market Leader Inc.
877-291-0006
matt [at] heinzmarketing [dot] com

Investor Contact:
Mark Lamb
Director of Investor Relations
Market Leader, Inc.
425-952-5801
markl [at] marketleader [dot] com

Source: Market Leader, Inc.

MRED chooses REALM from LPS Real Estate Group

Nice win for LPS! Congrats to Prem, Shiraz and team!

Full Press Release Below:
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Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) Chooses Real Estate and Living Media (REALM) as its Online Advertising Service

Midwest MLS Giant Significantly Expands REALM Network Audience

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (July 27, 2011) – The Real Estate and Living Media (REALM) Network, the online advertising service of the LPS Real Estate Group, announced today that Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) has chosen REALM to operate its entire online advertising footprint, reaching both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumers (B2C) audiences. Through this agreement, REALM will now be delivering highly targeted advertising to both real estate consumers and professionals across the entire spectrum of MRED online channels, including its MLS system and consumer-facing website.

“MRED is one of the largest MLSs in the country and is, without a doubt, the leader in providing real estate data to the Midwest market,” said Shiraz Vartanian, REALM’s general manager. “For REALM, this relationship represents a significant expansion of our network into the Chicagoland market for both B2B and B2C advertisers. On top of the large group of national advertisers who benefit from REALM’s highly targeted and motivated audience, we are also offering solutions for small and local businesses in the Chicago area looking to reach real estate consumers, including those who are moving, and real estate professionals.”

“Choosing REALM to operate our advertising footprint was unquestionably the right decision,” said MRED’s Chief Executive Officer, Russ Bergeron. “Advertising revenue allows us to continually improve the toolset we offer our members without their having to bear additional expense. As a division of the LPS Real Estate Group, the level of industry expertise REALM brings to the table is simply unmatched. We couldn’t be more excited about the future of this relationship.”

With the addition of MRED to REALM’s already extensive nationwide publisher network, the REALM’s reach now extends to more than 10 million users in the real estate category. The REALM’s ability to deliver a variety of real estate segments and audiences, as well as the creation of customized advertising products, brings marketers a unique way of delivering their messages to real estate professionals and consumers at the most appropriate time and in the most opportune positions.

About Lender Processing Services
Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) is a leading provider of integrated technology, services and loan performance data and analytics to the mortgage, consumer lending, capital markets and real estate industries. LPS offers solutions that span the mortgage continuum, including lead generation, origination, servicing, workflow automation, portfolio retention and default, augmented by the company’s award-winning customer support and professional services. Almost half of all U.S. mortgages by dollar volume are serviced using LPS’ Mortgage Servicing Package (MSP). For more information about LPS, visit www.lpsvcs.com.

About The LPS Real Estate Group
The LPS Real Estate Group, a division of LPS, has relationships with more than 300 MLS organizations, 250 broker companies, settlement services companies and more than 350,000 real estate professionals. The technology applications include innovative tools such as Paragon™; the reInsight™ collection; rDesk® Broker & Agent Suite of products; TransactionPoint®; DocCentral; the Real Estate & Living Media Network that generates revenue for its publishers; as well as a robust real estate property and tax database that includes 400 million residential and commercial property, ownership, sales, assessment and mortgage records. This represents detailed information on at least 92 percent of U.S. property ownership records in more than 2,000 counties with over 675,000 new ownership records added monthly. To learn more, visit www.lpsreg.com.

About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data is a real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the largest multiple listing service by listing volume to almost 8,000 real estate offices and nearly 40,000 customers, including brokers, agents and appraisers. MRED has expanded well into the “collar” counties surrounding Chicagoland, and its property information encompasses northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. (www.mredllc.com)

LPS powers REBNY

Seems LPS Real Estate Group is kicking ass signing up these MLS portals. Congrats!

