January 25th, 2010
The Housing Market in 2010
Onboard CIO Peter Goldey speaks on trends that will shape the housing market in 2010:
Tags: 2010 housing trends, inman, Peter Goldey.
January 20th, 2010
Patrick Healy Chats with BHG Real Estate
Patrick Healy has been busy lately. In addition to overseeing Onboard client implementations and helping partners with strategic objectives, he was also an organizer of last week’s RE BarCamp here in New York. Patrick chatted with our friends over at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate last week as part of a Clean Slate blog interview series with industry leaders during the Inman Connect conference.
Check out what Patrick had to say about his role at Onboard and the new Listings Web Service.
Head over to Clean Slate for more interviews and perspectives on the consumer’s new role in real estate, web analytics for RE professionals, the importance of video and more.
Tags: Better Homes and Gardens, inman, Patrick Healy.
January 11th, 2010
Inman Connect NYC is Here!
It’s that time of the year; Inman Connect NYC is upon us once again, paving the way for many great discussions with the brightest minds of the real estate technology space. This time around, our relationship team gets to trade in airline tickets for MetroCards, since Connect is happening in our uptown backyard. The industry is still catching its breath from the “vortex” of 2009 (as Marc Siden calls it), and this year’s program will send developers, brokers and marketers off into the new year with some clarity about how we are all responding to the challenges ahead.
Onboard Informatics is a proud Silver Sponsor of Inman Connect, held this week at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. We have sponsored this event for the last several years with great success in developing new business, collaborating with clients, and being at the forefront of of the real estate conversation.
This year, Onboard CIO & CKO Peter Goldey will be speaking at 11:30am Thursday, Jan. 14 on the Data Smackdown panel. Pete will be debating new analytics and technologies alongside Mark Fleming, Stan Humphries, and Michael Simonsen.
If you are attending, be sure to visit us at Booth #901. You won’t leave dehydrated or with bad breath. (And now that I’ve completely overstated the wow factor of our giveaways, you’ll have to stop by.)
Tags: Data Smackdown panel, events, inman, Inman 2010, Inman Connect NYC, real estate events.
June 15th, 2009
Three Onboard clients named Inman Innovator finalists
Congratulations to three of our clients who were recently named finalists in the 2009 Inman Innovator Awards.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Coldwell Banker, and Redfin dominated the “most innovative brokerage or franchise” category. @properties, John L. Scott, and Nest Realty Group are also contending.
Our client Coldwell Banker was also recognized for their On Location site, which uses a YouTube channel to allow users to search for localized community content on an interactive map.
The 12th annual competition highlights innovation in five categories: brokerage and franchise; new technology; Web service; blog; and media sites. Our partners are recognized for demonstrating excellence in using technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction process for consumers and real estate professionals.
We’re looking forward to the results, which will be announced during the Inman Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco in early August. Onboard is a sponsor of the event and will be there at booth number 127.
Good luck to all finalists!
Tags: Better Homes and Gardens, Clients, Coldwell Banker, inman, news, Redfin.
March 25th, 2009
Lifestyle Listings Engine Web Service - New Property Search Version 0.9 Delivered
Onboard Informatics launched the second version of Lifestyle Listings Engine - Version 0.9 today.
Lifestyle Listings Engine, the first ever enterprise-class property search based on consumer lifestyle, was first announced earlier this year at Inman News Real Estate Connect in New York. Since then we have been working diligently to launch the Listings Web Service enabling consumers to search for a home based on school system ratings, amenities, neighborhoods, commute time, and more all at the same time.
The first Listings Web Service delivery in mid February, Version 0.8, focused on two primary search mechanisms - geographic and parametric. Scott Petronis, our Sr. Dri. Product Management, goes into the specific details of Geographic Search, and Lookup capabilities in the Listings Web Service, in his previous post, Lifestyle Listings Engine Web Serivce - New Property Search Version 0.8 Delivered.
In this release, Version 0.9, there are three new keycapabilities :
1) Search based on school performance:
One of the most significant search criteria for one of the largest home buyer segments is school performance. To this end, we’re enabling search based on proximity to GreatSchools rated schools of a specific value. For example, “I want to find listings that have 3+ beds and 2+ baths for no more than $500,000 that are near a highly rated school.”
