Reactions to story from The New York Times

• 

  The Roundup: Sergio to Tiger - Thanks, Man!

  http://thebiglead.com/?p=5754
  204 days ago in The Big Lead · Authority: 1,288

  Tough to feel for millionaire athletes, but its gotta be brutal to be Brad Penny and not be with Eliza Dushku anymore rollin with Gary Busey, er a guy who looks like Busey, and plays the role so if Newsday is bought by Cablevision, what will the papers
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  Breaking the Real Estate Walled Garden Of Information

  http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/05/12/breaking-the...
  204 days ago in Real Estate Blog, Mortgage, and Development News — The Real Estate Bloggers · Authority: 225

  Breaking the Real Estate Walled Garden Of Information May 12th, 2008 2008 Real Estate Predictions, Real Estate Technology, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Tools If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! The real
• 

  Monday AM Linkage

  http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/12/monday_am_linkage.php
  204 days ago in Curbed : The New York City Neighborhoods and Real Estate Blog · Authority: 939

  · Real estate lists starting to love this internet thing [NYT] · Port Authority could pay Goldman Sachs $321M because of WTC delays [NYDN] · Orchestra buying part of Clinton building as its new 'hub' [NYT] · Bronx bridge bites dust because it would co
• 

  Classified Ads in the Trash

  http://www.realestaterelativity.com/blog/2008/05/16/classifi...
  200 days ago in Real Estate Relativity · Authority: 2

  Epitaph of printed classified advertisements: And this commentary corroborates the physical evidence. For newspapers, these are the end times, or something very much like them. Every week provides a new marker on the road to apocalypse: hundreds of layoffs in Los Angeles, circulation scandals in Dallas… … and … The rise of the Craigslist model has devastated classified advertising in newspapers, once the only place in a city to sell a used car or list a job opening…why should you spend $100 putting something up for sale in the paper when you can post it on Craigslist for free? Why list a job for $200 when you can list it for $10? The NYTimes also agrees. And apparently it’s profitable to give consumers–and advertisers–a simple and easy to access, use, and understand forum. Accordingly, unless you’re really targeting a niche demographic, go with an online vertical advertising venue rather than traditional print classifieds; this saves you money over the long-term, allows you to target your audience more effectively, and measure the performance of your advertising spend.
• 

  Will Real Estate Sink or Swim? Multiple Listing Services Must be Embraced

  http://www.southernlandexchange.com/blog/2008/05/will-real-e...
  200 days ago in LandTalk Blog | Hunting Land, Recreational Property, Land for Sale, and Georgia Land | Southern Land Exchange · Authority: 4

  Real estate and especially recreational land real estate, have a history of tradition and business as usual. Things have been done a certain way for a long time, but with increasing competition and a weak market, the established marketing plan is being redefined. The New York Times article "Real Estate Lists Grow Comfortable with the Web," explains that real estate professionals are beginning to disclose more information about their properties online through M.L.S. (multiple listing services). Previously, brokers and M.L.S.s were particular about how and where the listing information could be displayed, but now they are listening to the customers' needs. Consumers want a one stop shop that allows them multiple comparisons instantly. Other industries such as health insurance and car insurance have embraced this model and it has worked. The freer exchange of information is a reflection of the Web's increasing use for two-way communication, user generated content, and social networking. If real estate professionals fight the breaking down of the "walled garden" just because they don't want the extra competition, they will certainly get lost among the consumer-embraced transparent professionals. The skilled agents will reap the benefits of the changing industry because people and agents alike are beginning to have an expectation for finding property easily with information at their fingertips. Cabela’s Trophy Properties has also adopted an M.L.S. site, making it possible to search by very specific information.
• 

  Lifting the Veil of Confusion - Changes Are In Store for the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

  http://activerain.com/blogsview/512797/Lifting-the-Veil-of
  200 days ago in Michael's Blog · No authority yet

  First, let me thank my fellow Coldwell Banker realtor, Susie Blackmon in Ashville, NC, for alerting me -and other readers - to an article that appeared earlier this week in the New York Times. Basically the author, Bob Tedeschi, writes about how the some 900 multiple listing services (MLS) around the country are beginning to loosen restrictions on what can be listed and where. Ultimately, opening the MLS to all comers (for sale by owner, bank foreclosurers, etc.) will give buyers and sellers alike the opportunity to cast the widest possible net to complete a sales transaction. On the other hand, agents should embrace this new trend and adjust their own strategies to complement the extraordinary reach of the world wide Web. My friend Susie is an adamant proponent of transparency in all things real estate and I can’t say that I disagree. To read the complete NYT article, click here. Have a good Friday, Michael To read more, visit: Lifting the Veil of Confusion - Changes Are In Store for the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
• 

