Redfin Expands Redfin Next Agent Pay Plan to 25 Additional Markets
Redfin announced it is expanding the Redfin Next agent compensation plan to 25 additional markets. Under Redfin Next, agents in these markets earn competitive splits as high as 70%, have virtually all business expenses covered, and get technology, support, benefits and customer introductions from Redfin.com.
"Redfin Next has proven to be even better than we imagined at igniting our salesforce, helping us recruit new talent," said Jason Aleem, Redfin's chief of real estate services. "When you pair a competitive traditional split with the technology, customer introductions, benefits and support that only we offer, there's really no limit to what you can achieve at Redfin. We give agents everything they need to amplify their business and focus on serving their customers well. Redfin Next is also helping us gain market share faster in our early markets, which means we're helping more customers get a better deal when they're buying or selling. This expansion is a big step toward making this opportunity available to all Redfin agents as we continue to transform our brokerage and grow our presence nationwide."
Redfin initially announced the plan in San Francisco and Los Angeles in October 2023 and has since expanded it to San Diego, Orange County, Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas, Miami, New York, Palm Beach, and Washington, D.C. Since launch, the brokerage has recruited more than 140 top producing agents in Redfin Next markets. Because of this recruiting success and the positive reception among Redfin's existing agents, the company is now expanding the plan to the following markets:
Austin
Boise
Coastal North Carolina
Columbus
Denver
Fort Myers
Grand Rapids
Indianapolis
Inland Empire, CA
Kansas City
Maryland
Memphis
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Mexico
Palm Springs
Portland
Raleigh
Sacramento
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
Seattle
Spokane
St. Louis
Virginia
The Redfin Next plan includes:
Big splits. Zero expenses: At Redfin, what you earn is what you keep because we cover all your necessary business expenses and cover benefits, mileage, payroll taxes and listing expenses.
Meet over 100 customers a year: By plugging into the Redfin platform and the 49 million people who use Redfin's app and website every month, agents can grow their business rapidly.
Business in a box: Redfin's technology and staff handle qualifying new customers, scheduling tours, conducting follow-up tours, and coordinating sales and listings. Agents focus on closing deals for customers.
Top-tier benefits: Redfin's benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance; fertility benefits; 401(k) employer match and employee stock purchase program.
Define the future of real estate: Redfin puts the customer first, makes the industry more fair and transparent, and uses technology to modernize the real estate experience and make it better.
Agents in the Redfin Next plan will continue to work as employees, not independent contractors. Redfin's unique employee agent model was built to put the customer first by ensuring agents are held to a high standard and have the support they need to deliver consistently great service. Redfin uses technology to make real estate more efficient, which is one reason Redfin has the most productive agents in the industry, closing more than twice as many transactions as the average agent every year.
Michael Odeh, a Redfin Premier agent in Chicago who has been on the Redfin Next plan since early May, said the new compensation plan is a welcome change. "Ever since I started at Redfin in 2019, I've thought that whoever could combine the financial rewards of a traditional brokerage with the efficiency of Redfin's model would be the future of real estate," he said. "That's what Redfin Next is. It gives agents the comfort and security of a traditional career by providing virtually unlimited earnings opportunities, while taking everything else off their plate so they can focus on what really matters: the client. I am so excited about the future and what Redfin Next will bring."
The 25 expansion markets will move to the Redfin Next pay plan on August 11.
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Articles
3 Rs – Results, Rules and Records
Ten months ago, I rejoined Compass as Chief Real Estate Strategist. This has been the most invigorating and inspiring 10 months of my professional career. I've had scarier times (2009 to 2011) and more gratifying times (2015 to 2018), but this engagement is different.
The accomplishments of the leadership team at Compass over the past 10 years is exemplary. From a start-up to the No. 1 company in the country by sales volume in 10 years is nothing short of amazing. The reorganization of Compass from the intense high-growth years to the "deliver operating results" in our current state takes a rigorous conviction, discipline, and most of all confidence.
I have experienced the change and the results – impressive is an understatement. Q1 2024 results are publicly available. Snapshot below.
Compass' Q1 2024 results outperformed the market and outperformed the industry. This is a function of Robert's leadership and the team's focus and execution. Experiencing this continued vision, focus, and discipline is remarkable.
Our only constant in life and business seems to be change. Our industry is experiencing significant change, once again. The rules of our industry are changing to protect the consumer. As I mentioned in my March 18, 2024 blog post:
[This change] represent[s] an exceptional opportunity for the good to become great. This includes real estate professionals and brokerage firms. Those, individuals and/or companies, that focus on perfecting the expression of their value proposition will gain market share.
We are not alone in an industry that experiences change. I tend to reflect on sports, teams, and competition in my approach to business. Rules in organized athletics change constantly. The players study the rule changes, practice the behaviors and motions that are impacted, and repeat the motions constantly to adapt, perfect, and thrive.
We are no different in our industry. Study the rules, adapt your behavior, practice the motions, perfect your skills, and thrive.
It's possible that lack of studying the new NFL rules contributed to the San Francisco 49ers overtime loss in the 2024 Super Bowl.
How many times do you think the rules changed on Caitlin Clark in her basketball career? The three-point line, the shot clock, etc. She understood the rules, practiced the motions, perfected her game, and thrives!
Caitlin Clark is the leading scorer in NCAA basketball history! No qualifying statements required.
How are you practicing and perfecting your game?
Feel free to call me with questions.
This is Where We Are Now!