Full Press Release Below:
________________________________________________________________
LPS Real Estate Group Powers Consumer-Facing Website
for the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — July 18, 2011 – LPS Real Estate Group, a division of Lender Processing Services (LPS), announced today that its MLS Portal was chosen by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) to serve as the platform for its newly launched consumer-facing website, NY1Residential.com, a re-launch of REBNY’s existing New York City real estate listing website.
LPS Real Estate Group’s MLS Portal provides multiple listing services with a branded website that offers consumers direct access to comprehensive property listing content. This site includes an aerial-view map-searching feature with rooftop accuracy and parcel-line overlays. Additionally, search functions are tailored to regional and market specifications. The portal also enhances the listing information to include points of interest, school and neighborhood data, driving directions to each property and more. With the click of a button, viewers can generate real-time reports and snapshots of the real estate market in a selected area to analyze buying trends and compare property values.
“The goal is to provide a regional channel to drive more consumer traffic to our REBNY brokers, while making it easy for the public to find a home in New York City,” said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. “REBNY selected LPS Real Estate Group because of their outstanding member benefits, knowledge and product.”
“These consumer portals do not compete with REBNY’S members’ websites, but ensure that consumer traffic is sent back to the brokers and agents,” said John Hensley, chief product officer, LPS Real Estate Group. “Statistics show that consumers who are allowed independent access to listings are better informed and more faithful to the real estate professional who helps them with their sale or purchase.”
More than 90 percent of consumers use the Internet as the first step in their real estate purchase. LPS’ MLS Portal provides that intermediate level between the national websites, where many consumers start their search, and the individual agent website, where consumers work one-on-one with an agent in their home-buying process.
“Surveys have shown that consumer-facing MLS websites gain increasingly higher search result placement than individual broker agent websites,” added Hensley.
Search for a home in New York City by visiting www.NY1Residential.com.
For more information contact Kevin Greene at 949.903.6138, email kevin.greene@lpsvcs.com or visit www.lpsreg.com.

About Lender Processing Services
Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) is a leading provider of integrated technology and services to the mortgage and real estate industries. LPS offers solutions that span the mortgage continuum, including lead generation, origination, servicing, workflow automation (LPS Desktop®) portfolio retention and default, augmented by the company’s award-winning customer support and professional services. Approximately 50 percent of all U.S. mortgages by dollar volume are serviced using LPS’ Mortgage Servicing Package (MSP). LPS also offers proprietary mortgage and real estate data and analytics for the mortgage and capital markets industries. For more information about LPS, please visit www.lpsvcs.com.

About LPS Real Estate Group
The LPS Real Estate Group has relationships with more than 300 MLS organizations, 250 broker companies, settlement services companies, and more than 350,000 real estate professionals. The technology applications include innovative tools such as Paragon™; the reInsight® collection; reDataVault™; rDesk® Broker & Agent Suite of products; TransactionPoint®; DocCentral; the Real Estate & Living Media Network that generates revenue for its publishers; as well as a robust real estate property and tax database that includes 400 million residential and commercial property, ownership, sales, assessment and mortgage records. This represents detailed information on at least 92 percent of U.S. property ownership records in more than 2,000 counties with over 675,000 new ownership records added monthly. For more information, please visit www.lpsreg.com.

About the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)
The Real Estate Board of New York is NYC’s leading real estate trade association with more than 12,000 members consisting of owners, builders, brokers, managers, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, real estate investment trusts, utilities, attorneys, architects, marketing professionals and many other individuals and institutions involved in New York realty. REBNY launched its public real estate listings website ResidentialNYC.com in 2007 and decided to re-launch the site with partner NY1 News in 2011 and call it NY1Residential.com. For more information, visit www.rebny.com.

LPS Real Estate Group:
Laura Buser, 949.681.4852
laura [dot] buser [at] lpsvcs.com

Move acquires SocialBios (formerly Peep.ly)

I’m starting to see a trend. Looks like a bigger companies are taking their social networking more seriously. Instead of just allowing visitors to share listings on Facebook or Twitter they are now buying “social” focused companies/products for full integration. With last week’s announcement of VHT acquiring Dwellicious and now Move, Inc. acquiring SocialBios we are starting to see the chess pieces move with social networks becoming a larger part of their overall strategy.

As for SocialBios I think the key here is implementation. They need to get it just right. Connecting people “naturally” through their social graph is a powerful idea but runs the risk of triggering privacy concerns.

Looking forward to what Ernie and his team adds to the Move, Inc mix.

