Our listing data is our lifeblood. Listings are the most valuable thing we have to offer the real estate consumer. We’ve got to stop giving our data away!

Really?

If you think listing data is all you have to offer the real estate consumer, then I have to respectfully suggest you find another line of work.

“Listing data” is the most valuable thing you have to offer? A pile of photos, some cheesy sales copy (Honey, stop the car!) and a list of amenities is all you have to offer?

We (“we” as in the real estate collective) lost control of listing data long ago. Gone are the days when the only way a potential home buyer could find out what homes were for sale was to go to a real estate broker’s office and flip through printouts in a three-ring binder. Gone are the days when every open house was printed in the Sunday paper. Gone are the days where agents and brokers were the only people with direct access to listing data.

Gone. Thank God.

This whole, “We own this valuable data and shouldn’t be giving it away for free” argument is ridiculous.

First of all, I think I could make a passable argument that the homeowner is the one who provides and owns the data. (Yes, I am fully aware that contractually the broker owns the data and the right to sell the home. But for Pete’s sake, it is the client’s home we are talking about.)

That argument aside, the last time I checked, I am not paid to sell photos, or descriptive sales copy, or a floor plan, or a video of a walk-through. I am paid to sell a home. All that other stuff – all that data – is marketing material.

“Listing data” in and of itself isn’t worth a plug nickel. Listing data is a means to an end. It is there to sell a home. As I mentioned in an earlier post, On Compensation for Listing Data, I’m OK with the commissions I receive from selling a home being full compensation for my listing data.

And I think you should be too. But that’s just my opinion.

So if it’s not the data, what is our “Value Add” in a real estate transaction?

Listing data is ubiquitous, like it or not. The cat is out of the bag. The toothpaste is out of the tube. The ship has sailed. Whatever lousy metaphor you want to use, the simple fact is listing data is out there, we don’t control it. We can’t control it.

Welcome to the 21st century.

Maybe long ago in a galaxy far far away real estate brokers held and controlled the listing data with an iron fist. Maybe back then that was all they added to a real estate transaction. I’ve only been in real estate since 2004, well into the “internet age”. I’ve never experienced being the sole gatekeeper of the golden data.

So perhaps what I think real estate agents bring (or should bring) to the transaction differs from your opinion. Maybe I am short-sighted. Naïve even. What I think I bring to the real estate transaction is pretty simple though.

I bring expertise, knowledge, experience and ability to facilitate the real estate transaction to successful closure.

In anything, it’s not the specific data that matters, it is how the data is interpreted and used that makes the difference.

Agents whine, often incessantly, about the “Zestimate” that Zillow generates – that being their estimate of a home’s value. The estimate is derived from public records data about recent sales, squeezed through some algorithm, and like magic some number is spit out the other end. Do consumers believe this number is a rock solid opinion of their homes value? I’m sure some do. It’s the real estate agents job to ADD VALUE by explaining to the consumer why that number may or may not be accurate. And you know what? Consumers are smart. They get it once you explain how it works. YOU are the real estate expert, not them, and not some piece of software.

Did the boys at Case-Shiller just publish some Home Price Index data that loudly proclaims, Home Prices Continued to Decline in November 2011? Yeah? And let me guess, your local newspaper picked up that headline and ran with it. Well, how about you ADD VALUE and actually interpret that data for your client. Point out the flaw in making national proclamations from very localized data. How about you ADD VALUE and run the numbers for your client for neighborhoods they are interested in rather than relying on metro-wide broad brushed strokes of data. You do understand the nuances and variations in neighborhood to neighborhood sales data, don’t you?

If you really want to ADD VALUE, maybe you should be telling that potential home buyer who is looking in Holliday Farms or Higley Groves that it is impossible to turn onto Cole Avenue between 7:30am and 8:00am Monday through Friday because of the horrific traffic flow around the elementary school. Maybe you can ADD VALUE by informing those south Gilbert buyers that while the stink of the Higley dairy farms is getting better, that they need to be aware that on cool nights with a southeast wind, they can expect the air to be filled with the scent of cow feces.

Know the neighborhoods. Understand and interpret the reams of data available to the public. Guide the client through the maze of forms, through the hoops, over the obstacles that present themselves in every real estate transaction. THAT is how you ADD VALUE. Way more value than what your marketing material disguised as “listing data” is worth.

We are making these third party sites the experts!

The corollary to the “we shouldn’t give our data away for free” argument seems to be that by doing this we are establishing these third party sites as the experts in real estate. If they have the data, then consumers will look to them as the experts.

Hogwash.

Once again, I think we are selling the intelligence level of the general public short. The day a web site takes over as the expert – in the place of human experience and intelligence – is still a long way off.

Back in 2006, the late great Joe Ferrara coined a term – Unzillowable. It represents all those things about real estate that a piece of software and an algorithm can never capture and consider – traffic noise, smells, the fact your neighbors have a 1963 pickup with no doors up on blocks in the front yard. The cat that jumps the fence to take a dump in your plants, the street light that shines in your bedroom window. The list is endless.

Software can’t “see” that sort of stuff. Listing data can’t define it. You, the kick-ass know-your-stuff real estate agent can ADD VALUE with that sort of information and more.

