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 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 12th, 2010

Z57 Client Acquisition Up 107%

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

Our partners at Z57 had an outstanding 2009; new client acquisition was up 107% over 2008. Z57 provides thousands of clients nationwide with websites, content, listings, lead capture, and web traffic generation programs. This recent growth echoes the sentiments of Inc. 5000, who named Z57 one of the country’s fastest growing privately held companies.

Last year, Z57 expanded its customer service department to enhance the client experience. Clients are pleased as well; revolutionizing the client experience resulted an 82% overall “great” ranking in feedback surveys issued after site implementations.

Z57 chose Onboard as an IDX provider in 2003 to strengthen agent value proposition and provide access to “real and accurate data” on both IDX and content services levels. What began as a simple IDX vendor relationship has evolved into a highly successful partnership. With the addition of neighborhood level content in addition to Onboard’s IDX listings, Z57 is able to provide added stickiness on agent websites, resulting in increased sales and customer value.

In its 11th year, Z57 continues to provide thousands of real estate professionals nationwide with professionally branded, top-performing, search engine optimized websites.

Congratulations to the Z57 team for their steady focus on customer satisfaction - even during the recession.

Tags: Clients, real estate websites, Z57.

February 3rd, 2010

A Tale of Two Cities

By Joe Rugolo, Director of Data Operations

With Super Bowl XLIV less than a week away, more information is going to surface about the Colts and the Saints than you can shake a stick at. What will Reggie Bush eat for breakfast on the day of the big game? How many times will Peyton Manning be asked questions about his ties to the city of New Orleans? It can be a bit overwhelming, but at the same time I hate missing out on an opportunity to cash in on the hype. So I did a little bit of digging in our own database to see which city deserves to win the Super Bowl more (casting aside actual football playing ability).

Better Fans
I know that I risk a punch in the mouth by even attempting to break this down, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ve watched a lot of football over the years…a lot. I’ve even been to the Superdome in New Orleans to watch a game and almost went deaf because of the raucous fans. The RCA Dome is no joke either if you’ve ever watched the Colts play on TV.

But what do the numbers say?  According to our NFL Attendance index, Indianapolis has consistently beaten the national average for fans that attend games by about 10 points over the last three years. New Orleans on the other hand has trended upward over the last two years (coincidentally following the same path of the team’s success…hmmmm), but has still been under the national average for the last three years. I’m sure that there might be other factors at play here (such as the wake of Katrina, the poor economy, etc), but I’m trying to keep this lighthearted and fun. So I’m just going to focus on the numbers and declare Indianapolis the winner in this area.

More Fun
It used to be that New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day had the market cornered on alcohol-fueled insanity but that is no longer the case. Super Bowl Sunday has emerged as a dark horse contender to challenge either of those days for the number one spot. So which city would be more fun to hang out at bar and watch the game in? I’m not even sure that I need any data to support this claim. However, in the interest of fairness, I’m going to use some anyway.

If you’re anything like me you like a little breathing room when you watch a game…it makes it easier to scream at the players that way. Some day they might even hear me. When looking at the number of bars per person in these two cities, each eclipses the national average (for cities over 100K people). Not unexpectedly, New Orleans edges out the national average by about 25%, while Indy scrapes by at a little over 3%. Seems like either city has some decent fun potential, but I’m going to give the nod to New Orleans.

Aftermath
So the game is over and a winner has been decided. Where would you feel safer in the event of a team’s victory? You’ve got one city that’s been a perennial sports doormat and another that already claimed a Super Bowl victory a mere 3 years ago. If history has taught me anything, it’s that when cities that aren’t used to winning win, chaos ensues (see Boston Red Sox, 2004). When a city with an “act like you’ve been there before” mentality wins, there’s usually a calm celebration followed by a sense of entitlement (see New York Yankees, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009).

Since ultimately it’s up to the police to maintain order in these situations, let’s take a look at which city’s police force is more up to the task. In looking at the most recent FBI crime incidence data and doing a comparison based on the number of incidents per 1000 people, New Orleans actually appears to be your safer bet (72.88 for Indy vs. 63.06 for N.O.). This is somewhat surprising considering the debauchery and madness associated with New Orleans, but the numbers wouldn’t lie. Tiebreaker goes to the Big Easy.