Mark McLaughlin serves as CEO of McLaughlin Ventures and M&A Advisory at WAV Group.
To view the original article, visit the McLaughlin Ventures blog.
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Your Comprehensive Guide to Real Estate SEO
Nowadays, many businesses, including those in the real estate field, rely on online presence, something that seems inseparable from so many success stories. And what is the most important part of the online presence?
SEO, of course.
It's a constant question for real estate agents — how to keep up with Google and optimize their SEO. We all know good SEO equals a good ranking on Google, and a good ranking on Google means more leads, and more leads mean more sales.
We see how everything within this chain is interconnected. Pull one element from it and the whole process will fall apart. So now you see how important it is to keep optimizing your SEO.
Back in the day, all you needed was to have keyword-rich content and you would have been guaranteed to score high on Google. Today the process is becoming more and more complicated, yet easier and easier.
Here, we've compiled everything that will help you to understand how Google and SEO work. Let's start:
What does SEO stand for?
SEO has two main meanings: Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Optimizer.
Search Engine Optimization means everything that helps your website to appear in the top position of the search results.
Search Engine Optimizer is the person who is responsible for doing the search engine optimization for a website.
As we mentioned earlier in this article, we want to talk about the first meaning, Search Engine Optimization.
If you want to know more about the person who is doing the SEO, we have another article on that titled, Who is a Real Estate SEO Expert?
What Is SEO?
SEO is the process of ranking up the pages on your website in the search engine results page (SERP). The world's most popular search engines are Google and Bing.
SEO is vital for any kind of website, blog, personal, shopping, companies, and of course real estate professionals.
In this article, we will talk about real estate SEO. But before we start, we need to understand how search engines work:
How Do Search Engines Work?
Each search engine has its own structure and algorithms, but all of them follow three main processes:
Crawling
Indexing
Ranking
Crawling is the process by which search engine bots visit your website and understand that you exist.
Indexing is the process of saving your data and information in search engine databases.
Ranking is the process by which search engines decide whether or not to display your pages in search results.
What Are the SEO Cornerstones?
SEO has three main types or categories:
On-page
Off-page
Technical
All the things you hear about SEO belong to one of the above categories. Let's jump to each category, and talk about the most important stuff you have to do for your real estate website.
ON-Page Optimization
On-Page Optimization means any visible or invisible things that are related to just one or several pages. It can be the content, it can be the images, it can be the UX/UI, or — more advanced — it can be link structure, etc.
Keyword research
Keyword research is the foundation of any successful on-page optimization strategy. By identifying the right keywords to target, you can optimize your content and drive more relevant traffic to your website.
Start by brainstorming a list of keywords that are relevant to your real estate business. Consider both broad keywords, such as "real estate," and long-tail keywords, such as "luxury homes for sale in [city]." Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to gather data on search volume and competition for each keyword.
Once you have a list of keywords, incorporate them naturally into your website's content. Avoid keyword stuffing, as this can negatively impact your rankings. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that incorporates your target keywords in a natural and meaningful way.
If you want to to prepare your keywords list, don't even think about not reading our Real Estate SEO Keywords article.
Optimizing Meta Tags and Descriptions
Meta tags and descriptions play a crucial role in on-page optimization. These elements provide search engines with information about your web pages and can influence your website's click-through rates.
Start by optimizing your page titles. Include your target keywords and make sure they accurately reflect the content of each page. Next, optimize your meta descriptions. These short snippets provide a brief summary of your page's content and can entice users to click on your website in search engine results.
When optimizing meta tags and descriptions for real estate websites, it's important to be descriptive, compelling, and concise. Use action-oriented language, highlight key selling points, and include a call-to-action to encourage users to click through to your website. Learn more about these on our comprehensive article, SEO Titles and Meta Description.
Content
Content is king when it comes to on-page optimization. High-quality, engaging content not only appeals to your target audience but also satisfies search engine algorithms.
When creating content for your real estate website, focus on providing value to your readers. Write informative blog posts, create in-depth property descriptions, and include helpful guides and resources. Incorporate your target keywords naturally throughout your content to improve its relevance and visibility.
In addition to written content, consider incorporating other forms of media, such as images and videos. High-quality visuals can enhance the user experience and make your website more engaging and memorable.
Content can be the blog posts you are publishing, or even the description of your property pages, as well as market updates pages, etc.
Heading Titles
Heading tags (H1, H2, H3) organize webpage information and indicate its importance to search engines. They create headings and subheadings, making it easier for users to scan and understand content.
Media (Images and Videos)
Images and videos are essential for showcasing properties and capturing the attention of potential buyers. However, they can also impact your website's performance if not optimized properly.
To optimize images, make sure to compress them to reduce file size without sacrificing quality. Use descriptive file names and Alt tags that include relevant keywords. This not only improves accessibility for visually impaired users, but also provides search engines with more context about your images.
For videos, consider hosting them on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and embedding them on your website. This reduces the load time of your pages and ensures a smooth user experience. Add relevant descriptions and keywords to your video titles and descriptions to improve their visibility in search results.
Structuring URLs and Internal Linking
URL structure and internal linking are often overlooked aspects of on-page optimization. However, they play a significant role in improving website navigation and search engine visibility.
When structuring URLs for your real estate website, make them descriptive and user-friendly. Include relevant keywords and separate words with hyphens. Avoid using long, complex URLs that are difficult for users and search engines to understand.
Internal linking is another important aspect of on-page optimization. Use internal links to connect relevant pages on your website, improve navigation and help search engines discover and index your content more effectively. Incorporate anchor text that includes relevant keywords to enhance the relevance of your internal links.
