Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Listing Bits Episode 90:  Upgrading Client Engagement with HŌM

I hope you enjoy this great conversation with the co-founders of HŌM, Jeff Zakrzewski and Nhan Vo.

In a wide ranging conversation we discuss their orgin story.  Where they came up for the idea of their app and the struggles of going to market with a real estate software solution.

If you are new vendor getting in to the space, an MLS exec, or franchisor professional its worth a listen. 

HŌM is a well designed app that is doing a lot of interesting things with data and collaboration with some great people behind it.

Join us!

Find out more about the HŌM experience

homagent.com | myhom.ai

Reach Out:

Connect with Jeff

Connect with Vo

Our Sponsor:

Trackxi – Real Estate’s #1 Deal Tracker

Production and editing services by:

Sunbound Studios

Webinar: Leading the Leap: Redefining Real Estate in the Age of AI

Lots of good podcasts and webinars lately. This one looks interesting, it’s from Lundy, the guys doing real estate voice search on Alexa.

“Something big is coming to the world of real estate… 🏡 Join us for an exclusive look at the LundyAI Core at 2pm PT on April 11th, hosted by our CEO Justin Lundy and Stellar MLS . We’re leading the leap and redefining real estate in the age of AI.”

LundyAI Core

You can sign up here => Leading The Leap

Racial bias case in Baltimore gets settled

Lawsuit Alleging Racial Bias in Home Appraisals Is Settled

“A year earlier, the couple had opened their home to Mr. Lanham, who is white, for an appraisal, and he put the value of their four-bedroom house in Baltimore’s Homeland neighborhood at $472,000. After the couple stripped their home of family photographs and had a white colleague pose as the homeowner, an action known as “whitewashing,” a second appraiser offered a value of $750,000. The couple said that the difference in value — nearly $300,000 higher — came because the second appraiser believed that the home’s owners were white.”

Debra Kamin, New York Times

I remember reading about this a couple years ago. It just makes your blood boil. I hope they took these companies to the cleaners.

Industry Relations Podcast: The NAR Settlement: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown

What will the recent NAR settlement mean for the future of real estate, technology, and industry navigation? In this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg discuss the outcomes of the recent NAR settlement. They provide insights on the agreement, exploring their reactions and perspectives on the settlement’s details. From provisions to backlash, they discuss public perception, legal frameworks, and implications for agents, brokers, and the market. During the discussion, Rob and Greg also disagree with one another at times, and fight like a married couple. After this episode discussing the NAR lawsuit, yet again, should the guys take a break and do a movie review of Dune 2? Grab your sandworm buckets and tune in!

Watch us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Our Sponsors: 

Notorious VIP

This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2024.

Property Panorama partners with Local Logic

Local Logic and Property Panorama Forge Innovative Partnership to Enrich Virtual Tours with Advanced Location Insights

“This collaboration is set to equip Property Panorama’s vast network of agents and brokers with a one-click solution to Local Logic’s advanced insights directly within their virtual tours and digital marketing solutions, offering an unparalleled understanding of locations across the United States and Canada.”

Local Logic

Property Panorama also made some recents upgrades to their dashboard to include:

  • Account activity feed to track your news and subscriptions
  • Drag and drop photo management
  • Full Support for transparent and PNG images and logos
  • Fully Optimized for Mobile and Desktop
  • Streamlined Navigation 
  • Re-imagined page layouts to better organize your tools and data
  • Priority access to all Property Panorama Products


Check out their recent blog post to learn more: Property Panorama Launches New Dashboard for Agents

Webinar: The Truth about the NAR Settlement

Rob Hahn, my partner in crime at the Industry Relations podcast is hosting a webinar Tuesday, March 26 from 9 – 10:30am PT, this is “must see tv” in my book. So, fire up the flat screen in your conference room and gather round your senior execs. From his announcement:

“It’s been quite a few days. I’ve been getting absolutely hammered with questions from some of you, plus the media, plus investors, plus plus plus. While I’m happy to answer them, and have as much as I could, I thought it time to just hold a webinar and see if I can do it all in one place and one time.