2) Search based on distance to amenities:
The next set of crucial criterion are the local amenities such as parks, restaurants, supermarkets and hospitals. We’re enabling search based on a pretty long list of amenities so a user can ask for “Homes within 5 miles of a golf course,” for example.
3) “Get content”:
Once a search is conducted, the next logical step is for the searcher to want to know more. So we’re introducing new calls to pull back specific content based on a specific listing or the geographic container the listing falls within. The first such call allows a developer to pull back all the amenity details associated to a listing so they may present this, for example, on a listing detail page.
Scott goes into much greater detail regarding Version 0.9 in his post from last week.
What’s Next?
Lifestyle Listings Version 0.9.1 & Version 0.10 — Currently in development and testing. Targeted for release early/mid-April
- Get School District Content: This will allow the developer to pull back all the school district content associated with a specific listing. Using this, the developer can fill out additional content pages to go along with the listing details.
- Search by commute time / distance: This will allow a user to input a starting address, such as their work address, and a desired time (i.e., 45 minutes) or distance (i.e., 30 miles). The search will then determine the listings that fall within the drivable area. We’re already looking at ways to get public transit as well as to determine neighborhoods and other geos that fall within the commute time / distance.
Lifestyle Listings Engine Version 0.11 & Version 0.12 — Currently in planning and design.
- Lead profiling: We’ll be capturing the various search criteria used in order to enable presentation of search preferences for lead forms, analytics reports, CRM applications or other uses.
- Search by community demographics: We’re working on a set of key demographics including age focus, socioeconomic status and household status.
- Criteria weighting and ranking: Providing the ability to weight the importance of individual criteria in each search to ensure the most appropriate results are returned.
- Additional Get Content calls: Enabling the retrieval of additional content to help provide greater details and insight into the community surrounding a listing.
Lifestyle Listinges Engine Software Development Kit — Currently in planning and design.
- We’ll be providing a set of UI widgets, helper code and documentation to enable developers to more quickly integrate our search into their sites and to do so with much more confidence than writing code from scratch. Our goal is to help developers get these capabilities up and running in days or weeks vs. months.
Please contact our sales support team at 646.747.4273 or info@onboardinformatics.com with any enquires regarding Lifestyle Listings Engine.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to Onblog to get the latest news and deliveries regarding Lifestyle Listings Engine and Onboard’s other products.
Tags: amenities, data, home sale records, IDX, inman, Inman Connect, Lifestyle, Lifestyle Listings Engine, lifestyle search, listings, LLE, MLS, neighborhoods, Onboard Informatics, Products, property search, Real Estate, schools, SEO.
February 26th, 2009
A Thought On Pricing
If you haven’t done so already, first go read this amazing post by one Kris Berg:
Suddenly, we are concerned that my compensation might not benefit the consumer. Last time I checked, the consumer had an unlimited number of choices regarding agents, services and fee structures.
You want a flat fee? Those models exist. If you want to pay $500 or $5,000, there is someone who will gladly take the job. If you want to employ Aunt Margaret to represent you in exchange for a testimonial letter and a Bunt cake at closing, she just might bite.
You can pay 1 percent or 20 percent, or you can pay as you go. You can even do it yourself. The world is full of choices. What I charge is what I am worth, and what you charge is what you think you are worth. The debate is lost on me.
If, as an agent, you think you are overpaid, then you are. Change your model and charge less. And if we are running out of controversy, maybe we should move on to more pressing issues like customer service, industry standards, and ethics — and something about the other agent who won’t return my phone calls when I have a offer to present because I am not a buyer waiving a checkbook above my head.
For me, I charge what I am worth, but I make far less than I am worth. When a client was recently laid off one week before closing, I was laid off, except he had severance pay and now qualifies for unemployment benefits. I enjoy neither. I suspect many of you, like me, have spent six months with a buyer who decides not to buy.
The Inman site often puts posts/articles behind a pay-to-read firewall after a bit, so I recommend you get there soon and read the whole thing. I laughed, I cried, I learned — it’s just a great post.
I bring this up because in one of those zeitgeist moments, I also read this from the legal world about competing on price:
But lowering your prices in the hopes of capturing new business is self-defeating. You are sending a signal that your value is lower than it was. You are also sending a message that you’re willing to compromise to get new business. And what will you compromise? Effort? Quality? Availability? Thoroughness? Reliability? Training?
