Oct.
2015

ISSUE
No. 75

WAV Group Report
Upstream Agent Record
By Victor Lund

Many assume that Upstream is only about listings. In fact, there are six database categories that are contemplated for the application that solve a lot of problems for brokers of any size.

The Need For A Single Agent Record

Depending on the brokerage, the Agent Record - their office address, office phone, bio, headshot, cell number, social media profile, et. al. Agent Records are used in a lot of applications across the brokerage. Here is a partial list, but a common list for a brokerage of 1 agent in 1 MLS market: ...  READ MORE!
3 Ways to Leverage Your PR
  
 
By Kevin Hawkins

A potential client called recently to engage the services of WAV Group Communications. Typical to most initial conversations with many potential clients in the real estate industry is the misunderstanding of what public relations is. I assured him it was much more than simply writing a good news release and publishing it on a paid wire. That topic alone is another column.

But the conversation reminds me of how little time PR people take to educate our industry about what PR is. To help in this effort, let's explore a crucial area that shows how powerful strategic PR can be using leverage ...   READ MORE!  
WAV Group Partnering With MLSs On Zillow Survey
By Victor Lund

WAV Group is recruiting MLS and broker participants for a study to get an understanding of what these groups of people think about their relationship with Zillow. This study is funded internally at WAV Group.
  1. What do home buyers think of the service?
  2. What do home sellers think of the service?
  3. What do renters think of the service?
  4. What do Property Managers think of the Service
  5. What do Premier Agents think of the service?
  6. What does Premier Mortgage think of the service?
  7. What do real estate brokers of all sizes think of the service?
By participating in the study, you will send our survey link to the audience(s) that you have access to. Primarily, we are inviting MLSs to survey agents and brokers. You will get a free copy of your survey results and a free copy of the National results ...  READ MORE!  
Millennials and Home Buying Revisited
By Kevin Hawkins

The great statistical debate continues on the impact of Millennials today on home buying. About a year ago, I wrote about the conflicting data ( "Millennial Marketing Madness") that argued Millennials were not going to drive the majority home sales in 2015 despite what marketers and self-interested parties were claiming.

Fast-forward today, and it looks like the hardcore data was accurate and the marketers missed the mark. Today's headlines have taken quite a turn from those we saw last year. Now those pundits who said Millennials would be driving today's housing market are scrambling to explain why they are not or aggressively marketing to Millennials to tell them why they should buy ...  READ MORE!  
By Victor Lund

REDPLAN directors Victor Lund of WAV Group and Merri Jo Cowen, CEO of My Florida Regional MLS had a call to discuss REDPLAN's new Prior Art and Forms Library

Lund: When did MFRMLS join REDPLAN?
Cowen: MFRMLS joined REDPLAN a few years ago. I joined the Board of Directors shortly after.

Lund: Why did MFRMLS join REDPLAN?
Cowen: Our Board of Directors was motivated by the need that they see for this kind of non-profit entity. Among MLSs today, there is little education that delivers best copyright practices or collaboration for MLSs to fight patent trolls.  Our hope is that the industry can work together to temper these issues before they escalate to court battles ...   READ MORE! 
Broker Public Portal Update - October 2015
By Victor Lund

Many participants in the Broker Public Portal project were in attendance at the Council of MLS annual meeting in Kansas City. It was an extraordinary event, and one could not walk away without a sense that brokers and MLSs are communicating and working together better today than ever before.

The BPP, LLC leadership in attendance was able to have meetings with prospective and partner MLSs, providing status updates on our progress.  We also spent the day before the conference to make progress on two fronts - the data license workgroup and the technology workgroup ... READ MORE!
Preparing for Success in the Coming Year
By Marilyn Wilson

As we approach the end of another exciting year in real estate, now is a great time to sit back and reflect on the best ways to help prepare your members and organization for success next year.

We have talked many times over the years about the importance of staying in touch with what is happening in the industry today. Here's what can happen when an organization is out of touch: They can delay decisions because they seem difficult or controversial causing the organization to fall behind or lose its competitive advantage. Instead of responding to the waves of change, organizations can be torn apart by the jaws of defeat ...  READ MORE!