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page optimization acts as a vote of confidence from other websites, signaling to search engines that your real estate website is a reliable and relevant source of information. As such, investing in off-page optimization is really crucial for your business.
Backlinks
High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites are a cornerstone of off-page optimization for real estate websites. When reputable websites link back to your real estate site, it signals to search engines that your content is credible and valuable. As a result, your website's search engine ranking is likely to improve, driving increased organic traffic from users seeking real estate-related information.
To acquire high-quality backlinks, real estate professionals can engage in outreach to industry-relevant websites, collaborate with local businesses, and contribute guest posts to reputable real estate publications. By fostering genuine relationships with other websites and producing valuable content, you can naturally attract authoritative backlinks, bolstering your website's off-page SEO profile.
Guest Posting and Content Marketing
Guest posting on industry-specific websites and contributing valuable content to real estate publications is an effective way to enhance your real estate website's off-page optimization. By sharing your expertise and insights with a wider audience, you can establish your website as a trusted authority in the real estate niche, attracting both backlinks and referral traffic.
In addition to guest posting, content marketing efforts such as creating informative blog posts, infographics, and videos can further amplify your real estate website's off-page optimization. By crafting compelling content that resonates with your target audience, you can attract natural backlinks and social media shares, reinforcing your website's online authority and relevance.
Social Media
In today's digital age, social media platforms serve as an indispensable tool for amplifying your real estate website's off-page optimization. By maintaining an active presence on popular social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, real estate professionals can engage with their audience, share valuable content, and foster a community of loyal followers.
Social media signals, including likes, shares, and comments, contribute to your website's off-page SEO by indicating to search engines that your content is resonating with users. Additionally, social media provides a platform for sharing your website's content, potentially leading to increased visibility, backlinks, and referral traffic. By strategically leveraging social media, real estate professionals can augment their off-page optimization efforts and solidify their digital footprint.
Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a powerful off-page optimization tool for real estate professionals looking to enhance their local visibility. By claiming and optimizing your GMB listing, you can ensure that your real estate business appears prominently in local search results, complete with essential information such as your address, phone number, and customer reviews.
Maintaining an updated and comprehensive GMB profile not only improves your real estate website's local SEO, but also establishes trust and credibility with potential clients searching for real estate services in your area. Furthermore, positive reviews and ratings on your GMB listing can bolster your website's online reputation, further solidifying your off-page optimization efforts.
Reviews
Online reviews are a crucial component of off-page optimization for real estate websites. Positive reviews from satisfied clients can significantly enhance your website's credibility and trustworthiness, influencing potential clients' decision-making. Encouraging satisfied clients to leave reviews on platforms such as Google, Yelp, and real estate-specific websites can contribute to a positive off-page SEO profile for your real estate business.
Technical Optimization
Technical SEO involves optimizing your website for search engine crawling and indexing. It focuses on the technical aspects that affect search engine rankings, such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, and structured data. By adhering to technical SEO best practices, real estate websites can improve their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more qualified leads.
Speed Optimization
Website speed is crucial in user experience and search engine rankings. Slow-loading websites can lead to high bounce rates and lower search engine rankings. To optimize your real estate website for speed, consider compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing HTTP requests. Additionally, choosing a reliable web hosting provider and utilizing content delivery networks (CDNs) can further enhance your website's speed and performance.
Structured Data and Schema Markup
Implementing structured data and schema markup on your real estate website can enhance its visibility in search results and provide richer snippets, such as star ratings, reviews, and property details. By incorporating structured data markup for properties, local business information, and real estate listings, you can improve the way search engines understand and display your website's content, ultimately increasing its chances of ranking prominently in search results.
URLs structure
A clear and descriptive URL structure can contribute to better search engine visibility and user experience. When creating URLs for real estate listings and property pages, consider using descriptive keywords and avoiding unnecessary parameters or dynamic URLs.
A well-structured URL not only helps search engines understand the content of the page, but also makes it more user-friendly for visitors navigating your website.
Mobile-Usability
With the increasing use of mobile devices, ensuring that your real estate website is mobile-friendly is essential for both user experience and SEO. Google's mobile-first indexing means that the search engine primarily uses the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing. Therefore, optimizing your website for mobile devices, including responsive design and mobile-friendly content, is crucial for achieving high search engine rankings and providing a seamless user experience across all devices.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are navigational aids that help users understand their current location within a website's hierarchy. Implementing breadcrumbs on your real estate website not only improves user experience and site navigation but also provides search engines with additional context about the relationship between pages. This can contribute to better indexing and understanding of your website's content, potentially leading to improved search engine rankings.
Robots.txt
The robots.txt file allows you to control which pages and resources search engines can and cannot access on your real estate website. By properly configuring your robots.txt file, you can guide search engine crawlers to focus on indexing your most important pages while preventing them from wasting resources on irrelevant or duplicate content. This can help optimize the crawl budget allocated to your website and ensure that search engines prioritize indexing your valuable real estate listings and content.
Learn how to optimize your robots.txt file in Robots.txt: A Comprehensive Guide for Real Estate Websites.
Sitemap
A comprehensive XML sitemap can assist search engines in discovering and indexing all relevant pages on your real estate website. By providing a clear map of your website's structure and content, you can ensure that search engines crawl and index your pages more efficiently.
Additionally, regularly updating and submitting your XML sitemap to search engines can help ensure that new and updated content is promptly recognized and indexed.