Full Press Release Below:

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Move Acquires SocialBios, Award-Winning Social Search Platform

Real Estate Leader Invests in Social Platform and Talent to Realize Vision of Connecting Consumers, Properties and Real Estate Experts Through Their Social Networks

CAMBPELL, Calif., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE), the leader in online real estate, today announced its acquisition of SocialBios, an award-winning social search platform. SocialBios allows individuals and companies to create one social hub for their online profiles through interactive ‘About Us’ pages that simplify the discovery of shared connections on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare and Google without sacrificing their privacy.
The acquisition of SocialBios points to Move’s acceleration into the area of social and its integration into the real estate search experience throughout Move’s online real estate network. As a result, Move will leverage the SocialBios platform and talent to develop products that connect people with real estate professionals based on the commonalities of their on- and offline social networks.
“Real estate is inherently a social business. Today’s search experience is highly interactive and instant with the explosion of mobile in real estate. We’re uniquely positioned to lead our industry and connect people naturally through their social graph,” said Scott Boecker, chief product officer at Move, Inc. “This acquisition brings a new element of discovery and creativity to our online real estate marketplace as we evolve our web, mobile and social search experiences.”
SocialBios was a 2011 ‘Best Tech Startup’ winner at Inman Connect NYC, and was selected by a popular vote of real estate industry leaders as the new technology that would most benefit their industry. In the past six months, through the company’s social layering technology, SocialBios members and visitors have equated to more than two million potential connections.

As part of the acquisition, SocialBios founder Ernie Graham and co-founders Ira McMahon and Andrew Van Tassel have joined the product development team at Move, Inc. Graham, who will head up Move’s social product strategy and development team, will work with the Move’s franchise and broker customers to develop social graphing strategies that help them facilitate more connections between their agents and brokers with consumers.

“We’re very excited to join Move and the talented team that continually delivers great products and services based on the premise of connection,” said Ernie Graham, general manager for Move’s SocialBios platform. “By using the current SocialBios platform as a springboard and leveraging Move’s product and technology assets, we’ll take the concept of social capital discovery and create new ways to expedite higher quality connections between agents and consumers. We’re looking forward to the road ahead and transcending the traditional boundaries within our industry of how to drive better client-agent relationships.”

The SocialBios office and team of social experts will be based in Denver, Colorado. The SocialBios website, products and brand will remain in production and available to real estate professionals. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Real estate agents and brokers interested in claiming their SocialBios ID can go to http://socialbios.com or call Move’s support team at 800.878.4166.

About MOVE, Inc.
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) is the leader in online real estate with over 15.2 million monthly visitors(1) to its online network of websites. Move, Inc. operates: Move.com, a leading destination for information on new homes and rental listings, moving, home and garden and home finance; REALTOR.com®, the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®; MortgageMatch.com, Moving.com; SeniorHousingNet; ListHub; and TOP PRODUCER Systems. Move, Inc. is based in Campbell, California.

About Social Bios
Social Bios is the only online service that allows individuals and companies to aggregate all of their disparate social network profile and connection data for generating new business referrals. The Social Bios “About Us” page allows your website or Facebook fan page visitors to discover social capital with your agents or employees. The Social Bios beta was launched in January 2011 and won the Inman Connect NYC “Best New Startup” award. Social Bios is based in Denver, Colorado. For more information, go to www.SocialBios.com

VHT acquires Dwellicious.

Some of you may have heard about this already. You can read about it on TechCrunch today.

It was a tough decision to sell Dwellicious, it was the first app we created to launch our new company, W&R Studios. But the guys at VHT are great and we think they are the right fit to take Dwellicious to the next level.

Full Press Release is below:
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Enhancement of VHT ImageWorks Platform Provides Brokers with Popular Customer Engagement App

ROSEMONT, Ill., July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — VHT Inc., a leading provider of technology and services for marketing real estate online, today announced it has acquired Dwellicious, the leading social bookmarking site for real estate buyers, from W&R Studios. Dwellicious is being integrated into the VHT ImageWorks online marketing platform to provide brokerage clients with a valuable tool for communicating with home buyers.
Under the agreement, VHT has acquired the Dwellicious technology, website and clients. Purchase price was not disclosed.  

Dwellicious, a finalist in the 2009 Inman Innovator Awards, uses the power of social bookmarking to help home buyers share their favorite properties on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites. Buyers can organize, monitor and compare listings, make notes, add tags, and share and discuss properties with friends, family and real estate professionals.

“Today, more than 90 percent of home buyers are searching properties on the Internet and they’re using multiple websites in the search process,” said Alex Zoghlin, CEO, VHT. “It’s impossible for brokers to track all the properties their clients are interested in without a confusing trail of emails and faxes.”
“Dwellicious is a clever, simple solution to this dilemma. As a result of the acquisition, we’re able to make this powerful application seamlessly available to brokerages that use VHT’s ImageWorks platform at a significantly reduced cost so their agents can develop stronger, more engaged relationships with home buyers,” Zoghlin said.
VHT ImageWorks is a comprehensive and automated marketing platform used by industry-leading brokerages and more than 100,000 real estate professionals across the country. It’s the first online marketing platform with a proven track record of producing measurable results by significantly improving brokers’ search engine-generated traffic and sales conversion rates.

