March 12th, 2010

Weekly Roundup

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

• A third of the real estate market was represented at this week’s Leading RE conference (via RISMedia):

“Affiliate brokerages of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World representing annual sales production of $280 billion convene this Tuesday through Thursday, March 9-11, at the Encore at Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas for LeadingRE’s annual conference. Approximately 40% of the network’s total member companies are represented at the conference this week by their principals, CEOs or other senior management.”

• John Burns says it’s okay to be optimistic about the economy (via Inman):

“…we believe that positive job creation is getting ready to occur as most of the leading indicators point to solid growth ahead, and recent job loss figures have been only slightly negative. Job creation is going to be driven by big companies who have downsized significantly, as well as small businesses who will slowly return to growth mode.”

• Clean Slate blog talks about forecasting in 2010 and improving business:

“These are the ‘Dog Days’ of March:  we still feel winter’s chill (especially here in the northeastern US,) the next major holiday is Memorial Day, and we’re just getting a feel for the 2010 sales market.  We are also inching closer to our first tweak of the Operating Plan, or even possibly, that time when we scrap it completely.”

• Search exists outside of Google, and here are the top 100 alternatives to prove it (via ReadWriteWeb):

“Look a little further, and market research shows that people actually use four main search engines for 99.99% of their searches: Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask.com (in that order). But in my travels as a Search Engine Optimizer (SEO), I have discovered that in that .01% lies a vast multitude of the most innovative and creative search engines you have never seen. So many, in fact, that I have had to limit my list of the very best ones to a mere 100.”

Tags: alternate search engines, business forecasting, economy, Leading RE, search engines.

March 10th, 2010

Inside Onboard: Meet Kim Prior

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

How well do you know the team behind the scenes of content delivery and implementation to top real estate, publishing, and technology companies? In the Inside Onboard series, you will get to know our specialists and more about how we are working to innovate on behalf of our clients. First up is Kim Prior, Director of MLS Market Development.

"The real value is in being so much more than just a widget, a product, a vendor..." -KP

OB: What does your role entail?
KP: Building relationships with MLS executives and the MLS community. Understanding current challenges and opportunities with the goal of improving agent/member services and the MLSs sustainable profitability. Because Onboard is also a leading IDX provider, I educate MLSs to the full scope of what we do (and what’s possible) and liaison with our MLS acquisition team to ensure all parties are in sync when we identify opportunities for Onboard to provide products and services to an MLS or an MLS technology company - whether that’s for member services, consumer facing websites or enhancing search functionality. I work closely with our in-house sales team to accomplish that.

OB: Tell us a little bit about where you’re from and where you live now.
KP: I was born and raised in Northern NJ and moved to Northern California in 1999 for career advancement. Life in Northern California is very different from life in the NJ/NY area. There’s an emphasis on outdoor activities due to the mild year-round climate and 7/8 months of sunshine. I get bored easily, so the diversity of NorCal keeps me interested. I enjoy snowy fun in Lake Tahoe, the dramatic Monterey coast, the bounty of the Napa Valley, the contemporary buzz of San Francisco and the quiet majesty of the Coastal Redwood Forests. That’s not even mentioning the fun little towns you can accidentally stumble upon during a random weekend drive.

OB: What are you passionate about?
KP: My amazing 3-yr old son Hudson West - he’s brilliant! Outgoing, funny, energetic and very snuggly. We do everything together - our favorite date is the Farmer’s Market. Also, cooking and gastronomy: I am a gourmet cook and I’m a natural (no cookbooks). I have been told “open a restaurant” by everyone (not exaggerating) who eats my food - and I feed a lot of people! My signature dish is a creme brulee french toast strata with orange blossom syrup. And yes, my son cooks with me - he pulls up his little stool and smells all the herbs and ingredients. His favorite? Keffir lime.

