Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

The 2011 Vendor Alley Awards

It’s just about the time of year when you start reading “top 10” lists of 2011. I thought I would start a new tradition here at Vendor Alley and rattle off my choices for top companies and people in the real estate industry for 2011.

I call them “The Vendys”.

1. The “Bob Hale” Award
The reason I call this the “Bob Hale” award is that it seems Bob is listed every year as one of the top influencer/innovators in the industry. So think of it as “besides Bob”, who really made a difference this year in the real estate industry. : )

And the winner is….Merri Jo Cowen

I’ve been a part of CMLS for many, many years and while other board presidents have set the stage for CMLS to take a larger role in the MLS community Merri Jo has been the catalyst to make those goals happen. It’s been a pleasure to have a front row seat to how CMLS has changed over the years and Merri Jo has been a huge part of that success.

2. Best new real estate technology/product. –Nest
What happens with the inventor of the iPod focuses his attention on real estate? Magic.

Runner up- I have to say that I really love Realtor.com’s iPad app.

3. Top MLS Provider. – MRED, LLC
All you need to do is take a look at the pressroom of MRED, LLC to see the transformation happening at MRED.

4. Top MLS Vendor – TIED: LPS and CoreLogic.
My basis for this was the CIVIX lawsuit. While I believe NAR painted themselves in to a corner with the settlement it was these two MLS vendors who stepped up and wrote the really big checks.

5. Top Real Estate Portal – Zillow
Their spectacular IPO and recent acquisition of Diverse Solutions only shows they are here to stay and poised to dominate.

6. Best new real estate vendor. – Goomzee
I’ve had many discussions with their CEO, Mike Sparr, and he is one of the new players that “gets it”.

7. Top company to watch – RED -Real Estate Digital
After a bold management buy-out, these guys are just getting started.

8. Most improved company – Inman News
The conferences are better, their site is better, Agent Reboot, InmanNext, the list goes on and on. Tim, Alice, Chris, and Katie and the rest of the team has done a spectacular job and can’t wait to see what’s next.

9. Best industry blog – 1000watt Blog
If I can’t pick VendorAlley.com then 1000watt Consulting gets my vote. Brian, Marc and Joel, offer equal doses of spot on analysis and inspiration all wrapped up in a beautifully atheistic and great writing.

10 Best company blog – RPR
While I have been known to poke some fun at these guys you can’t argue what a great job they do with their blog. One small quibble, I can’t view videos on my iPad.

11. Top MLS Provider CEO – Art Carter
Art Carter turned the fiasco that was California Association of REALTORS failed state-wide MLS effort (calREDD) into in the the largest MLS in country. I don’t think he’s done yet.

12. Best Industry Conference. – CMLS
Like with all my picks I’m a little biased but CMLS’ annual conference keeps getting bigger and better.

13. Best Real Estate Franchise – Keller Williams.
Sure their consumer facing website sucks but in the world of real estate franchisors its all about agent count and these guys are winning.

Well that’s it. Am I a “kiss ass”, “spot on”, “not even close”? What say you?

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.

Homes.com adds Bing Maps 7

Dominion Enterprises‘ Home Media Solutions announced a “Home Value Channel”, you can check out the press release at the bottom of this post. But what I was really impressed by was the implementation of Microsoft’s Bing Maps 7. Check this out, super sexy!

Full Press Release Below:
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Homes.com Launches Home Values Channel

NORFOLK, Va., May 23, 2011—Homes.com, anchor website for Homes Media Solutions and a division of Dominion Enterprises, announced today the launch of its new Home Values channel. Designed to serve as the first step for consumers seeking more information about a home’s market value, the channel’s innovative tools provide a wealth of property information to help educate consumers on local market conditions.

Home Values gives users highly accurate estimates of property values based on a proprietary, automated valuation model from SmartZip Analytics, Inc. It has valuable information about the property, including estimated value over time, last sold date and price, and a mortgage estimate. Home Values also delivers information on nearby homes for sale and recently sold properties.

Homes.com is the first major real estate search site to utilize Bing Maps 7, the latest in mapping technology.   Using three different perspectives, including the closest bird’s eye view in the industry, Home Values offers users a clear, crisp and easy-to-navigate view of the neighborhood they are searching, both on the web and on Homes.com mobile.

“The new Home Values channel on Homes.com is an industry-leading set of home valuation tools that meets the information demands of consumers. It connects millions of consumers with local real estate professionals who have the market insight to supply an even more precise value estimate for a property,” said Jason Doyle, vice president of Homes.com. Doyle added, “The launch of Home Values and the unveiling of our new brand are the first of many upcoming developments at Homes.com designed to connect more consumers visiting Homes.com with our preferred local professionals.”

“Millions of home owners, buyers and investors look to Homes.com as a trusted resource for their real estate research,” noted Tom Glassanos, president and CEO of SmartZip Analytics. “We are excited to partner with Homes.com to bring them our objective assessment of fair market values on over 75 million homes across the U.S.”
Multimedia – Download screenshots of Homes.com’s Home Values by clicking here.

About Homes Media Solutions
Homes Media Solutions is a leading provider of marketing and media services for real estate professionals, including brand advertising, property listing exposure and syndication, website design, search engine marketing, hosting and data management services and instant response lead generation. Through its flagship brand Homes.com, which reaches over 6 million visitors monthly, as well as AgentAdvantage, Advanced Access, eNeighborhoods and NUMBER1EXPERT®, Homes Media Solutions connects real estate professionals with active homebuyers and sellers. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., Homes Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. For more information, visit www.Homes.com.

About SmartZip Analytics, Inc.        
SmartZip Analytics is a leader in real estate analytics, helping banks, real estate professionals and consumers make smart decisions about real estate. Backed by Intel Capital and adopted by leading real estate websites and businesses, SmartZip’s products offer valuable insight about pricing, investment quality, risk, desirability and likelihood to sell. SmartZip home values, ratings and analysis are available for over 75 million homes in 56,000 U.S. neighborhoods.  SmartZip is a privately held corporation headquartered in Pleasanton, California, and can be found on the web atwww.smartzip.com.

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