In this week’s Real Estate Sales and Technology news we cover the Zillow “Coming Soon” Pre-Marketing Debate, a new threat to the Real Estate Industry, 8 Great Real Estate Fears and Relationship Building through Multi-Channel Marketing for Real Estate Professionals.
The buzz about Zillow and the impact of “Coming Soon” listings
The Seattle online real estate company, Zillow, surpassed $5 billion in market value this week. That’s more than triple the value of rival Trulia and similar to Realogy’s $5.19 billion valuation. Just to give you a snapshot of the growing popularity of Zillow, it attracted 79 million users during the month of April.
But what everybody has been talking about lately is Zillow’s recently launched “Coming Soon” feature. “Coming Soon” allows its subscribing agents to generate buzz for listings up to 30 days before they go on the market. This new feature sparked a debate in industry circles about whether it could undermine the role of the MLS, and about potential legal implications.
This week, the National Association of Realtors warned brokers that those who do not act in the best interests of their clients and fail to disclose the pros and cons of marketing strategies such as “coming soon” advertising may be exposing themselves to legal and professional liability. And just today consumer advocacy group Consumer Advocates in American Real Estate (CAARE) came out against Zillow’s entry into the pocket listing “marketplace.” Read the NAR response article “Coming Soon” – Is it in the Seller’s Best Interest? Or more about the industry buzz about “Coming Soon” here.
Pre-Marketing on Zillow with Coming Soon Listings
A new threat to the Real Estate Industry: Cyberattacks
Who would have thought we’d even be having this conversation 10-15 years ago? It would have seemed like a scene out of a science fiction movie. But last week, the real estate industry felt what tech start ups have been feeling for weeks with a wave of so-called denial-of-service, or DDoS attacks, against web start-ups. In each case, attackers knock their victims offline using a flood of traffic and refuse to stop until victims pay their ransom in Bitcoins.
So far some of the targets have been popular sites like Vimeo, Basecamp, Bit.ly, MailChimp and Shutterstock. This week however, Move, Inc. a network of real-estate brokerage sites, was added to the list. Realtor.com, the NAR’s primary consumer portal, was just one of the websites hit. To read more about the ongoing coverage check out Forbes, New York Times, HousingWire and Associations Now.
Game Changers – the Future Prosperity of Residential Real Estate
Real Trends has just released it’s latest book “Game Changers – The Unfounded Fears and Future Prosperity of the Residential Real Estate Industry”. Authors Steve Murray, Lorne Wallace and Lon Welsh lay out what causes real estate leaders to lose sleep and how to rest easier in the future. Game Changers looks at 8 Great Fears and Why They Matter for Real Estate Professionals.
Two interesting and relevant fears for Clearview Elite users are #2 & #8:
#2 Technology will enable people to buy and sell homes directly without the involvement of an agent.
#8 Listing portals have grabbed huge consumer attention. Brokers can now compete, both online through SEO and other means and by focusing on the use of technology to increase service levels to housing consumers.
More discussion and solutions for the 8 Fears of Game Changers can be found at Real Trends.
5 Tips to Grow Real Estate Leads and Build Relationships in Real Estate
GeekEstateBlog.com just posted a great article entitled “5 Ultimate Real Estate Contact Management and Marketing Tips”. Some of the tips include the obvious “personalized email marketing” along with more details like the necessity of Call to Action (CTA) buttons. In addition to getting the right real estate CRM and prioritizing hot leads to contact, they also touch on offline events to build brand loyalty and referrals. Read the full 5 Tips on GeekEstate here.
Clearview’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Canva
While working on content creation for our Clearview aficionados, I have finally discovered Canva. Canva provides amazingly simple graphic design for blogs, social media and online product creation. And best of all, it is free! So if you can’t afford a graphic designer or you just need a quick fix, Canva allows you to create visually engaging images in less time than it will take you to order another latte at Starbucks. For me, Canva is one of those finds that will multiply exponentially in functionality.
Are you a realtor that needs an image for your weekly blog? An image for your Facebook cover page? An image for that free ebook you are writing to lure clients into your sales funnel? Or maybe you’re just wanting to create a new meme to annoy your coworker? Here’s a great podcast on “Why Canva is Taking Over Visual Social Media” and a Digital Consultant’s view on “Why Canva Rocks so Hard”. A word of warning though, don’t get lost exploring the extensive selection of visual treats. Canva often has the same timeless black hole feeling that YouTube creates when you get lost watching golden retriever puppy videos til 1am.
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