OB: How has your former real estate and business development leadership experience shaped your role at Onboard?
KP: I worked with a very large Regional Brokerage in marketing, public relations and e-commerce divisions for nearly ten years. I am intimate with the Realtor DNA, the challenges that face Brokers and, the arsenal that’s required to recruit and retain the best and brightest. I also have significant experience working with analytics and MLSs - so I understand the unique and challenging role that an MLS has with the Brokers/members, the public and the data. Pulling all of those together in my Onboard role means that I can provide experience, insight, foresight and some empathy when it’s called for! I understand that things aren’t always black and white and can provide sensible, scalable solutions.

OB: What is the biggest challenge facing MLS associations today?
KP: Change and evolution. And, because every MLS is a little different (cultural, philosophical, organizational/hierarchical, business model, etc.) change and evolution means something different to each and every one of them. When we look at how technology, information and innovation has impacted our world (people, places, things) and bring that down to our particular business, it typically translates to two words: ACTION NOW.

OB: What value can Onboard bring to today’s MLS?
KP: Onboard’s “job” as an innovator has always been to stay ahead of the consumer curve. We help our clients navigate through change by innovating great things and having the implementation expertise to pull it off quickly and effectively. When we work with an MLS at the strategic level, we assess the whole picture. Evaluating the environment, the consumer and the possibilities. We find new, unexpected ways of doing “expected” things and great things happen. We grow. We meet the needs of consumers and agents. The real value is in being so much more than just a widget, a product, a vendor…it’s bringing experience, incredible depth of data and technology to the table. It’s about the ability to build something fantastic together and then, seeing it grow…for a long time.

March 5th, 2010

Weekly Roundup

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

• All web publishers will soon be able to index their content instantly on Google through PuSH (via ReadWriteWeb):

“Google is developing a system that will enable web publishers of any size to automatically submit new content to Google for indexing within seconds of that content being published. Search industry analyst Danny Sullivan told us today that this could be ‘the next chapter’ for Google.”

• Our client Countdown To Buy announced a new pilot to offer a sampling of foreclosed properties in Texas (via National Mortgage Professional):

“The initial properties for this pilot will be located in Dallas, Texas, and can be researched on the company’s Web site www.countdowntobuy.com. Open houses will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 and Sunday, March 14, 2010. Confidential offers on these properties can be submitted through the Web site starting Friday March 5, 2010 and will be accepted for 25 days—or less should an offer match or exceed the price that is scheduled to reduce one percent per day.”

• Ad Age says that if content is King, distribution is Crown Prince:

“Sumner Redstone famously called content ‘king.’ Rupert Murdoch recently upgraded that to ‘Emperor.’ While there is certainly some truth to that when looking at online content — see Hulu’s rapid growth as an example — there are far more cases where great content does not seem to matter at all. At the very least, I think it is fair to say that even if content is king online, then distribution and marketing are the ‘crown princes.’ Good content or not, understanding and embracing digital distribution and marketing will prove critical to everyone in the entertainment industry.”

• Mortgage giant Fannie Mae called for another $15.3 billion in bailout money (via CNN):

“Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500), which is controlled by the government, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $16.3 billion, including $1.2 billion in dividend payments to the Treasury Department. This is down from $25.2 billion a year earlier and $19.8 billion in the third quarter.”

Tags: content distribution, content is king, Countdown to Buy, Fannie Mae, Google Index.

March 5th, 2010

BusinessWeek Names 2010’s Best Affordable Suburbs

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

BusinessWeek and Onboard Informatics teamed up once again to collaborate on BW’s Best Affordable Suburbs in America 2010 story. BusinessWeek evaluated information provided by our content team to determine the best affordable suburb in each state as well as an overall winner with high marks across the board.

The economy in Fishers, Indiana has remained strong, earning them the top spot in this year's Best Affordable Suburbs in America.

All the suburbs on the list are towns within 25 miles of the most populated city in the state, with populations of 5,000 to 60,000, median family incomes of $51,000 to $120,000, and lower-than-average crime rates. We weighted a variety of factors including livability (short commutes, low pollution, green space), education (well-educated residents, high test scores), crime (low personal and property crime), economy (high job growth, low unemployment rate, high family income), and affordability (median household income, cost of expenditures). Affordability was most heavily weighted in the calculations.