“With VHT ImageWorks, brokerages can attract more buyers to their websites and take advantage of powerful tools such as Dwellicious to share real estate information online and educate buyers throughout the process of searching for their dream homes,” Zoghlin said. “And buyers, in turn, have an easy way to keep brokers updated about their thoughts and preferences.”  
The integration of Dwellicious is the first of many planned enhancements to VHT ImageWorks designed to provide smarter Internet tools for top real estate professionals and help them win the online battle for home buyers.
Located in Huntington Beach, California, W&R Studios is a privately-held web software company.

About VHT, Inc.
VHT is a leading provider of technology and services to brokerages nationwide for marketing real estate online. Since 1998, VHT has been providing professional production, management and distribution of visual assets– including photographs, video, multimedia tours and Video on Demand television spots – for more than $1.5 billion in properties for 3,500 client companies and more than 100,000 real estate professionals. VHT ImageWorks is the first turnkey marketing platform developed to position brokers as the original source of listings information on the web, while increasing brokers’ online traffic and conversion rates. Venture-backed VHT is based in Rosemont, IL.

SOURCE VHT, Inc.

Goomzee inks deal with newly formed CRMLS.

Congrats to Mike Sparr and team on their latest deal.  First one I heard about being done with CRMLS. Nice!

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GOOMZEE SIGNS CALIFORNIA REGIONAL MLS AND REACHES APPROXIMATELY TEN PERCENT OF AMERICAS REALTORS

Missoula, Montana – October 18th, 2010 – Goomzee Corporation, a leading provider of mobile technology solutions that connects buyers and sellers, announced today it has agreed with the California Regional MLS (CRMLS) to provide its product, Realty Connect, to their customers to allow Southern California homebuyers to receive real estate listing information on their cell phone.

With the contract signing of California Regional MLS, representing nearly 33,000 Southern California REALTORS, Goomzee’s MLS footprint in the United States now exceeds 120,000 MLS subscribers or approximately ten percent (10%) of America’s REALTORS.

Goomzee’s Realty Connect® helps connect buyers and sellers using text messaging and integrates with MLS data systems.  Agents place signs or ads regarding a property for sale that prompts potential buyers to send a text message with a unique property ID code. Within seconds the buyer receives a text message response containing property information and pricing.  The buyer then has the option to receive and view photos of the listing immediately on their phone.  At the same time, the agent is notified of the buyer’s inquiry.  Automated tools and responders then help the agent cultivate those leads and begin to establish a relationship with the buyer.

“We continually seek out the best technology tools and providers for our customers and are pleased to offer Goomzee’s industry-leading text-message advertising and call capture tool.  More home buyers are relying on technology for information when buying a home, and CRMLS recognizes the need to empower the real estate sales professional with useful technology to reach today’s buyer, especially on their mobile phones,” explains Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS.

Goomzee’s CEO, Mike Sparr, commented “reaching approximately 10 percent of America’s REALTORs in today’s economy is a monumental task, and achievement, and I’m very proud of everybody at Goomzee.  We could not have reached this milestone without the trust and support of leading MLS organizations like CRMLS.  We’re very excited to introduce our mobile technology to real estate professionals throughout Southern California and continue delivering high value to agents, sellers and buyers as we expand our US real estate market footprint.”

Goomzee and CRMLS aim to launch Realty Connect in Southern California by year’s end.

About California Regional MLS
The mission of the Pomona, Calif.-based CRMLS is to deliver, through local member associations, the most affordable, reliable, and convenient listing technology service available, and to provide products and services that support REALTORS® in maximizing use of property data to achieve business goals.  To learn more contact us at http://www.imrmls.com/ or call us at (909) 859-2040

About Goomzee
Goomzee empowers real estate agents to connect with today’s mobile real estate consumers using cell phone technology and helps convert more leads into sales.  The company’s product offerings include Realty Connect, a text-message advertising and call capture tool and Realty Mobile, a mobile MLS and branded mobile IDX solution. Goomzee’s products seamlessly integrate with MLS property listing databases to provide accurate, relevant information for the real estate professional and their clients, preventing extra work for the agent while fostering potential buyer and client relationships. To learn more, visit us online at http://www.goomzee.com or contact us toll free at (877) 324-1796.

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Sponsored By MLS Reset