We're super excited to be rolling out some new upgrades to Top Producer® CRM. It's been lovingly made to help agents and brokers achieve great things.

Top Producer® CRM keeps your business all in one central place it helps you connect with customers and stay on top of your business. Managing your customers and building repeat business just got faster, easier and more intelligent

So without much further ado, let's introduce you to the new feature enhancements.

Here is What's NEW:

• Contact Permissions for Teams & Brokers
  All the power of Top Producer® CRM now optimized for teams and brokers. Control who sees sensitive data for a more streamlined management and distribution of leads and contacts. Delegate responsibility and track lead progress. Accomplishing things together has never been easier.

• Intelligent Sales Pipeline
  Top Producer simplifies your follow-up by nurturing your leads and helping you turn more into clients - on the fly - with our enhanced wrap up. Set your next appointment, call, email, notes or to-do, the second you get off the phone. You can qualify your lead in seconds on your mobile device, tablet[...]

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Chicago, Ill., May 20, 2013 – HomeFinder.com, a leader in digital marketing solutions for real estate agents and online real estate, today announced that it is teaming up with RE/MAX to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® (CMN Hospitals). For every RE/MAX agent who enters the 2013 HomeFinder.com Agent Makeover Sweepstakes through August 16, 2013, HomeFinder.com will donate $1 to CMN Hospitals, a North American nonprofit organization that raises funds for 170 member children's hospitals, medical research and community awareness of children's health issues.

RE/MAX agents who enter to win the HomeFinder.com Agent Makeover Sweepstakes have the opportunity to win a two-night trip to Chicago to receive a business and style makeover, while contributing to the RE/MAX commitment to CMN Hospitals. HomeFinder.com and RE/MAX both share the same values: a loyal commitment to agents and Broker/Owners, and a dedication to the communities in which RE/MAX agents live and work.

"Giving back is ingrained in the RE/MAX culture, and our agents are always willing to step[...]

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Software Advice, in collaboration with Buildium and AppFolio, recently launched a property management technology survey for real estate and property management professionals. The survey gauges what (if any) kinds of software and technology property managers are using, how it's impacting their business, and what features they wish their products had. Once enough data is collected, the company will put together a benchmark report demonstrating the trends.

If you're a property management or real estate professional, visit the survey and share your insights.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. – May 14, 2013 - When a property is added or updated in the MLS, it is now reflected in the BoomTown system within the hour, so leads visiting an agent's BoomTown website are able to access the most comprehensive and recent listing data available. BoomTown's new Instant e-Alerts then notify leads of any listing updates that match their search criteria as soon as the data reaches the system. For an infographic demonstrating how this works, click here.

"Most IDX website providers update every 24 hours, some update every 12 hours, and even fewer update every 4-6 hours," said Don Sedota, BoomTown's Director of Product Management. "BoomTown, as an IDX provider to Brokers/Agents, is afforded access to RETS feeds to power their IDX websites where available. We turn the information around hourly in the system to provide our clients with better data, faster." RETS feeds are available to BoomTown in over 96% of the MLS systems covered, allowing BoomTown to send Instant e-Alerts with the freshest and most relevant data.

Instant e-Alerts are a valuable tool to drive leads back to[...]

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Alameda, CA (May 16, 2013) – Inman News®, the leader in independent real estate and technology news is pleased to announce that 21 ambassadors have been selected for Real Estate Connect® San Francisco set for July 10-12, 2013.

Real Estate Connect, in its 17th year, is the industry's premier technology gathering. A record number of leading real estate brokers, C-level executives, entrepreneurs, journalists, analysts and investors from across the globe have already registered for the event.

Real Estate Connect ambassadors are real estate industry professionals selected for their commitment to the vision of Inman News and to raising the bar in real estate via education and events. Each Ambassador offers thought leadership in the industry, a sense of outreach in their communities online, and a willingness to collaborate with Inman News on the Real Estate Connect experience.

"Real Estate Connect Ambassadors are the connectors between our attendees and their experience of the most exciting industry event of the year. Our attendee community has grown online and off, and their participation forges many new connections through photos, tweeting, videos, and great conversations. I'm especially honored to have Ambassadors from Australia, Canada, and across[...]

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May 20, 2013 – Bellevue, WA –Dropbox, a free service used by over 100 million people to bring their photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily, is now integrated into the Imprev Marketing Platform. The Imprev Platform powers mobilized Marketing Centers for some of the world's leading real estate brands.

"By integrating best-in-class providers into the Marketing Center, Imprev gives agents, brokers and franchises a complete solution that leverages the latest technologies and approaches," said Renwick Congdon, CEO of Imprev.

