Lots of buzz regarding the lawsuit Lending Tree has initiated versus Mortech, producer of mortgage rate pricing software, for apparently licensing their technology to Google for a service that will compete with Lending Tree…from Yahoo Finance:
LendingTree filed a lawsuit yesterday against Mortech, Inc., a technology provider, for violating its contract with LendingTree. According to the lawsuit, Mortech, whose technology helps automate lender offer pricing, violated its contractual covenants by partnering with Google to launch an online mortgage loan aggregator service similar to LendingTree.
So, apparently Google is going to enter the public mortgage quote comparison arena and soon, some sources indicate as early as next week.
Google Merchant Search (old news) looks to be the initial model. Screen shot of UK Google Merchant Search provided by rustybrick on Flickr h/t to Search Engine Land
The screen shot shows some very basic mortgage search and comparison factors, using very limited data sets and range values. Nothing all that sexy, mainly an advertising play for participating lenders not unlike the Bankrate’s of the world. Google has stated in response to the lawsuit (From the NYT):
We’re constantly looking for new ways to help people find what they are looking for on the Internet. As part of that effort, we are currently working on a small ad unit test that will run against a limited number of mortgage-related search queries in the U.S.
Meh. Actions speak louder than spin. As Lending Tree and Mortech go through their legal gymnastics, lets ponder the ramifications of the 1000 pound gorilla entering the room…
Google tends to enter sectors of business on the light side (see Google Base for real estate), choosing to keep things very simple (at first). Nonetheless Google has the power to alter the way industries function, especially when it comes to information exchange and spook the hell out of the targeted sector along the way. Real estate as a business and listing syndication propose far more complex issues and requires a relatively high level of human interaction (physical inspection of properties, local area knowledge, property is not a commodity etc) compared to mortgage rate quoting and pricing. Mortgage rates are commodities whose price can be accurately be delivered to a consumer entering accurate information using some relatively simple algorithms and a database…something Google is pretty good at.
So, Google is looking to license some pretty robust rate pricing software, the type which mortgage brokers and bankers use and depend on in their day to day business. Does Google offer indigenous rate pricing software to loan originators using their service? It makes a ton of sense as it would increase the accuracy and thus the validity of the service. How much control they allow loan originators over the mortgage pricing data being displayed to consumers is the big question in my mind. I have my opinions…can you hear me in Mountain View? Give me a call, I’d love to chat
It would seem that Zillow Mortgage Marketplace (ZMM) would have the most heartburn over this news since the similarities are obvious. ZMM is primarily a niche advertising/publishing/search platform that allows consumers to anonymously get mortgage quotes based on financial and credit risk factors from participating loan officers. Approved pricing engines tie into ZMM’s API to generate automated quotes on behalf of the mortgage professional using one of these systems to automatically respond to consumers. ZMM’s auto-quoting platform is mostly a convenience/efficiency perk for participating loan officers trying to deal with thousands of voyeuristic consumer rate quote requests.
Is there a benefit in hosting your own pricing engine over tying in APIs from third party services? I think so. Rather than being beholden to third party data aggregators and maintaining these multiple information pipes pulling from essentially the same resources for hundreds of loan officers, why not streamline things even further and eliminate what is an unnecessary information middle man? I’m marginally surprised ZMM hasn’t done this yet…who knows, maybe they will. Maybe they should. Yes, they should…like right now.
Lending Tree’s primary revenue stream comes from the origination of mortgages, something that wouldn’t appear to be in Google’s wheelhouse, yet as stated, Lending Tree is maintaining via the lawsuit against Mortech that Google will directly compete with them.
Maybe this has something to do with Lending Tree’s heartburn: Google is hiring a Mortgage Backed Security analyst.
If Google is looking to invest their cash reserves in MBS’s for internal returns, will they also look to move the market?