It’s your knowledge of the real estate transaction, and how to prevent it from falling apart, that ADDS VALUE. It’s the trust you build with your client that ADDS VALUE. Listing data doesn’t add value. YOU add value.

Don’t sell yourself short.

Photo Credit: Pillars of Influence. By David Armano on Flickr. CC Licensed.

• On Compensation for Listing Data
• ARG Abbott Realty Group Pulls Listings from Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com
• The Two Hardest Things to Tell a Client
• Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Kristin LaVanway!

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

About a year ago, I tried out LiveFyre – a commenting system that has more bells and whistles than the built-in native WordPress comment system.

That little blogsperiment lasted about 20 minutes before I realized that it required a commenter to establish an account with LiveFyre.

Jay doesn’t like forcing people to create accounts just to leave a comment.

Well, LiveFyre is back again — this time without the requirement to create an account (though really, you should consider it. More on that later).

It’s super simple to use. Just write your comment and click on the “Post comment as” button. You will see something like this:

You can select to log on with accounts from LiveFyre, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or OpenID. If none of those float your boat, you can just enter your name, email and a URL — as with the old standard WordPress comments.

Advantages to creating a LiveFyre account

By creating a free LifeFyre account, you can save your comments from all LiveFyre enable blogs centrally on the LiveFyre site, “Like” others comments, share your (or others) comments across your social networks. And more. You can build a little profile on LiveFyre that other readers can see if they click on your comment avatar. Like this:

In theory, this gives readers here a chance to learn a little about you. And maybe click over to your sites and/or Facebook / Twitter accounts.

You know, growing your social sphere and all that.

But, you don’t have to create a LiveFyre account (or login through any existing account) unless you want to.

Some cool LiveFyre stuff

• Comments are loaded in real time. So you will see new comments posted as is happens. No need to refresh the page. In effect this creates a live chat system, though in reality, on most real estate blogs you won’t have people commenting simultaneously in most cases.
• Post mentions on Twitter and Facebook Pages (not Profiles) are pulled into the blog post comment section
• You can tag your Twitter and Facebook connections when leaving a comment.
• You can post to and share your comments on Facebook and Twitter.
• Comments are crawlable by search engines
• Readers can flag comments as spam or inappropriate, allowing a moderator to check the comment
• And more. Here are all the LiveFyre features.

Facebook Comments will remain

Some of you like the Facebook Comments feature that was added awhile back. That isn’t going away. You’ll find them below the LiveFyre comments.

Give it a spin please!

Try out the new commenting system and let me know what you think. Play around with the tagging (feel free to tag me if you don’t want to bother your  friends, I won’t mind.) I can’t promise it’ll stick around forever, though I do want to give it a few weeks to see how it all shakes out. So far, I’m kind of digging it.

And I have to give kudos to the LiveFyre support team. I ran into some snags importing my existing comments, probably because I’d run LiveFyre a year ago and then returned. They jumped on the problem and actually came out with an update to fix it in just a few days. They’re very responsive on Twitter (@LiveFyre) and via email. Kudo’s to them!

• The Best of TPREG 2011
• On Dashter
• Testing Hello Bar. Highlight your Calls to Action!
• Revamping the About Page on Phoenix Real Estate Guy
• RE Tech South Presentation: Conversion Optimization

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

A recurring theme keeps coming up.

It is another point the “anti-syndication” crowd tends to rally around, and another point I don’t understand.

“Agents and brokers deserve compensation for their listing data.”

“In the information age, Agent’s listings data are Valuable, and they need compensation for it.”

“That listing data is valuable. They should pay us for it!”

Syndication sites take listing data “without compensation to the brokers, agents, photographers and videographers who create, pay for and own the content.”

So it seems there are many out there that feel we should be compensated for our listing data.

Uhm, we are compensated.

It’s called a commission check.

You know, that payment you get from your home selling client when you do what you were hired to do — sell their home.

Some of those commission checks can be rather substantial.

But you want additional compensation for your listing data?

Plan to share that additional compensation with your client? You know the one who really, if you think about it, should “own the data” from their own home.

Good grief.

This ought to play out well with the general public — that group of people that buy and sell homes. That group of people that become your clients. A significant percentage of that general public thinks all real estate agents are blithering idiots. Smarmy sales people. Money grubbers.

And now you want “additional compensation” for listing data.

::Sigh:: It’s no wonder this profession has a big giant scarlet letter ‘A’ tattooed across our collective foreheads.

Here’s an idea.

Do your job. Sell your client’s home. Smile and thank them profusely when you get your compensation.

And stop being greedy.

Photo Credit: What Lies Behind. By Truthout.org on Flickr. CC Licensed.

• ARG Abbott Realty Group Pulls Listings from Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com
• On the “Value Add” of a Real Estate Agent
• NAR Announces Formation of Technology & Emerging Issues Subcommittee
• Demystifying the Franchisor IDX Rule / Rescission
• An Open Letter to the NAR Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

Sounds exactly like what Edina Realty announced in November 2011. (Though curiously, Edina never mentioned backing out of Zillow).

Is there an “anti-syndication movement” afoot in the real estate vertical? Maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell where this is headed.

Here is the video that Abbott Realty Group Broker and President Jim Abbott released explaining ARG’s decision to no longer syndicate their listings to Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com (hereafter referred to as TruZillTor, just because that is faster to type).