Learn how to optimize your Sitemap.xml file in The Ultimate Guide to Sitemaps for Real Estate Websites.
To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.
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Products
RPR for Commercial
RPR for Commercial
For those specializing in commercial properties, this program providers users comprehensive market data on a single platform. You can search for data by demographic, psychographic, or spending information to identify areas of high concentration of the customers your client is looking to target. RPR for Commercial also helps business owners find a location based on an analysis of spending data within drive time, radius, or general area. Commercial reports can also be put together in minutes for your client to show trade area, business opportunities chart, or property reports as well.
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Technology Evaluation by WAV Group
WAV Group provides technology evaluation services to MLS Boards/Associations and brokerages. Changing technology can be hugely disruptive to an association or company. A well executed technology upgrade, however, can provide major benefits and gain acceptance quickly when managed cor- rectly. Staying current on technology trends in any industry is a full time job that MLSs and associations rarely have people dedicated to. WAV Group reviews real estate technology continually. They help evaluate your needs and focus your review on products and vendors that can meet your technol- ogy objectives at the best possible price. WAV Group provides an objective and optimized project management approach to ensure you reach your goals.
MLS services include:
MLS System Review and Selection
Contract Negotiations
MLS System Conversion & Implementation
Transaction Management
Real Estate Firm services include:
Broker systems/product review and selection
Back office
Accounting
Front desk
Transaction management
Listing management
CRM/lead management
Broker/agent websites
System conversion and implementation management
Transaction Management
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Broker Public Portal
Broker Public Portal is a collaborative effort owned and operated by real estate brokerages and MLSs, to deliver, through Homesnap, a better home search experience, with the same comprehensive, real-time MLS data used by real professionals - the people who list and sell homes, not ads. Broker Public Portal is the industry’s largest private marketing network of MLSs, representing 800,000 agents across the country, all contributing their listings to help generate listing exposure and leads from consumers
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Industry News
Luxury Presence launches 24/7 service to deliver world-class client support to agents
LOS ANGELES, CA, 5/16/2024 — Luxury Presence, a leading prop-tech startup that provides real estate growth marketing solutions to over 12,000 real estate professionals, today announced the launch of its 24/7 client support service and the appointment of Brittany Crawford as its new Director of Support.
Luxury Presence will now offer around-the-clock chat and email support, with 24/7 phone support rolling out in the near future. "Agents work tirelessly to provide exceptional service to their clients," said Malte Kramer, Founder and CEO of Luxury Presence. "Making sure they also receive that level of service has always been a top priority for our team. With our expert support now available day and night, we're there to help anytime our clients need us."
Director of Support Brittany Crawford will oversee this expanded offering, ensuring her team delivers a world-class service experience at all hours. She comes to Luxury Presence after a decade heading up the acclaimed support team at digital and email marketing solutions provider Constant Contact.
"I've led high-performing, award-winning support teams throughout my career, and I'm excited to bring that experience to further elevate the terrific support organization at Luxury Presence. The launch of our 24/7 support is the first step in meeting our clients where and when it's most convenient for them, with much more to come," said Crawford.
About Luxury Presence
Luxury Presence is a Los Angeles proptech startup that provides growth marketing solutions to over 12,000 agents, teams, and brokerages–including more than 20 of the top 100 Wall Street Journal real estate agents. The company's award-winning real estate websites, expert marketing solutions, and AI-powered mobile platform help agents attract more business, work more efficiently, and impress their clients. Since launching in 2016, Luxury Presence has raised over $52M. Its notable investors include Zillow Co-Founder Spencer Rascoff, real estate coach Tom Ferry, NBA Champion Dirk Nowitzki, NFL Pro Larry Fitzgerald, Switch Ventures, Toba Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Luxury Presence has a sales and customer support office in Austin, TX. For more information, visit www.luxurypresence.com.
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The Warren Group Partners with REdistribute to Provide MLS Data to Its Customers
PEABODY, MA, April 18, 2024 – The Warren Group, a leading provider of real estate and mortgage data, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with REdistribute, a joint venture among some of the largest MLSs in the country, aimed at revolutionizing the way MLS data is collected, shared, and consumed for institutional use.
Through this partnership, The Warren Group gains access to REdistribute's comprehensive and authorized MLS data, enabling the company to enhance its offerings to its valued customers. With this access, The Warren Group can provide its clients with the most up-to-date and comprehensive MLS data available, empowering them to make informed decisions in the ever-evolving real estate and mortgage markets.
REdistribute's innovative platform aggregates data on behalf of participating MLS organizations and brokerages, providing mortgage, insurance, and other housing-related businesses with unbiased, up-to-date MLS data directly from the source. What sets REdistribute apart is its commitment to sharing revenue with participating MLSs, enabling them to enhance the value they provide to their broker partners.
"This partnership with REdistribute represents a major leap forward for The Warren Group and addresses a long-standing demand for MLS data in the industry," said David Lovins, CEO of The Warren Group. "For years, our customers have been seeking reliable MLS data licensing options, and now, we are proud to deliver on that demand. We take pride in offering our clients access to MLS data that is not only comprehensive but also responsibly sourced, affirming our commitment to data integrity and the ethical use of information."
REdistribute's platform ensures that the data is collected accurately and efficiently, eliminating data inconsistencies, and enhancing the overall quality of information available to The Warren Group's customers. This partnership allows The Warren Group to expand its services, further solidifying its position as a trusted resource for real estate and mortgage data.