Who is to blame for the housing and mortgage markets undoing depends on who you ask. Consumers blame everyone, brokers blame banks, banks blame brokers, appraisers are in the cross-hairs, even real estate professionals are not immune to the finger pointing...I think Michael Jackson had something to do with it all, but I can't prove that.
We need to blame someone, so I ask the echo chamber: Who were the architects and engineers that created and enabled all of 'this'? Before I answer, lets use the drug trade for my first analogy.
First loan is for free...
Who are the real criminals in the illicit drug trade? The users, the street level pushers, or the cartels who manufacture and make the drugs available aka The Enablers? One could make legitimate arguments that all are to fault for varying degrees. If users didn't use, pushers couldn't push and manufacturers would be out of business cause there is no demand for the product...yet that's more tail wagging the dog. IMHO thou who enables is at the root of fault.
In theory, if the enablers didn't produce the illicit product in the first place, there would be no pusher or user. The banks and other institutions who engineered the easy to acquire, downright addictive financial products framed an environment where unchecked growth dominated, deceit was rewarded and ethical business practitioners were punished.
Unchecked Growth is Bad, mmkay?
Follow me into more analogymnastics...What is uncontrolled growth called in the human body? Cancer. Without an internal system of checks and balances and proper detection techniques cancer manifests silently, usually until its too late when the organism has been consumed, ravaged to (near) death. You picking up what I'm putting down? Mortgage industry hell bent on growth until it consumed itself and imploded *pffft*
How is cancer treated? Traditionally with chemotherapy- an indiscriminate, very thoughtless killer of all things living. Wipe everything out and hopefully the body regenerates enough good cells to recuperate. This is effectively what's happening to the mortgage industry- important aspects have been or are being primed for indiscriminate eradication. As nonsensical as mortgage qualification standards were just over a year ago, so are the proposed 'fixes' being introduced via legislation.
Self-medication is a bad idea, thus charging the same people who architected the demise of entire institutions with implementing a cure is a bad idea, mmmkay? Medicine has evolved by studying and understanding what makes organisms tick on very (very) micro levels- further, how small thoughtful changes in the right places can cause substantial improvements. Business, industry as a whole, needs to adopt similar methodologies of implementing micro-evolutionary change rather than blow it all away, Bruce Willis-Die Hard style.
We will protect you, promise.
What is currently being proposed by law makers as solutions to the mortgage mess is incestuous at best. These changes are couched as 'protective measures for the consumer', which is a bunch of bullshit, seeing that the new Home Value Code of Conduct (HVCC) and H.R. 1728's proposal to ban Yield Spread Premiums serve to do nothing of the sort. Instead they will (try to) eliminate the mortgage broker, compromise the real estate professional and ultimately harm the consumer...all for the banks gain.
Think that our policy makers in Washington wouldn't let such things happen? Think again...after all, they've invested heavily in these institutions that are 'too big to fail'.
Zillow has added a very useful feature to their Mortgage Marketplace. True Cost Calculation as described by Mary Miller:
When comparing mortgage quotes, most borrowers focus on two factors: interest rate and upfront fees. But it’s difficult to determine whether it makes more sense to choose a loan with a lower rate and higher fees, or a loan with higher fees and a lower rate. The best combination depends on how long borrowers will have the loan.
….Once they narrow down to a few quotes, they can check out the lender profiles, reviews, and ratings, and then select a couple of lenders to contact.
Consumers have a hard time understanding the real financial ramifications of a mortgage and most loan officers fail to get into the breadth and depth of the potential true cost of a given loan scenario based on the unknown variable of how long the loan may actually be held. Annual Percentage Rate, the antiquated, often manipulated, more often misunderstood measure of how much a loan will cost a borrower has been prime for replacement.
Zillow has effectively provided a cleaner method for consumers to determine real loan cost by quickly crunching the long math after the variable of ‘loan term’ is figured into the equation, allowing consumers the ability to evaluate a loan in hard dollars rather than ambiguous percentages. This tightens a major loophole in regards to the consumer experience on ZMM and should lead to higher conversions for the most competitive participating loan officers.
