Syndication vs. IDX By the Numbers: A Response to Sam DeBord

Reader, thinker, and frequent commenter Sam DeBord has written a rebuttal over at GeekEstate to my declaration of vindication re: IDX = Syndication: IDX creates efficiency for brokers, which increases financial profitability for the group as a whole.  Syndication is a less-efficient platform in terms of overall brokerage profits.  Real estate is, on an annual basis, similar … Read more

IDX, Syndication, and Vindication: Oh, That Crazy Rob Hahn Edition

This is a brief post, since I just got off nearly three weeks straight of being on the road. The latest stop was at Stefan Swanepoel’s T3 Summit where I spoke on a panel and had a great time bantering with Brian Boero of 1000watt about hot topics in the industry. I may do a … Read more

The Realcomp Anti-Trust Ruling Will Affect MLS Syndication

Inman News reports that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against Realcomp II in a years-long case: Michigan’s largest multiple listing service “unreasonably restrained competition” among real estate brokers by refusing to transmit exclusive agency property listings favored by discount brokers to Realtor.com and other public-facing Web sites, a federal appeals court has ruled. … Read more

"You've Got Ten Days": CMLS 2013, Realty Alliance, and the Most Interesting 30 Minutes in Real Estate Conference History

This post, like every post in the month of October, is brought to you by our sponsor, Teardowns.com (and its subsidiary 2Elm), the winner of the Ebay Auction for sponsorship of this blog for October. On the last day of CMLS 2013, the most interesting 30 minutes in the history of real estate conferences happened. … Read more

“You’ve Got Ten Days”: CMLS 2013, Realty Alliance, and the Most Interesting 30 Minutes in Real Estate Conference History

This post, like every post in the month of October, is brought to you by our sponsor, Teardowns.com (and its subsidiary 2Elm), the winner of the Ebay Auction for sponsorship of this blog for October. On the last day of CMLS 2013, the most interesting 30 minutes in the history of real estate conferences happened. … Read more

The Next Lion . . . the Next Hill: Thoughts from CMLS 2013

The Council of Multiple Listing Services held its annual conference in Boise, ID this past week. In keeping with the high standards of excellence (which may be redundant, but I liked the phrase) of past conferences, our host, Greg Manship from Intermountain MLS, the local host, and his staff put on a top notch program. Many of the … Read more

Fun with Abbott Realty Group Listings

If you haven’t heard the name of Jim Abbott and of his company, ARG Abbott Realty Group, located in San Diego… well, I’d like to welcome you to the real estate industry. Because you have to be brand spankin’ new not to have heard of him and seen the famous video in which he announced … Read more

Estately Quietly Proves a Business Model

The Pacific Northwest, where denizens created a religion out of worshipping coffee to overcome the gloom of the rainy months, has somehow become the mecca for technology-based innovation in the real estate industry. Everyone knows about Zillow, of course. Most folks know about Redfin. MarketLeader, and its portal, RealEstate.com are also in the Seattle area … Read more

The NeighborCity Lawsuits: Pyrrhic Victory, Thy Name is Feist

I haven’t written in a while, because… well, quite frankly, there hasn’t been much of note to write about. Maybe it’s just the end of the year and everyone’s just busy with holiday parties and such, but… not much has piqued my interest. But then… I realized I missed out on this story from a … Read more