Super excited that Rupert Murdoch will be the Keynote Speaker at @InmanConnect on Thursday AM!
— Brad Inman (@bradInman) January 15, 2015
Whoa….
Super excited that Rupert Murdoch will be the Keynote Speaker at @InmanConnect on Thursday AM!
— Brad Inman (@bradInman) January 15, 2015
Whoa….
This post from HousingWire.com is a good one to read to get a better (another?) perspective on the Zillow and ListHub kerfuffle.
Ben Lane at HousingWire.com: Zillow ending listing agreement with Listhub
““ListHub has been negotiating in good faith a new listing distribution and reporting agreement with Zillow on terms that reflect the best interests of the brokerage industry,” Move said in a statement. “As communicated in public announcements, Zillow decided to end those negotiations and announced the launch of their own platform. Zillow chose their own route for their business model and interests.”
It reminds me of a breakup where both parties claim that it was they that broke off the relationship, not the other way around.
Shit just got real.
ListHub, a subsidary of MOVE, Inc now owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp just announced that starting in April they will stop sending listings to Zillow. Now this could just be a lot of saber rattling. But me thinks it might be real.
The topic/idea/theory of ListHub shutting down feeds to Zillow may seem familiar to Vendor Alley readers.
Back at the NAR Midyear meetings I got a chance to interview Steve Berkowitz, then CEO of MOVE. He stated that it would be “batshit crazy” to shut down ListHub to spite realtor.com competitors.
I guess Rupert Murdoch has been called worse. 2015 is starting off with a bang!
Inman News has an excelent post on this story so quit being a cheapskate and get a Select membership already!
Zillow Accused of Subjecting Female Employees to “Sexual Torture”
“The suit goes on to describe Zillow’s Souther California office as an “adult frat house” where “sexual harassment and misconduct are normalized, condoned, and promoted by male managers.”
When you have hundreds of young people in their twenties in a sales environment this stuff is going to be super hard to control.
Move Inc. sues Beardsley over stock sale
“The Move lawsuit charges Beardsley sold more than $200,000 worth of Move Inc. stock after learning “non-public, inside information that legally prohibited him from selling that stock.”
Hopefully we won’t see any “FREE CURT” t-shirts anytime soon.
It was the biggest CMLS conference by attendance and sponsorship. I remember when it was a small group (Northwest Council of MLS), say less than 90, for the whole conference. Compare that to today, where FBS took out over 90 of their customers to dinner on Thursday night. Things have changed. I may be biased but I also have to say it was the best location as well. The weather was perfect. The hotel was fantastic. The food was amazing. You have to give it up to Art Carter, Patty Connor and the rest of the CRMLS staff for pulling off such and incredible event.
Before the event I heard a few people complaining about the agenda. They were wondering why all the “non-industry” speakers. Art Carter made it clear from the beginning, he wanted to craft an event, “I would like to see”. As it turns out the outside speakers were a huge hit. So much so, I bet future conferences you’ll see more of them than less.
Then there were the parties. My company held an “Open House” at our W&R Studios headquarters down on Main Street on Tuesday night. It was a huge hit, even if it required you to go big on the first night. Trulia and Zillow held separate events, one at Red O restaurant in Newport Beach (very che’che’). And of course there was Mini-Kiss event at Hurricanes on Wednesday night (I heard the band was spotted later and a local I-Hop around 1:30am, can you imagine the stares?)
Again, I may be biased, and I think I say this every year, but CMLS 2014 was best CMLS conference ever.
And then Craig Cheatham took the stage.
It was about 4:15PM on Friday afternoon and Art had a big smile on his face. He even commented, “If you are wondering why I have a big smile on my face its because I see so many of out there.” Having Craig Cheatham, the CEO of The Realty Alliance, as the last presenter was no coicendence. It was a master stroke from Art and did exactly what he hoped, keep people in their seats for the entire conference.
It’s hard to blame Mr. Cheatham for what happen next. And I have to give him credit for showing up, the expectations were pretty high. But he seems to be just a messenger, and a poor one at that, to the whims of The Realty Alliance masters he serves. Kind of like a Roger Goddell, with much less pay and prestige.
The Realty Alliance had gotten the MLS industry’s attention with Mr. Cheatham’s declaration last year, of “You’ve got 10 days”. One year later they had nothing to show or really talk about. Mr. Cheatham’s responses were, at best, oblique. I think John Mosey, CEO of Northstar MLS, put it best in a follow up question, Mr. Cheatham’s statements were “clear as mud”.
The subsequent interview was, at best, awkward, at worst insulting and a waste of everyone’s time. It’s a shame because the audience was full of MLS professionals who truly wanted to help make things better. It reminds me of the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”
But lets move on, and not waste anymore time on these Keystone Cops.
My thanks again to everyone at CRMLS, the CMLS board of directors (you too Sarah), for putting together a truly spectacular event. And see you next year in Kansas City!
Holy Shit!
I hinted about this rumor last week via a tweet, but didn’t know the suitor at the time.
Via Press Release: News Corp To Acquire Move, Inc.
“Under the acquisition agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Move, News Corp will acquire all the outstanding shares of Move for $21 per share, or approximately $950 million (net of Move’s existing cash balance), via an all-cash tender offer. This represents a premium of 37% over Move’s closing stock price on September 29, 2014. REA’s share will be acquired for approximately US$200 million. News Corp intends to commence a tender offer for all of the shares of common stock of Move within 10 business days, followed by a merger to acquire any untendered shares.”
Not a bad price, considering.
“Some of the expected key benefits of the transaction include:
-Broadened reach for Move through News Corp’s robust platform including WSJ Digital Network (approximately 500 million average monthly page views[6]) and News America Marketing (nearly 74 million households)
-Increased sales and marketing support to drive higher brand awareness and traffic
-Cross-platform promotion and audience monetization expertise
-Leverage of News Corp’s and REA’s real estate and digital expertise to drive improved product innovation, consumer engagement and audience growth
-Boost traffic and digital dwell times with high quality News Corp content”
Smart.
If Spencer Rascoff is Frank Underwood then Rupert Murdoch is the Prince Of Fucking Darkness. So things are so desperate it looks like the National Association of REALTORS literally just did a deal with the devil.
Let the games begin!
Inman News reports that Barbara O’Connor, MOVE, Inc.’s Chief Marketing Officer, is leaving for “family reasons”.
I also heard news that Beverly Thorne, Century 21’s Chief Marketing Officer, is no longer with Century 21.
Word on the street is that ListHub (MOVE) has acquired Point2. If so, Holy shit! What you gotta wonder is, if this is a Hail Mary Pass to “Save Listhub”, or is MOVE, Inc. trying to cinch up the all the syndicated MLS data feeds for some other batshit crazy idea.
Plus if Point2 was up for sale, why do you think Zillow didn’t buy it?
Related: Saul Klein and John Reilly and left Yardi as of September 1st. Yardi was the previous owner of Point2. In a Facebook post Saul wrote:
“John Reilly and I want to let you know that we are no longer involved with Point2 and will be leaving Yardi. We completed our last responsibilities on September 1.”
UPDATE: Looks like the rumor was true: Move, Inc. Acquires Point2’s U.S. Listing Syndication Service
But it looks like only the syndication piece was sold, so Point2 still lives.
“Point2 will continue to provide its signature real estate solutions including Point2 Agent, Point2 Homes, agent and MLS public websites, IDX tools, mobile applications, and additional tools to help real estate professionals be more productive and competitive.”