The collaboration between The Warren Group and REdistribute promises to create a more streamlined and effective approach to MLS data access and utilization. As the real estate industry continues to evolve, this partnership ensures that both organizations are at the forefront of innovation, delivering unparalleled value to their customers.
For more information about The Warren Group and its services, please visit www.thewarrengroup.com. To learn more about REdistribute and its mission to transform MLS data access, visit www.redistribute.com.
About The Warren Group
The Warren Group provides national real estate and transaction intelligence, so customers can identify new business opportunities and analyze the marketplace like never before. Our customers rely on us to deliver one-of-a-kind insights backed by in-depth analytics. The Warren Group has been collecting, warehousing, and licensing real estate and transaction data since 1872, as well as developing easy-to-use applications with the end user in mind. As a family-owned and operated company, the company has offered nationwide insights and market analytics for four generations.
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Companies
WAV Group Inc
In today’s business environment it is tougher than ever to find new paths to optimize your business or association. The WAV Group can help you make better technology decisions and to find new breakthroughs and paths to success. Areas we can help with include:Facilitating comprehensive strategic planning initiativesEvaluating and selecting real estate technology solutionsDesigning and executing research programsHelping you to develop and launch your next real estate productCreating and executing custom marketing plansOptimizing sales – sales training, comp plans, presentation development, distribution strategiesBuilding comp plansRetooling distribution strategiesDelivering broker Internet strategies to increase leads and lead conversionRecruiting senior level executives whose experience can drive excellence in your companyWAV Group has a depth of experience in technology, strategic planning, research, business development, sales, product development and marketing in the real estate industry. We work with your organization as virtual executives and help you meet the objectives of your business or association, more quickly, more effectively and more affordably. Our partners have collectively launched over 25 businesses and have led several hundred business process evaluations and system installations in North America, Europe and Asia. We have created significant increases in sales and profits for Fortune 100 to start-up companies. Our clients include real some of the largest MLS’s in North America, International real estate franchise organizations, technology companies and trade associations. This diverse collection of global industry experience allows the WAV Group to cross-fertilize ideas and bring best of breed solutions to its clients.All of the WAV Group partners have been CEO’s, Executive team members or founders of Fortune 100 and venture-funded corporations and approach each relationship with a clear understanding of the challenges that face our client’s businesses today. We are here to help you take your association or business to the next level and create the next wave of
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Broker Public Portal
What is the BPP and why does it exist?
Effective Alternative: Many real estate agents spend hundreds – even thousands – of dollars a month with online advertising companies for very little return. They believe they must feature their listings on third-party sites, even though they don’t always see a healthy return on their investments. They feel like they have no choice because there are no options available. That’s why BPP was started. Consumers and professionals deserve better than what advertising-driven media companies offer today. Broker Public Portal with Homesnap is the industry’s turn to speak and provide an agent-centric, industry-first, pro-consumer way to secure listing exposure and leads for agents as an alternative to what advertising companies offer.
Broker Public Portal is a collaborative effort owned and operated by real estate brokerages and MLSs, to deliver, through Homesnap, a better home search experience, with the same comprehensive, real-time MLS data used by real professionals - the people who list and sell homes, not ads.
Broker Public Portal is the industry’s largest private marketing network of MLSs, representing 800,000 agents across the country, all contributing their listings to help generate listing exposure and leads from consumers nationwide.
The BPP by Homesnap is agent-centric, not advertising centric. It’s designed to help agents literally with the click of one-button invite their entire sphere to search for properties alongside them, making it much easier to create relationships long before a customer is ready to buy or sell.
No competing agents on listings. Broker Public Portal with Homesnap follows industry-defined Fair Display Guidelines: there are no display ads from other agents or brokers on one’s listings, and all inquiries are sent to the listing agent or broker for free.
Encourages Agent-to-Consumer and Agent-to-Agent Collaboration: BPP is designed to promote agent-to-consumer connections as early in the search process as possible, as well as consumer-to-agent collaboration. It also fosters agent-to-agent collaboration to make it easier to work side-by-side with clients to find the home of their dreams and to work more efficiently with fellow agents in setting up showings and answering client questions quickly. The Broker Public Portal is structured to encourage consumers to connect to an agent and nurture a relationship as they begin to search for homes, or evaluate the market.
This program is extremely cost-effective. Agents pay no additional fees to have their listings exposed to millions of consumers every day other than their regular MLS dues. Agent’s listings are available to consumers nationwide without advertising fees.
ALL Properties Included: BPP with Homesnap now features over 100 million property records and over 59 million active and sold listings.
BPP is Working, and it’s the REAL DEAL!
BPP offers something companies that sell ads do not: MLS and broker ownership that always puts industry stakeholders’ interests first!
BPP with Homesnap Grows Over 150% in its First Year.Broker Public Portal (BPP) since its launch with Homesnap in January last year has grown from serving 45 Multiple Listing Services to more than 120 MLSs today, representing 800,000 real estate agents and brokers.
Largest private marketing network of real estate professionals! The Broker Public Portal by Homesnap has already created the most extensive private real estate marketing network and is delivering a myriad of ways for agents to effectively prospect to generate significant listing exposure and leads from consumers nationwide.
Agents and Consumers LOVE the BPP by Homesnap. Real estate agents have invited more than 19 million clients and contacts to access MLS listing data, and 8.5 million consumers have engaged with their agents through Homesnap.
The Pace of Adoption is Unprecedented: Adoption rates far exceed that of most broker-offered technology with MLSs reporting, on average, 40-50% adoption rates, with adoption rates unusually high among top-producing agents.
