Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Revive and NextHome partner to deliver move-in ready homes to Millennials

Revive and NextHome Partner to Deliver More Move-In Ready Homes to Agents

“In today’s market, the largest proportion of homebuyers — Millennials, comprising a full 43 percent of the homebuying population — are seeking homes that are ready for them to move in today. The latest research shows that 70 percent of Millennial home buyers will choose a smaller home that’s move-in-ready over a larger home that needs some attention.

Revive, the most complete presale home renovation solution for sellers, and NextHome, the No. 1 real estate franchise in the country in owner satisfaction, are joining forces to deliver more move-in ready homes to more than 5,500 NextHome agents in 610 offices across 48 states.

Revive’s concept is super interesting. Going beyond just “carpet and paint” can yield a huge potential upside on many properties. As someone who goes to open houses for fun I’ve seen many houses where one bad bathroom, or ugly tile in the kitchen makes the whole house a stinker. And, I’m sure many NextHome agents have seen tons more than I have.

NorthstarMLS discontinues Homesnap Pro license

From an email to members: NorthstarMLS discontinuing MLS wide license for Homesnap Pro in March

“NorthstarMLS was an early champion and is a current supporter of Broker Public Portal (BPP), an initiative spearheaded by brokers and MLSs to provide a new option for public display of listings. BPP and technology vendor Homesnap entered a joint venture that facilitated BPP’s introduction of Homesnap Pro. At that time, NorthstarMLS added Homesnap Pro as part of its subscriber offerings. 

In 2022, Homesnap and BPP ended their joint venture. Given this change, the NorthstarMLS Board of Directors decided to discontinue offering Homesnap Pro effective March 20, 2023. “

Me thinks there is more to this story than what is being said…

A Little Chat About ChatGPT and the Recent CoStar Move

Why is Andy Florance not acquiring Realtor.com? Could ChatGPT help us finally determine what the value of an MLS is? Just what is and isn’t copyrightable when it comes to real estate data? This episode of Industry Relations dives into recent Co-Star moves, how AI is infiltrating real estate, and whether Rob and Greg are just making a big deal out of nothing. Toward the end of this episode, Rob and Greg dive into Sam DeBord’s recent article “The Value of MLS: ChatGPT, Commissions and the Other 4Cs,” which you can read here!

Watch us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

 This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2023.

NMAR puts brakes on SkySlope Launch

NMAR Pauses SkySlope Launch

“At this time, the NMAR Executive Committee has made the decision to pause the transition to SkySlope as the state’s Form Provider. There is a misalignment between member needs and SkySlopes’ Forms Platform and until that can be resolved, the decision to postpone the launch date was made. For now, NMAR will continue to offer Instanet/Transaction Desk as its membership benefit Forms Provider. “

🫣

The MLS™/CLAW offers free floor plans to members via CubiCasa

The MLS/CLAW CEO, Annie Ives

Free Floor Plans are Now Available to The MLS™/CLAW REALTOR® Members Through CubiCasa

“The CEO of The MLS™/CLAW, Annie Ives, says “Advancement is essential for The MLS™, especially when it comes to technology. We’re pleased to be offering easy floor plans to members as this is a key feature that clients look for during their property search. Agents can now provide their clients a more comprehensive property outlook.”

Super smart!

CubiCasa is building a lot of momentum. A little birdie told me that other big announcements are coming soon. My thanks again to CubiCasa for sponsoring this month of Vendor Alley!

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T3 Sixty’s Real Estate Almanac shows consolidation and growing membership of MLS and Associations

New data from T3 Sixty shows continued compression of total real estate MLSs and Realtor associations across the US

“The 2023 rankings compiled by T3 Sixty’s research team reveal a four-year steady decline in the total number of MLS organizations and local associations and a steady increase in the average MLS subscriber count and local association membership during that same time period. Since 2020, the total number of MLSs and local Realtor associations have dropped 7.6% and 3.8%, respectively, while the average member count of each has steadily grown.”