The Winner
So after careful deliberation and painstaking number crunching, it would appear as though New Orleans deserves to emerge as the winner of next Sunday’s big game.  That’s the data guy in me speaking.  The football fan still thinks Indy comes out on top because Peyton Manning is just too damn good. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime enjoy every bit of Super Bowl minutia that comes your way in the coming days because somewhere there was someone that went through a lot of trouble to dig up that info and share it with you.

Tags: Colts vs. Saints, Indianapolis, New Orleans, sports rivalries, Super Bowl, Super Bowl predictions, Super Bowl XLIV.

January 29th, 2010

Real Estate Webmasters Introduces REW IDX 3.0

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

We often get questions from individual agents looking to utilize our products to differentiate their websites in their respective marketplaces. Since our traditional solutions aren’t designed for individual agents, we decided to fill this need by launching our Value Added Reseller program to give agents the benefit of our content in various flavors. We package our neighborhood and home information for web developers who use their design and programming expertise to mold the data into innovative implementations that enhance user experience.

Real Estate Webmasters is a partner that does just that. REW takes our data and adds design, programming, and SEO expertise to deliver customized, cutting edge real estate websites. They allow their agents to sell based on clients’ lifestyle needs as well as extremely high-quality listing content (from both informational and visual standpoints). The neighborhood plugins REW mixes in to their offerings allows agents to display the same leading content used by the nation’s top brokerages.

The latest buzz at REW and in the agent community is about the new REW IDX 3.0 product. (See a live demo here.) This iFrameable IDX solution works with any website. It includes full lead management and IDX builder technology for customization.

REW IDX 3.0 is in beta and there are still a few more days to be a part of the testing group. Anyone (on an REW-approved MLS board) who signs up in January will have access to the product for 3 months. Those who are part of this group will save on a setup fee (normally $499) and will only have to pay for monthly features.

Real Estate Webmasters' new IDX solution allows users to draw their own neighborhood boundaries during home search.

Morgan Carey’s REW blog walks you through features to pay attention to. Here are a couple of the things that make 3.0 unique in this space:

• Polygonal parameter searches: so the user can draw their own ideal neighborhood
• Spherical/dragable radius searches
• Custom IDX search builder
• Schools and amenities overlay
• Streetview
• New map search results pagination

The REW team believes that agents are experts in his or her markets, thus giving them back-end controls to customize their display.

You can see the full integration of Onboard’s content in the map-based amenities data as well as the “get local” tab for detailed listings.)

For any agents out there who are looking to be a part of this testing group, click here to get in before the month ends.

Tags: agent websites, IDX search, IDX solutions, neighborhood search, Real Estate Webmasters, real estate websites, search polygons.

January 6th, 2010

Building a Listings Platform with Trust and Transparency

By Scott Petronis, Senior Director of Product Management

You may recall that in September, we announced our new Listings Web Service. Our team has been working relentlessly in Q4 to enhance this product while fostering trusting relationships with MLSs and bringing you inside our doors to understand the progressions, we as a company, have made.

Onboard began delivering IDX capabilities in early 2009. Since then, we have built direct relationships with each MLS, in our pipeline, to gain access to IDX data on behalf of our clients. We host and maintain the listings data as well as administer secure access. All of our neighborhood content is also available with various standardized search parameters. We feel these two pieces of information are vital to anyone involved in any stage of a property transaction.

As data providers we understand the importance of data integrity and potential misuse of data. We take extra measures to ensure listings on our clients’ websites are presented in compliance with MLS rules and regulations and only available to approved members of the various MLSs. We have also recently introduced additional security measures to ensure MLS data is even better-protected against unauthorized use.

Although we are not new in the real estate space, entering the world of listings presented some challenges. However, we believe in determination and perseverance, and most importantly, that the foundation of any strong and lasting relationship is built on trust and transparency. This is just one of the key ingredients to our success, which has enabled us to gain over 100 MLS boards nationwide.