  To Z or Not To Z?

  http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=3114
  203 days ago in BloodhoundBlog.com | National real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgage and investment news · Authority: 1,231

  That is the question.  Whether ‘tis noble in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or take arms against a sea of troubles, And by not opposing them?  To die:to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end.  I started this post with what I thought was a cute title, but then I looked at the actual Shakespeare soliloquy and saw that it was quite appropriate to this post.  The “Z” in the title is for Zillow – the latest in a long list of challengers to Realtor.com for supremacy in Internet traffic for real estate eyeballs.  There are other relatively new sites – Trulia, etc. – but Zillow seems to have captured the imagination of both the public and REALTORS®.  Maybe it’s the cute name or the even cuter play on words with “Zestimates,” but the one site everyone seems to remember is Zillow.  It has almost become a cliché term for Internet listing aggregators.  Not bad for a site that has only been around for a year and a half. But this post is not about Zillow; rather I wanted to explore the question of whether it make sense for local MLS systems to send their listing data to Zillow (or any other aggregator).  A recent New York Times article provides a good framework of the discussion, but leaves out most of the “slings and arrows” that need to be considered before we willy nilly send MLS data to any site that wants it.  Before you draw any conclusions as to my opinion on sending listing data to Zillow, let me say I could argue either “To Z, or Not To Z.”  This post will focus a bit more on the slings and arrows, but Times article does a good job of making the other side of the argument.  Frankly, I am undecided on this question and I encourage you to approach this discussion with an open mind. We recently had this discussion in the Technology Group of the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR).  There were strong opinions stated on both sides of the debate.  Advocates for sending data to aggregators used many of the points made in the Times article, but opponents took a very different slant.  The naysayers were not worried about sharing their listings with the public or commingling with for sale by owner listings; rather they were concerned about Internet market dilution with so many sites doing the same thing.  First, it may help to know a little background about CAAR.  We have had our listings online for the public to view since the early 90’s.  We were one of the first to see the value of letting the public have access to the data.  Second, because we have been on the Internet so long (and because we have a great MLS Vendor in Solid Earth), we have a very good public search engine that is fed directly from live MLS data.  When the public goes to www.caar.com, they are, in fact, searching the exact data that CAAR members access.  Although we are a small market, we get thousands of unique visitors each week.    So the counter argument, or the Not To Z, is that sending the data to every aggregator site in order for the listings to get more exposure is superfluous.  The public already has the best possible access to the data – live and accurate – so why spread it around to sites that may or may not keep it up-to-date and accurate.  In addition, every site we send it to would create a new site that members needed to keep up with by either paying fees or filling out profiles.  Do Realtors have enough free time to keep up with several aggregator sites, maintain their Blog and their IDX site, and still have time to actually meet with clients?  Again, I am only offering the Not To Z perspective in this post because the Times presented the other side.  We have not decided what course to take with our local data.  Part of me wants to say to the Z’s of the world, “if you want it, make us an offer.”  That’s what REALTOR.com did.  They paid us several thousands of dollars in cash and stocks to get our listings.  What is REALTOR.com or any other aggregator providing us, or the public, that is not already accessible and more accurate on CAAR.com? Copyright © 2008 BloodhoundBlog. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@www.bloodhoundrealty.com so we can take legal action immediately. Plugin by Taragana
• 