Comparing real estate to companies from very different industries (like Apple) when referencing how branding or marketing should be done is very en vogue and very misdirected. Highly successful ‘Big Brands’ are created in tightly controlled environments that have been developed over many years and are almost always backed by superior products or services.
The industry of real estate doesn’t quite lend itself to those conditions. Its generally a loose, revolving door, part-time hobbyist infected environment that yields a highly uncontrollable and thus poor product. As a result the biggest Brand in the space, ‘Realtor’, is currently in epic fail mode. Corporate Brands like Coldwell Banker, Re/Max, Keller Williams etc. mean far more to agents (favorable commission schedules, franchise fees, tools provided) than they do consumers.
A Brands persona will not change (or continue to mean anything) in the consumers eyes until the underlying business model, day to day practices and purveyors of such are commanded/committed to such. For too many traditional Brands, this is just not possible without the risk of alienating a majority of their contingency. To which I’d say: Good riddance.
With this in mind, a more relative comparison between Brands in the real estate space would be between the traditional names and Redfin, the Great Satan of real estate Brands. Redfin does what few others in this space do, they define their Brand through Business Strategy:
Focus (and follow up) on exemplary customer service. Hold agents accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.
Provide rich, relative, intuitive data. Consumers fundamentally are searching for listings first, all of them. Redfin provides many types: Traditional, For Sale By Owner, MLS and Bank listed foreclosures as well as Sold data.
Employ consumer centric business and revenue models based in logic rather than antiquity.
Remain unusually nimble and open to change, as opposed to standing still and posturing into irrelevancy.
Any agent that flies under their flag is bound by these principles…The Fin tightly controls this environment, developing an overwhelming positive experience for professionals and consumers along the way.
Can any other traditional Brand represent a 97% consumer satisfaction level? Do they even know how to measure such? Are they willing to try? Me thinks no. Is there great opportunity for those that dare? Absolutely.
While there are individual agents and brokers that practice and achieve success employing similar business ideals, they are far more the exception than the rule and are often lost amongst the ‘rest of the crowd’ in such a way that Corporate Brand actually diminishes their efforts, having to instead build and rely on Personal Brand.
When Redfin launched, many industry folk quickly dismissed the company as ‘another discount brokerage’ doomed to failure. Others have made it their personal vendetta to see that they stumble and fall…spooking, steering and slandering the Company as an impostor, a heretic…which must cause Mr. Kelman to smile more than just a little bit. Despite all the mud-slinging Redfin apparently is turning a profit (in a ‘down market’ nonetheless), coupled with their high consumer satisfaction ratings, they’ve become a testament to building a Brand via business strategy and the greater industry can’t stand it.
The real estate industry would be well served to study and implement the major aspects of what Redfin is proving out, as opposed to perpetually denying their validity. I’m not suggesting everyone breakout the Redfin blueprint and copy it verbatim, rather study their successes in comparison to the consumer voice which generally says that Realtors Suck. Too idealistic? Probably. Why? As suggested above, it would banish ~80% of actively licensed ‘real estate professionals’ to another industry because the bar would be raised off the floor. Not to mention that too much coin would be left on the table in the near term for many short sighted C-Suite traditionalists to stomach, though continuing down the current road is a proven path to irrelevancy and ultimately insolvency. Alas, suggesting that a business be run like a business is apparently crazy-talk…
While all the current rage resides with selling strategies that permeate the landscape with noisy propositions using ‘Social Media’ as some magic bullet to more business, what’s really broke and needs to be fixed first is The Business. Dumping time and dollars into Social Media, SEO, a new website or the next cool shiny thing to (re)define Brand in hopes of more business without refining the core to become more in-line with the changing, demanding, educated marketplace is just plain ignorant. They are utilities in the marketing tool belt, not long term solutions.
