Tech Update, News & Notes

Coldwell Banker Welcomes Affiliates Under Inclusive Ownership Program

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, a Realogy (NYSE: RLGY) brand, announced the first three brokerages joining the brand as part of its new Inclusive Ownership program. 

Coldwell Banker welcomes three new brokerages: Coldwell Banker Omni Group in Santa Ana, Calif., owned by Tina Marie and Rich Hernandez; Coldwell Banker Action Holdings in Grand Island, Neb., owned by Amber Schuppan; and Coldwell Banker Commercial Northland in Flagstaff, Ariz., owned by Becky McBride. 

The Inclusive Ownership program, first announced in February, is an initiative to increase representation of minority, women, LGBTQ+ and veteran entrepreneurs in the real estate industry. Each new brokerage that affiliates with Coldwell Banker will not pay the initial franchise fee and will receive financial incentives to support diverse business owners in the critical first two years of business. Benefits include up to $100,000 of funding, royalty fee rebates as well as education and mentorship. Owners will also receive membership and conference registration for an industry partner group of choice, such as the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and the Asian Real Estate Association of America.  To join Coldwell Banker Real Estate and unlock the possibilities of Gen Blue®, please visit www.coldwellbanker.com/join.

Coldwell Banker Listing Concierge and The Studio

Coldwell Banker Realty, Realogy’s company-owned Coldwell Banker® branded offices, has boosted agent productivity and listing performance this year via the proprietary Listing Concierge marketing program. This has been a continual trend since the program’s national launch to the Coldwell Banker company-owned offices in late 2019.

Listing Concierge is a comprehensive marketing program that marries automated online tools with personalized white-glove service. 

Based on Coldwell Banker Realty Listing Concierge usage data reported through May 31, 2020, affiliated agents who utilize Listing Concierge are twice as productive as affiliated agents who do not use the program. Listings entered into the program close with a 2.6% higher commission dollar. On average, Coldwell Banker Realty agents who use Listing Concierge earn $519 more in gross commission income, on average. Coldwell Banker Realty data shows that 31% of individual agents and 38% of agent teams that sold homes in 2020 used Listing Concierge.

Coldwell Banker Realty listings that use Listing Concierge sell 35% closer to list price than those that do not. They also close with a 1% higher sale price; based on a national average sale price of $539,682 for homes sold through Coldwell Banker Realty, this equates to an additional $5,300 in sellers’ pockets.

With the continual success of the platform, the company plans to release Listing Concierge to the Coldwell Banker broker/owner network nationwide in 2021. For more information, visit ColdwellBankerHomes.com.

The Studio, the in-house real estate marketing agency for Coldwell Banker Realty, has won a trio of illustrious awards from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recognizing its launch and two groundbreaking products and programs that debuted over the past year. The Studio is the largest marketing agency of its kind in the United States.

ANA presented The Studio with three of its B2 Awards: Gold, for Coldwell Banker Realty’s Client’s for Life customer retention program, through which affiliated sales associates can continually engage their contacts through special events, sweepstakes, local activity guides and more; Silver, for The Studio’s official launch and accompanying promotion in 2019; and Bronze, for Coldwell Banker Realty’s proprietary sales enablement product, Listing Concierge, a comprehensive marketing program that marries automated online tools with personalized white-glove service. 

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® and Luxury Portfolio International® Announce Winners of HGTV Ultimate House Hunt 2020 

The winners of the HGTV Ultimate House Hunt 2020 have been announced, based on a record-setting 1.5+ million votes. The popular promotion held annually on HGTV.com features extraordinary real estate listings, with all 89 finalists represented by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® and Luxury Portfolio International® members.

For the second year in a row, the Overall Winner was a listing represented by Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, which also took top honors in the Beachfront Homes category. The stunning contemporary residence on the big island of Hawaii blends indoor and outdoor living space, with open walls offering views of the ocean and amenities such as an infinity pool, a hot tub designed to look like a natural hot springs, an outdoor bar, a tropical courtyard, and 300 feet of beachfront access.

Other category winners include Allen Tate Company for Amazing Kitchens; Baird & Warner for Big City Digs; Silver Creek Real Estate Group for Countryside Retreats; Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers for Curb Appeal; Smith & Associates Real Estate for Homes With a History; Pinnacle Estate Properties for Outdoor Escapes; and Premier Estate Properties for Waterside Homes.