As for exclusions, BusinessWeek decided to penalize places with bad weather, a lack of racial diversity, high divorce rates, and few children.

Our content team worked closely with BusinessWeek to create this data-driven story based on their criteria and the filters they selected to produce the most concise and accurate information possible.

Fishers, Indiana was determined to be a fantastic choice for families with its diverse housing market, safety, great schools, and unemployment rates that were almost 4% below Indiana’s average.

It’s no surprise that the extremely accessible Glasgow was named the most affordable suburb in my home state of Delaware. (Not that there were all that many towns to choose from, considering Delaware’s entire population barely edges out that of Lower Manhattan…)

See which town tops your state’s list here.

Tags: affordable towns, Best Affordable Suburbs in America, Best Places, BusinessWeek, most affordable suburbs.

March 4th, 2010

Complementing Listings: Clareity Consulting Profiles Onboard’s MLS Product Suite

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

Onboard has recently been profiled in a new Clareity Consulting white paper on enhancing real estate search with enriched community content. The profile offers some context about Onboard’s role in the MLS space, as an IDX provider, and how our products help MLS administrators and Associations stay competitive by adding value to their subscribers.

Who is Clareity Consulting?
Since 1996, Clareity has been providing information technology consulting to the real estate industry. They provide a wide range of services to MLSs, Associations, brokers, franchises, and software providers in the residential real estate space. Over 100 clients turn to Clareity for services such as transaction management, market research, project management, recruiting, and strategic planning to name a few. They are are thought leaders in the industry, with dozens of real estate publications that run the gamut from the future of the MLS space to IT securities.

Who is this paper intended for?
Although MLS and Association Executives are the primary audience, you don’t have to be an MLS executive to find a great deal of value in this paper. You will get a sense of how Realtors Property Resource (RPR) is changing the flow of information in the industry, which is something everyone - especially MLS operators - should keep an eye on.

What else will I find out?
Clareity reviewed our Listings Web Service and our process of acquiring MLS feeds and dispersing IDX content with our enhanced search capabilities beyond those on your typical property search site. Onboard’s IDX feeds go through a multi-layered credential process, which is detailed in this piece. You can also read Clareity’s independent review of Onboard’s IDX securities processes.

This paper also takes a closer look at Onboard’s MLS OneSource suite and what our local neighborhood content really means for MLSs and Associations. Clareity recognizes that supplementing MLS listings with additional value-added content is a hot topic for any real estate entity with a consumer-facing website.

Click here to read the white paper.

Tags: Clareity Consulting, IDX solutions, Listings Web Service, MLS OneSource, MLS services, RPR.

February 26th, 2010

Weekly Roundup

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

• A sweet loft in our neighborhood belonging to director Barry Sonnenfeld is bought (via Curbed):

“This 2,270-square-foot loft at 25 Ann Street used to belong to Barry Sonnenfeld, director of ‘Men in Black’ and ‘The Addams Family,’ and his wife, Susan Ringo. But apparently it wasn’t a cool enough place to shoot aliens, because Sonnenfeld and Ringo have unloaded the place for $1.8 million, afte rlisting it for $1.895 million in late September.”

• Robert Albanese goes over 7 steps to reinventing your leadership style (via CleanSlate blog):

“Once you have your agent’s agreement on these points, you essentially have bridged the gap to a new set of leadership behaviors.  From this point on, if any agent questions why you are doing a certain thing or why things are different from before, all that you need to do is remind them that the entire office agreed on the new direction and that you are simply supporting that ‘new company vision.’”

