It’s All About “Control”: The New IDX Policy Proposal

Business and travel have really kept me away from the blog, but… since I have a few days at home, I did want to write about the new IDX Policy that will be proposed at NAR Anaheim next month. I’ve managed to obtain a copy of the proposal through my sources (thank you guys, you … Read more

A Few Thoughts On Redfin’s Scouting Report

I’ve been traveling more or less nonstop for a couple of weeks, and busy as hell in any event, so I kind of missed the controversy around Redfin’s Scouting Report. I’d suggest heading over to Jay Thompson’s blog to get his thoughts on the product, and the various responses from the real estate industry to … Read more

Why Shouldn’t the MLS Be A Public Utility?

Last week, at the Inman Connect conference, I got into a rather interesting — if dry and technical for non-lawyer types — discussion with Brian Larson about whether MLS could escape being classified as a public utility. I’m not going to go into that, since that discussion tends to have a lot to do with … Read more

Zillow Acquires Postlets; Perceptive MLS CEO’s Draw Up War Plans

As you have probably heard by now, Zillow has acquired Postlets, the popular listings syndication platform. The initial reaction has been quiet, or supportive. Brian Boero of 1000watt Consulting wrote about the acquisition: This comes just a few months after Move, Inc’s acquisition of ListHub, a deal that upped the competitive ante between the leading … Read more

[7DS] If By “Reinvent” One Means “Imitate”, I Agree

[Original post at 7DSassociates.com] There is a fascinating post on Find It Fill It blog (looks to me like this is a commercial real estate brokerage of some sort) about how Loopnet’s “crowdsourcing” model will reinvent commercial real estate as we know it: This is like aiming a cannon to your competition that’s holding a … Read more

On Google’s Latest Real Estate Foray: Implications & Speculations

From the Search Engine Land site comes news (h/t: Duke Long, @dukelong) that Google has built out what amounts to the start of a national real estate search website: The real estate listing place pages include property information, photos, map placement, Street View imagery and functionality, nearby public transit details, and even AdWords ads. Google … Read more

Why Are MLS’s Monopolies?

So here I am cruising the Interwebs, checking out various posts from around the RE.net, and I run across this jewel of a post from Marc Davison and Brian Boero, then gents behind 1000watt.  The post itself is interesting reading, and I’m not sure if I agree 100% or not, but there’s much food for … Read more

Don’t Blame the Victims: Online Marketing & Agents

I went to post a lengthy comment on FOREM regarding this excellent post, but something went wacky with Joel’s Captcha system (socket not found or something?) and I lost it all. 🙁  Argh.  So I’ll just respond to Joel here.  But do read his whole post, as it is excellent. My comment, which I attempt … Read more