If you haven’t watched the video, I encourage you to do so.

First, let me say this. I respect Jim Abbott and ARG for taking a stand on a topic they obviously feel passionately about. That’s not an easy thing to do, and Jim’s video is well produced, and he makes many points. Perhaps too many, as sometimes, for me, it’s difficult to know if he is addressing the real estate industry or real estate consumers. But that’s neither here nor there. This article isn’t a critique of the video. It’s a critique of the message.

Second, let me say this. I am “pro-syndication.” That shouldn’t be a surprise. If you read my article on the Edina announcement, that position is clear. I am not against other people advertising my listings, as was clearly stated in You Have Full Permission to Advertise My Listings, written almost three years ago. There are countless other places here and all across the internet where I have supported listing syndication.

Why I disagree with the ARG Abbott Realty Group decision

This is a complicated topic that many feel strongly about regardless of which side of the syndication fence they fall on. I think the best way to tackle it is to discuss each of Jim Abbott’s points in the order he made them. So let’s go…

Listing syndication sites are in business to sell advertising to real estate agents and brokers.

Yep, true statement.

Neither the home seller or the potential home buyer is remotely well served by listing syndicators.

Hmm. This is debatable. Jim’s first point in support of this statement is that the syndication sites, “are really nothing more than slick advertising platforms. They often use fear and peer pressure to induce agents and brokers to sign costly long-term contracts for their lead generation services.”

Yes, we’ve already established that syndication sites sell advertising. “Fear and peer pressure”? Inducing agents to buy advertising? I don’t know about you, but I began the “don’t succumb to peer pressure” talk with my kids when they were about five years old. If you don’t like the fact that syndication sites sell advertising, that’s fine. Don’t buy it. Peer pressure? Put on your big girl panties and stand up to the peer pressure and do what YOU think is right. ARG is doing what they think is right. So is Edina. So am I.

Jim states the real estate industry is vigorously regulated by local, state and federal government to protect the public, and they the syndication sites face no such regulation and have no legal responsibility for the accuracy of the data they display.

Also a true statement.

The syndicator sites will tell you they go through many gyrations to ensure accurate data. Well, I agree with Jim and can assure you that these sites are filled with inaccurate information – sold listings, expired listings, missing listings, homes listed for sale that aren’t.

Unfortunately, inaccurate listing data isn’t limited to the syndication sites. Take a peek at your local MLS. If it’s anything like mine, and I suspect it is, it too is filled with inaccurate and missing data.

I just logged into the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) and in 30 seconds or less found this:

• 283 listings with no square footage entered. That’s just agent laziness.
• 12 listings showing a square footage of 0, 1 or 2 square feet. When is the last time you saw a one square foot home? My ass is bigger than one square foot.
• 14 listings showing both zero bedrooms and zero  bathrooms. A home with no bedrooms or bathrooms? What is it, a tent?
• 484 listings showing property taxes of less then $10/year. I *wish* my property taxes were less than 10 bucks.

I have no way to count how many listings have the wrong price, the wrong listing status, the wrong directions, the wrong address.

We get calls every day about listings showing as Active in the MLS and when we call the listing agent it is not unusual, at all, to hear things like:

• Oh yeah, that one. It’s been under contract for a couple of weeks. I forgot to change the status in the MLS
• Yes, there is an HOA. I just haven’t had time to look it up
• There are multiple offers submitted, we aren’t taking any more
• I don’t know if it’s a one story or two story
• I don’t know if it has a pool

The list goes on and on. You can’t make this stuff up.

Garbage in, garbage out. And shame on us for being so lousy at entering, maintaining and correcting listing data.

The MLS is not a sanctity of data integrity. I don’t believe the data in the MLS is as bad as it is on the syndication sites, but it’s clearly bad enough that the “integrity of the data” argument is moot.

And lest we forget, every major syndication site has a way to correct inaccurate data. If you aren’t correcting bad data, that is just as much your own fault as it it is the syndicators.

Jim Abbot asks why do syndication sites inflate their inventories and says again that one reason is to, “extract exorbitant fees from unsuspecting agents and brokers”. Extracting exorbitant fees? Well I’ll say again the stunningly obvious solution is to keep your credit card in your wallet or purse. Unsuspecting agents and brokers? Why are you “unsuspecting”? If you aren’t researching who you are spending your advertising dollars on, that’s your mistake and your problem.

Jim mentions that CraigsList scammers and burglars use syndication site listing data to target their victims. Uhm, how does he know that they aren’t using any real estate agent site that utilizes and IDX home search solution. Tens of thousand do, including ARG’s web site. It took me two clicks on ARGs site to find a property address… Throwing syndication sites under the bus for enabling scammers sounds like fear mongering, and rather absurd when your own web site offers the same information.

Next up we have the often heard argument that syndication sites take our content because they have to have it to drive traffic, and they do so, “without compensation to the brokers, agents, photographers and videographers who create pay for and own the content”. He even states, “As if the theft of our intellectual property weren’t enough…”

They take our content? They steal our content?

Hardly. We give it to them. Now Jim’s chosen not to, as is his prerogative. I chose to give them my content, as is my prerogative. But please, don’t tell me they are stealing it. That is ludicrous.

Consumers are the ones who really get a raw deal at the hands of syndicator sites.