• The top 5 real estate social media blunders (via FOREM):

“Enough about me, let’s talk about ME! Yes, social media is social – but at some point, it is NOT all about you! This is tough in real estate, where you learn from every marketing person to ‘sell yourself’ and ‘you are your brand’ – which is true – but many people (especially the Gen X and Gen Y crowd) don’t want to hear all about you – they want to know about the interesting things going on in the community, in their neighborhood, local market stats, and other things that make what YOU do valuable to them.”

• Joel Burslem on the Golden Age of Real Estate Search and Redfin’s expansion (via 1000wattblog):

“Redfin expanded into Oregon this week. I’m excited – if for no other reason that I am finally able to use one of the best online search interfaces in my home market. We’ve come a long way with search since the introduction and explosion of map-based search tools not so many years back. And while the tools available to consumers today are better than they’ve ever been, I still think there are more exciting things to come.”

Tags: leadership styles, map-based search, real estate search, real estate social media, Redfin.

February 23rd, 2010

The State of Lifestyle Search in Real Estate

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

The New York Times recently reported on the growing importance of lifestyle search in the real estate industry:

“Homebuyers often embark on their home search armed with a vision of their ideal property, a laundry list of features they’d love to find or can’t live without.

Several bedrooms. Large kitchens. A yard big enough for a garden. But what if you prize home traits that extend beyond property lines? Good schools, ethnic restaurants or grocery stores a mere stroll away?

Divining this from the address on a home listing can be difficult, especially if you are moving to a new city. Fortunately, many Web sites are incorporating ways for users to pinpoint the neighborhoods and properties that might best suit their home needs and lifestyles.”

Read on about how Onboard and some of our clients are changing the face of real estate search, one step at a time.

February 23rd, 2010

Z57 Inc. Reports New Client Acquisition Based on Industry-Leading IDX Solutions from Onboard Informatics

By Stacey Ret, Director of Marketing

Z57 Inc., a leading provider of real estate online marketing services, announced the company has transitioned thousands of their clients to the Onboard Informatics’ Listings Web Service platform, their Internet Data Exchange (IDX) solution. With the 2009 integration of Onboard Informatics’ state-of-the-art IDX solution, Z57 REALTORS® websites deliver timely, accurate and useful consumer listing information.

These newly integrated services combined with the historically available products from Onboard Informatics, such as home sale values, comparative values, local information on schools, community, businesses and more, have led to an industry-leading complete solution for both REALTORS® and consumers. This product provides MLS-approved Z57 clients and their site visitors the ability to search for home information based on a variety of parameters including, but not limited to: address; zip code; and local community — with filters for distance, time periods, price range, and property types with relevant localized content.

Z57 recognized the need for REALTORS® websites to meet the changing times and demands of buyers and sellers. With the addition of these data-rich tools, Z57 clients now have a competitive advantage throughout the real estate cycle.

Some of the key benefits of Onboard’s Listing Web Service platform include:

* Fully integrated branding, to convey a consistent message, look and feel.
* Administrative tools are easily accessed in the host’s Marketing Control Center (MCC).
* Visually compelling search forms invite visitor interactions.
* Property search results are integrated with Google maps.
* Comprehensive IDX statistics track results for valuable feedback.

“Over five years ago Z57 identified in Onboard Informatics a technology partner we could grow with — one that provided enterprise-class data gathering, processing and distribution,” said Ryan Whitlock, Z57 COO. “In 2010 we anticipate the expansion of our long-term partnership with Onboard based on new client acquisition from the superior functionality of their IDX solution.”

“Since 1998, Z57 has proven that stamina and technological innovation in the business of real estate website marketing is a winning combination,” stated Marc Siden, Onboard Informatics CEO. “Our strategic partnership with Z57 further supports their commitment to providing their clients with industry-leading content through powerful end-to-end solutions, helping them gain strong advantages in a highly competitive marketplace.”