Agent and Consumer Satisfaction Levels are remarkably high. According to MLS member satisfaction surveys around the country, agent satisfaction of the Homesnap app offered is very high – much higher than other established mobile apps in the market that are provided by MLSs. Among consumers, Homesnap is the highest-rated mobile real estate app in the Apple App store.
The BPP is Generating Business Opportunities for Real Estate Pros! In Chicago, one of the MLS leaders in the U.S., MRED, reports its member agents have already invited 1.5 million consumers in Chicagoland, and 750,000 consumers downloaded the app to connect with their agent. Homesnap is generating some 4,000 leads per month -- at no cost to MRED members.
Thousands of Business Opportunities are being delivered!The Broker Public Portal is working! Homesnap has already delivered tens of thousands of leads to its participating agents and brokers - all covered by the cost of their MLS membership. None of the leads generated required the listing agent to pay any additional advertising fees; nobody had to buy a zip code, or pay to upgrade their profile to get all of these leads. All of this marketing exposure was available AS PART of their regular MLS dues.
Strong Ongoing product improvements and Marketing CampaignsBPP reinvests all of the revenue it collects back into Homesnap product development, support, and marketing. Homesnap has a tremendous development team dedicated to providing continual product enhancements, usability improvements and better ways for agents to engage with consumers. BPP and Homesnap also partner to deliver compelling and targeted marketing campaigns to increase agent adoption and foster active consumer engagement continually.
Homesnap Pro delivers access to the MLS on the go for agents: A mobile app branded for each agent, featuring MLS agent-only listing information (sales history, agent deal flow, showing instructions, commission splits), a full MLS roster for agent-to-agent interaction, built-in private messaging to engage buyers and sellers, an agent safety timer, Rapid CMA, agent marketing tools and
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CRS Data (Courthouse Retrieval System)
Empower your REALTORS® by adding the MLS Tax Suite as a membership benefit. Since 1989, CRS Data has provided a wealth of accurate and reliable property data. Our MLS Tax Suite provides customizable and comprehensive access to property records, prospecting tools, neighborhood comparables and extensive mapping layers. We constantly improve our MLS Tax Suite based on user feedback - and then deliver with personable customer
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Dell Technologies
The tools and expertise you need to do incredible things
Dell Technologies stands as an unparalleled technology provider for real estate professionals, whether you are an individual agent, a team leader, or an owner of a multi-office firm. We offer solutions specifically tailored to the unique demands of the real estate industry, Dell Technologies offers a distinctive array of benefits to empower small business owners and entrepreneurs in shaping their digital future and revolutionizing their professional lives. As part of the Dell Technologies family, which encompasses Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream, and VMware, customers gain access to the industry's most comprehensive and innovative technology and services portfolio.
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Webinars
[WATCH] The Future of AI
Intrigued by artificial intelligence? Ever wanted to understand it more deeply? We've got just the overview for you!
Last month, RE Technology was joined by Dr. Brons Larson of Dell Technologies for a webinar. Dr. Larson is an applied mathematician with a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence who has worked with AI for two decades.
Dr. Larson took us on a fascinating journey, explaining the origins of AI, where it's at now, and where it's headed in the future. Webinar attendees were treated to a discussion that ranged from complexity to how AI learns to the ethics of AI — and, yes, how advancements may impact real estate professionals in the future.
So if you want to deepen your knowledge of this rapidly changing technology (and sound much smarter at cocktail parties), watch the full webinar below:
Webinar Guests
Dr. Brons Larson, AI Ecosystems Lead, Dell Technologies
Sara Nauert, Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Analyst, Dell Technologies
Moderator: Marilyn Wilson, Co-founder and President, RE Technology
Video Timeline
0:00 - Moderator Marilyn Wilson introduces the topic and panelist.
0:54 - Dr. Brons Larson shares his background as an applied mathematician with a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence who has worked in the AI field for 20 years.
2:00 - Dr. Larson offers a snapshot of what AI at Dell Technologies means today.
2:53 - How AI is categorized into three broad areas within Dell.
4:35 - A snapshot of Dell's current AI projects.
8:35 - What's next for AI? An overview of the first, second, and probable third waves of AI.
12:24 - Dr. Larson references quotes from experts, including DARPA's view that AI is essentially a bunch of spreadsheets, and Jeffrey Hinton's suggestion to "throw it all away and start over."
14:47 - Why is a third wave of AI needed?
22:57 - An overview of AI challenges.
25:24 - How human learning differs from how AI learns.
30:45 - How does third wave AI work?
32:15 - What will launch the third wave of AI?
33:45 - Third wave AI offers up an immense opportunity.
36:39 - Impact of shifting from second to third wave AI.
39:05 - Third wave AI and creativity: Will AI replace creative professionals?
42:29 - Sara Nauert shares Dell Technology offers available to RE Technology readers.
44:08 - Dr. Larson answers questions on how AI will impact the real estate industry.
Next Steps
For questions or more information on Dell Technologies, contact [email protected]
Learn more about special offers from Dell for RE Technology readers
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11 Cutting-Edge Ways Brokers Can Use AI Today
Artificial intelligence (AI for short) is arguably one of the biggest trends in real estate — and beyond — in 2023. What's truly amazing is how fast the industry has jumped on this cutting-edge technology and started using it for so many different tasks that would ordinarily take a person hours, if not longer.
