Get ready! RSS is coming to the rest of the world via Internet Explorer 7. (those of us with Firefox, Macs, et.al. have been enjoying the glories of RSS for some time now) I can’t wait for the virii that make their way to PCs via RSS.Now, I just have to find some sucker willing participant to let me borrow their Windows box to test it out. :)Seriously, this will be a landmark moment for RSS, as RSS moves from an emerging technology to one that will hopefully become seamless, invisible to most and an option for information/content delivery.
Browsing Category Technology
Google and Zillow
All the talk for the past few days has focused on Zillow…. Rightfully so, and Zillow seems to be courting the bloggers as well – something that larger corporations (MLS’) would be wise to do:I’m guessing you might have already heard, but I thought I’d mail you anyway regarding the new version of Zillow that we shipped last night, which includes the ability for homeowners to update and add information about their home, such as a recent remodel or the existence of a waterfront view…. I think the new features are pretty cool- check this post on our blog for more infoZillow is very, very cool. And useful; I just don’t see it replacing Realtors’ ability to interpret the intangible, unzillowable aspects of a home – I foresee it enhancing Realtors’ interpretation of said data.I am more concerned with intrigued by Google and their recent change to Google Base, prominently featuring housing on the front page.Right now, Zillow has the buzz throughout the blogosphere, (and also the critical eye/target) but Google is sneaking up (never thought I would write that!) on the competition, and that competition is the change-as-fast-as-molasses-flows MLS and Realtor organizations…. Realtors and MLS’.Just look at the simplicity of the above – RSS…. I wish that I had taken a picture of how many listings were in Charlottesville when I uploaded my first Google Base listing.If I recall correctly, Merv made the comparison some time ago between the Realtor organization and GM. I think that he may have been quite prescient.Two questions: When has Google failed?What if – Google bought Zillow?
Friday links 1 September 2006
The end of the housing boom might not be a bad thing.Property rights -v- human rights – Rick Sincere takes a letter-to-the-editor writer to taskTim Kaine on the upcoming Transportation Session – aside from the interesting interview with Governor Kaine – this is an example of the power of the blogosphere (we really need to work on a new name for this) – a conference call with bloggers!?Free books!Option ARMs are the single most frightening loan product I have ever seen. Depending solely on a property’s appreciation combined with a lack of a commensurate rise in pay … Who is going to be left holding the bag on these things? Because clearly it’s not the consumer’s fault … Clustering is mandatory? Thanks to Channel 29 for the heads-upA mini-milestone: just over 15,000 hits to this blog last month – made less significant because tabbed browsing has made this stats somewhat irrelevant/obsolete.
Why use print?
With internet marketing, there are metrics I use to determine how advertising campaigns are working. Click-throughs, referrals from specific sites, hits, time spent on a particular page – these are all methods by which I can measure whether my money is being used effectively to market my clients’ property…. I was simply not interested in their print arm, as nice as it is.How is print effective?… Marketing to the passive real estate consumer – those who may be looking in six, nine or eighteen months. A good example of this is the recent two-part series by the local Real Estate Weekly (PDF 1, PDF 2) – this type of feature article will do more than a 2×2 box that has a front shot of a house and a few clichéd words of description.There is a survey out today validating my thoughts (and spurring this post).Inman:But Realtors say they buy print ads because their customers expect them to, not because they produce results, according to a survey by Florida-based Classified Intelligence LLC and Realty Times…. (bolding mine)So what’s taking so long for the transition (to the internet) to happen?”The difficulty is that many sellers value print advertising because they see it, they feel it, and they also feel that there is an investment that the agent is making in their listing with some forms of print advertising,”Realty Times:In allocating their budgets, Realtors get the word out on the street via flyers, yard signs, and billboards — still the top category of spending, as it was in 2005…. Thirty-six percent of respondents said that up to 10 percent of their advertising dollars go to newspaper advertising.Thanks to Joel for the link to the study.The only exception to this is Open Houses. The Sunday paper is the best way to get traffic to an open house.
Friday links – 25 August 2006
The Human CarHome for Sale, by Anxious Owner – my analysis of local incentives is coming soon. Macro market roundupKeep your friends close and your enemies closer (Microsoft and Firefox collaborate)A great idea marginalized by its affiliation with the UNIt took some time, but I finally found what may be my favorite commercial today – the one for Barclay’s i-Shares, titled “Strike Anywhere.” I’m not sure I’ll buy i-Shares, but this commercial does speak to me.
A new website and unintended consequences
As a follow-up to my “What I want in a website” – I am testing out a new website that very well may become my main real estate site…. Ubertor are innovative and easy to work with so far.They are doing things that no other site is yet doing (that I have seen) – craigslist integration, Google Base, geocoding of listings, Feedburner, Google SiteMaps for traffic analysis, all email goes through Gmail, framing of my blog …As I write some of the features, something is becoming more and more clear – all of these features are chipping away at the chinks in the MLS’ armor and fortifying the position of the search engines. How else will buyers find properties if the MLS’ lead deteriorates further? Google. Yahoo…. al.As a testament to how fast things move – I have been putting this post together over the past three days. In that time, I came across this post at the Real Estate Tomato about Google Base’s continuing advance into the real estate world. Most of the features are clearly targeted to both the cutting-edge Realtor as well as the tech-savvy clientele.
Last thoughts on Zillow
They will be a factor with which we as professional Realtors absolutely must contend…. They will have the algorithms that will get better as time goes on. They will be a factor. One thing that strikes me is this – most of the Zillow-focused discussion on Technorati is being conducted by others associated with the real estate industry. (Except of course for the fact that they were just named one of Time’s 50 coolest website.The solution?… They must recognize that they no longer have control over the data and they must determine how best to incorporate tools such as Zillow into their businesses. This poll has some interesting questions and responses about Zillow.Saying Zillow is not accurate is one thing – proving it is another. Zillow may not be the one that becomes the source for real estate online valuations, but they are certainly leading the charge. And while they may not lead in the end, they are a harbinger for the future of the industry.