  To Z or Not To Z:

  http://www.davidrphillips.com/?p=132
  203 days ago in CAAR Blog · Authority: 19

  That is the question.  Whether ‘tis noble in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or take arms against a sea of troubles, And by not opposing them?  To die:to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end.  I started this post with what I thought was a cute title, but then I looked at the actual Shakespeare soliloquy and saw that it was quite appropriate to this post.  The “Z” in the title is for Zillow – the latest in a long list of challengers to Realtor.com for supremacy in Internet traffic for real estate eyeballs.  There are other relatively new sites – Trulia, etc. – but Zillow seems to have captured the imagination of both the public and REALTORS®.  Maybe it’s the cute name or the even cuter play on words with “Zestimates,” but the one site everyone seems to remember is Zillow.  It has almost become a cliché term for Internet listing aggregators.  Not bad for a site that has only been around for a year and a half.But this post is not about Zillow; rather I wanted to explore the question of whether it make sense for local MLS systems to send their listing data to Zillow (or any other aggregator).  A recent New York Times article provides a good framework of the discussion, but leaves out most of the “slings and arrows” that need to be considered before we willy nilly send MLS data to any site that wants it.  Before you draw any conclusions as to my opinion on sending listing data to Zillow, let me say I could argue either “To Z, or Not To Z.”  This post will focus a bit more on the slings and arrows, but Times article does a good job of making the other side of the argument.  Frankly, I am undecided on this question and I encourage you to approach this discussion with an open mind. We recently had this discussion in the Technology Group of the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR).  There were strong opinions stated on both sides of the debate.  Advocates for sending data to aggregators used many of the points made in the Times article, but opponents took a very different slant.  The naysayers were not worried about sharing their listings with the public or commingling with for sale by owner listings; rather they were concerned about Internet market dilution with so many sites doing the same thing.  First, it may help to know a little background about CAAR.  We have had our listings online for the public to view since the early 90’s.  We were one of the first to see the value of letting the public have access to the data.  Second, because we have been on the Internet so long (and because we have a great MLS Vendor in Solid Earth), we have a very good public search engine that is fed directly from live MLS data.  When the public goes to www.caar.com, they are, in fact, searching the exact data that CAAR members access.  Although we are a small market, we get thousands of unique visitors each week.  So the counter argument, or the Not To Z, is that sending the data to every aggregator site in order for the listings to get more exposure is superfluous.  The public already has the best possible access to the data – live and accurate – so why spread it around to sites that may or may not keep it up-to-date and accurate.  In addition, every site we send it to would create a new site that members needed to keep up with by either paying fees or filling out profiles.  Do Realtors have enough free time to keep up with several aggregator sites, maintain their Blog and their IDX site, and still have time to actually meet with clients?  Again, I am only offering the Not To Z perspective in this post because the Times presented the other side.  We have not decided what course to take with our local data.  Part of me wants to say to the Z’s of the world, “if you want it, make us an offer.”  That’s what REALTOR.com did.  They paid us several thousands of dollars in cash and stocks to get our listings.  What is REALTOR.com or any other aggregator providing us, or the public, that is not already accessible and more accurate on CAAR.com? 
• 

  FHA Chief Criticizes Rescue Plan - US News and World Report

  http://12makemoneyathome.blogspot.com/2008/05/fha-chief-crit...
  203 days ago in Home Business · Authority: 1

  While most government officials scratch and claw for more authority, Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery is pouring cold water on a housing rescue plan that would make his agency the linchpin of an expanded federal effort to Media to blame for slump, say real estate agents - New Zealand Herald It's the media - not the economic cycle or high interest rates driving down house prices, say real estate agents. Alistair Helm, the chief executive of realestate.co.nz, - the website owned by the major agents, says media stories have "an immediate State foreclosure sales hit record high - Silicon Valley More than 1,000 California properties went up for sale in foreclosure auctions each weekday in April, a foreclosure data company said Tuesday, staking a grim new milepost for the state's beleaguered housing market. Last month's foreclosure auction Immigration raid at Agriprocessors in Postville - Chicago Tribune POSTVILLE, Iowa - Immigration officials raided the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville on Monday as part of an investigation into identity theft. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered the plant at about 10 a.m. looking for Real Estate Lists Grow Comfortable With the Web - New York Times AS if home buyers do not have it good enough already, finding a house for sale on the Web is becoming easier. The Houston Association of Realtors, headed by C. Robert Hale III, above, has long given listings to independent Web sites. The triple
• 

  Is your MLS part of the “In Crowd”?

  http://www.realestateyouropinion.com/?p=46
  203 days ago in Real Estate Your Opinion - The iHOUSE Blog · Authority: 1

  Check out a great New York Times article ‘Real Estate Lists Grow More Comfortable With the Web’. The article focuses on the transition and loosening restrictions by MLSs to feature listings on various websites including Trulia and Redfin along side FSBO and foreclosures.

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