Listing Bits Greg Robertson

Most showing management software aggregates data. But how useful is it to get a report at the end of the month?
 
What if the data was presented in a way that helped agents answer seller questions in real time and make informed choices based on the numbers?
 
Wes Hartman is CEO of Showingly, a showing management solution that uses data and analytics to guide better decision-making.
 
On this episode of Listing Bits, Wes walks us through the key metrics Showingly looks at to drive pricing decisions and marketing strategy for a property.
 
Wes explains how Showingly is aggregating showing, offer and closed data to determine the best day and time to list a home and explores what simple things a seller can adjust to secure more showings.
 
Listen in to understand how the desire for choice might impact the future of showing management software and find out if Showingly’s approach is right for your brokerage or MLS.
 
What’s Discussed:  
 
Wes’ background as an aspiring fighter pilot, professional cyclist, real estate agent and tech vendor
How Showingly’s use of data to guide decision-making differentiates it from other showing management solutions
The key metrics Showingly looks at to drive pricing decisions and marketing strategy for a property
What Wes’ team is doing to get honest feedback on a property (and why that’s such a challenge)
How Showingly uses showing, offer and closed data to determine the best day and time to list a home
How sellers might adjust pricing and Open House hours to get more showings
Wes’ take on the future of showing management software
Showing Hub’s solution to the demand for choice in showing management software
Why Wes is focused on building relationships with brokerages, MLSs and other showing management providers
How Wes thinks about MLSs building their own showing solutions and why competition drives innovation
 
Connect with Wes:
Showingly
Email wes@showingly.com
 
Resources:
ShowingTime
Showing Hub
TourZazz
 
Our Sponsor:
Cloud CMA for Brokers

A solid fan base is what makes a rock band successful, and it’s no different for real estate professionals.

 

But most of us focus on the individual transaction and miss an opportunity to build long-term relationships with our existing clients and turn them into raving fans.

 

And that means missed opportunities for referrals and repeat business.

 

Rivers Pearce is CMO of Milestones, a homeowner management platform that helps agents and lenders turn single transactions into forever clients.

 

On this episode of Listing Bits, Rivers shares his background as a touring musician and transition to proptech, discussing how he built the lead generation department at BoomTown.

 

Rivers explains why agents should market themselves as a trusted advisor for all things home and explores how real estate professionals benefit from referring business to home service professionals and other local businesses.

 

Listen in for Rivers’ insight on nurturing relationships with your existing database and learn how Milestones can help you provide the kind of value that turns one-off clients into lifelong fans!

 

What’s Discussed:  

 

Rivers’ background as a touring musician and how he transitioned to proptech

How the skills Rivers developed as a performer translate to real estate and proptech

Rivers’ experience in building the lead gen department at BoomTown

How the way proptech supports real estate agents with lead gen has evolved over time

How Rivers thinks about using sphere of influence vs. portal aggregation to generate business

The opportunity to build relationships with homeowners that most REALTORS miss

Why agents should market themselves as a trusted advisor for all things home

The benefit of referring business to home service professionals and other local businesses

How Milestones functions as a homeowner management platform for agents

How Milestones creates a custom maintenance plan for homeowners

How Milestones helps REALTORS nurture relationships with their existing database

 

Connect with Rivers:

 

Milestones

Rivers on LinkedIn

Rivers on Twitter

Rivers on Instagram

Email rivers@milestones.ai or ashley@milestones.ai for a 3-month free trial

 

Resources:

 

BoomTown

Mark Davison on Listing Bits EP042

Curaytor

CallAction

Agent Legend

Drew Meyers of Geek Estate

Tom Ferry

 

Our Sponsor:

 

Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits is back!
If your role in real estate involves sales demos or any kind of training, you’re likely familiar with the frustration of delivering the same webinar over and over again.

 

Or worse, preparing a webinar that is either poorly attended or no one shows up.

 

But what if you could do 100 or even 1,000 webinars a month—without getting in front of a camera?

 

Melissa Kwan is Cofounder and CEO of eWebinar, a platform that saves people from repeatedly delivering the same webinar by turning videos into automated, interactive webinars.

 

Prior to eWebinar, Melissa founded and successfully exited the real estate tech startup Spacio, a check-in app for open houses.

 

On this episode of Listing Bits, Melissa shares her journey as a proptech entrepreneur, describing how she developed her mad sales skills and why she was ready for a new challenge after Spacio.

 

Melissa discusses how her experience with onboarding and training for Spacio inspired the creation of eWebinar and explains what differentiates the platform from Zoom, YouTube videos and webinar replays.

 

Listen in for insight around Melissa’s intentional approach to life and learn how your real estate business might leverage eWebinar to get your time back and spend it on things you enjoy!

 

What’s Discussed:  

 

The initial idea for Spacio and how it evolved into a check-in app for open houses

How Melissa developed her hustle and sales ability out of necessity

Melissa’s successful exit from Spacio after 4 years of running the business

The real estate leadership dinner that launched Melissa’s career as an entrepreneur

What differentiates eWebinar from YouTube, Zoom and webinar replays

How Melissa’s experience with training for Spacio inspired the creation of eWebinar

How brokerages and real estate teams are using eWebinar to qualify leads

The benefit of using eWebinar in terms of video quality and availability of content

eWebinar’s use cases for sales demos, onboarding and training

How Melissa runs eWebinar to reflect her work less, enjoy more philosophy of life

 

Connect with Melissa:

 

eWebinar

Melissa on LinkedIn

ProfitLed Podcast

 

Resources:

 

Spacio

Inman Connect

Greg’s Post on Melissa in Vendor Alley

Pocket

SAP

HomeSpotter

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

 

Our Sponsor:

 

Cloud CMA for Brokers

 

NAR’s MLS Policy Statement 8.6 goes into effect on September 1, 2022.