"The Dropbox integration makes it fundamentally easier to create marketing and sales collateral for agents and brokerages."

A professional photographer now can upload photos into a specified shared folder in the agent's Dropbox account allowing the agent to quickly deploy all their images directly into their marketing projects.

Once the photos are imported, Congdon added, the agent can create "an entire home-selling marketing campaign from the photos, including a responsive property website, a Craigslist ad, a video home tour, printed flyers, postcards and more – all on an iPad or Android tablet. That's an industry first."

The integration of Dropbox[...]

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Fire up the Grill and Fire up Your Business! Memorial Day weekend is upon us and your clients and prospects are getting out the grill for the first big outdoor bash of the season.

Homes.com is here to help with planning a Memorial Day bash, or any other summer party, a breeze with our Red, White and BBQ Entertaining Guide! Chock full of barbecue tips, recipes, outdoor decoration ideas, plus more. This guide is a great resource and can be downloaded for free! Our CUSTOMIZABLE VERSION is a perfect way to brand yourself!

How to Customize in 3 Easy Steps:

1. On the last page of the guide, select the editable text boxes
2. Type in your contact information
3. And print or save for emailing

It's that easy! Download it HERE!

Ideas for Using the Entertainment Guide

• Add this free guide as a special email in one of your drip marketing campaigns! It's a great way to keep in touch with your recent and past homebuyers. When they are ready to sell again, touches like these ensure that your name[...]

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SAN JOSE, CA and INDEPENDENCE, MO May 15, 2013 – Realtor.com®, operated by Move, Inc., and Xceligent, Inc., a leading provider of proactively researched commercial real estate information and marketing, today announced a strategic agreement to launch enhanced commercial search functionality on realtor.com® the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®.

As a result of this agreement, in the third quarter of 2013, Xceligent-owned site CommercialSearch.com ("CommercialSearch") will begin powering amplified commercial functionality on realtor.com®. Realtor.com® users will have access to the hundreds of thousands of commercial listings Xceligent has aggregated into CommercialSearch from multiple sources including: its fully-researched markets, hundreds of MLSs, CIEs (Commercial Information Exchanges) of every market size, and the majority of the top 50 companies who provide commercial listings in the country. This combined information availability has made CommercialSearch one of the largest content sources of any public facing commercial real estate marketing site.

"Over the last few years, we have seen increased investor activity in the residential housing market. Many career real estate investors begin by investing in residential and eventually transition into commercial as they expand[...]

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Cleveland, OH (May 16th, 2013) – Howard Hanna Real Estate Services announced today the appointment of Michelle Reading as the new Sales Manager of the company's North Olmsted office. This branch not only serves home buyers and sellers in North Olmsted, but also in Westlake, Olmsted Falls, Fairview Park and North Ridgeville.

Reading brings with her a management and real estate background of over 25 years. She also has experience with property management, as well as project management for commercial real estate. Licensed in 2009, she hit the ground running and has been a multi-million dollar producer ever since. She is a Cleveland native who currently resides in North Olmsted.

Sherri Johnson-Seitz, Vice President and West Regional Manager, looks forward to having Reading as a manager. "I am very excited to have Michelle join the management team," said Johnson-Seitz. "Her energy and passion for Howard Hanna and the real estate business will take the North Olmsted team and agents to new heights in 2013!"

In 2012, Howard Hanna achieved, for the first time in its history, over $7 billion in closed sales volume and looks forward to another record-breaking year in 2013. With the unmatched[...]

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Arroyo Grande, Calif. (May 16, 2013) – WAV Group, the leading consumer research firm in real estate, released a study examining consumer satisfaction with the real estate professionals with whom they are working. The study on behalf of The Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), the second largest local REALTOR® association in the United States, was fielded to nearly 6,600 Houston real estate consumers who are currently in the process of searching for a home, buying a home or selling home.

Factors for choosing a REALTOR® and future recommendations

According to the findings of the study, the three most important reasons a consumer chooses to work with a real estate professional in the home buying/selling process are knowledge of the market (73%), responsiveness (71%) and the role those professionals play in helping consumers navigate their way through the home buying/selling process (68%).

Additionally, 78% of those consumers currently working with a real estate agent believe they have been either very or extremely helpful so far. The survey also found that 74% of consumers are likely to recommend their real estate agent to a friend, neighbor[...]

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA; DETROIT, MI and WASHINGTON, DC – NAR MID YEAR MEETING – May 15, 2013 – DocuSign, The Global Standard for eSignature®, and the official and exclusive e-signature provider of the National Association of REALTORS®, announced it has acquired Cartavi, a leading provider of collaboration services for real estate transactions. This combination, along with a deeper integration with existing partner, zipLogix, creates a superior, 'one-stop-shop' experience for brokers, agents, buyers, and sellers, and for their REALTOR® associations and multiple listing services. The joint solution from DocuSign, Cartavi, and zipLogix will empower users, for the first time, to easily and securely manage end-to-end real estate transactions – anytime, anywhere, on any device - complete with forms, collaboration, and eSignature in one.

