New Issues, Tools for Realtors at Real Estate Connect 2012

Online, February 3, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The big names in real estate came together recently for an industry powwow at the Broker Summit track at Real Estate Connect 2012 in New York, according to Mary Umberger in an article for InmanNews. On the table were the big issues confronting an industry in the throes of change because of technology, issues such as team building, pricing new listings, and cloud computing. Big news to start the year for anyone who has a real estate license or who's just completing his real estate continuing education-whether that's a New York real estate CE or a Minnesota real estate CE.

According to Ben Kinney, founder and CEO of Home4Investment Inc. in Washington state, the real estate team of the future ought to divvy up tasks to specifically liberate the designated sales team from duties other than pure sales. Kinney explained that the major divide should be between buyer specialists and listing specialists, the latter to take care of and complete the electronic and paper trails that lead up to a sale.
Meanwhile, ListHub, a network for listing distribution and listing management, reported that it is developing a computer-based tool that can approximate the optimal asking price to attract online buyers based on a property's features and on other factors. Celeste Starchild, vice president of sales and marketing, said that ListHub is consolidating data from 60 broker sites and from major listings for the project.

The biggest change the industry players now face involves a new concept in data show and tell called cloud computing, which essentially is using data-processing tools that are located on the Internet instead of using the traditional tools that are based in the office (such as a word processor, a spreadsheet, a database manager, etc.). The question for real estate companies is no longer whether to adopt cloud computing or not, but whether to adopt a system that's private or not.

Costs aside, "Security of data is probably first and paramount in our cloud computing," revealed Monty Smith, senior vice president for strategic initiatives at NRT Inc. "I would advise being very careful with public services-you are putting your most valuable resources in their hands."

While the big boys were discussing big-league industry changes brought on by digital technology at the recent Real Estate Connect, tech-savvy startups rode on "technology," the event's unofficial buzzword, to make their play, according to Mary Umberger in an article for InmanNews.

Real Estate Connect 2012 was held this January in New York and attracted thousands of real estate practitioners, including real estate license holders and those who had yet to complete their real estate continuing education-whether that's a New York real estate CE or a Minnesota real estate CE.

Among the startups was RealLead.com, an outfit developing lead-generation tool that allows homebuyers to scan reply codes, call and hear a voice recording of a property, or send SMS messages. It also lets the user view property photos and listing details, among other things, said RealLead CEO and cofounder Caroline Cummings.

For its part, PicketReport.com, provides a research tool that gets the user, especially one who's thinking of relocating, up to speed on the particulars of a neighborhood of interest. PicketReport cofounder and CEO Bryan Kunka said the website, relying on 300 sources, provides detailed nationwide information on such critical indicators as lifestyle, schools, and even crime, but with emphasis on typical neighborhood lifestyles. "We give the Cliff's Notes on people who live there-age, income, families, what they do for fun," said Kunka.

Another startup that caught some attention was TheABCTool.com, an online transaction-management service. It was designed primarily to organize closing and other documents for realtors, but it also functions to keep sellers and buyers abreast of each step of the transaction process.

Michele Serro said that she developed the site to address "the emotional needs" of homebuyers by informing them of the things that come with each step of the transaction. "Knowing what's going to happen next helps to calm their nerves," she said. It also helps to close the deal.