Here Jim tells a story of a potential home buyer who finds a home on a syndication site and calls the agent most prominently featured. Jim is correct when he says this may not be the listing agent, rather it is the agent who paid for the advertising to be featured. The poor consumer may be routed to a call center, where the operator offers to “put you in contact with a qualified professional who knows the area” and that, “it is almost certain they have not seen the property you called about”.

There are currently 25,312 active residential listings for sale in Phoenix. According to the home search on ARG’s website, there are 12,259 active residential listings in the San Diego area.

I don’t know Jim, and I don’t believe I know any ARG agent. But I’m quite comfortable saying that if you find a property on ARG’s site – or any other real estate agent or broker site with IDX listings – and call that office the odds are overwhelming that the agent who answers the phone hasn’t seen the listing you are calling about. I *know* that I don’t have an agent that has seen the every one of the 25,000+ listings in Phoenix.

These sites represent a failed approach to property marketing

Jim says that the “hundreds of thousands of hits” on their own listings on syndication sites, “did not cause buyers to view those homes, nor did they produce quicker sales or better outcomes for our clients” and that a few buyers who responded to listing syndicators often “got the wrong information or got it too late to be of value to them as consumers”.

That may well be true. I am not privy to ARG’s numbers, and certainly can’t question them. Jim seems like a good guy. Professional. Passionate about his brokerage, agents and clients.

To be honest though, I have no idea how ARG (or anyone) can track this sort of data accurately.

Let’s say I’m an agent in San Diego, the home of Abbott Realty Group. Let’s say I pay Zillow to “own” a zip code where ARG has a listing. Let’s say a potential home buyer finds an ARG listing on Zillow and contacts me. We drive out, my client loves the home, and we submit an offer the seller accepts.

Does ARG survey every buyer of every one of their listings and ask them where they found the home?

Maybe they do, I can’t say. We certainly don’t, and I don’t know anyone who does. Honestly, I couldn’t care less where the buyer of one of our listings first found the home. We take listings to sell them. And whether some buyer finds our listing on TruZillTor, our own site, some other local agents site, or via any other marketing, I don’t care. We sold the client’s house, which is what we were hired to do.

Is it possible no Thompson’s Realty listing has ever been sold via TruZillTor? Yep. Is it possible some have? Yep.

The total cost for me to put our listings on syndication sites is $0.00. I have never given any syndication site a nickel. The cost is not passed on to our clients, the cost is zero. You see, we investigate the ROI of every marketing avenue. We don’t succumb to fear, intimidation or peer pressure. Heck, I’ve had potential seller clients that insisted we run ads in the Sunday paper. When we explain that they don’t work, and why, the vast majority of sellers understand and we move along without the shiny Sunday add. The two or three I can recall insisting we run ads found another agent. We don’t take listings for the sake of taking them, to plant signs in the ground, to generate “leads”. We take listings to sell them. We don’t spend time, money or effort that doesn’t work to appease sellers. Syndicating our listings is done through our MLS. We check a box (or not if the client doesn’t want syndication). The fraction of a second it takes to check a box has essentially zero cost.

At ARG we believe that when you hire a skilled, professional Realtor to represent your property that he or she is the best qualified and most logical person to respond to questions from buyers and buyer’s agents.

This is an argument I heard several times since the ARG announcement was made. It sure feels like what we’re talking about here is single-agent dual agency — where the same agent represents both the buyer and seller in the same transaction. We abhor single-agent dual agency, practice it only under very rare and extenuating circumstances and honestly wish it was outlawed.

Maybe dual agency isn’t the ultimate goal in either ARG or Edina’s pulling out of syndication. I don’t know. Let’s assume that is not their goal as I’d rather not go down the dual agency rat hole 2,100 words into a blog post (and kudo’s if you’ve read this far. It’s almost over…).

But here is what I will say about this “the listing agent is the best qualified, and who the potential buyer needs to answer questions” argument.

If you feel syndicators are harming consumers by making it difficult to contact listing agents, they you must, MUST, also keep  your listings out of IDX distribution. The exact same issue of not reaching the listing agent that seems to bother so many in syndication also exists in IDX.

Trust me, we get calls and emails – seven days a week – from people searching on this very site who think we are the listing agent for the property they are viewing. Every. Day.

Don’t get me wrong. I **LOVE** IDX. It’s the lifeblood of my prospect generation efforts. 6,742 IDX search registrations in 2011 is a great thing. But if one of your main arguments for pulling your listings out of syndication is because potential buyers are confused and can’t reach the listing agent, then you MUST also pull out of IDX. The same problem exists in both systems. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Pulling out of syndication but using IDX smacks of hypocrisy.

This comment about IDX was made by an agent I have tremendous respect for, J. Philip Faranda:

If I am on Thompsonsrealty.com or TPREG and inquire about a listing I know who I am being connected to. It is your site. There is no ambiguity. If I am on a 3rd party site it is misleading to the public far more. I DO get my share of IDX calls where people assume Jay’s listing is really mine, but it is easy to clear up because it is My site they are on. Not so with Z, T and R. IDX is the solution, not the problem.