About Z57 Inc.
San Diego-based Z57 Inc. is a personal Web marketing company for thousands of real estate professionals. Founded in 1998, the company specializes in feature-rich designed websites, with content, listings, lead capture and conversion tools, buyer/seller traffic generation through effective online marketing plans, listing syndication, Search Engine Optimization, drip e-mail marketing and a highly trained and responsive customer service team. Z57 provides clients nationwide with proven real estate solutions matched with personal service from more than 150 dedicated employees. The Southern California Internet marketing firm was recognized as an Inc. 5000 company and San Diego’s No. 1 Web Development and Design Company. For more information, call (800) 899-8148 or visit http://www.Z57.com.

About Onboard Informatics
Since 2001, Onboard Informatics has provided comprehensive local, regional and national real estate data solutions, powerful Web tools and Web services to some of the most innovative companies in the real estate, publishing, and technology. Onboard delivers seamless integration of property listings, community, school, neighborhood, geographic and demographic information to support clients in achieving business objectives on Web and mobile platforms. Privately held since its founding, Onboard is located in the heart of the world’s financial center in the Wall Street area of New York City. For more information about Onboard Informatics, visit http://www.onboardinformatics.com.

Media Contact:
Sue Almon-Pesch
For Z57, Inc.
Phone: 858-205-0516
E-mail: sue@speschialpr.com

Tags: IDX, listings, Listings Web Service, Onboard Informatics Listings Web Service, Z57.

February 18th, 2010

New Additions to the Onboard Team

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

We are pleased to welcome two new additions to the Onboard Informatics team this week: Jacek Rolnik and Toni Brown.

In his words, Jacek is “sort of” new. Jacek previously worked with us as a Relationship Manager, working closely with clients on implementation and product development.  Jacek brings a wealth of client engagement experience to the table with specialties in Web technology, HR, wealth management, and global expansion services. He returns to Onboard as a Relationship Manager after working on the West Coast for awhile. (We suspect the beautiful New York weather lured him back.)

Toni joins Onboard as part of the Support & Administration Group as a Product Support Specialist with a focus on MLS Administration. A graduate of Berkeley College, she has worked with the Red Cross and is a classical singer who also enjoys dance. In her new role, Toni will be primarily working to support Onboard’s MLS Acquisition efforts.

We are excited to have Jacek back and to welcome Toni to the Onboard family.

Tags: new hires, Onboard Informatics.

February 12th, 2010

Weekly Roundup

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

• Google Buzz made its debut this week, but here are some privacy concerns to note before you get your buzz on (via MSNBC):

“If you’ve heard of Google Buzz, chances are you’ve also heard about some of the privacy concerns that surround it. The social media service offers some cool ways to share photos, links, status messages, and more with fellow Google Buzz users. But if you’re not careful, you may end up sharing more than you expect.”

• The Slate 60 list of largest philanthropic donors in America included four from the real estate industry (via AgentGenius):

“We decided to analyze the list this year to see how generous leaders in the real estate sector despite the crumbling industry and was surprised to see that several people linked to the real estate industry made the list with their philanthropic efforts. Four made the list this year, two of whom gave more money than Oprah!”

• FOREM looked at the top things Realtors could take away from Super Bowl Sunday (via Future of Real Estate Marketing):

“How does this apply to Realtors? You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a lot of buzz. In the past if you wanted to brand yourself you’d spend a lot of money on glossy magazines, park benches, and even worse – grocery carts. These days all you need is time and a plan. Within minutes you can create a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a LinkedIn account. With that you are armed to build your brand. You know those agents who put together detailed spreadsheets and calendars outlining their farming or SOI strategy? That’s the type of detail I’m talking about. To create a lot of buzz you have to get serious about your social media plan.”

• Nearly 20,000 luxury properties with multi-million dollar price tags went into foreclosure last year (via REALTOR Mag):

“In 2009, 18,817 properties worth at least $1 million faced foreclosure. That’s up 162 percent from 2008, reported foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac. Prices of $1 million-plus properties are down about 25 percent since 2007 with an increasing number of desperate home owners choosing auction sales over waiting for years for the right buyer to come along.”

Tags: Gogole Buzz privacy, Google Buzz, luxury foreclosures, real estate philanthropy.