Listing Bits Greg Robertson

While we may not be able to predict exactly how the current health crisis will impact organized real estate moving forward, most of us would agree that change is in the air. The kind of change that could transform the way we do business altogether. So, how is the Coronavirus changing the way we think about the spaces where we live and work? And how might this new perspective lead to foundational shifts in our industry?
Jessie Beaudoin is the Founder and CEO of CallAction, a lead engagement automation platform that helps real estate agents capture, track, and respond to leads from online and offline marketing channels. He has 35 years of experience in real estate, working as a mortgage broker for nearly two decades before his interest in efficiency and scale led him to the technology space. Now, Jessie is on a mission to help businesses do more in less time through intelligent sales and marketing automation.
On this episode of Listing Bits, Jessie discusses the foundational shifts in real estate that may come from the Coronavirus pandemic, exploring how the crisis is changing the way we define ‘home’ and why the efficiencies of working remotely might shift the way we do business moving forward. He offers insight into why we lean on technology in moments of crisis and how the virus could impact the housing market in the months ahead. Listen in to understand what mainstream adoption of virtual showings means for real estate agents and get Jessie’s advice on what YOU can do to step up as a leader for your clients and your family in this challenging time.
What’s Discussed: 
Jessie’s background in real estate and segue into the technology space
How the Coronavirus is giving us a newfound appreciation of what home means
How the efficiency of working remotely might change commercial real estate
Why we leverage technology in moments of crisis
The positive foundational shifts that may come from the COVID-19 pandemic
-  Appreciate being together, hyper-focused during appointments
-  Written + verbal communication more clear, poignant and thoughtful
How mainstream adoption of virtual and self-showings could impact agents
Jessie’s insight around how the virus might affect the housing market
The innovations that emerged in the last recession
Jessie’s advice for agents on navigating the current health crisis
     -  Leverage overcommunication and connection
     -  Depend on technology to scale efforts
     -  Step up as a leader for clients and family
How CallAction allows agents to scale their communication via automation
Resources:
Zoom
Real Estate for Millennials vs. Baby Boomers
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Keynote at Inman Connect 2016
Connect with Jessie: 
CallAction
Call (323) 741-2255
Jessie’s Blog
Jessie on LinkedIn

Out of 565 Multiple Listing Services nationwide, 82 serve less than 100 brokers and agents. Unsurprisingly, this means that the nation’s 20 largest Multiple Listing Services serve over 50 percent of the nation’s total MLS subscribers. These statistics didn’t exist a year ago, but thanks to the Real Estate Almanac, the disparity is clear. Now that we understand the scale of the issue, how can we make changes to better serve agents, brokers, and their clients?
Clint Skutchan is the vice president of T3 Sixty’s association and MLS division. T3 Sixty is an industry-leading management consultancy and research company that focuses on residential real estate brokerage. Clint has over a decade of experience in the real estate industry and previously served as CEO of a realtor association in Colorado. He established an independent consulting company in 2014. In 2018, he joined T3 Sixty.
On this episode of Listing Bits, Clint discusses T3 Sixty’s latest undertaking: Real Estate Almanac. He explains where the idea for a comprehensive list of MLSs and associations came from and talks about some of the surprises that came out of that list. Listen in for Clint’s insight on the future of the Real Estate Almanac and how the data it consolidates will impact the industry, and the nation as a whole. 
What’s Discussed: 
How Clint got involved in T3 Sixty
What the Real Estate Almanac is and what it says about the industry
Why T3 Sixty put the latest MLS and association list together
What issues MLSs and associations are facing nationwide
Whether Clint thinks NAR membership will stagnate, drop, or continue increasing
How the list of MLSs and associations has shrunken in five years
Why MLSs choose not to consolidate
How smaller MLSs might tackle some of the issues they face
What’s next for the Real Estate Almanac
Resources:
T3 Sixty
Real Estate Almanac
Top Associations/MLS
Connect with Clint:
Follow Clint on Twitter
Follow Clint on LinkedIn

According to research conducted by Freddie Mac, there are 83 million mortgage-ready renters in the US! But most grossly overestimate how much they need for a down payment and very few know about the low down payment programs available to low and moderate-income home buyers. How much could a real estate business grow simply by making down payment assistance part of its business development strategy?
Rob Chrane is the CEO of Down Payment Resource, a platform that aggregates down payment assistance program data and connects homebuyers with down payment assistance. Rob has more than 30 years of experience as a top-producing Realtor and mortgage broker, and he has been recognized as a HousingWire Vanguard for his leadership in the housing economy.
 
On this episode of Listing Bits, Rob discusses who down payment assistance is designed to help and why some agents and lenders are reluctant to incorporate these programs into their workflow. We also discuss the evolution of Proptech as well as the pros and cons of the fractional ownership model. Listen in for insight around how Down Payment Resource shares its data with MLSs, lending companies, and individual agents and LOs—and learn about the massive opportunity available to real estate players with access to down payment assistance tools.
 