"Our real estate customers want a comprehensive and easy-to-use solution for managing transactions from listing to handing off the keys," said Keith Krach, chairman and CEO, DocuSign. "Combining Cartavi's technology and zipLogix's dominant forms management with DocuSign's eSignature solution advances our leadership in real estate[...]

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TRIBUS, a leader in the development and implementation of real estate brokerage and agent online solutions, today announced the launch of its newly developed real estate CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. The backbone of the system is rooted in gamification—the use of game mechanics in a non­game context in order to engage users and solve problems.

Based on extensive research and beta­testing, TRIBUS was able to identify that real estate agents were more likely to participate, engage and stay consistent in executing tasks if a competitive element were attached to the tasks.

"Gamification has always existed in some capacity," explains Eric Stegemann, TRIBUS Director of Business Development. "Think back to when you were in grade school. Teachers would announce who received the highest score on an exam, and you always wanted to be on the top of that list."

Stegemann went on the explain how this concept continues to hold true in adulthood. "We see the same type of gamification occur in workplace settings, such as recognition of the top sales associate each month. The truth is, humans are innately programmed to function at a[...]

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SAN JOSE, Calif., May 15, 2013 -- Realtor.com®, the leader in online real estate, operated by Move, Inc., today announced the launch of the realtor.com® rentals app for iOS and Android smartphones. With this new tool, consumers can now search nearby rental apartments, homes, condos and townhomes on their mobile phone, with approximately 90 percent of rentals listings data updated every 15 minutes.

The realtor.com® rental app offers consumers a unique user experience through its photo-centric view. To efficiently present the information that many searchers consider most important – property photos – this differentiated view allows users to scroll through rich images directly from the search feed, thereby increasing navigation efficiency and presenting the most important information to consumers first. Users can also filter by listings they have viewed directly on the map or in a list, view and filter by properties they have contacted, as well as get notifications when new rentals fitting your specifications hit realtor.com. Using the app's intuitive tools, renters can sort and filter results that best meet their individual needs, like parking, in-unit laundry, pet-friendly listings and more.

Over the[...]

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MINNEAPOLIS – May 14, 2013 – Adigida Solutions today announced the scheduled release of their refreshed user interface and the consolidation of its contact management and automated lead management programs under the ProspectConverter brand.

Adigida states that the update to the user interface gives it a more modern, brighter appearance, makes it easier to navigate, and will improve performance. "It is no secret that software for agents must be easy to learn and to use, otherwise it is not going to be adopted," says the company's President, Richard Kalman. "Many of our customers appreciated the plain vanilla business-like appearance of our previous design but we knew that it could be friendlier, faster, and more intuitive." Extensive use of inline editing and simplified screen layouts improves usability, and the stateless architecture gives the system faster performance and makes it easy to integrate with third-party products.

ProspectConverter CRM comes in three editions, each suited to agents at a particular level of production. The Standard edition includes all of the basic tools that most agents in the industry[...]

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- May 14, 2013 -- Lender Processing Services, Inc., a leading provider ofintegrated technology, data and analytics to the mortgage and real estate industries, announced today that the Pensacola Association of REALTORS®, Inc. (PAR) has chosen LPS' Paragon™ MLS system to serve its more than 1,800 REALTOR® and affiliate members in the Pensacola, Fla., area.

After considerable due diligence in vendor evaluations, PAR representatives selected LPS MLS Solutions' Paragon MLS system forthe innovative features it offers to help their members become more efficient and competitive. Paragon MLS' multi-tasking capabilities allow agents to save time conducting property searches, creating comparative market analyses (CMAs), updating listing information and completing othertasksin a single view on their computers. Paragon MLS offers intuitive and straightforward navigation and works on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers, as well as mobile devices, providing real estate agentsthe flexibility to access MLS information on the go.

"After a lengthy evaluation process of multiple MLS systems, our MLS committee members and board of directors wholeheartedly agreed with the MLS Strategy Group's recommendation to select LPS as our new vendor partner," said PAR Chief[...]

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SAN JOSE, Calif., May 14, 2013 – Realtor.com®, the leader in online real estate operated by Move, Inc., released its April data showing that the U.S. housing market is on its way to a broad-based recovery, an accelerated trend since March. The home buying season shifted into high gear last month as inventory and home list prices on realtor.com® increased by 4.12 percent and 2.63 percent, month over month, respectively. As of April, homes are on the market nationwide approximately 81 days—a decrease of nearly 11 percent since April 2012—highlighting that while new homes are entering the market they are not available for long.