In addition to these categories, a special Global Homes gallery featured exceptional homes from 13 countries around the world.  To view the Ultimate House Hunt winners, visit www.hgtv.com/ultimatehousehuntwinners.

Virtual Realtor® Event Raises Money for Food Bank

During July, real estate professionals who participate in the weekly meetings of the Alameda Inforum and Marketing Meeting, Real Estate Alliance of Livermore, Valley Real Estate Network, Central County Marketing Group and Tri-Cities Marketing Group raised more than $6,000 for the Alameda County Food Bank through a “virtual” food drive.

“Virtual food drives are a fun and convenient ways to raise money for the Food Bank,” said REALTOR® June Burckhardt, who is also a member of the Bay East Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors.  Burkhardt said, “They save folks a trip to the store, and because of the food banks purchasing power and efficient distribution, a virtual food drive provides more food than a traditional food drive maximizing the amount of food a dollar can provide.”  

Each of the weekly REALTOR® groups met and exceeded their fundraising goal. Burckhardt said the total amount raised was not the only measure of success.  “Every dollar raised is worth $7 in food,” Burckhardt said.  “Our goal was $4,900 and we raised more than $6,000 which means almost $50,000 in food.”

Frisco Realtor Launches Pre-Sale Home Renovation Program

Texas RE/MAX DFW Associates real estate agent Terry Hendricks announced the launch of a new turnkey home renovation program for local homeowners, with renovation costs not due until closing. In the current real estate market, home renovations offer up to 200% return-on-investment (ROI) for homeowners.

Frisco area homes renovated to meet the needs of today’s buyers, who are searching for modern and contemporary design standards, sell for thousands more with very few days on market. For home sellers without the budget or experience to update their home before placing it on the market, Hendricks now offers turnkey renovation project planning, management, and funding, with costs not due until the home is sold.

Title Alliance Appoints Patti DeGennaro as Chief Implementation Officer

Title Alliance, Ltd., an employee-owned family of full-service title insurance and escrow agencies, is pleased to announce Patti DeGennaro as Chief Implementation Officer, marking the company’s fourth female C-Suite addition in the last year. 

Since joining Title Alliance in 1985, DeGennaro has held many positions within the company beginning as a crucial member of developing the Financial Services Division in Pittsburgh. She then served as Regional Director before becoming Senior Operations Manager where she was responsible for overseeing joint venture operations, developing and building the Central Processing Unit, and the company’s operational procedures. Prior to joining Title Alliance, DeGennaro worked as a Petroleum Landman and completed title searches and exams in courthouses throughout 3 states. As Chief Implementation Officer, she will be responsible for operational training, startups of new entities, and implementing the T.A. Way across all joint ventures in all states. More information at www.titlealliance.com.

National Land Realty and LandGate Partner to Create Nation’s Leading Land Marketplace Platform

National Land Realty (NLR) and LandGate (LG) have announced a strategic partnership to expand services, data intelligence, and marketing capabilities within the land industry.

The combination of LandGate’s data intelligence and NLR’s network of agents will become the leading marketplace for all land transactions with the largest number of listings from farmers, ranchers, and landowners. The partnership will provide an estimated value for every parcel of land including multiple resource segments such as minerals, solar, wind, water, recreation, and more. The valuations, nearby listings and sales are provided to both buyers and sellers for transparent and easy online market transactions.

To learn more visit www.nationalland.com or call (855) 384-5263.                           

AerialSphere Launches Next-Gen Mapping Technology to Change how Consumers Experience Real Estate

AerialSphere, the industry leader in delivering immersive aerial experiences, today announced the launch of XP360 web application and API, which creates an online home search experience that is transforming the residential real estate market – enabling agents to better attract and engage clients with the latest in mapping technology.

XP360 features a simple, user-friendly interface that empowers brokers and agents to add a new level of interactivity in home searches that goes way beyond traditional aerial views of homes. XP360 gives prospective home buyers the ability to see homes, neighborhoods, schools and other points of interest in a new and engaging way from perspectives never seen before.

AerialSphere 360-degree immersive and interactive maps have quickly become a crucial sales tool for over 200 agents in the Phoenix metro area. Agents have leveraged this technology throughout their interactions with clients and potential clients with much success, generating close to a half-million map views in the last year. Discover more about AerialSphere at: https://aerialsphere.com.