Problem is, there IS ambiguity. The very ambiguity that exists on syndication sites. The vast majority of site visitors don’t know (or quite possibly don’t care) what site they are on. Sound far-fetched? I mean “Phoenix Real Estate Guy” is plastered all over the place. Along with logos, contact forms, call to action buttons, you name it, we’ve got them all over our site, just as ARG does, just as any good real estate site does. Our sites are many things – information, brand promotion, advertising, and prospect generation vehicles. I can assure you that many many people think we’re the listing agent for any listing on our site. Heck, I get phone calls and emails asking about things as diverse and non-real estate related as what hours a restaurant is open, to whether or not you need a passport to cross the Mexican border. Why? Because people Google those questions and land on an article I’ve written about them. Clearly my site isn’t a restaurant site, or the State Department. But people think it is, because Google sent them there.

Just like Google sends them there for a listing address or MLS number they Google.

Jim Abbott supports IDX. He does not support syndication. Yet many of the issues he cites as problematic with syndication also exist in IDX. Edina supports IDX, but not syndication for many of the reasons Jim Abbott and ARG Abbott Realty Group state.

Sorry folks, I don’t get that. At all.

As I said in the beginning of this tome, I respect Jim Abbott and ARG for taking a stand in what they believe. Ditto for Edina, and anyone else that decides to do this. I believe their feelings are genuine.

Genuine, but misguided.

Photo Credit: Experian Hitwise

• On Compensation for Listing Data
• Edina Realty pulling listings from Trulia and Realtor.com?
• An Interview With Justin LaJoie on the Zillow Acquisition of Diverse Solutions
• On the “Value Add” of a Real Estate Agent
• NAR Announces Formation of Technology & Emerging Issues Subcommittee

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

Hello,
We are selling our loft by owner and we see it is listed on your website, but that it hardly has any pictures – and certainly not the types of pictures that would attract buyers. Is there any chance you could replace the main picture on your website’s listing and perhaps add more pictures? I’m attaching some photos of the loft. We like the first photo the best.
Thanks,
John and Jane Doe

(Names obviously changed. My emphasis in bold)

Here is what is going on.

John and Jane have “listed” their home for sale with what is typically called a “Flat Fee” or “MLS Only” real estate brokerage. For some set fee (typically $250 – $500 or thereabouts) a real estate broker will enter home sale data into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Some also provide a for sale sign, maybe a lock box. Services vary.

What these types of brokerages will not do though is represent you in a real estate transaction. No marketing, no advice, no negotiations, no handling of offers. No nothing other than putting your data into the MLS. Everything else in on the sellers. There will even be notes in the MLS to buyer agents that all offers must be presented directly to the sellers. A prudent buyer agent will ask the sellers to sign an “Unrepresented Seller” addendum should their clients decide to make an offer.

When listings go into the MLS, they are shared across real estate websites via an “IDX feed” (Internet Data eXchange). Basically the MLS data — verbiage and photos — are fed to other local (and national) listing sites for display.

Sites like this one.

So what John and Jane are seeing when they see their home “listed on this site” is the MLS data their flat fee agent entered into the MLS.

I can not change that data. Only the agent (or their broker) that entered the listing into the MLS can change the data. This makes perfect sense if you think about it. There is no reason for me to be able to change the data. It’s not my data. And you don’t want different variations of the same listing spread across hundreds / thousands of web sites.

There is nothing I can do to help John and Jane better present their listing. That’s their agent’s job.

But they don’t really have an agent…

Why Would You Use a Flat Fee MLS Only Broker?

Ostensibly, to save money. Let’s face it, real estate commissions are not cheap. Typically, homes are listed at 5 – 6% commission, with that amount typically being split 50/50 between the listing brokerage, and the brokerage representing the buyer. (Of note, I emphasis typically. Real estate commissions are not fixed and are negotiable.)

So, for example purposes only, let’s say John and Jane list their home with a full service brokerage and negotiate a 6% commission — with 3% going to the listing agent and 3% to the buyers agent. If they sell their home for $150,000, then they would have to pay a total commission of $9,000; $4,500 goes to the buyer’s brokerage, and $4,500 to the listing brokerage. That is not an insignificant amount of money.

The vast majority of flat fee MLS Only users understand that they still have to offer a commission to a buyer’s broker. Without that, it would be difficult to attract buyer’s agents. After all, real estate agents are people too (really!) and few people have the means to work for free.

So the sellers utilizing a MLS Only brokerage can, in theory, save 3% (or so) on commissions. They don’t pay any commission to the MLS Only broker.

Okfine.

But those considering using an MLS Only brokerage should consider a few things other than just the “savings”.