I’ll go over:

  • What the Settlement Agreement actually says.
  • What it requires of brokers, agents, MLS and Associations.
  • What it likely means for you and the industry.
  • Possible unexpected consequences.

I’ve done webinars like this a couple of times in the past, and thought they were useful.”

The Notorious ROB

Click this link to register = > The Truth About the NAR Settlement

It’s $399, but $200 cheaper if you are a Notorious VIP subscriber. As Rob says, “If you are not a VIP Subscriber, well… you can do the math.”

Support independent creators in our space. Sign up today!

VestaPlus [Sponsor]

My thanks to VestaPlus for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley. The team at VestaPlus have many solutions for MLS organizations to consider. This week I wanted to showcase their compliance solution, Checkmate, here’s a quick video:

Checkmate is super flexible, letting MLSs set up their own rules to fit what they need locally. It’s got cool features like spotting rule-breakers automatically, playing nice with any MLS software, and letting you tweak reports however you like. Basically, it makes it easier for MLS organizations, big or small, to get the lowdown and make smart choices. To find out more check out their website.

If you are interested in why MLS organizations should look towards buying tools from other MLS organizations please listen to my Listing Bits podcast with VestaPlus’ VP of sales and marketing, Kelly Robinson. On that podcast where we discuss the benefits of working with another MLS organization as one of your vendors. My thanks again to VestaPlus.

Vendor Alley reader has unique solution to compensation disclosure on MLS systems

“I think I’ve figured out the solution. From now on, the last three digits in the list price represent the basis points the seller is willing to offer a buyer’s agent. $595,250 = 2.5%. It’s elastic from 0% to 9.99% and legal proof. Is the DOJ going to crack down on how sellers price their property? 🤯”

Vendor Alley Reader

The reader only wished to be identified as a “strikingly handsome and incredibly intelligent industry expert.”

Another miss

Anybody else getting a ton of calls/texts/forwards from your “non-real estate” friends about the NAR settlement? My friends are saying that a lot of their social media feeds are crazy with anti-REALTOR messages. Mostly in their social media feeds, with a ton of memes and “quick takes”. I think all of us are still digesting these changes but in the end as Redfin CEO, Glenn Kelman wrote in a recent blog post (NAR Settlement: Kaboom!) “…perception is reality…”

“Even if the letter of the settlement allows for cooperation, how the settlement is perceived may still re-shape agent attitudes about cooperation, and consumer attitudes about fees. The result could be that agent-to-agent cooperation on fees is weakened but not killed. “

Glenn Kelman, Redfin

I want to say upfront that I think NAR did a tremendous job on the settlement for their membership. But, and I may be beating a dead horse here, this feels like another miss in messaging/marketing from NAR. Based on what I’ve seen on Twitter and elsewhere NAR took everyone by surprise, even at their own event, AEI.

How about pumping the brakes a bit? Create some good content that puts a positive spin on things. Give all those assets to share with your local MLS and associations (so they can pass it on) and mirror that with some sort of nationwide “we hear you” campaign.

But releasing the news when all of their association leadership was offsite? Plus, has anyone seen anyone from NAR in the national news?

WTF?

Back to basics

Defining and Communicating the Value of the Multiple Listing Service

“In light of this uncertain, ever-changing environment, a casual observer might ask, “What is the existential value of an MLS?” The truth is, the MLS has provided an abundance of value over the past century that explains its broad appeal and its continued relevance.

Being able to succinctly communicate the many benefits of the MLS in a modern environment—with historical context, and even from an international perspective—is critical for brokers and MLS leaders to ensure that transparent, liquid marketplaces continue to serve their communities. In fact, any professional who’s involved in the real estate profession should be prepared to describe the value of the MLS.

Sam DeBord

A good reminder.

Sponsored By MLS Reset