I railed against law-firm discounting a while back at our sister blog, Gruntled Employees, and republished that post on this blog here: “Legal advice: 30% off! (Why discounts don’t always save you money).” The always-excellent JD Hull showed his contempt for discounting in a recent post at What About Clients? entitled “Don’t compete on price, especially now.” JD’s key line:
If a client comes to your firm for price, it will leave your firm for price.
Instead of discounting and taking the easy way out, deliver exceptional service and price according to the value the client receives. As JD writes, “It’s very hard, and it takes thought.” But it’s worth it.
You need to let clients know that you’re worth it.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander in this case.
Look, real estate either is or is not professional services. If it is, then like a professional, you need to compete on value. If it isn’t, then you need to be the lowest-cost provider.
The former may mean you lose some customers. But perhaps those are customers you may be better off sending elsewhere — like to the competitor you like least. Because as Kris Berg points out so poignantly, the risk is entirely on your side:
Consumers should pay up-front, then. Only they won’t. It is much more appealing to play with house money, which brings us to the subject of risk. I incur it all. There is risk every time I pay thousands to market a home only to find that the seller has changed his mind and every time I write the fifth offer for a buyer client to learn they that aren’t having fun anymore or that her brother just got his license. And there is risk every time I walk into the office that a frivolous lawsuit will be waiting for me.
Either the customer is hiring you (or your people) because he sees the value you’re bringing — with your knowledge, your experience, your skills, and your training — or he is hiring you because you have access to the lockbox. The ones hiring a professional isn’t likely to change their mind because “they aren’t having fun anymore”. Those are the customers you want to keep and cultivate.
Of course, to take this track, you need to be a professional, and ensure that your people are truly professionals with the knowledge, tools, training, and support that professionals have. I’m not likely to trust a stockbroker whose access to market data is slower than I can get through E*Trade. Nor will I be much impressed by the value proposition of a tax attorney who breaks out TurboTax.
Since our business at Onboard Informatics is to ensure that our clients have the finest in real estate data, we take it as a point of pride that our clients see the value in what we provide year after year. My request and advice to our clients is to talk to us about leveraging what you already have from us. Our interest is perfectly aligned with yours: leveraging the enterprise-class tools and data products to empower your people so that they can be professionals.
Tags: competitive pricing, inman, Kris Berg, Onboard Informatics.
January 28th, 2009
24 Ways to Splurge with $500 Essay Contest Cash Prize
Lifestyle Search Essay Contest
The topic:
Imagine the real estate search of the future and tell us about it.
As we announced a couple of weeks ago at Inman, Onboard Informatics is taking the first step towards the vision of a lifestyle search with the Lifestyle Listings Engine. But we know that this is just the first step on a journey to change the way consumers find a home.
One of the things we’re very interested in is what Lifestyle Search means, and what it enables for the industry. We want to know your thoughts and your vision for what Lifestyle Search is. So we want to have some fun, offer fabulous cash prizes [ED: Er, cash prize - singular - think of the economy man!], and see what the other minds in real estate think of the concept.
There’s no length requirement. Either email us the link to your blog or website, or email us the essay (in Word or .txt format) to mmurphy@onboardinformatics.comand we’ll post it here on the OnBlog.
ESSAY ENTRY DEADLINE: 5:00 PM EST Friday, January 30th
JUDGING: Monday, Feb-9 to Monday Feb-16 (We will let the readers of OnBlog do the judging and post their votes throughout the week)
THE PRIZE: $500 American Express GIFTCARD
FORTUNE: What can you buy with $500? 24 Great Splurges
Look sharp. Get away from it all. Hang with Tony Soprano? $500 buys more than you think.
Tags: cash prize, Essay Contest, inman, Onboard Informatics, Real Estate, win $500.
January 7th, 2009
Onboard Informatics Introduces a Lifestyle Listings Engine
Imagine if people could search for a home based on their lifestyle.
New York, NY. 1-6-2009 – Onboard Informatics, the premier data services company for top companies in real estate, media and technology, has announced the Lifestyle Listings Engine: the first ever enterprise-class solution enabling property search based on consumer lifestyle choices.
“With our expertise in data collection, standardization, and analysis, our clients were constantly asking us if we can help them with listings,” said Marc Siden, CEO of Onboard. “But we wanted to offer something to the industry beyond just the best, cleanest, and most efficient listings. So by combining our wealth of property data, community, schools, and amenities datasets, with the best listings data in the industry, then layering on a search logic that takes human preferences into account, we are able to offer the first search engine that works the way the human mind does.”