Building a fully-functional and innovative Listings/IDX platform from the ground up takes time to ripen, so our team was also strategic in developing our coverage plans. Fifty percent of our coverage is concentrated in the two hottest real estate areas of the country: the West and the South.  Today, we can provide clients with access to over 1.8 million listings or roughly 50% of the estimated total U.S. inventory, a number growing each week as we continue to expand coverage.

Thousands of board-approved agents are now supported by our Listings Web Service. We look forward to providing the benefits of our one-of-a-kind Listings Web Service to even more real estate professionals in the coming year. We also look forward to building new relationships and working alongside great people supporting this effort who don’t normally get the recognition they deserve – you know who you are.

As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have regarding the product itself or our coverage areas.

Tags: Lifestyle Listings Engine, listings, listings IDX platform, MLS affairs, real estate coverage.

December 8th, 2009

Matching Foreclosure Buyers and Sellers

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

Our client Countdown to Buy launched a matching platform today that accelerates the sales cycle of foreclosed properties. CTB uses a technology that automatically matches buyers and sellers in a real estate transaction through a time-limited process that reduces the property’s list price 1% per day. According to CTB, this matching process generally takes 60 days or less.

So what is the countdown process?

Each property is listed with an offer range. Qualified buyers bid privately and confidentially within this range. The price decreases 1% per day across the offer range. As soon as the day’s price matches a buyer’s offer, the property goes to contract immediately.

Since Countdown to Buy can do a better job explaining this model than I can, check out this video for a simple explanation on how the match process works and what happens when multiple buyers are in the mix.

CTB President Dan Connell says this new way of purchasing a home is not your typical auction model:

“We integrated the best features from the traditional real estate model and the prevailing auction method and created a next generation real estate transaction model that brings transparency, trust and a controlled urgency into the process. From the traditional model, CTB took the insights and a local knowledge of agents, inspectors, contractors, and appraisers and incorporated their roles in a much more efficient manner. From the auction model, CTB created an environment of controlled urgency, but not a manic high pressure sales environment that can potentially be manipulated.”

As of today, the pilot program features properties from Connecticut, New Jersey and New York with the potential for additional locations to be added pending negotiations with leading banks and service companies.

In an auction scenario, buyers need to quickly consume relevant information about prospective homes, especially regarding an area’s home sales trending and seasonal activity. CTB’s implementation of Onboard’s Neighborhood Navigator gives buyers all of this information instantly.

Tags: Clients, Countdown to Buy, foreclosures, property auctions, real estate innovation.

November 17th, 2009

BusinessWeek’s Best Places to Raise Your Kids, 2010

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Specialist

Our second annual collaboration with BusinessWeek to find the best cities to raise kids is out today. The 2010 Best Places to Raise Your Kids list selected one town (and occasionally two runners up) from each of the 50 states for parents looking to give their kids a great education and strong community within modest financial means.

The methodology gave the greatest weight to affordability, safety, and school test scores. Towns with populations above 45,000 and median incomes between $40,000 and $125,000 were considered for the top cities list. BusinessWeek also considered the cultural grain of the communities when picking top towns - meaning diverse cities with lots of museums, parks, theaters, and other amenities were given high marks.

Our team created an index based on low crime, high test scores, diversity, population and cost of living thresholds to use as a screening method to help determine the 50 Best Places according to the additional BusinessWeek criteria.

The highest rated score was a town of 600,000 just outside of Chicago. Tinley Park, Illinois was touted by editors and residents alike for its affordability, access to Chicago, connectedness, and top notch schools.

“Most of the towns we chose are new to the list,” said real estate writer Prashant Gopal, noting a few returners to the Best Places list.

The strong reactions from readers last year prompted BusinessWeek to encourage online discussion in the story’s comment section. Have a look at the results and be sure to let us know how your state’s winner stacks up in your mind.

Tags: Best Places, Best Places to Raise Kids, BusinessWeek, community data, media services.