My 13 year old cousin could be a Social Media pundit. Wordpress (many a blogsite platform actually) provides 85% of the SEO, design elements and disparate data portability one will ever need…the rest is pimping out your ride…accessorizing, if you will (which is fine). Consistently refining fundamental business strategies, setting the bar higher with regards to agent acumen level, transparency and accountability will positively define a business, a Brand and an industry with an identity crisis.
Listen in from 3 to 4pm PST to get a Behind the Scenes Look at the Real Estate Industry’s Largest Social Network, ActiveRain (About to eclipse 150K members).
Our guest, Jeff Corbett, is an old friend of the Real Estate Tomato, but more importantly, he is the VP of Operations and Business Development for ActiveRain.
He’s Bald, Bold and Brazen. and we’re hoping he’ll open up and give us the mud (dirt in the rain).
We will be talking with Jeff about:
His Role At AR New AR Developments AR’s Big Challenges and Possible Solutions His thoughts on a Yogi Berraism: “Nobody goes there no more; it's too crowded!" And more…
At 3:30 We will be taking your questions. Don’t hold back, we know you have a lot on your mind.
Jay Thompson wrote about the NAR's foray into the world of controlled finances over a year ago...Eric Stegemann brought the topic up while at RE BarCamp-Phoenix, indicating it was his understanding that after a few delays, its a go. Fascinating implications.
The largest trade organization in the United States, with all its lobbyist power, is for all practical purposes a lender. Yes, yes, NAR and the Realtors (INSERT COPYRIGHT SYMBOL HERE) Federal Credit Union (RFCU) are separate and apart in all the right places but I love the messaging coming off the article on realtor.org:
Because operations will be on the Internet, REALTORS® FCU will be sensitive to the work habits and lifestyles of REALTORS®, most of whom are independent contractors who are compensated by commissions.”
All REALTORS® and their families are eligible to become REALTORS® FCU members. REALTORS® employees and staff, including NAR, state and local boards and associations, and NAR’s institutes, societies and councils are also eligible. REALTOR® clients and customers, such and home buyers and home sellers, are not eligible.
Whats clear:
A year ago, pre-credit crisis, this was a borderline *yawn*, today its stands to be a pretty big deal. Access to a credit union is a real benefit, yielding -->credit<-- to its members using their own underwriting guidelines, separate and apart from Big Bank or gov't regulated programs.
Mortgages for those of self-employed and commission based income ilk don't (really) exist in the mainstream anymore. My opinion, which isn't usually positive when it comes to NAR's moves is just that, positive. RFCU stands to provide real benefits to the member contingency, substantiating the dues to be a Realtor (INSERT COPYRIGHT SYMBOL HERE).
Whats speculation:
Right now, clients and consumers are not eligible as the RFCU is careful to not trip the line hypocritic with their hard stance against banks getting into the real estate sales industry. But I can only wonder how 'Americas Largest Trade Orgaization' might choose to flex their lobbyist muscles in the future? NAR can actually compete with Big Bank lobbyists on Capitol Hill.
If the banks won't lend in a common sensical fashion (a common theory), then consumers can't buy...if consumers cant buy, then Realtors can't pay NARs dues...NAR loses income and voices...
Does this 'force' NAR's hands to get in the mortgage game? The argument is compelling and someone needs to check the Big Banks actions. The irony of NAR, recently accused of anti-competitive practices by the Dept of Justice, chipping away at The Banks increasing monopolistic nature would be great theater.
Do they push to allow clients access to RFCU mortgages? Now that's a neatly marketable reason of solid tangible value to use a Realtor (INSERT COPYRIGHT SYMBOL HERE).
(I know health benefits are important too...thats another subject for another day...)
The same banks that recently used Mortgage Brokers as agents to sell their products are now trying to set an unfair playing field that will ultimately eliminate brokers from the lanscape.
If passed, H.R. 1728 would turn out to be an Epic FAIL that harmed the consumer and broker while lining the banks P&L...but thats just 'good business' I guess.
