Doug Devitre will be visiting SCAOR on November 18. Doug is in the National Association of REALTORS® Business Specialties Hall of Fame. He holds the Certified Speaking Professional Designation from the National Speakers Association. We hope you won’t want to miss this valuable FREE seminar.
If the success of your business depends upon your ability to communicate, influence, persuade, or present ideas that solve problems, you need to harness the power of screen-to-screen technology to help you get the job done-faster, more efficiently, and more affordably.
Doug promises you show you how to:
Boost sales, performance, and customer experience- without being physically present
Choose the right technology for the right job and the right budget
Prepare the best visuals for every transaction, every client, every time you connect
Find the highest-rated apps, software, and online services – at the lowest price possible
Visually demonstrate value that only you can provide – in a way that makes you stand out from the competition
Conduct meetings, train employees, coach teams and give presentations that captivate audiences – and seal the deal EVERY TIME!
In their latest news blast, DAR Share a few key insights about news that YOU need to know. Check it out!
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a mortgage lettermaking changes to the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) owner-occupancy requirement for condominiums in accordance with H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA).
Fannie Mae announced expansion of its HomeReady program that includes 3 percent down payment loans.
The DUCIOA flowchart was changed on July 1, 2016, and is useful when determining if a resale certificate is needed when listing or buying a home. View the chart here.
Upfront and annual guarantee fees from the USDA’s Rural Development programhave been reduced.
Get onsite news and links to live social media coverage at next week’s NAR Conference and Expo here.
This is your ultra-fast, easy dose of the latest tech that can help your life as a REALTOR®. Whether it’s using the MLS, Mobile Apps, or surfing around, we’ll give you the tools you need each Tuesday.
Tech Tip Tuesday – #075 – Set Up Your Contact Info & Branding in Matrix
Today’s Tip:
Today, we learn the settings required for getting you contact info on the matrix mls system.
Interested in helping to shape the voice of real estate in Sussex County? Sign up to join a team of people as interested in making a difference as you are! (Professional Standards, Public Policy, Marketing, and more available for the 2017 year!)
As a reminder, we are interested in hearing your opinions from regarding the idea of joining a more expansive MLS. Click here to get SCAOR-specific information. Within MLSEvolved.com you will find everything you need to review the new MLS including a map of the new service area and informational videos from the leadership team. If you have any more questions, please call CEO Merritt Burke here at 302-855-2300.
SCAOR Dues
Remember that SCAOR yearly membership renewal is due by November 15th. You can do that at any time by clicking here.
We’ll be holding an Bright MLS meeting here at SCAOR on November 9th at 1:30 PM for members and brokers to hear from the CEO of TREND MLS. Feel free to catch up on all the info regarding Bright MLS here.
Blog Post – Technology: Disrupt or Be Disrupted
The implications of big data, drones, and augmented reality for real estate agents and brokers cannot be ignored. In fact, real estate can even profit from these potentially disruptive innovations if they have the right tools.
In the wake of rapidly evolving technologies, many industries are at risk. Carl Frey and Michael Osborn, two researchers from the University of Oxford, have published a paper about the future of employment that states with 97 percent certainty that real estate brokers will vanish during the next decades.
As a researcher and founder of the Future Real Estate Institute, I think this is pretty unlikely, since the real estate transaction process is very emotional and buyers and sellers still crave human interaction. However, I do believe the industry will be cleansed of many competitors that don’t believe in technological innovation. Based on the fact that you are reading this article, I’m willing to guess you don’t belong to this group.
Historically, real estate brokers and creative entrepreneurs in related fields have been at the forefront of real estate innovation, while many large corporate players in the commercial sphere have lagged behind. In fact, the combined impact of social media, mobile applications, and digitalization on the industry is nothing compared to the potential disruptions of today.
Disruptive Technologies of Our Age
Artificial intelligence, sensors, synthetic biology, and robotics are all major sources of disruption in our age. These innovations are bringing us technologies like the Internet of Things, smart applications, blockchain databases that make digital economies and “cryptocurrencies” such as Bitcoin possible, and much more that will impact how we research, work, and live.
Adaptive and creative real estate brokerages don’t have to invent a new disruption in order to remain relevant; they just need to make use of them. Apple didn’t invent the smartphone and Amazon didn’t invent the internet; they just created a disruptive business case on top of those existing innovations.
In the first article of this series, I wanted to show you how you can profit from the more basic innovations, such as big data, drones, and augmented and virtual reality.
Real Estate Open Data
According to IBM, we produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, which means 90 percent of the entire global stock of data has been produced during the last two years. Perhaps more exciting than the quantity is the fact that much of this data is open source and available to anyone.
To capitalize on this, agents and brokers should form data alliances, preferably under the supervision of the National Association of REALTORS® and other trusted industry partners. Though it’s not an NAR initiative, Project Upstream is a great early example of a platform that could one day automatically sync a wealth of data beyond the listing (among them: macroeconomic, social, and environmental, along with tracking consumer and business sentiment). And MLS platforms with enhanced data aggregation and usability could fulfill the same purpose on a regional or state level.
The challenge is to aggregate adequate data points, store them in a distributed and resilient network, construct user-friendly interfaces, and create precoded analytical models to draw reasonable inferences from the data using standard queries.