 

So, what tools are available to make the implementation of the new One Data Source Policy easier for MLSs?

 

Katie Smithson is Director of MLS Relations at Zillow Group, where she leads the team building their MLS data licensing and distribution platform, Bridge Interactive. Prior to joining Zillow, she spent eight years with W+R Studios as Director of Enterprise Sales and Director of MLS Services.

 

On this episode of Listing Bits, Katie walks us through Policy Statement 8.6, explaining what problems the mandate does solve and why it’s a problem to provide vendors and brokers with data in a single feed.

 

Katie discusses the Bridge platform’s current functionality and describes the new feature her team is developing to help MLSs implement 8.6, the One Data Source Solution.

 

Listen in to understand how MLSs can use Bridge to auto-approve certain vendor agreements and find out if the One Data Source Solution is right for you.

 

What’s Discussed:  

 

How MLS Policy Statement 8.6 requires that MLSs offer participants data in a single feed

The security issue with leaving it up to brokers and vendors to know what data can be used in a VOW, IDX or back-office feed

What problems the new One Data Source Policy does solve

How the Bridge platform alleviates pain points around data distribution for MLSs

What differentiates the Bridge platform from CoreLogic’s Trestle

How Katie thinks about asking MLS boards to give Zillow their data (and pay for the service)

How Bridge gives MLSs a simple way to combine existing data feeds for members

The benefit of adding field-specific tags to MLS metadata via the Bridge One Data Source Solution

How MLSs can use Bridge to auto-approve certain vendors or certain types of data access agreements

Connect with Katie:

Bridge Interactive

Katie on Twitter

Katie on LinkedIn

Email: katiesm [at] zillowgroup [dot] com

Resources:

MLS Policy Statement 8.6

CMLS Implementation Guide—One Data Source Policy 8.6

Lone Wolf Technologies

Trestle by CoreLogic

Marilyn Wilson’s TSA Pre-Check Concept

Inman Connect Las Vegas 2022

 

Our Sponsor:

 

Cloud CMA for Brokers

What if it was easy for an MLS to raise money to develop the data services it needs and run the software its customers use?
Colette Stevenson is CEO of REsides, the premier MLS in South Carolina. Formerly known as Hilton Head MLS, REsides serves REALTORS who represent properties in both South Carolina and Georgia, maintaining the most dependable and powerful data in the marketplace. 
On this episode of Listing Bits, Colette shares the story of the rebrand from Hilton Head MLS to REsides, explaining what differentiates her team’s vision from that of the average MLS.
Colette describes how REsides is developing a new business model to address the challenge of raising capital for software development and discusses why she’s open to collaborating with MLSs anywhere in the US.
Listen in to understand Colette’s disciplined way of thinking about potential changes to cooperation and compensation—and learn how REsides is empowering agents and brokers with data in a way that keeps the industry at the center of the real estate transaction.
What’s Discussed:  
How Colette’s background in the ticketing industry informs her work at REsides
What REsides is doing to keep the industry at the center of the real estate transaction
The story of the rebrand from Hilton Head MLS to REsides
What differentiates REsides’ vision from that of the average MLS (and how being small benefits Colette’s team)
Where buyers in the Hilton Head market come from and why Colette is open to collaborating with MLSs anywhere in the US
How REsides is developing a new business model to address the challenge of raising capital for software development
Colette’s take on what keeps MLSs from making bold moves (and how REsides is overcoming it)
Colette’s disciplined way of thinking about potential changes to cooperation and compensation
REsides’ mission to empower agents and brokers with data
Connect with Colette:
REsides
Colette on LinkedIn
Resources: 
‘Atlanta’s No. 1 Broker Bought Homes for Big Investors From 600 Miles Away’ in The Wall Street Journal
Our Sponsor:
Cloud CMA for Brokers

Approximately 8 million appraisals were conducted in the US last year. By contrast, there are only 40,000 active real estate appraisers. So, it's no surprise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exploring appraisal modernization initiatives like the desktop appraisal option.  
But to make these alternatives to the traditional appraisal work, we need data in the form of an accurate floor plan. And we need it at scale.
 
Jeff Allen is EVP of Innovation Labs Clear Capital, a leading property valuation tech company, and President of CubiCasa, an easy-to-use app for automating the creation of real estate floor plans. On this episode of Listing Bits, Jeff explains how the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry.
 
He discusses his work helping GSEs test alternatives to the traditional appraisal, describing why floor plans are an essential part of ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’ and how he discovered the CubiCasa technology that automates the process. Listen in for Jeff’s insight on the copyright dispute over real estate floor plans and learn how to support the creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to scale.
 
What’s Discussed:  
 
How Clear Capital serves large financial institutions in the realm of property valuation
How the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry
Jeff’s work helping GSEs test alternatives to the full traditional appraisal
Why floor plans are essential in ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’
How Jeff discovered the CubiCasa tech for automating floor plans and how it works
The creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to achieve scale (e.g.: real estate photographers)
How the desktop appraisal option supports CubiCasa’s efforts to scale
The other major appraisal modernization initiatives coming from Fannie and Freddie
Jeff’s take on the current copyright dispute over real estate floor plans
 
Connect with Jeff:
 
CubiCasa 
Email: jeff [at] cubicasa [dot] com
Jeff on LinkedIn
Clear Capital
 
Resources:
 
10K Research and Marketing
Appraisal Subcommittee
Dodd-Frank
Desktop Appraisals
Vendor Alley
FloPlan App
Greg’s Post on FloPlan
Copyright Dispute Over Real Estate Floor Plans
Designworks Homes v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty
CMLS’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute
NAR’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute
 
Our Sponsor:
 
Cloud CMA for Brokers