• Their time. You’ll be doing legwork an agent normally does. Argue all you want that real estate agents don’t earn their commission. But don’t tell me you won’t have to spend some time doing things (like emailing some broker a bunch of pictures hoping he can change your “listing,” among other things). Time is money.
• Their knowledge. It is readily apparent that John and Jane had no clue about how IDX works. Let’s hope for their sake they have more of a clue about all the required disclosures, the legal ramifications of failure to complete those disclosures properly, contractual date-sensitive clauses, and the legal and financial ramifications of failing to meet those dates.
• Their ability to negotiate with a buyer’s agent. Not to sound crass, but if I am presenting a buyer’s offer to an unrepresented seller, I am going to do my best to eviscerate them at the negotiating table (in a polite fashion, naturally). That’s what my buyer pays me for.
• Knowing who is inside your home when you are not. Some MLS Only brokerages will provide a lockbox so buyer agents can access the home. What they may not provide is the report saying who was in your home and when they were there. And if you think putting “call for an appointment to show” into the listing will prevent agents from walking into your home uninvited, think again.
• There’s more. I think you get the idea…

I’m not slamming MLS Only brokerages

I am on the record countless times saying that there are many different brokerage models out there, and for the most part, they all serve a purpose (just don’t get me started on the “hire anyone with a license and a pulse” model. That serves no purpose other than lining some broker’s pocket). Different models promote innovation and competition, and both of those are good for agents, brokers, and home buyers and sellers. If you have the means to sell your home yourself, go for it. Nothing wrong with saving yourself some coin. Personally (and professionally) I don’t think you will actually save all that much money, and there is certainly a price tag on saving yourself a lot of hassle and possibly placing yourself at legal and financial risk.

I will freely admit that I’ve been noodling this article all day, trying to come up with a truly valid reason for using an MLS Only brokerage.

And I can’t.

Momentarily I thought to myself, “Well, if a homeowner is on the hairy edge from an equity perspective, where saving even a few hundred dollars is the difference in not having to short sell, maybe MLS Only makes sense.

Maybe. On the other hand, maybe if you are that close to the edge of entering the short sale abyss what you need more than ever is professional representation…

Help me out here. Drop me a comment with a solid argument for using a MLS Only brokerage. As in a tangible benefit over using a full service brokerage. Surely there is one and I’m just not thinking of it…

Disclosure: As the Broker / Co-owner of a full service real estate brokerage, I am quite aware of my bias toward full service. I did my best to present this information as impartially as I could.

Photo Credit: Money. By 401K on Flickr. CC Licensed.

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Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

On March 29 – 31, the 2012 Highland Jazz Festival takes place, right here in sunny Gilbert, Arizona.

What is the Highland Jazz Festival?

A three day event for regional high school Jazz bands. Over 1,800 students will have a chance to work with some of the top jazz clinicians in the country; learning and honing their craft.

Pubic concerts will be held on Friday and Saturday night that will include top high school students, the ASU Concert Jazz Band and two world class jazz musicians — John Fedchock and Joe Levano — will perform.

It is not often that one can hear Grammy Award nominated and winning jazz artists perform live right here in the Town of Gilbert. Tickets for either (or both) nights can be purchased here.

Corporate / Business sponsorships are also available here.

Where does the money go?

Ticket sales and sponsorships allow 1,800 high school jazz students representing over 45 jazz bands and combos from across the southwest to partake in a jazz clinic that is second to none. The festival is also one of the primary source of funds for the Highland High School band program.

Those are some pretty good causes…

Contest! Win Free Tickets or Sponsorship!

Thompson’s Realty has been a proud sponsor of both the previous Highland Jazz Festivals and will be sponsoring the 2012 event as well.

This year we are also going to hold a little contest where you, oh avid reader, can win concert tickets or a sponsorship (Louis Armstrong Level) — your choice.

Ooh, free stuff! How do I win you may be asking yourself.

It’s easy. There are four, count ‘em four ways you can enter the contest.

1) Tweet this Click that link (or the image below) and you will Tweet out this message:

2) Click the Facebook “Like” button at the top or bottom of this post.

3) “Like” the Highland Jazz Festival Facebook page.

[Update: Ack. I can only see who Liked this post or the Jazz Fest page if we are Facebook friends. So if you Like either, just say so in the comments. Honor system people, it's for the children...]

4) Leave a comment below. Any comment will do. Groveling and begging to be selected won’t matter, though it might prove entertaining.

Do any one of those things, and you’ll be entered in the random drawing. Do all four, and you’ll get four entries in the drawing. Do two, get two entries. Heck, you can even do three and get three entries… Feel free to Tweet, share, spread the word as often as you like, but you only get one entry per activity. (So, while you can in theory Tweet about the festival 10,000 times, you will not get 10,000 entries in the drawing. Capiche?)

Contest entries end Feb 1 at Midnight Mountain time.

What do you win?

Your choice. Either:

Two tickets to Friday or Saturday’s Guest Artist Concert (up to $40 value)

or

One Louis Armstrong Level event sponsorship. ($50 value)

Easy peasy! Do it. Enter the contest. It’s for a great cause. And thanks!

• Open Letter to the Gilbert School Board: On Music Education
• The Final Season
• 2nd Annual Highland Jazz Festival. Support music in Phoenix area schools!
• With Memories of a Friend in their Heart, the Highland High School Marching Band Wins a State Championship
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

I need a new book to read. Not some business / self-help / save the planet book. I want mindless entertainment. Mainstream fiction, historical fiction, perhaps a biography. Suggestions?

Within minutes, I started getting suggestions from my Facebook friends. Dozens of suggestions. Of course the humorists in the bunch suggested things like “Everybody Poops” and “Goodnight Moon” (which I can still recite from memory some 15 years after having last read it to the kids for the ten thousandth time). But I would expect nothing less from my friends…

As the suggestions rolled in, I created a Wish List on Amazon — Check it out here.