Another way the industry can profit from the data is by reducing market research and marketing costs, increasing the efficiency of personalized targeting and making trend forecasts on a regional as well as national level. We might see new real estate data brokerages, specializing in marketing and big data in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) package, as well as new jobs opening up for real estate data scientists.
In order to stay on top of this trend, solo entrepreneurs and small brokerages should be especially focused on forming strategic alliances to share the costs for big data workshops and seminars. Larger players should hire CTOs and data scientists to help foster open innovation with cross-functional teams.
As a local example, Ed Smith from the Sussex Today & Tomorrow conference shared a wealth of statistical job data in Delaware that can help you make better workplace decisions. Take a look at the accompanying video!
Video Marketing & Image Database
In June, the Federal Aviation Administration finally announced its legal stance on small unmanned aircraft systems. This means that from August 29 on, real estate brokers can use small drones that weigh less than 55 pounds for aerial photo shoots, if they hold the necessary certificate and comply with the operational and safety requirements of the Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule.
Drones, actually belonging to the innovation category of robotics, are a great tool for video marketing, providing high-resolution images of properties and their surroundings.
On the individual level, this is a rather simple example of technological innovation that can be used without a very steep investment. But an exciting new business case could be the creation of a free stock aerial image and video platform, accessible to members of the National Association of REALTORS®, which could have greater use cases as artificial intelligence programs learn to label and analyze imagery and video data.
Next-Level Marketing
Augmented reality is one of those buzzwords that didn’t mean much to most, yet with the success of the mobile app Pokémon Go, we have seen how the combination of offline and online worlds can transform everything. Agents can profit from this technology by providing augmented reality services during open houses.
By creating an app that can be downloaded during or before an open house, brokers can include digital maps of the listing’s surroundings. Data could consist of detailed geo-information regarding schools, doctors’ offices, hospitals, supermarkets, and restaurants, along with weather information, macroeconomic data for the region, and much more. In-depth information about the house itself could also be displayed, such as floor plans, building materials, and HVAC systems.
Potential buyers could obtain the information via their smartphone, tablet, or other device linked to natural language processing software. Potential buyers could then walk through a property and use the system to get more detailed descriptions. This could make open houses more private and intimate. The data dissemination could be triggered by beacons, near-field communication, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi.
Virtual Reality — One Step Further
Real estate professionals who want to take it beyond augmentation can do so by using virtual reality. It can be used for virtual staging or to add value for buyers if they can design the interior as well as exterior of the property. This technology could be integrated with the 3D Home Designer package for AutoDesk’s Homestyler or other alternatives, or associations might consider creating a SaaS tool for members.
One further advantage would be the offering of remote open houses, which could accelerate transactions and enhance services for those who cannot visit listings in person. The agent could accompany the VR tour through the property within the VR session or via the internet or phone. Potential buyers from other states or countries could thus assess a property before they come or even buy it based on a VR tour.
Over the past year, SCOAR leadership has been attending Bright MLS Vision Team meetings to consider joining a more expansive MLS. The new MLS is a merger between MRIS and TREND combining 36 combined REALTOR® Association shareholders in six states plus the District of Columbia (not-for-profits and for-profits).
A copy of the August 30 Bright MLS presentation is enclosed as a PDF. Lastly, attached to this letter are a technology summary of what SCAOR members will receive if the Board votes to join Bright MLS.
The timeline to consider joining the new MLS is as follows:
August 8 – October 26 Bright MLS was referenced in several emails (At-A-Glance, Blogpost/SCAORCast and SCAORcard) to members and discussed at two MLS Committee meetings
August 30 Participant meeting (this meeting was scheduled before the deadline was changed to execute an Agreement from October to December 31)
September 27 Board meeting to discuss Bright MLS
October 3 General Membership meeting where Bright MLS was discussed
November 9 (1:30 pm) Information meeting with Bright MLS rep. and SCOAR CEO
November 17 (9:00 am) Board meeting (tentative vote to join Bright MLS)
The deadline to execute a Service Agreement is December 31, 2016.
As CEO, I anticipate that the Board will discuss and/or vote to join Bright MLS at the November 17 Board meeting. The goal up to that point is to inform the Participants and Members of the benefits and challenges of joining within the next two months. President Frank Serio and I, including Bruce Plummer who has attended all Bright MLS Vision Team meetings, are available to answer questions at any time.
Financial Impact
Yes, there will be a nominal financial impact to SCAOR. MLS fees are anticipated to increase and revenue is anticipated to decrease. There are options to mitigate the loss of revenue.
Summary
To summarize, the Board is interested in hearing Participants and Members opinions of joining a more expansive MLS. Within MLSEvolved.com you will find everything you need to review the new MLS including a map of the new service area and informational videos from the leadership team.
Interested in helping to shape the voice of real estate in Sussex County? Sign up to join a team of people as interested in making a difference as you are! (Professional Standards, Public Policy, Marketing, and more available for the 2017 year!)
As a reminder, we are interested in hearing your opinions from regarding the idea of joining a more expansive MLS. Within MLSEvolved.com you will find everything you need to review the new MLS including a map of the new service area and informational videos from the leadership team. If you have any more questions, please call CEO Merritt Burke here at 302-855-2300.
In June, the Federal Aviation Administration finally announced its 