RE Technology hosted a webinar on Tuesday, September 19, with Liz Sturrock, the Chief of MLS and Innovation at Miami REALTORS®. Part of Sturrock's job is to stay apprised of both the risks and the opportunities that present themselves when new technologies are introduced. She shared some tips for brokers whose agents are interested in using AI (and who might be interested in trying out the tools themselves).
The full webinar on demand is available at the end of this article.
Who should be using AI?
Whenever a new technology is introduced, the first question that everyone (not just real estate agents) asks themselves is something like: "Will this disrupt my business and possibly put me out of a job?"
Sturrock believes that AI is not going to replace agents outright. However, agents and brokerages that are the most successful and efficient at leveraging these tools will be able to outperform agents and brokers who don't.
Tip 1: Start experimenting with AI today. It will likely be a game-changer for your business, and you'll want to get a head start.
What are some of the risks of using AI?
Like any new technology, AI is not perfect. There are some caveats that Sturrock provided for real estate professionals who are interested in testing it out.
Tip 2: Beware of copyright challenges.
Photographers are (rightfully so) protective of their images. If you've ever published an image from a stock image source and received some kind of cease-and-desist notification, then you've already had some experience with copyright issues in images.
Who owns an image that's a composite of two (or more) images that are found all over the internet? There are no solid legal answers here. If you have questions about whether an AI image project you're planning is fair-use legally, the best way to find out is to ask an attorney who follows AI and can give you good advice.
Tip 3: Check for plagiarism.
Another group of people who will take steps to shut down a content operation are writers and publishers whose work is being used to create the content, especially if it's not being attributed. But even if it is attributed, reposting large chunks of text from other sources is not usually a great reading experience, and depending on how you've chosen to cite the source, even attribution might not be enough to escape legal hassles.
If you don't already use a plagiarism checker at your brokerage, it's probably a good idea to invest in one and pass any AI-written content through it before you publish it on your website.
Tip 4: Be vigilant about data privacy.
One way that AI "teaches" itself to be smarter is by reviewing the inputs (including the data) that people feed to it. For example, if you're suggesting an AI tool to agents, and they're using it to finesse a lot of market information or home listing data, then you will want to understand how the AI is storing that data and whether the data will get funneled into a larger project or model down the line.
Tip 5: Cite sources and check for accuracy.
It's a good practice to cite your sources regardless, but one thing to be aware of when using AI tools (such as ChatGPT) to write content is that it will sometimes create sources from thin air, and even provide fake source information (such as backlinks) that look real.
When you ask an AI tool to write something for you, make sure you're double-checking any numbers, data, survey information, or other facts that it might have decided to generate for you.
How can you use AI in real estate?
Once you've apprised yourself of the risks, it's time to start learning more about how AI can help you be a better broker-owner. Here are the top ways Sturrock and her team are using AI at Miami REALTORS®.
Tip 6: AI can engage and nurture leads
Chatboxes and widgets that answer visitor questions on a real estate website are not new. One thing that is new is the level at which these widgets can interact and engage with people, and some software tools offer live texting options for the agent or broker who owns the website. This allows them to jump in and take over the conversation in real time.
Tip 7: AI makes finding a house easier
It's one thing to send buyer clients a list of homes in the MLS that meet their criteria; it's entirely another thing to provide them with personalized recommendations that are curated by AI and that get smarter every time the buyer shows interest (or disinterest) in a listing.
Tip 8: Quickly and easily generate content
Tools like ChatGPT can be used not only to write things like blog articles and social media posts once you provide a list of ideas — they can also provide the ideas for you. Try prompts like "give me three reasons why you might want to buy a house in today's market," or provide it with a localized market data feed (such as RPR's) and ask it to tell you what trends it sees.
Remember when you're using AI tools to generate content that you'll want to check any sources cited as well as check for plagiarism before you publish that post, especially if it's going on a website. If the piece is too close to something else that's online, you can always ask the AI to try again!
Tip 9: Property descriptions are a breeze for AI
Listing descriptions are not every agent's favorite thing to write, and there are specialized platforms now available that can guide agents through a quiz flow, answering certain questions about the property. The tool will then create a captivating property description in seconds.
Tip 10: Stage homes and enhance photos
The ability to add furniture and even certain features to home listing photos has been available for some time now, but the most recent AI photo generation tools take this ability to a whole new level. You can ask AI staging tools to recreate the same room in a different style, such as "rustic" or "jungle," and even simple enhancements are much easier and faster with AI.
Remember to use disclaimers and disclose that enhanced photos have been modified from their original format.
Tip 11: AI coaching is a search engine on steroids
People who know how to use Google and Bing well can find a lot of great information on the internet, including how to solve certain business problems that are occupying their time and energy. It's possible to use AI as a sort of search-engine-based coach.
For example, you can ask some AI tools questions ("what would the best real estate coaches tell me to do to get over my dislike of cold-calling?") and see what kind of advice it pulls up. You can also ask it for business strategy ideas, motivation tactics, and more.
For more details — including specific product information from Sturrock — watch the full webinar.
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WATCH: How to Build Lifelong Client Relationships
The signs of a market downturn have made themselves known: soaring interest rates and falling home sales. But there's no need to panic, especially if you've taken care to build long-term relationships with your clients.
It's all about building genuine, human relationships with your database, as we explored in a recent webinar. Josh Flo, real estate team lead at eXp Realty, shared his strategies for doing just that, as well as the technology that gives him a leg up on his competition.
Watch the webinar below to learn everything from how to provide value to your clients, to anticipating consumer needs, to leveraging lead concierge services, and more.