That list currently has 73 79 books on it (including a few I’ve already read). As I added books to the list, I read some of the reviews on Amazon to help me decide which book to read first . For the record, I wound up picking Keith Richards autobiography “Life”. I *think* next up will be Ken Follett’s “The Pillars of the Earth” — but who knows.

What I chose is neither here nor there.

Sifting through the suggestions, and reading reviews on Amazon got me to thinking about “crowdsourcing”, and being someone obsessed (possessed?) with all things real estate, I also started thinking about how social media connections and crowdsourcing and reviews might impact real estate. More specifically, how people pick and chose a real estate agent to work with.

What is “crowdsourcing”?

According to Wikipedia, it is:

… the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community (crowd) through an open call… Crowdsourcing is a distributed problem-solving and production model. In the classic use of the term, problems are broadcast to an unknown group of solvers in the form of an open call for solutions. Users—also known as the crowd—typically form into online communities, and the crowd submits solutions.

OK, so maybe asking your friends for suggestions on what to read (or what real estate agent to use) doesn’t exactly fit into the traditional use of crowdsourcing. But you get the idea. Ask a bunch of people for help with something — help picking a book, or a real estate agent — and use their input, along with other resources like reviews to make a decision.

Coincidentally, late last week I talked to a reporter with Smart Money about real estate agent reviews. She wanted some opinion on why agent reviews haven’t gained the traction that other businesses, services and products are seeing. Great question. I’m a fan of agent reviews, and have written about them a few times. I even created a little site to assist our clients in leaving reviews for our agents.

Sooner or later, agent review sites will gain traction, whether agents like it or not.

And why not? Let’s face it — input from our friends, our “social sphere” and even what random people say and think about a service or product is important. In 2009, a Nielsen study found that, “Recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising.” Hasn’t everyone looked at reviews for movies, books, restaurants, cars, electronic products (and more) when making purchasing decisions? Professional services like doctors, lawyers, even schools and teachers are widely reviewed online.

So why not real estate agents?

Those agent review sites are out there, and they will at some point gain more traction and use. It’s a matter of when, not if. It’s already happening to some degree.

Clearly picking a real estate agent is not like choosing a book, deciding where to eat, or what movie to watch. But there are similarities. Whether picking a product, a service or a service provider, we trust our friends opinions. We trust human opinion — hence the popularity of review sites.

If you are in real estate and you think people are not out there asking their friends and family for recommendations, then you’ve lost your mind. People have asked, and will continue to ask friends about what real estate agent to use, what real estate site has the best information, the best home search solution. They even ask their friends where they should live and what they think about a particular home or neighborhood.

“Crowdsource” a real estate agent?

Sure, why not?

What say you?

Photo Credit: “Liverpool Street station crowd blur” by David Sim (victoriapeckham on Flickr). CC Licensed.

Disclosure: Amazon Wish List and book links are affiliate links. I’ve made $8.52 on Amazon links since July 5, 2009.

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Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

Long time no chat! Somehow my annual pilgrimage to one of your meetings to beg, plead and grovel for funding for music and fine arts programs never materialized this year. This is good.

I do want to share a little story with you, one that I hope you will read, and remember, when the inevitable discussions around music programs occur – now or in the future. Maybe it will be funding issues, whether to cut or (hopefully) expand music programs and/or staffing. Perhaps whether or not to approve a band or orchestra field trip.

Someday, if not this academic year than certainly in some other, these discussions and crucial votes will make it onto your agenda. When they do, please consider this:

Questions always seem to arise about the value of a music education. Honestly, I’ve never really understood how anyone could question the value of a music education, but the reality is many do. Including many school administrators, staff, teachers, coaches and district administrators.

My daughter is currently a Senior at Highland High School. She has been involved in Gilbert schools music programs since the seventh grade – literally half of her elementary and secondary education career.

She was recently accepted into ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, as well as ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College. I don’t believe I have to tell you how selective these programs are. While the Cronkite School considers primarily grades and test scores, Barrett also looks at the “whole package” of what a potential student can offer. They seek dedicated, hard working, driven students who can work well in groups and will work diligently to achieve the very high standards they set.

At a recent “scholars dinner” at ASU, I was privileged to meet with various administrators and professors from both the Cronkite School and Barrett. Naturally, discussions about my daughter entered into the conversation. We told some of the ASU representatives that we had waited with baited breath for months for word on our daughter’s acceptance into the Honors College. The day the Barrett acceptance arrived, the entire Thompson family was excited, and relieved. The opportunity for our daughter to get a world-class Journalism education, to enroll in the Honors College simultaneous Bachelor’s and Master’s degree program, is very much appreciated. She will work hard, and she will do well.

We told the ASU staff that we were concerned that our daughter’s extracurricular and community activities would hurt her chances of being admitted to Barrett. You see, she had dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort into the music program at Highland. Being in Marching Band, Symphony, Wind Ensemble and Concert Band leaves no time for anything else. A-hour’s, after-school practices, concert performances, competitions, on-field performances — there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do much else.

You know what we heard, repeatedly, from the people at Cronkite and Barrett?

“We love band kids. They work hard, and they are unbelievably dedicated. They work well with others. They are respectful. They are bright. They are well-balanced. Some of our most successful students come out of high school music programs.”