From a T3 Sixty email announcement:

Meanwhile, the MLSs that remain are growing in subscriber count, averaging an increase of 5.5% in membership in 2022. Since 2020, the average subscriber count for MLSs has grown by nearly 30%.

Not sure why T3 Sixty didn’t publish the same content in their email overview somewhere on the web to link to. Lame.

But the data is awesome. While membership counts are up close to 30% since 2020, they did dip down from 2022 to 2023 by -5.5%. The Real Estate Almanac is a great resource for the entire industry. Many thanks to Jack, Clint, and the rest of the team at T3 Sixty.

Industry Relations Podcast: The Big Why, the Key Issue, and the Consequences of Commission Lawsuits

Lawsuits are on the horizon – but how will they affect NAR and the real estate market? Why are these lawsuits even happening, and what’s the one issue that they revolve around? In this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg make their predictions for what the consequences of these lawsuits will be and whether or not you should be worried.

Watch us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

 This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2023.

CoStar won’t buy realtor.com

CoStar will not acquire portal Realtor.com after all

“During Tuesday’s investor call, Florance compared CoStar’s portal ambitions to the choice consumers face between buying a home verses building something new. But thanks to what Florance described as Homes.com’s success with traffic, and its positive reception within the real estate industry, CoStar has apparently settled for now on the building, rather than buying, strategy.

We feel we have a unique offering on the organic side that no one else is offering out there,” Florance said at another point during the call.

Tuesday’s earnings report states that Homes.com now has more than 20 million unique monthly visitors.”

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, remember when CoStar was going to buy CoreLogic? Good times.

Ultimately this was a head-scratcher anyway, how was CoStar going to manage two brands? Rob and I went over this on an episode of Industry Relations.

I love the optimism here from Andy, but Realtor.com traffic is roughly 5 times that of Homes.com, and Zillow is 10 times that of Homes.com. I still can’t believe Andy’s grand plan is to “beat Zillow”, especially organically. I keep believing there has to be something else…some other plan yet to be revealed. Beating Zillow seems like a fool’s errand.

As a wise man once said, “never get involved in a land war in Asia.”

Listing Bits Episode 77: Using Showing Data to Guide Decision-Making with Wes Hartman of Showingly

Most showing management software aggregates data. But how useful is it to get a report at the end of the month? 

What if the data was presented in a way that helped agents answer seller questions in real time and make informed choices based on the numbers? 

Wes Hartman is CEO of Showingly, a showing management solution that uses data and analytics to guide better decision-making. 

On this episode of Listing Bits, Wes walks us through the key metrics Showingly looks at to drive pricing decisions and marketing strategy for a property.

Wes explains how Showingly is aggregating showing, offer, and closed data to determine the best day and time to list a home and explores what simple things a seller can adjust to secure more showings.

Listen in to understand how the desire for choice might impact the future of showing management software and find out if Showingly’s approach is right for your brokerage or MLS.

What’s Discussed:  

Wes’ background as an aspiring fighter pilot, professional cyclist, real estate agent and tech vendor

How Showingly’s use of data to guide decision-making differentiates it from other showing management solutions

The key metrics Showingly looks at to drive pricing decisions and marketing strategy for a property

What Wes’ team is doing to get honest feedback on a property (and why that’s such a challenge)

How Showingly uses showing, offer, and closed data to determine the best day and time to list a home

How sellers might adjust pricing and Open House hours to get more showings

Wes’ take on the future of showing management software

Showing Hub’s solution to the demand for choice in showing management software

Why Wes is focused on building relationships with brokerages, MLSs and other showing management providers

How Wes thinks about MLSs building their own showing solutions and why competition drives innovation

Connect with Wes:

Showingly

Email wes@showingly.com

Resources:

ShowingTime

Showing Hub

TourZazz

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

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