Offerpad Expands Real Estate Solutions to Port St. Lucie, Florida

Offerpad debuts its Real Estate Solutions Center in Port St. Lucie as the first iBuyer in the region. The innovative real estate solutions provider, with its streamlined, direct home selling and enhanced home listing solutions, is now an option for homeowners throughout more of Central Florida who seek safe and certain home selling options.

Offerpad began providing Florida homeowners a better way to sell their home in 2015, with the opening of local real estate solutions offices in Orlando and Tampa. Both markets garnered homeowner interest immediately and continue to be ranked as top performing markets with high volumes of offer requests, contracts signed, and home closings with Offerpad.

To learn more about Offerpad’s Real Estate Solutions and request a free no-obligation offer, visit Offerpad.com.

NAR Promotes Andréa Moore to Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Opportunity

The National Association of Realtors® announced the promotion of Andréa Moore to vice president of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Opportunity. Moore will be responsible for NAR’s:

  • internal diversity and inclusion strategy;
  • recruitment strategy and processes and creating opportunities for internal staff; and
  • Washington, D.C. office’s Talent Development operations.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion are core values of NAR and Andréa’s promotion reflects our steadfast commitment to those principles,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. “Andréa’s expertise, work ethic and dedication will ensure that we attract and retain a workforce within an environment where not only talent and experience are valued, but where individual differences are celebrated.”

Information about NAR is available at www.nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted on the NAR Newsroom at www.nar.realtor/newsroom.

HomeLight Acquires Disclosures.io to Launch Listing Management Services Nationwide, Empowering Agents to Close Faster and with More Certainty  

HomeLight, the real estate technology platform that empowers people to make smarter decisions when buying and selling a home, announced today that it has acquired Disclosures.io, a provider of industry leading listings management technology that allows agents and brokerages to securely share property information, monitor buyer interest, and manage offers, all in one place. With this acquisition, HomeLight launches HomeLight Listing Management, available to agents nationwide.

The companies share the vision of transforming the transaction experience, ultimately making it simpler, more certain, and satisfying. HomeLight started building technology to make parts of the process easier over two years ago, from its agent matching services, HomeLight Trade-In, HomeLight Cash Offer, HomeLight Home Loans, and now title and escrow through HomeLight Closing Services.

HomeLight Listing Management will allow agents to effortlessly bring listings to market, including:

  • Sharing property information. Make it easy for buyers to learn about a listing by creating professional and meaningful property information packages in one secure online location, rather than a variety of PDFs and documents.
  • Monitoring buyer interest. With Buyer Interest Reports, agents can share the interest level of each buyer party directly with the seller party and track activity for each viewer.
  • Managing offers, all in one place. Automatically organize every offer into a beautiful dashboard that compares terms side-by-side, providing sellers a comprehensive view of each offer on the table.

Over 100,000 agents already rely on the platform to bring greater transparency, speed, and certainty to the listing management process, from pre-market to offer-accepted.

For more information and to sign up, visit www.homelight.com/agents.

The Keyes Family of Companies and Matterport Partner to Offer Realtors 3D Virtual Tours for Every Listing to Accelerate Business

 

The Keyes Family of Companies, Florida’s top independent brokerage, and Matterport, the market leader in 3D capture and spatial data, today announced a partnership that enables over 3,500 of its real estate Associates in South Florida to easily add a Matterport 3D virtual tour to their listings. Associates can now help sellers extend their reach and enable prospective buyers to walk through the property from anywhere in the world.

 

“Matterport 3D virtual tours give our customers the confidence they need to make one of the most important decisions they will ever make,” said Mike Pappas, President and CEO of The Keyes Family of Companies. “The richness of detail and information available in these 3D tours gives buyers assurance in their choice. Sellers appreciate the competitive edge virtual tours provide and the reduction of in-person walkthroughs of their home.”

 

For almost a century, The Keyes Company has been known for its deep expertise of local neighborhoods and empowering its Associates with the latest tools and technology to deliver an unparalleled customer experience. Now, Keyes Associates have two ways to add Matterport 3D property viewings to every listing and access them from a centralized Matterport Cloud account. With Matterport Capture Services™, Associates can quickly and easily schedule 3D property scans with a local Matterport Capture Technician™ skilled in using the Matterport Pro 2 camera. Or, they can choose to capture the properties themselves with the Pro2 camera, compatible 360 cameras or iPhones.