Say it isn't so! H.R. 1728 (did not get passed in the Senate the last time)
Let me explain this to you One More Time Brad Miller and Mel Watt. Side question: How does such an obviously beneficial to big banks and destructive to mortgage brokers legislation get introduced by Congressmen from a notrorious big banking area?
What Yield Spread Premium is NOT
Yield Spread Premium is not a unique and only way for loan officers to rip off home owners and home buyers (any more than any other way). Yield Spread Premium is not something a mortgage broker can make up on their own. Yield Spread Premium is not a secret - in fact by Federal Law (RESPA) it MUST be disclosed. Yield Spread Premium is not by any stretch of the imagination "the" rip-off
Now, Brad Miller and Mel Watt, let me tell you how to rip people off:
Charge absolutely no Yield Spread Premium but instead get a lenders license and charge more than a broker would without having to disclose it. Do you even know this boys? Of course you do! How else would big banks be able to lobby you, or worse, and have you come up with such a damaging piece of legislation?
Loan officers of Federally chartered mortgage banks who HAVE NO YIELD SPREAD can rip off the people easier than any mortgage broker. Countrywide, Wells Fargo, Bank of America - none are required to disclose their back end profit and EVERY MORTGAGE BROKER IN AMERICA is required to disclose EVERY PENNY they earn. Not ONE direct lender is. Even small lenders are not required to disclose their earnings and one of the ways they are encouraged to become lenders, in fact one of the very first words out of the mouths of the Big Banks is: once you have a warehouse line and become a correspondent you won't have to disclose YSP anymore AND YOU CAN CHARGE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO DISCLOSE!
I know this because I am not a broker - I am a LENDER. I do not have to disclose YSP. I could, if I were so inslimed ... er inclined ... "put the screws" to my borrowers. And guess what? You get rid of mortgage brokers and you'll only have lenders and lenders will be free to pillage. Why? No highly regulated competitors.
Some will say, "Ken, your over reacting." Okay, you're right. A few people are conspiring against my industry to make a law that will not keep even one person from being "ripped off" and at the expense of lower closing costs.
Why do I say lower closing costs? You know all those "no cost loans" you see advertised by people like Bank of America? Those are achieved by raising the interest rate in an amount commensurate with covering the closing costs. YES! Bank of America uses exactly the same tactic as ANY MORTGAGE BROKER. The difference? The broker is required by Federal law to call it YSP and disclose every penny of it. Bank of America? Not required to disclose it EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE SAME AMOUNT USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE.
Okay, make it fair - either all originators disclose all of their revenue or none do. Why only require the mortgage broker to do so and not the banks? Oh, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers doesn't have pockets as big as those other organizations ... that's what I thought.
You know Georgia, and a couple of other states, have Fair Lending Acts which limit the amount of compensation to brokers REGARDLESS of the type of loan so long as it is a RESPA covered loan. Right now the biggest rip-off is revers mortgages. In Georgia a banker can make as much as they want by charging almost any interest rate they want and there is nothing the State can do about it because bankers do not disclose back-end compensation. Which is what makes all of these YSP related allegations and regulations about as moot as a breath in a whirlwind.
You are right - I hope I am over reacting enough to WAKE YOU UP!
Now if you read this far and you know anything about me you know I have long pushed for national licensing of ALL loan officers. This bill does not meet that requirement for, once again, does not require for every loan officer to be licensed. Nope, if you work for one of the big banks you won't need a license.
I had fun with text formatting on this article. Should have gone full HTML!
Starting Monday, April 20th 2009 the top position on the ActiveRain Feature Board will be available for paid sponsorship.
Sponsored Posts will run for 24 hour periods, 12:00:00am to 11:59:59pm.
Sponsors are welcome to sell/advertise their products and services in most any fashion they see fit, so long as they coincide with ActiveRains Terms of Use...in other words...no pornography, unauthorized use of copyrighted material etc
It will be interesting to see how sponsors use this valuable real estate to flex their creative marketing muscles...