These accolades for students in music programs were repeated over and over. These accolades came straight from the mouths of ASU staff and faculty — people that work with university students every day and know what it takes for them to not just be successful, but to excel.

“We love band kids.”

“Some of our most successful students come out of high school music programs.”

Those are powerful sentiments from people that see success, and failure, on a daily basis at the post-secondary education level.

So please, remember those words and sentiments the next time discussions come up about cutting classes, programs, funding or assistance for music and the performing arts. Remember the incredible dedication and effort that Mr. Chip Durham (Highland Junior High Music Director), Mr. Kevin Bennett, Mr. Lewis Nelson and Mr. Bill Bitter (Highland High Band faculty) put forth every single day to give our children an amazing education and even more amazing future.

“We love band kids.”

And you should too. Many of the best and brightest in the Gilbert Independent School District are band (and orchestra, and choir) students. They are ambassadors for all the Gilbert schools, and our community. They will be leaders, teachers, doctors, journalists, scientists, business owners and parents.

They are our future.

Please, don’t ever forget the importance of music and the performing arts in education, or those that provide it.

Respectfully,

Jay Thompson
Band Dad

Photo Credit:  “Scattered Notes” by S. Parker on Flickr. CC Licensed.

• The Final Season
• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• A life-altering moment. Putting things in perspective
• Gratitude…
• The Best of TPREG 2011

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

I hate you.

Yesterday, we called in an order to go. Three of your delightful sandwich’s to take home and enjoy while we celebrated our daughter’s admission to the Barrett Honor’s College at ASU. The ladies ordered their usual Prickly Pear Chicken sandwich, and I went with my traditional We Must Meat, I Ain’t Lion Filet Mignon sandwich.

With eager anticipation and salivating mouth, I waited for the girls to bring home the food.

Much to my consternation, when the goods were unwrapped, my sandwich–the one my tongue was wagging for–wasn’t there. There were three prickly pears and no filet mignon in sight.

I am one of the four people on the planet that doesn’t particularly care for the prickly pear chicken.

I was crushed. Disappointed. Sad.

But that’s not why I hate you. Things happen. People make mistakes. No big deal.

You were so kind, humble and apologetic when I called. You immediately apologized, maybe even groveled a little. You offered us a free sandwich on our next visit to help make it right.

But that’s not why I hate you. In fact, it was refreshing to find a business that can admit when they goof up, be honestly sorry for their mistake, and do what they can to make it right.

I had to have that damn sandwich, so I got in the car, drove back down to your restaurant and picked up the correct meal.

Again, I was treated to a very nice and apologetic server. They were even funny, replying to me when I asked if I could check the order, “Why? We never screw up an order.”

But that’s not why I hate you. The genuine apology was nice to hear. And I have no problem with anyone making a little funny.

Why do I hate you now Flancer’s?

It’s that stinking apple cobbler you added to my order for no charge. I have been to Flancer’s countless times and never ordered the cobbler. I am trying to be strong, to watch my figure. And here you go adding in a big old hunk of apple cobbler to my order, for free.

Well, I had to try it. I can’t turn away free food.

And it was delightful. Creamy and crunchy and tangy. Apples cooked to perfection, not all mushy like so many places do it. It was a world-class desert.

Now that I’ve experienced the insane goodness of the cobbler, I will have to order it every time I go to Flancer’s.

I hate you for that.

PS: If you really want to correct your wrong, add the Greenie Meanine (pictured above) to the regular menu. That thing is a culinary masterpiece.

My previous review of Flancer’s Cafe.

Photo Credit: The Flancer’s Greenie Meanie. The best sandwich. Ever. Taken by yours truly, moments prior to it being devoured.

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Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

A couple of days ago, the Arizona Republic ran an article, Gilbert new-home construction picked up in 2011.

Some of the highlights:

1,545 single-family construction permits were issued in Gilbert in 2011. That’s up 46% from 1,060 in 2010, and the highest since 2007.

Gilbert’s new home construction permits outpaced Phoenix, which issued 956 permits in 2011.

The majority of new homes being built in Gilbert are south of the 202.

Gilbert is about two-thirds built out. Town officials expect the population in Gilbert to reach about 330,000 by 2030. (To put that growth in perspective, there were about 80,000 people living in Gilbert when I moved here in 1998. The 2010 Census put Gilbert’s population at 208,453).

According to the Republic:

The resurgence in home construction isn’t showing signs of cooling off in 2012, as major homebuilders continue to unveil plans for new communities of various sizes.

Meritage Homes is moving forward with plans for new subdivisions near Val Vista Drive and Germann Road and Lindsay and Williams Field roads. K. Hovnanian Homes recently unveiled plans for new homes at Val Vista Drive and Queen Creek Road.

Also, a report referenced in the article from Town Manager Patrick Banger says that over the next two decades, “Gilbert officials expect to add 12 town-owned buildings, 600 employees and nearly 50 million square feet of business space.”

Generally speaking, growth is good. The Town will need to keep an eye on infrastructure and services though in order to keep up with the growth. They’ve done a pretty good job of that so far. Well, as long as you avoid the intersection of Higley and Baseline…

Interested in searching for new homes in the Phoenix area? Try our Phoenix New Homes Search tool!

Photo Credit: Yours truly. Shot in Higley Groves back in August 2011. New Home Construction set on Flickr.

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Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.