The Lifestyle Listings Engine, introduced at the Inman News Real Estate Connect Event in New York, features a Human Centered Search (HCS) API enabling a multivariate, multi-weighted search experience. Users are able to search based on schools system ratings, commute time, amenities, neighborhood info, and more at the same time.
“For years, Onboard has been providing data analytics to companies such as CNN/Money for feature stories on selecting best places to live, best places for retirement, and best places for families,” said Peter Goldey, Chief Information Officer of Onboard. “We knew that our algorithms and our search logic were something that our clients in real estate could really benefit from, so we’ve created that toolset.”
The Lifestyle Listings Engine also features the most advanced handling of listings data, management of MLS relationships and IDX rules with its proprietary Compliancy Engine technology, and simplifies development by providing a single, consistent data feed from hundreds of disparate feeds.
According to Liam Dayan, Chief Technology Officer of Onboard, the HCS technology is made possible by the robust data handling technology behind the scenes: “What we’ve done is taken our expertise and systems for handling disparate data sources, aggregating them, cleaning them, and making the resulting data easy to use, and applied them to listings. We then blend that cleaned dataset with the rest of our content, using our proprietary system. That facility with data is the ‘secret sauce’ if you will that allows us to create applications like Human Centered Search.”
The Lifestyle Listings Engine is in final testing, and is slated for release to clients in mid-February.
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 real estate, media, and technology industries. Onboard combines its expertise in data aggregation, standardization, and integration with expert consulting, transforming the complexity of data into meaningful solutions to support their clients in achieving business objectives. 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 or to request a demo, visit www.onboardinformatics.com.
Tags: data, IDX, inman, Lifestyle Listings Engine, listings, Onboard Informatics.
October 21st, 2008
Successful Tradeshow Tips
Onboard Informatics is pleased to announce its commitment as a Silver Sponsor for the Inman News Real Estate Connect Conference, being held January 7-9, 2009 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.
Real Estate Connect, developed by Inman News, attracts over 1,000 leaders in the real estate, technology, lending, title and financial industries. Onboard has participated as a sponsor for the last several years and has had great success in developing new business, meeting with clients and marketing its products and services.
Tradeshows and conferences are a key part of many business marketing strategies. At Onboard, we strategically analyze what we need from a particular event before committing thousands of dollars to attend. We formulate goals, develop a plan for achieving them and agree on measurements of success.
I have attended many tradeshows in all different industries and while by no means am I an expert, I have had many conversations with vendors regarding their ROI at events. What is amazing to me is that many of them simply don’t know. If we don’t know what our ROI is and/or how we succeed (or not) relative to our success measures, how can we decide to continue to attend another event?
So, I thought I would share a few, very key but easy strategies for ensuring a successful show, which are many times overlooked:
- Use your money wisely. Sounds simple enough but try to evaluate whether your giveaways really work. With the end of the year coming up, everyone should begin planning their needs for next year but they first need to evaluate their spending, so I ask: does passing out cheap pens that usually get jammed really promote your company in a positive light? Also, how high of a sponsorship level do you really need in order to achieve your goals? If all you need is booth space and the attendee list, is it necessary to buy that Diamond level sponsorship or can you get away with bronze?
- Watch your travel costs. How many staff members do you need and what are their responsibilities while at the show? Is it simply to staff the booth or do they have a speaking opportunity? Who can handle dual roles? Travel adds up and can bust a budget very quickly.
- Use your time wisely. Qualify those that come up to your booth. If real estate agents are not your target market, but brokers are, figure out how to get your message across in an efficient manner. If they like your product, they will probably relay the information.
- Obtain the attendee list whenever possible and setup meetings prior to the event. The key decision makers are usually not the ones parading up and down the tradeshow aisles. They are meeting with people like you.
- Hold a debrief meeting after the event. Discuss what you did right, what challenges you overcame and what you would change for the next event. Document the comments and refer to them often.
We hope you stop by our booth at the Real Estate Connect NY event - but don’t expect any giveaways!
Tags: corporate events, data, events, inman, Onboard Informatics, Real Estate, strategies for tradeshows, tradeshows.