"Due to increased demand for homes and more confidence in the job market – we are beginning to see more and more buyers entering the housing market," said Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move. "Home buying season is off to a strong start, as buyers capitalize on moderate housing prices and snatch up homes quickly. In some markets, we are seeing homes staying on the market for only a few weeks."

Despite the increase in inventory month over month, nationwide inventory[...]

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Chicago, IL, May 13, 2013 – HomeFinder.com, a leader in digital marketing solutions for real estate agents and online real estate, today announced its second annual HomeFinder.com Agent Makeover Sweepstakes. Five randomly chosen real estate agents will receive a two-night, comprehensive business and style makeover in Chicago, from September 18-20, 2013. All licensed real estate agents are eligible to enter the sweepstakes, which will run from May 13, 2013 through August 16, 2013.

As the real estate industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, HomeFinder.com wants to help the five winners and thousands of entrants understand the changing landscape and provide the tools to keep up, and most importantly, stay ahead. Compared to one year ago, The National Association of Realtors® reports rising home prices resulting from low inventory, and also anticipates that mortgage interest rates will remain steady. This evolving real estate environment means real estate agents need to change their tactics, and the winners and participants will gain the tools needed to navigate this market.

"The current real estate market is heating up fast. Homes are[...]

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May 09, 2013, Irvine, Calif. – CoreLogic®, a leading residential property information, analytics and services provider, today announced that membership in its Data Co-op™ exceeded 100 MLS organizations, including Realcomp II Ltd., Michigan's largest REALTOR®-owned MLS with approximately 11,000 subscribers from more than 2,100 real estate offices. The CoreLogic Data Co-op facilitates data-sharing relationships among MLSs to provide real estate professionals access to listings from local, neighboring and relocation markets in the U.S and Canada.

Having launched the program to its subscribers in April 2013, Realcomp provides the additional information benefits of Data Co-op as a service for its subscribers, the REALTORS® of Southeastern Michigan. "The leadership of Realcomp is committed to providing the advanced tools and property information our subscribers need to better serve their clients," said Realcomp CEO Karen Kage. "Data Co-op offers a new way for Realcomp subscribers to extend their reach and improve service to clients." Realcomp also uses Matrix™ and Realist® by CoreLogic, and recently joined CoreLogic Partner InfoNet™.

Data Co-op features an intuitive, map-centric interface for searching both local and cooperative real estate listings. Data Co-op also provides valuable property[...]

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In celebration of Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, we've updated our ranking of Most Bikeable Large U.S. Cities.

Portland narrowly edges out hilly San Francisco for the top spot, with Denver (home of the legendary B-cycle bike share) coming in a close third.

Top 10 Most Bikeable Large U.S. Cities

1. Portland (Bike Score: 70.3)
2. San Francisco (Bike Score: 70.0)
3. Denver (Bike Score: 69.5)
4. Philadelphia (Bike Score: 68.4)
5. Boston (Bike Score: 67.8)
6. Washington D.C. (Bike Score: 65.3)
7. Seattle (Bike Score: 64.1)
8. Tucson (Bike Score: 64.1)
9. New York (Bike Score: 62.3)
10. Chicago (Bike Score: 61.5)

Note: to keep our rankings apples-to-apples the list above only includes cities with 500,000 or more residents.

Smaller cities like Cambridge, MA crushed it with a Bike Score of 92 and Davis, Boulder, and Berkeley all scored in the high 80s. Minneapolis also deserves an honorable[...]

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Chicago, IL – May 10, 2013—ShowingTime, the real estate industry's leading showing management technology provider, announced today that four more MLSs are adding its online scheduling system to their systems to help members manage showings directly through the MLS.

ShowingAssist provides 24/7 scheduling for members logged into their respective MLSs. They can also request and manage showings and feedback directly from their smart phones. The cost-effective service is used to schedule 2 million showings per month, and is currently live in more than 60 MLSs representing 400,000+ real estate professionals. ShowingAssist utilizes technology to streamline the appointment scheduling process, resulting in quicker showing confirmations and less phone tag. All of the real estate industry's primary MLS vendors have successfully incorporated ShowingTime into their MLS systems for clients.

"Our members are looking forward to online scheduling with ShowingTime," said Jim Abele, Manager of MLS Committees for the MLS of Greater Cincinnati. "Streamlining the appointment request process with 24/7 availability, reducing phone calls, and enabling better communication with sellers has great value."

Listing agents can post showing instructions and enter available hours on an interactive calendar[...]

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