Well, that's it!
Contact Chris Martin for pricing, availability and scheduling.
On 4/14/09 ActiveRain, under the dark of night, launched it's self-serve, automated network advertising system.
Here's how it works:
Anyone interested in advertising/sponsoring a 125 x 125 tile ad that will run in rotation on all non-blog pages in the ActiveRain network i.e. Login, Search, Groups. Blogs, My Home...may automatically create a campaign using our self serve interface. The ads run site wide, there is no ability to target to geographic region or by member type (for now).
The cost is $299.00 per slot per month, you may cancel at anytime.
There are 95 total available slots, each slot will run in even rotation with other sponsored slots.
Assuming all 95 slots are taken, each slot will deliver a minimum of ~70,000 impressions of your ad per month.
If all 95 slots are not taken, the exisitng slots will receive the excess traffic. For example, if only 47 slots are taken, each slot will deliver a minimum of ~140,000 impressions per month.
The lucky first movers will receive a bulk of the 8M+ page impressions.
The 'Create a new advertising campaign screenshot':
2) Select the number of shares you would like (max 20).
3) Input the url where you would like anyone clicking your ad to land...Ex: http://www.yourlandingpage.com
4) Upload your creative ad. It must be 125 x 125 pixels in size and either be in a .jpg or .gif file format. No animated formats allowed.
5) Enter your credit card information and click Purchase. If you've already bought an ActiveRain product and used a credit card, this area will automatically populate with your billing information. To change your billing information click here.
Despite the fact your ad will appear in front of eyeballs literally hundreds of thousands of times, dont make the mistake of thinking that it's mere presence will equate to click through success. A few points for effective advertising in a 125 x 125 pixel box:
Keep your message simple and succinct. Your entire business value proposition/plan wont fit here.
Be compelling in your delivery. Do something remarkable. Give someone a reason to want to 'Learn More'. Think outside that 'box' everyone talks about.
Direct anyone who clicks your ad to a landing page that directly relates to the ad, preferably one where you can track how many inbound links you receive from the ad.
If an ad isn't pulling well, dont be afraid to change things up. Small differences in copy and/or layout can make a big difference.
**This advertising interface is intended and best served for Business to Business advertising, not Agent to Consumer advertising.
If you have any questions about advertising on AR, need help setting up a campaign or would otherwise just like to talk to a nice guy, contact Chris Martin: chris at activerain dot com
Yes, its true...this is yet another way in which ActiveRain hopes to monetize 'the site'. Hopefully no one is too repulsed or shocked into never returning to the network :)
The following post is simply one non-conformists opinion, albeit a relatively educated one...Its my hope that my words, cutting as they may come across, cause an epiphany for more than a few...
This entire post is based on The California Association of Realtors 2008 Home Seller Survey (released in July 2008, I just happened upon the PowerPoint presentation a few days ago) but the statistics are just as relevant today, if not more so...Granted this survey is but a snapshot of an industry, yet pictures are worth thousands of words...You can read the entire survey here. (All statistical references in this post are derived from the aforementioned survey).
Public perception of the real estate professional and the greater industry is amongst the lowest of any on record. Consumers are looking for an alternative to the 'traditional' Agent and they're defining what this alternative is, yet relatively very few professional are heeding this demand and actually providing a tangible solution. This Survey demonstrates to me that 90% of Agents are not providing what the consumer wants...and it is ALL ABOUT THE CONSUMER.
Personally I know alot of fantastic real estate professionals. Genuinely great people, passionate, always striving to better themselves, their clients, the industry they serve and represent...they're worth every penny they command...they dont suck...I'm just a sucker for a good title (no pun intended). I could fill this page dropping names like Jay Thompson, Kris Berg, Missy Caulk, Bill Gasset and 30 others nobody has heard of as examples of who I consider to be the vanguard of where this industry should look to as ministers of positive change. Unfortunately, they're in the minority and a few good apples don't ripen the bunch.