What’s Discussed: 
How Rob connects homebuyers with down payment assistance
What inspired Rob to create Down Payment Resource
Who down payment assistance programs are designed to help
Why agents and lenders are reluctant to use these programs
How Down Payment Resource gets its data to industry players
MLSs and Associations Enterprise solutions for lenders Down Payment Connect (individual agents, LOs) How Down Payment Resource makes money via a subscription model
How Rob thinks about the Proptech fractional ownership model
How DPR’s data shows up for MLS clients vs. individual agents
 
Resources:
Urban Land Institute
Freddie Mac Housing & Economic Research
Cloud CMA
MGIC
Divvy
Shelley Specchio
 
Connect with Rob: 
Down Payment Resource
Down Payment Connect

Many agents might view Opendoor as a competitor, yet another tech platform out to eliminate their jobs. But what if you could leverage the iBuyer as a partner to build your real estate business?
Shannon Fitzpatrick leads a team of 45 agents at Movoto Real Estate in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, and Tyler Hixson serves as the Director of Real Estate Partnerships and Strategy at Opendoor. In this episode of Listing Bits, Tyler and Shannon explain how agents can leverage Opendoor as a tool to grow their business, bringing cash offers to prospects and tying multiple transactions together.
Shannon speaks to the value of going into a listing presentation with an Opendoor offer, describing how it allows him to do what’s best for the seller, and Tyler discusses why agents can get a stronger offer from the platform by articulating the property’s unique features. Listen in for insight into the misconceptions agents have about Opendoor and learn how to work WITH the iBuyer to serve your clients and generate more leads.
What’s Discussed: 
How Shannon uses Opendoor to bring a cash offer to prospects
Leveraging Opendoor to tie multiple transactions together
The value of going into a listing presentation with an Opendoor offer
Opendoor’s offer valuation process and associated service fees
How Opendoor passes its vendor discounts on to sellers
How Opendoor can serve as a powerful lead gen tool for agents
Why agents can get a stronger offer from Opendoor than sellers
How Opendoor works directly with agents through closing
How Shannon uses Opendoor as a recruiting tool at his brokerage
The advantage to sellers of working with an agent AND Opendoor
The misconceptions agents have about the Opendoor platform
Quality of offer + fees Think it’s out to eliminate agents Opendoor’s plans to expand to serve all customers, home types
Resources:
W+R Studios
Cloud CMA
Opendoor/CloudCMA
 
Connect with Tyler: 
Opendoor’s Agent Partner Program
 
Connect with Shannon:

Movoto
Shannon’s Website
Shannon on Zillow
 

When you move fast, you break things.  Mark and the rest of  Remine’s co-founders are definitely shaking things up in the MLS space.  This conversation was recorded at the CMLS Conference in Salt Lake City on October 17th before their recent attempt to launch a new listing portal and Zillow’s decision to cut off access to their Zestimate API   As Mark says, in this wide ranging conversation, Remine’s attitude is to “go big or go home.”
In February 2019, Remine raised $30M in private equity to grow its real estate data and analytics platform. A month later, the company announced a painful reduction in force as they shifted focus from upselling agents to partnering with the MLS. So, what prompted Remine’s pivot to an enterprise model? And how are they making the transition from predictive analytics to a next-level MLS system? 
Mark Schacknies is the Cofounder and CEO of Remine, a software company that delivers real estate intelligence to more than 825,000 realtors in 40-plus MLS markets. On this episode of Listing Bits, Mark shares the Remine origin story, discussing how the founders started out as competing agents but came together around a shared fondness for data-driven strategies.
Mark speaks to Remine’s pivot from predictive analytics tool to full MLS system, describing what inspired their transition to an enterprise model and how they are addressing their lack of experience in the realm of MLS conversion. Listen in for insight around how Remine’s philosophy differs from legacy incumbents like CoreLogic and learn what success looks like for Mark’s team on their journey to an IPO.
 
What’s Discussed: 
 
How the founders of Remine started out as competitors
Leveraging tech to transform real estate from within
How the MLS governs the world’s most important asset class
Why Redfin is at the top of Mark’s list of consumer portals
Balancing privacy with data to empower decision-making
What inspired Remine’s pivot to a full MLS platform
What a day-in-the-life of Mark Schacknies looks like
How Remine is addressing a lack of experience in MLS conversion
The difference in philosophy between Remine and CoreLogic
How Remine’s UI gives control to MLSs re: business rules
What success looks like for Remine + the IPO timeline
Resources:
 
CMLS 2019
The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future by Alvin Toffler
Cloud CMA
Joe Kazzoun
Connect with Mark:
 
Remine
Mark on LinkedIn
 

You can ask Alexa to turn on the lights, show you the forecast, remind you what’s on your calendar today, or give you the score of the Astros game. And now, voice assistants are expanding to the real estate industry, allowing agents to open their business information and even access the MLS—with the sound of their voice alone!
 
Miguel and Ami Berger are the creators of Voiceter Pro, the conversational search platform that brings real estate and consumers together via conversations with voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. On this episode of Listing Bits, brought to you live from the 2019 RESO Fall Conference, Miguel and Ami share their mission to provide customized voice technology to the real estate space, affording voice access to websites, MLSs and associations.
 
Miguel and Ami explain how they came to create the company and describe their vision for Voiceter 2.0, offering insight around potential features and applications that could be added to the platform. Listen in to understand why the Voiceter technology is system agnostic, how industry standards make it easier for small teams to innovate, and what applications Voiceter might facilitate beyond the real estate vertical.
What’s Discussed: 
Voiceter’s mission to provide voice to the real estate industry
How Voiceter affords voice access to MLSs and associations
The potential for Voiceter customization by MLS and agent
How Miguel and Ami came to create Voiceter Pro
Miguel’s vision around potential features for Voiceter Pro
Why the Voiceter Pro team has decided to be system agnostic
How the consumer search works and what info it provides
Voiceter Pro’s intention to integrate with other vendors, APIs
How industry standards support developers like Voiceter Pro
Potential voice applications beyond the real estate vertical
How Voiceter Pro brands to the agent, broker or association
 
Resources:
Ami’s Voiceter Pro Presentation at RESO
RESO 2019 Fall Conference
FBS
CoreLogic Trestle
Samsung Bixby
Adam Cheyer
The BBC’s Beeb
Cloud CMA Developers Page
ShowingTime
 
Connect with Miguel & Ami:
Voiceter Pro
Voiceter on Vimeo
Voiceter on Twitter
Voiceter on Facebook
Ami on LinkedIn
Miguel on LinkedIn