Webinar Guests
Josh Flo, Team Lead, Flo Real Estate Brokered by eXp Realty
Moderator: Marilyn Wilson, President, RE Technology
Video Timeline
0:00 - Moderator Marilyn Wilson introduces the topic and panelist.
1:52 - Josh Flo shares why building lifelong relationships is important to your real estate business.
3:45 - Providing undeniable values to your clients.
6:18 - Finding the balance between building in-person relationships and using automation tools.
8:20 - Anticipating consumer needs in the era of COVID, high interest rates, and more.
11:00 - Creating a seamless click-to-close experience.
14:58 - How to turn clients into raving fans.
16:54 - What's a lead concierge service?
24:52 - How to ensure no leads get left behind.
27:48 - How to organize your database and leverage it effectively.
31:03 - Josh shares time management for those who believe they're "too busy" to manage leads.
37:54 - Strategies for nurturing long-term relationships.
49:19 - Josh shares what made him decide that he needed to run his business differently, and why he chose BoomTown.
51:46 - Why a down market is NOT the time to ditch your systems and processes.
Next Steps
To learn more about BoomTown, watch this product tour
Read articles about CRM and Lead Management, or explore more CRM solutions and Lead Management tools in our Product Directory
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WATCH: How to Build a High Converting Lead Process
How does one go from working on nuclear-powered submarines in the Navy to running a successful brokerage with a database of 50,000 leads? That's just part of the story that Cory Kammerdiener shared about his career in real estate. In a recent webinar, Cory related the strategies and tactics he uses to convert more leads.
"Nurture, nurture, nurture. That's why you have to have a strong CRM," says Cory. Watch the video below to learn which CRM Cory uses, how he uses it, and the results that he's seen.
Webinar Guests
Cory Kammerdiener, Founder and Owner, NewHomePrograms.com
Moderator: Marilyn Wilson, President, RE Technology
Video Timeline
0:00 - Moderator Marilyn Wilson introduces the topic and panelist.
1:35 - Cory Kammerdiener recounts how he went from serving as an electronic technician on nuclear-powered submarines in the Navy to selling real estate.
6:20 - Cory shares why he changed his business model from hundreds of agents to just seven (plus administrative staff).
8:53 - What Cory's staff looks like now, what role they play, and how they leverage BoomTown's ISA service to handle incoming leads.
9:59 - How Cory's business adapted to the changes the pandemic brought to real estate.
16:09 - How Cory's company uses BoomTown's Lead Concierge Service, and how it helps them.
20:20 - Using BoomTown to nurture leads both old and new.
23:51 - What activities Cory's team can pursue now that BoomTown has freed them from focusing on the top of the sales funnel.
33:00 - Attracting and nurturing seller leads.
38:18 - How Cory's team responds to market interruptions caused by things like natural disasters.
39:42 - The advantages of working remotely and using virtual technology.
45:24 - Short video on the importance of responding to leads quickly, and how BoomTown's Success Assurance concierge service can help.
49:45 - Cory's advice to people who are stuck or are thinking of using a service like BoomTown's to handle their leads.
Next Steps
To learn more about BoomTown, watch this product tour
Read articles about CRM, or explore more CRM solutions in our Product Directory
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PropTech Franchise YourHomeHub Offers Revenue Opportunity to Brokerages
Real estate has a math problem: the average agent has 397 contacts and the national move rate is 9.7%. That means agents have the potential for 37 transactions annually, but the average agent only completes seven per year. How can brokerages help agents bridge that gap?
Enter YourHomeHub, a new technology from MooveGuru that just launched on December 15. YourHomeHub is a homeownership portal that offers consumers a single "hub" for everything related to their home—from help with connecting utilities and moving discounts to one online place to access closing docs, title, appliance manuals, market valuations, and much more.
Each hub is branded to an agent and their brokerage and helps real estate professionals stay top-of-mind throughout the entire homeownership lifecycle.
What's more, geographic areas are "franchised" by brokerages, and brokerages receive revenue from homeownership-related services and goods purchases that their franchised hubs facilitate.
RE Technology got a preview of this brand new technology in a recent webinar. Watch the recording below to learn more:
Webinar Guests
Scott Oakley, CEO, MooveGuru
Kathleen Kuhn, President, MooveGuru
Magnus Sublett, Director, RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan
David Moody, CEO, ERA Sunshine Realty
Greg Martin, President and Managing Broker, ERA Sunshine Realty
Moderator: Victor Lund, CEO and Co-founder, RE Technology
Video Timeline
0:00 - Moderator Victor Lund introduces the topic and panelists.
3:18 - Scott Oakley explains what YourHomeHub is.
10:02 - Greg Martin on why ERA Sunshine Realty partnered with YourHomeHub and how it solves his agents' struggle to keep in touch with their sphere.
12:14 - David Moody shares how ERA Sunshine Realty is preparing for the launch of YourHomeHub.
13:40 - Kathleen Kuhn on how she anticipates consumers will react to and interact with YourHomeHub.
14:52 - Scott on keeping the real estate agent and brokerage at the center of the transaction.
15:49 - Magnus Sublett on why he got involved with MooveGuru and YourHomeHub.
18:42 - Greg on how YourHomeHub is a "reverse franchise" where brokerages get paid for every homeownership-related referral or sale they facilitate.
19:35 - How YourHomeHub differs from other tools that let agents stay top-of-mind.
23:15 - Q&A session.
26:23 - Info on pricing, how to get more info, and how to get started.
Next Steps
Learn more about YourHomeHub at MooveGuru.com
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