Agent Perception: I can Has Consumer!
Talk to most any real estate professional and they will tout their expertise, knowledge and marketing prowess as the main reason you should retain their services. Most will maintain that commission rates (should) mean very little to the consumer and they're worth every penny.
Consumer Reality: You Suck!
According to the respondents:
Number One factor considered when choosing an Agent? Lowest Commission.
Last reason? Most knowledgeable. <-- If this doesn't snap you into reality, nothing will.
You'd best start putting your knowledge out there if you hope to attract a client...get a blogsite that rocks, start dropping neighborhood knowledge, get a killer IDX solution...substantiate your value!! The days of being a prude with your listings and expertise until you had an executed contract are over.
I can find out more than you know.
~70% of respondents polled on 'Information from The Internet vs Information from Agent' indicated that the Net provided information that was as useful, 'different' or more useful than an Agent. I can only surmise that 'different' means information an agent couldn't or simply didn't provide. In the Age of Information, lack thereof is akin to being useless.
The ~31% that said The Net provided less useful information than an Agent are part of a 50% declining trend over the past 5 years.
You're still (a) very necessary (evil?).
~95% of respondent sellers still used an agent, which makes perfect sense. I often state that: While technology won't replace a good real estate Agent, the Agent that properly utilizes technology will replace Agent that doesn't.
Consider- 74% of 1st time respondent sellers considered not using an Agent, up 46% from 2007.
You can't market your way out of a brown paper bag.
Of the reasons given for using an Agent only 7% said it was for 'Better Marketing Exposure'. Ummm, isn't this what an Agent's core value proposition is supposed to be, to market property? Consumers clearly do not believe Agents can effectively market their property...yet online and offline marketing is the 1st and 3rd highest reason for choosing an Agent. This is a huge disconnect and opportunity at the same time.
84% of respondent sellers are searching online and 96% Agents polled use print advertising. Helllllooo!?! Can you say poor ROI, waste of money? Newspapers and other print media are going out of business because less and less people read them. Advertising in these dinosaurs is of almost no value going forward.
Only 57% of agents use multiple photos or a virtual tour as part of an online home listing. This just blows my mind. I'd guess that 50% of the 57% that actually use multiple photos look (kinda) like these:
Proper Feng Shui can do wonders for a small space.
Extra long chain for convenient access to light.
Sweet shower curtain stays with home!
Thanks to MLS Trash Can for the pictures. Descriptions by me.
Seriously, an agent who can't manage to market a property with quality photographs should have their license suspended on principle alone.
You're being perpetually judged.
97% of respondents interviewed 3 or more Agents. 50% interviewed 6 or more Agents. Consumers are getting more and more finicky about who they hire. Agents better step up how they present themselves. Better have an impressive resume and a killer suit = a slick engaging blogsite & robust IDX solution.
Here's a scary thought (depending on who you are):
Consumers are lurking on your blog, stalking your FaceBook page, following your Twitter stream, viewing your Flickr account, reading your answers on Trulia, Zillow & ActiveRain, evaluating your IDX, the quality of your multi-media marketing, processing how you engage comment threads and otherwise perpetually judging you under the cloak of anonymity.
How are you representing yourself in public and when you don't think anyone is looking?
The silver lining in this post could be that 'The Bar' is so low in a consumers eyes, those Agents willing to set aside their perceptions and confront reality are in a great position to capture some huge marketshare. Take this information and use it to your advantage rather than deny its validity.
Many Agents are out there cleaning up despite this 'depressing' market...Find them, reach out to them, study their successes...I find the most successful people in life are more than willing to share their successes and help others get there too. Reciprocity is still live and well...
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Posted by 
Unchecked Growth is Bad, mmkay?
We will protect you, promise. 
;)
;)
